A Man Worth Remembering

by Delores Fossen

  An image flashed through Leigh’s mind

  It was an image of Gabe, beautifully naked. He had his hands on her. Their embrace was beyond intimate. It was so clear, so erotic that Leigh gasped.

  “What’s wrong?” Gabe glanced around them.

  “Nothing,” she said on a rush of breath. “A memory, I think.”

  “Of what?”

  She couldn’t tell him. Leigh didn’t even think she could say the words.

  “Was it about us?”

  Leigh nodded but didn’t offer anything else.

  “All right, if you won’t answer, I’ll fill in the blanks. We had some bad times along with the good ones. Very good ones. Yes, we argued, but we always made up. We had all the hopes, dreams and problems of any other couple in love. And yes, damn it, we even had great sex.”

  He must have sensed that he’d hit upon something. “Great sex,” he repeated.

  “I won’t get involved with you again,” she retorted.

  “Are you trying to convince me,” Gabe drawled, “or yourself?”

  Dear Reader,

  We have a fabulous fall lineup for you this month and throughout the season, starting with a new Navajo miniseries by Aimée Thurlo called SIGN OF THE GRAY WOLF. Two loners are called to action in the Four Corners area of New Mexico to take care of two women in jeopardy. Look for Daniel “Lightning” Eagle’s story in When Lightning Strikes and Burke Silentman’s next month in Navajo Justice.

  The explosive CHICAGO CONFIDENTIAL continuity series concludes with Adrianne Lee’s Prince Under Cover. We just know you are going to love this international story of intrigue and the drama of a royal marriage—to a familiar stranger…. Don’t forget: a new Confidential branch will be added to the network next year!

  Also this month—another compelling book from newcomer Delores Fossen. In A Man Worth Remembering, she reunites an estranged couple after amnesia strikes. Together, can they find the strength to face their enduring love—and find their kidnapped secret child? And can a woman on the edge recover the life and child she lost when she was framed for murder, in Harper Allen’s The Night in Quesiton? She can if she has the help of the man who put her away.

  Pulse pounding, mind-blowing and always breathtaking—that’s Harlequin Intrigue.

  Enjoy,

  Denise O’Sullivan

  Associate Senior Editor

  Harlequin Intrigue

  A MAN WORTH REMEMBERING

  DELORES FOSSEN

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Imagine a family tree that includes Texas cowboys, Choctaw and Cherokee Indians, a Louisiana pirate and a Scottish rebel who battled side by side with William Wallace. With ancestors like that, it’s easy to understand why Texas author and former air force captain Delores Fossen feels as if she was genetically predisposed to writing romances. Along the way to fulfilling her DNA destiny, Delores married an air force Top Gun who just happens to be of Viking descent. With all those romantic bases covered, she doesn’t have to look too far for inspiration.

  Books by Delores Fossen

  HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE

  648—HIS CHILD

  679—A MAN WORTH REMEMBERING

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  Leigh O’Brien—Even though she’s lost her memory, Leigh senses that she and her husband, Gabe, once had a life and love that’s worth remembering. Without realizing she has a secret that can destroy the new bonds between them, Leigh places her life, and her heart, in Gabe’s hands.

  Special Agent Gabe Sanchez—Gabe vows to do his job and protect his estranged wife from a killer, but he doesn’t want to give Leigh another chance to crush his heart. Too bad he can’t forget the love they once shared—a love that is threatened when Gabe learns the truth Leigh has kept from him.

  Wade Jenkins—A key member of the task force assembled to protect Leigh and catch the killer. But is Wade someone Leigh and Gabe can trust? Or is he the very man who wants Leigh dead?

  Teresa Walters—An ATF agent with more than a professional interest in Gabe.

  Frank Templeton—Leigh’s former assistant on the FBI’s Evidence Response Team. Does someone want Frank dead as well, or is he the mastermind behind the plot to kill Leigh?

  To my sister, Linda Reeves,

  who taught me many of life’s most important lessons.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter One

  Leigh realized she was being murdered.

  She regained consciousness in the water. Cold, deep, dark water. It was above her, beneath her, around her on all sides. Smothering her.

  Terror shot through her. She frantically tried to swim but couldn’t. Her hands and feet were tied together. Water gushed into her nose and mouth. Her throat clenched. It hurt. She hurt. Her chest pounded as if it might shatter.

  Someone had put her there. But who? She could just make out a milky image on the bridge above the water’s surface. No face. No name. Just someone who obviously wanted her dead.

  Inch by excruciating inch, she sank lower. She fought against the urge to surrender, to close her eyes and just give up so the pain would stop. No. She wouldn’t give up. Couldn’t. God, she didn’t want to die.

  Leigh twisted her body, using the last of her breath to try to stop her downward slide. She didn’t succeed. The water coiled around her and sent her into a dizzying spiral until her feet dipped into the clotted mud at the bottom.

