Sudden Recall (11 page)

“Yes.”

“Nina...”

“I said don't worry about it.”

“If you think I'm not going to...”

There was a muffled thud, followed by crackling.

A man's voice came on. “I would worry very much.”

Sienna froze in her seat. “Who are you?”

“You should remember.”

His voice made her want to scream. Slam her fist on the window, the dash. Something. There was something about this man that was pure evil. And he wasn't Thomas Loughton.

This was someone much, much worse.

“What do you want?”

Parker glanced at her, so Sienna turned to look out the window. She had to keep her focus.

The man said, “If you don't know at least that much, then I fear there are more problems than I had anticipated.” He sighed, as though she had immensely disappointed him.

“Where's Nina? What did you do to her?”

“Your friend's safety is entirely up to you. Bring me the flash drive in twenty-four hours, and she will go free. The condition she is in will be up to you. Whether she lives or dies is up to you.”

ELEVEN

P
arker debated as he drove whether they should head back to the ranch and turn the whole place upside down looking for the flash drive or keep on heading out of town. Instead, he called the sheriff and asked about local hotels. The sheriff gave him the number of a bed-and-breakfast about six miles up the highway he was on.

He glanced at Sienna. He'd had her repeat for him exactly what the man on the phone said. Since then, she'd descended into silence. He could see the worry for her friend on her face—a friend she didn't even remember.

Parker reached over and held her hand. Sienna's fingers were cool and tense, but she curled them around his and squeezed as though drawing strength from his presence.

The clock was now ticking on them finding the flash drive and trading it for Nina's life. Though that in itself was full of pitfalls. How did they even know the man on the phone intended to follow through with the deal?

“The man on the phone—was it Thomas Loughton?”

Sienna stared out the window. “My reaction to him felt different. Worse.”

He squeezed her hand. She wasn't going to remember by being pressured into it. What she needed...he wasn't sure he knew. The Sienna from two years ago would have fallen back on her faith. Was she doing that now?

Parker pulled up outside the tiny bed-and-breakfast. “Do you want to pray about it?”

She immediately smiled. “Actually, I would.”

She kept a hold on his hand as she bowed her head and prayed for Nina. She'd told him before how she felt about prayer. How it gave her peace and comfort to know she wasn't in control and that she could trust and rely on God. The longer she prayed, the more she relaxed. Her words started to flow easier, as though the weight had been lifted from her.

Did he want that for himself? The part of her so devoted to what she believed had always intrigued him. But if Parker did the same, what would he gain? Would he get the peace she had? He had been angry for a long time. First at his ex-wife, and then—truthfully—at Sienna for standing him up.

If he became a Christian like her, what would he have instead? God wasn't going to make his ex-wife suddenly call and apologize. It didn't happen like that. Or, at least, he was pretty sure that it didn't.

When Sienna lifted her head, she smiled so brightly at him that he couldn't help it. He leaned in and captured her joy with his lips. Sienna softened.

Parker touched her cheek and marveled at how soft it was. She was his complete opposite, and yet there was a strength in her that went all the way to a steel core. She was being tested, a trial-by-fire as it were, and he was glad to be the one with a front row seat. He was seeing her as no one else did, and if he were honest, he'd have to say that he didn't want some other man appreciating her. Parker was the one she should be close to.

Forever.

Too bad she'd already decided that wasn't the case. Maybe this kiss would convince her, but that might take a prayer he wasn't yet prepared to say. God was on her side, so how could Parker argue with that? Maybe they already had some kind of agreement going.

Sienna pulled back, chuckling. “I can feel your thoughts going a mile a minute.”

He shook his head. “Sorry.”

“Don't be. You've been great.” She took a breath and pushed it out. “I feel like I've done nothing but fall apart, and fall apart. Now Nina is in serious danger and I'm stuck here with no clue what to do and no memory.”

“It's late. Why don't you sleep and I'll keep watch? We'll figure this out in the morning when we've given it some space and thought it all through.”

“I'm hoping I'll dream the answer. Or I'll wake up with my memory back.”

Parker smiled at her. “That would work, too.”

He wanted to know how she felt about that kiss. He didn't like it, but doubts crept in. Parker tried to push them away. Just because she wasn't saying anything didn't mean she didn't like it, or that she thought it was no big deal. Her eyes were as warm and soft as her skin, which only made him want to pull her close again.

