He put his hand on her cheek and instead only caressed her face. “Get some rest,” he whispered to her before he followed Colton outside.
She watched with Laura as the two men climbed into Colton’s truck and headed off.
“How long have you two been together?” she asked.
Bethany felt her face warm at that question. “We...we’re not in love,” she said, a protest that caused Laura to look at her and chuckle.
“Are you sure? Cause I’ve seen love before and that man loves you.”
She did not want to believe Marcus’s affections for her were so obvious that even a total stranger could see it, but that was the rub. To Marcus, she was the total stranger. Even if she told him today about how they’d met and their whirlwind romance, it would never be the same for them. It couldn’t be. Tears pressed into her eyes and she pushed them back. Maybe if they’d had the time and opportunity to grow their relationship, they might have wound up with a love like the one she saw between Laura and Colton. But they hadn’t. They’d been robbed of their only opportunity for a real relationship.
“Why don’t you go upstairs and get some rest?” Laura suggested gently. “I’ll check on you periodically. I have a feeling that once all the men arrive, it’s going to be a long night.”
She agreed, thankful for the opportunity to retreat to her room and compose herself.
As she stood at the window and looked out at the rolling green fields, she admitted the truth. She was on edge not because of her injuries or her unresolved feelings toward Marcus. She loved him. There, she’d admitted it. She loved him. She only hoped she wasn’t wasting her emotions on a man who’d betrayed his country.
Eight
She waited on the steps of the front porch until the men returned, towing the pickup truck behind Colton’s truck. It was a mess, the cab ceiling crushed from the impact of rolling and the front end damaged. It was amazing to her that neither of them had been seriously injured in that crash.
Marcus walked over and sat once they had it unloaded. He had something in his hand and showed it to her. A small, square box with wires she recognized as a tracking device.
“We found it on the pickup. He couldn’t have known we would take the truck back in Little Falls so he must have planted it in Waco. That’s how he found us.”
She pushed a weary hand through her hair. Chalk up another one for the sniper.
“How are you feeling?”
She sighed, frustrated with the whole situation. “You have to stop worrying about me so much. I’m fine.”
“I can’t help worrying. You’re important to me, Bethany.”
“I don’t want to be important to you.” Although, deep down, she wanted to believe in him, longed to believe in him, and could not even imagine that he was ever so heartless as to do the things she’d thought of him. He was a kind, decent man with a protective nature. She could not have been so wrong about him...could she?
Her mind told her she’d been blinded by emotion and attraction. But she had seen him with his men, she had witnessed him with the locals, playing with the kids and being kind to the townspeople. This was just all so confusing because it wasn’t adding up. Either he was some kind of Jekyll and Hyde personality or something was very wrong about this entire situation. She was beginning to wonder.
“Tell me again about the people who cared for you. What exactly did they say to make you go into hiding?”
He leaned back. “Well, I didn’t speak the language. I knew a few words and phrases and their English was broken at best. It was more the fear that I felt in them. They were frightened when troops came by. It seemed like they were looking for something or someone. The family kept saying, ‘CIA bad. Hide, hide. CIA danger.’ That led me to believe that the CIA was after me for some reason and I couldn’t remember why or what I’d done. I thought my life was in danger, so I did as they told me and I hid.”
“It seems they were right. Someone in the CIA was after you, probably wanting to make certain you hadn’t survived. But you don’t remember seeing anyone?”
He shook his head. “Not anyone I could identify. I heard the threats, though. I heard them threaten to burn down the village if they discovered the villagers were harboring an American fugitive. I thought I was that fugitive they were referring to. I thought I’d done something terrible to have the CIA after me. So I hid. But the not knowing has been eating away at me. I had to know. I knew whatever it was, I had to come and face it.”
Marcus reached out, took her hand and sighed. “I don’t know how to prove to you that I’m not what you think I am,” he declared. “If you’re looking for a pile of evidence that says I’m not involved...well, you may not get that. I’m glad we’re here and I’m hoping for answers, but I also know I may not find them. Eventually you may have to decide either to trust me or not to trust me.”
Bethany shook her head. “I don’t know how to do that.” She wanted to trust Marcus. She wanted to believe that he was not involved in selling secrets to the enemy. But her mind kept floating back to the way she’d been hurt and the rip of betrayals when she’d realized Marcus was still alive.
He stood and forced her to her feet. Her gaze was downcast and she refused to make eye contact. He touched her face, caressing her cheek. “I don’t know how to reassure you. You know me now. You know my heart. I cannot believe that I could do the things you’re accusing me of. I know in my heart I wasn’t a part of it. I couldn’t have been.”
She raised her head and looked at him, wanting to melt into his embrace and wishing she could be as certain. But mostly she wanted to know how he could be so calm when she was terrified about what they might find out when the other rangers arrived.
“I don’t understand how you can have such faith in a God that is leading you to prison and possibly death. Treason still carries the death penalty.”