  She didn’t see the man before his arm snaked around her waist, but she felt his firm grip. It was a lifeline. Hope. Right now, hope and this man were all she had.

  He stopped the mud from swallowing her up and began to haul her toward the surface. Leigh tried to help, but her wrists and feet were still bound. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn’t free herself.

  Somehow, he got them out of the water, dragging her onto a muddy embankment. And then he kissed her. At least she thought that’s what he was doing until she felt the air gust into her mouth. No. Not a kiss. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

  “It’s okay,” the man said. “You’ll be all right.”

  He knelt beside her, his movements jerky but somehow controlled, and he got the ropes off her hands and feet. Every few seconds, his gaze darted around them as if he was watching for something.

  Not something, she realized.

  Someone.

  After all, the person who’d try to kill her could return to finish the job.

  She didn’t have time to react to that terrifying realization. Her teeth began to chatter. Her body shook. She was cold and wet, and her head throbbed in pain. For that matter, the rest of her throbbed, too. But at least she was alive. Because of this man, she was alive. Too bad she didn’t have enough breath to thank him.

  He leaned over her to examine her forehead. It was dusk, but what was left of the filmy sunlight allowed her to see him and his resolute expression. Did she know him?

  No.

  He was a stranger.

  “You saved my life,” she managed to say.

  Water slipped off him and splattered onto her face. With the same gentle touch he’d used on her forehead, he wiped away the drops, letting his fingertips li
nger on her cheek. “Yes. I did.” He mumbled something else under his breath. Something in Spanish. And he shook his head. “I’d still like to have your butt for what you pulled, but we can get into all of that later.”

  She didn’t understand what he meant. Exactly what had she pulled? She hadn’t asked to be in that water. Had she? No, she was sure of that. This was no suicide attempt. She’d fought to stay alive.

  “Who are you?” she asked.

  Something she couldn’t distinguish rifled through his eyes. “What the devil do you mean by that?”

  “I’d like to know your name,” she clarified.

  He sat back on his heels and glared down at her. “Just what kind of sick game are you playing, huh?” She barely got out a denying shake of her head before he continued. “Believe me, it won’t work.” With each word he got louder. “I want answers. I deserve answers.”

  “I’d like some answers, too. For starters, please tell me who you are.”

  “Gabe,” he said, hissing it out like profanity. “But you know that.”

  No, she didn’t. She shoved her fingers through her hair to push the wet strands out of her eyes. Part of her thought she might recognize his name, the way he’d said it, but she couldn’t be sure. Mercy, if her head would just stop pounding, maybe she could sort through all of this.

  “Gabe Sanchez,” he added after a moment.

  Still nothing. But she should know him. Maybe she felt that because of his formidable expression and not because of any true recollection. “Well, thank you, Mr. Sanchez, for saving me. I thought I was going to die.”

  He sat there as drops of water slid down his face. He seemed oblivious to the water, to his drenched clothes. Oblivious to everything around them. Everything but her. He stared craters in her.

  “You would have died if I hadn’t been here,” he assured her. “Someone shot you. When that didn’t work, they clubbed you and threw you in the lake.”

  She gasped, horrified that someone would do such terrible things to her. “Someone shot me?”

  “Looks that way. It’s just a graze, but combined with that lump, you’ll probably have one heck of a headache.”

  She nodded. She already had one heck of a headache so there was no probably about it.

  “Who did this to you?” he demanded. “Who tried to kill you?”

  He seemed angry with her, and she didn’t know why. Worse, she didn’t know why things didn’t make sense. Who had done this to her? Why had she been in the water? And who was this stranger who expected her to have all the answers?

  “I don’t know.” She touched her forehead. When she drew back her hand, she noticed the watery blood on her fingertips. She was injured but didn’t even remember how it’d happened. God, how could she possibly not know that? “Did you see anyone before you jumped in after me?”

  “Just a car speeding away. I couldn’t make out the license plate.” Vigilantly, he looked around them again. “When I saw the air bubbles in the water, I dived in.”

  Thank God he had. If not, she would without a doubt be dead. “Where are we?”

  “Lake Pontchartrain.” His narrowed gaze came back to her. “Are you trying to make me believe you really don’t know?”

  She glanced around her. All she saw was the sun setting on an ordinary lake. Other than that, it didn’t look familiar. “Are we near Houston?”

  “Houston?” he spat out. “We’re just outside New Orleans.”

  Sweet heaven. Even with a multiple choice, she wouldn’t have gotten it right. What the heck was she doing here?

  “You honestly don’t remember?” he asked.

  “No.” It was the one answer of which she was certain.

  “All right, let’s try something easy. What’s the date?”

  Again, she tried to concentrate. “Is it June something?”

  He blew out a long breath. “Not quite. It’s August twelfth. Okay. Here’s a question that nobody gets wrong. What’s your name?”

  She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Absolutely nothing. Her mind was a complete blank.