But there was a world of people out there and, somewhere in it, more than one man determined to get at Sienna. To get their hands on technology that would make America's defenses vulnerable to attack. Parker had lived his whole life serving his country. He wasn't going to quit now just because he was no longer a SEAL. He would do his duty once more, and maybe even get the girl in the process.

At least until she remembered why she left him.

Parker got their bags from the back, took Sienna's hand and walked her inside the bed-and-breakfast. A slender brunette more likely in her late teens than her early twenties, with dark features and lightly tanned skin, greeted them with a warm smile. “Welcome. The sheriff called ahead. Let's get you folks checked in. I gather you've had a long day.”

Sienna chuckled. “You can say that.”

The young woman typed on her computer, taking both their names and Parker's credit card for two rooms with a Jack-and-Jill bathroom between. When she turned to get the key from the rack behind her, a tall figure entered.

Parker resisted the temptation to back up. Even with all he'd seen and done in his career as a SEAL and as a marshal, Parker's instinct was to retreat. This guy was bad news.

The man was huge. Taller than Parker with a leather jacket that looked worn and was molded to his slim torso. Under it was a black T-shirt and black cargo pants. He leaned on the door frame and folded his arms. Parker would guess he was midforties, but he could easily pass for a wide age range so he couldn't be sure. The man had the same dark features as the girl, and his dark hair hung over the tips of his ears.

The girl rolled her eyes. “I don't need help, Dad.”

The man didn't say anything, and he didn't move.

Dismissing him, the girl smiled at Parker and Sienna, then said, “If you'll follow me, I'll show you to your rooms.”

The man in the leather jacket tracked Parker's every step with his eyes, even as Parker hung back and let Sienna follow the young woman. He understood the man's need to protect her, if that's what this was, even as the guy made him uneasy.

He felt the same way about Sienna.

* * *

Sienna sat on the bed, alone in a room decorated in floral pastels and tiny china figurines. On any other day she would have looked around, taking in its beauty. Instead, she rummaged in her purse for her phone. Was that how the mercenaries had found them, through their phones? Let them come. If she had any hope of getting Nina back alive, she needed to keep the only link she had to Nina's kidnapper. It wasn't like she and Parker could throw their phones away and go dark.

Parker.

She could still feel his kiss on her lips, the firm softness which correlated so well to his personality. When he'd kissed her, she had been washed away in it, swept up and overwhelmed by a host of emotions she didn't totally understand. Was she remembering? His kiss had felt comforting in a familiar way and yet full of the excitement of a new relationship at the same time. Her head was still spinning from it all.

Despite what had happened, though, Sienna couldn't let Parker's presence distract her from doing her utmost to remember. He would cloud her judgment until she had all the answers.

For all she knew, she could be married. It wasn't impossible. There were reasons she could surmise as to why—if she had a husband—he hadn't come for her so far. The CIA might have been hiding her in Oregon on purpose. Perhaps they'd faked her death.

Sienna could have a child somewhere who didn't know where she was or even that she was alive.

She bowed her head, overwhelmed.
Father God, I don't have any answers. Help me find them. Show me the way.

For the sake of her sanity, she couldn't let anything happen between them. Just in case Parker wasn't the man God had created to be her forever love. She believed that was true. She hoped that God might choose to bless her that way. But until she remembered everything, she couldn't be sure that it was Parker who God had brought into her life for that reason.

Taking a deep breath, Sienna called Karen. The woman was involved in her past, and Sienna would be surprised if she wasn't aware of what was happening now. Maybe she could help them or at least tell Sienna something that would point her in the right direction.

Karen picked up the phone. “Yes?”

“I'm still alive, in case you were curious.” It had been more than a day, and Karen had always kept close tabs on Sienna. They were never too far apart, even if Sienna had to go into town or if Karen had a meeting. Until now. And the only thing that had changed was that Sienna now knew she was CIA.

“You think I don't care about your well-being?”

She honestly didn't know if Karen did or not. How good of an actor was her former handler? They'd had some kind of relationship before Sienna lost her memory. Friends. Adversaries. Boss/employee. She didn't know what kind.

Karen huffed. “Did you find the flash drive yet?”