He took a deep breath and she saw that he was trying to find the words to help her understand. “I made choices in my life, Bethany. It’s those choices that are leading me where I’m going. God didn’t force me to make the decisions I’ve made. He’s only helping me to find out the truth about myself. How can I ever repent if I don’t even know what I’ve done? And, if I did do those terrible things, then those were my choices, not His. I have faith that, no matter what I discover about myself, God can use it for His purpose. That’s all I really know.”
Bethany turned and stomped off. She still did not have the truth of the matter and she needed a clear sign.
He moved toward her and when he wrapped his arms around her, she found herself leaning into his embrace.
“I am scared,” he admitted. “I don’t want to find out I’m a bad guy. I don’t want to know that I’m responsible for costing men their lives. But no matter what I find out, no one can ever say that what I feel for you now isn’t real. I know we had something, Beth, and I know you aren’t ready to go there, but I do care for you. I can’t explain how I’ve only known you a short time and I feel so completely taken by you.”
She closed her eyes, fighting every urge to tell him the truth about their whirlwind romance and how much he’d come to mean to her. Instead she broke from his embrace and went inside.
Alone in her room, she let the tears fall because she still didn’t know if what they’d shared before was real or just a ploy to ply her for government secrets.
* * *
Levi Thompson appeared at the farm first in the early afternoon, several hours before the others were scheduled to arrive. He’d been close by, in New Orleans, meeting with a neurologist he hoped could help him with the debilitating back pains he still suffered from the ambush. Levi had been hurt the worst of the survivors. He was also the man Garrett had pulled to safety instead of Marcus.
Marcus checked the men off one by one, remembering their names and referencing the group photo that hung on Colton’s wall.
<
br /> Matt Ross, the tall and thin commander of the group, now worked for the DEA.
Josh Adams, an easygoing weapons expert, had married the FBI agent who’d taken down a human trafficking ring and rescued his niece from its grasp.
Blake Michaels, the former tactical officer who’d just recently dismantled a corrupt government in Arkansas and recently taken over as its sheriff.
Garrett Lewis, Marcus’s supposed best friend, was the kill-shot sniper who’d rescued his secret son from a kidnapper and pulled Levi Thompson to safety the night of the ambush.
Garrett seemed most shocked by Marcus’s appearance and stared at him in awe for several moments before pushing the others out of the way and pulling Marcus into a bear hug.
“I can’t believe it’s you,” he whispered. “I’m so thankful you’re alive.”
“Yeah, how exactly is that possible?” Matt asked.
“And where have you been all this time?” Blake demanded.
He told them the story, leaving nothing out about his amnesia, including being hunted by a rogue CIA agent and the attack on him and Bethany that had led them to find Colton.
He saw their stunned faces and knew they were all having trouble processing it. Finally, Matt spoke up. “That’s something, Marcus. I wish I could help you, but I didn’t see anything that might clear this up.”
Each of the others shared his sentiments. Only Levi didn’t respond. Marcus looked at him. “What about you, Levi? Did you see something?”
He shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry, Marcus. I thankfully didn’t lose all my memories like you did, but everything from that night and even a couple prior to it are gone. I don’t remember anything that happened.”
Disappointment coursed through Marcus. He had hoped for answers tonight but it seemed no one had any.
“What’s going to happen to you now?” Josh asked him.
Marcus realized he hadn’t really thought that far ahead. “I guess I’ll go back to Langley with Bethany. I’m told the CIA have ways to help me remember.”
“I don’t trust the CIA,” Colton told him. “You may just disappear again.”
He nodded. “I’ve considered that. I don’t really trust them, either, but I trust Bethany. She won’t let anything happen to me.”
“And what if she can’t stop it?” Josh asked.
“Then she’ll find me. She’s already done it once. She’ll find me again.”
“She won’t have to do it alone this time,” Garrett assured him. “We’re not letting you go, either.”
They all nodded, echoing Garrett’s sentiment. The camaraderie he felt for these men was instinctual and it gave him a good feeling of not being on his own anymore.
As the group began to disperse, Garrett pulled Marcus aside. His face was flushed and he looked anxious. “I owe you an apology.”
Marcus saw where this was going. Guilt was eating away at this man. “No, you don’t.”
“I do. I left you there. I had you in my sights, Marcus. I could have sworn you were gone. You were so still and lifeless. Maybe if I’d gotten closer to you, it would have made a difference...”
“You did what you thought was right,” Marcus told him gruffly. “I don’t blame you. If you’d acted differently then Levi might have been the one to die that night.”
Garrett raked a hand through his hair. “I just can’t get over it. You lost two years of your life. I feel responsible. And, Bethany, I should have known she would be the one to find you. That lady was always a spitfire. She really fell hard for you, Marcus.”
Marcus grabbed hold of his meaning and stood. “What do you mean?”
“The two of you hardly spent a moment apart that you weren’t working or sleeping.”
He slid back down to his seat as Garrett’s words sank in to him. He and Bethany had been together, after all. Why had she denied it for so long?
Because you hurt her, that’s why.
He rubbed his face then thanked Garrett and walked away. He had to talk to her now before he lost his nerve or let one more moment pass without sweeping her into his arms and telling her how much he cared for her.