  He stilled, his expression registering more than a little alarm. “You don’t know your own name?”

  She shook her head, trying to will away the dizziness that started to overpower her. “I have no idea.” And she didn’t. No idea whatsoever.

  She was ready to panic, when it occurred to her that this had to be a dream. Yes, a dream. It was the only logical explanation. A full-fledged, mind-blowing nightmare. All she had to do was wake up, and she’d remember everything. Heck, right now she probably wasn’t anywhere near this lake but in her own bed at home.

  Wherever home was.

  She blinked hard several times, trying to force a different scene to appear in front of her, but the nightmare was still there. And so was Gabe Sanchez. He stared at her, his dark, suspicious eyes filled with questions that she knew she couldn’t answer.

  So, with the taste of the muddy lake still in her mouth, she closed her eyes and let the dream take over.

  VOICES WOKE HER. She caught a word here and there, but much of what she heard didn’t make sense. Philip. Frank Templeton. Sanchez.

  Gabe Sanchez.

  The man who saved her. There were at least two other voices: a male and a female. All three used hushed tones, but they seemed to be arguing.

  She forced her eyes open, even though the overhead fluorescent lights made her wince, and pain stabbed through her head. She felt groggy, almost drunk, but she finally managed to see the trio near the doorway. Sanchez, an attractive woman with pinned-up dark hair and a tall blond man.

  The woman and the other man wore business suits in neutral colors. No suit for Sanchez. He had on faded jeans, a plain white T-shirt and a shoulder holster that had a pistol sticking out of it. There was a beeper attached to his belt loop.

  She glanced down at her own clothes. Someone had dressed her in drab green surgical scrubs. And she was on a gurney.

  “I’m not in ICU,” she said to herself. “Or in an emergency room.”

  It looked more like a huge supply closet. There were several metal shelves crammed with boxes. A single window graced the far wall, and the blinds were closed, so she couldn’t tell if it was night or day. Or if it was covered with bars. She was afraid it might have bars.

  “It’s what you have to tell her,” the woman insisted.

  Sanchez shook his head. “I won’t.”

  The woman folded her arms over her chest and tapped her foot. “It wasn’t a request. Now, what part of it didn’t you understand?”

  “The part where you started spouting Justice Department garbage, that’s when, Teresa.”

  “You’d rather have her dead? Because that’s what’ll happen. Heck, it almost did, or have you forgotten that already?”

  “I haven’t forgotten anything. I’m the one who pulled her out of that lake.” Sanchez mumbled something under his breath. Leigh only caught the Jesucristo part. “Hell, she almost died in my arms.”

  She lifted her head off the gurney. “Who are you people?”

  The three rifled their gazes toward her, but they didn’t say anything. She studied each one, trying to interpret their expressions and the snippets of conversation she’d heard.

  She definitely didn’t trust the blond man, and yet she couldn’t say why. The woman was no ally either. She didn’t know what to make of Sanchez, but since he’d saved her from drowning, she would cast her lot with him if it came down to choosing sides.

  It would, she feared, come down to choosing sides.

  “Better yet,” she amended when none of them answered her, “who am I?”

  Gabe Sanchez walked toward her with an almost graceful ease. He was tall, over six feet, and muscular. His biceps strained against the cotton T-shirt. He had chocolate-colored hair that was short and neat. Efficient. Low maintenance.

  When he got closer, she saw that his eyes were a deep blue. They, too, seemed efficient—his gaze swept over her with a minimal amo
unt of effort. However, she had no doubt that he’d just given her the once-over.

  The others trailed behind Sanchez, stopping when he did. They were friends. No, more than that. Or less than that. Maybe much, much less.

  God, why was it so hard to figure out things?

  “You still don’t remember who you are?” Sanchez asked her.

  “No. Why is that? What’s wrong with me?”

  “You took a hard hit on the head. It might take a while for everything to come back.”

  She touched the bandage on her forehead. There was indeed a lump under the gauze swatch, but she hadn’t needed to feel it to know it was there. That was no doubt the source of her vicious headache.

  “I have a concussion?” she asked.

  Sanchez nodded. “And a few stitches in your forehead and on your ankle where the rope abraded your skin. The doctor examined you, but he doesn’t think your memory loss has anything to do with the head injury. In other words, no brain damage. He said it was brought on by emotional trauma.”

  “Disassociative amnesia,” she softly added. “How long will it last?” But she already knew. Like her aversion to the blond man and the woman, she just didn’t know how she knew it.

  It was Sanchez who answered. “The doctor’s not sure. It could be hours. Or days.”

  “Or I might never regain my memory,” she provided.

  She lowered her head and tried to absorb that. She couldn’t. It was impossible to understand anything while her thoughts whirled around like a tornado.

  God, what she was going to do? She didn’t know who she was, not her name, not her age. Nothing. She didn’t know if she was still in danger or if she could trust anyone. She didn’t even know what these people had to do with her.