Sienna explained what had happened that day, all the while saying a prayer that Karen wouldn't turn around and somehow use the information against them. “He wants the flash drive, or he's going to kill Nina.”

“So why are you sitting around in a bed-and-breakfast instead of looking for it? Or is that where you hid it?”

Her insides froze. Sienna glanced around the room as though Karen could see her, sitting there on the bed. “We're exhausted. Rest is the only way my brain is going to relax enough to let something loose.”

“So you're basically saying that you have no idea where it is.” Karen sighed. “I'm not going to lie. That is very disappointing, Sienna.”

“I have to find it, or Nina will die.”

“Nina can take care of herself.” Karen's voice betrayed no emotion, not even the slightest care for Sienna's friend's safety. “You just worry about getting your memory back and finding that flash drive. I want an identity on who Thomas Loughton intended to sell the flash drive to.”

“That's it? You're not going to offer to help?”

“That SEAL isn't pulling his weight? I figured he'd be all over helping the defenseless woman.”

“Defenseless?” Hot ire rose up in Sienna. “That's not what this is. He's the only one on my side. It's not like you're rushing to my aid. You only care about the result and not whether any of us get hurt in the process.”

“You mean like how I got hurt?”

Was she referring to the drunk driver who had paralyzed her? “I'm not sure what you mean.”

Karen said, “I've given this job everything I had to give. As soon as this mission is done, I'm retiring to the nearest disabled-accessible beach, and I don't want to hear from any of you.”

Apparently there was no love lost between them.

Sienna sighed. One more reason piled on her to find the flash drive. When would enough be enough? She was drowning under everyone's expectations that she would remember. Nina's life was dependent on her. Every time Parker looked at her it was there in his eyes. He needed her to remember him and to remember what they'd shared with each other.

Karen said a curt goodbye and hung up.

Sienna took a quick shower so she didn't stink up the SUV tomorrow and then pulled on her pajamas. She lay in bed while her mind buzzed around every angle of the problem.

Her thoughts drifted.

The air grew hot. Stifling. Each inhale was like taking a breath in a sauna. Sienna gasped.

“Tell me!” His face was red, gnarled with anger. “I will kill you! Don't think I won't!”

Sienna tried to back up, but she hit a wall. The corner of a door frame.

The edge of the wood bit into her back, laying bruises up her spine. He came at her with a knife then. Sienna struggled for breath against the wet heat that passed for air here. When was her backup going to arrive? She wouldn't make it out of here alive if help didn't come. Thomas was going to kill her.

“Tell me where it is, or I slice you up. And when I'm done, that friend of yours is next.”

He knew about Nina? How on earth did he know about Nina? Fear like she had never felt before washed through her, turning her stomach to a roiling mass of sickness.

Should she deny she'd hidden the flash drives? Standing strong against this man was only foolish. He would kill her if she refused to tell him.

The point of his blade pressed the skin under Sienna's chin. His hand was around her neck. Black spots pricked the edges of her vision. His breath was hot on her face. “Tell me where they are.”

Someone pounded on the door.

Sienna gasped for breath.

The knock came again. She pushed back the covers and went to the door of the bathroom. The clock by the bed said 03:45 a.m.

Parker's frown was full of concern. “You okay? I heard you yelling.”

Sienna sagged like a balloon deflating. “I'm fine.”

“Bad dream?”

She trailed to the chair at the desk, turned it and sat. Parker settled on the corner of the bed closest to her. “Wanna talk about it?”

Sienna shook her head. “Thomas Loughton. He was mad, that's all.”

Parker crossed to the desk and reached beyond her to get the shoebox. He dumped the contents on the bed and started to look through.

“Do you really think there's something in there that will send us treasure hunting in the right spot?”

He shrugged one shoulder, his back to her as he peered closely at each item. “Can't hurt to look.”

This was so frustrating. It was like trying to see a pattern with chunks missing out of it. There was absolutely no correlation between the parts she had, even though they were supposed to go together.

Parker handed her the movie stub. The title of the flick was
Kissing Nina
. Sienna had looked it up and found it was a romantic comedy with predominately bad reviews. Had she really sat through it, or had she gone with Nina just to get a laugh over the whole thing and bemoan the state of their love lives?