He found her in the barn. She had set up a target and was practicing with the gun she’d gotten from Colton. Just as he’d thought, she was having trouble with that shoulder. He walked up and grabbed her from behind, spinning her to face him.
“You really shouldn’t sneak up on someone brandishing a firearm,” she told him, her voice choked and her breath thready as he closed the distance between them.
“Even if I really need to kiss you and I can’t wait another moment to do it?”
She stared at him dumbfounded. Finally she dropped the gun. “Oh, then, yeah, that’s okay.”
He swept her into his arms, his lips finding hers in a kiss that seemed to reverberate through his memories like a tidal wave.
She pulled away from him, her heart pounding so hard he could feel it against his chest “You found the photograph on your phone?”
He shook his head, unsure of what she was referring to. “What photograph? What phone?”
Her face flushed, but she shook her head and pulled him close. “Never mind that. Kiss me again.”
He couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face at her command. “Yes, ma’am.”
* * *
I have the answers you seek. Meet me in the barn.
Marcus found the note lying on his bed when he went upstairs. The memory of that kiss and the way Bethany had responded to him had been on his mind all night and he hadn’t even been able to concentrate on the stories his teammates were sharing.
Excitement bubbled up inside him at finding the note. He didn’t recognize the handwriting, but he was thrilled at the prospect that someone in the house had answers for him. But why all the secrecy? Why didn’t they just come out and tell him the truth?
He slipped on his jacket and walked down the stairs. Hearing laughter, he smiled, recognizing Bethany’s laughter in the mix as she sat at the table and listened to the stories. She was becoming so important to him and he was happy she was having moments of joy in a dire situation.
He kept walking and headed outside to the barn. A part of him knew he should tell Bethany about finding the note, but he’d hesitated before making the decision to go without her. It wasn’t that he wanted to intentionally deceive her; he was just scared of what he might learn when he met the note writer. The secret nature of it made him nervous. Was he about to hear something about himself he wouldn’t like? Was it possible this mystery person was about to confirm his worst fears—that he wasn’t good enough for someone like Bethany?
The thought that this might be a trap by the sniper briefly ran through his mind, causing him to wonder if he should bring a gun. He chose not to, deciding it was unlikely the sniper could get that note into the house with everyone around without being seen. Someone already here must have left it for him, someone who knew what had happened to him the night of the ambush.
He drew a deep breath then walked inside the barn. “Hello?” he called when no one appeared. He heard nothing but the sounds of the animals in the stalls. He reached out and stroked a horse’s nose. “Who’s here, girl? I know you didn’t write that note, did you?”
The horse whinnied and Marcus stroked her again.
“I wrote it.”
Marcus turned at the sound of the voice. He didn’t recognize it and, when he turned, he didn’t know the man who appeared from behind a corner, either.
The guy was shorter than Marcus, but fit. His short hair was slicked back and shone as much as his pressed slacks and shiny shoes. He removed the sunglasses from his face.
Marcus searched his brain for some slither of recognition but there was nothing. “Who are you?” he asked, moving away from the horse.
“My name is Dillon Montgomery. I�
��m a Special Agent with the CIA, covert operations.”
The CIA? Had Bethany finally given up on letting him discover the truth about himself and called in reinforcements to bring him in? He could not blame her after all they’d been through. But if she’d thought he would run, she was wrong. He had made her a promise to go in freely if his quest for answers didn’t pan out and he intended to keep his word.
“How did you know where to find me? And why haven’t I seen you here before?”
“It’s part of my job to get in and out of places unnoticed. As for how I knew where you were, I’ve been following Bethany’s investigation. What happened to you, Marcus? We all thought you’d died in the ambush.”
“So I’ve heard. How do you know me?”
“We worked together overseas,” Dillon answered.
“Did I handle protection for you?”
He chuckled. “No, nothing like that. You were doing work for me, actually.”
“What kind of work?” Marcus demanded.
“You were in a dangerous job and not making a lot of money doing it. I helped you out in that aspect.”
He didn’t like the dodgy way Dillon was avoiding coming right out and telling him how they knew one another. “How exactly did you do that?”
“You see, I have this operation going. You and others like you tell me things about certain operations and in return you’re well compensated.”
Marcus’s heart dropped. Dillon was the rogue agent Bethany’s boss had warned her about. The one recruiting US soldiers to sell secrets to the enemy. Now Dillon was telling Marcus that he was one of those soldiers. Dread trickled through him. He was a traitor. He’d betrayed his country, sold secrets to the enemy. He was the worst of the worst. No wonder he’d tried so hard to run away from his past. He rubbed his head, wishing he could go back and un-learn this about himself.
“I’m a traitor.”
“Don’t get so caught up in labels. You’re doing your duty fighting for your country and, in return, the big wigs of America are getting filthy, stinking rich off this war against terror.” Dillon smirked. “Why shouldn’t the men and women on the front lines who are carrying the weight of the fighting get something, too? It’s only fair. I’m only trying to level the playing field.”
Mission--Memory Recall Page 12
