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Deadly Memories

Page 55

by Laura Scott

Doc knew Fiona was hanging on by a thread. Seeing what was left of her wrecked car, he was amazed she’d escaped in the first place.

And that she’d made it long enough to reach his cabin.

He had to admit it certainly seemed as if God had guided her to safety.

“Let’s go.” Rex glanced at him, then at Fiona as they walked back to his car. There was something his boss wanted to discuss but would clearly rather do that in private.

He nodded and opened the rear passenger-side door for Fiona. “Try to get some sleep, okay? Maybe more of your memories will return.”

“That hasn’t worked so far,” she grumbled, sliding into the back seat.

“You’re making progress.” He was encouraged by the fact that she’d recognized her car the moment she saw it. It was possible she’d have a similar reaction to seeing her father’s farm. The website photos hadn’t helped, but maybe she needed to see a particular place. A location where she’d witnessed something bad enough to send her running.

Had she been trying to get to the closest police department? Maybe the smaller police department in Winchester? He could imagine her heading that way, only to notice she was being followed.

Although if that was the case, why not drive to the police station where the cops would protect her?

That part didn’t make sense, unless she was concerned her father’s wealth and standing in the community would cause the police to scoff at her allegations.

Yeah, maybe she decided to avoid going there at the last minute. No matter which way he looked at the possible scenarios, all roads led straight back to Liam Murphy.

It wouldn’t be easy for Fiona to turn her father over to the police. Yet he also sensed that she had already reconciled with the need to do just that.

Fiona was stronger than she gave herself credit for. If not for her amnesia, they’d already have a plan to arrest her father.

Without knowing for sure her father was the one behind this—in all fairness, it could have been the work of one or more of Liam’s employees—they would have to search for evidence to support their theory.

Rex turned around and drove toward Winchester. Then he turned off the road that led to Fiona’s crashed SUV and found a deserted place to park. After killing the engine, Rex lowered the back of his seat halfway.

Doc glanced back at Fiona. “Stretch out and get some rest. We’ll wake you in a couple of hours.”

“I’ll try.” She didn’t sound enthusiastic about the probability of falling asleep under these conditions, yet she unlatched her seatbelt and lay across the back seat, bending her knees to her chest.

Doc reclined his seat, too, and closed his eyes. The silence was only broken by the chirp of crickets and the belch of a bullfrog. He knew Rex was hoping Fiona would rest so they could talk privately.

A combat nap would be nice too. Doc hadn’t gotten much sleep over the past two days. Rex had driven over six hours to get to Lexington, but he imagined his boss was more rested than he was.

Doc must have slept because he awoke to Rex jostling his arm. Blinking, he turned to look at his boss. Rex jerked his thumb to the back seat, and Doc understood Fiona’s deep, even breathing indicated she’d fallen asleep too.

“What are you thinking?” Doc asked in a whisper. “Do you have reservations about heading to the farm?”

“Plenty of them, but I’m primarily worried about Fiona.” Rex’s voice was low, and a quick glance behind him indicated Fiona’s breathing hadn’t changed. “If she remembers her father doing something awful, she’s likely to react badly.”

Doc considered that for a moment. “Maybe. But I think she’s already prepared herself for the worst.”

“I hope so. But we need to take precautions.” Rex’s expression was grim. “We may want to have her stay in the car.”

“She won’t do that.” Doc knew there was nothing on earth that would keep Fiona from going with them. “Besides, we need her memory to return. Especially if we don’t find an obvious crime scene.”

Rex scowled. “Maybe we should call some teammates for additional help.”

“Are any of them close enough to get here by morning?” Doubt laced his tone. Aside from him and Rex, the rest of the team consisted of those recently married, Grady, Micah, Cam, and Di. Those who were still footloose and more likely to be able to drop everything at a moment’s notice consisted of Zander, Stone, Teagan, Houston, Theo, and Nolan. “The closest is probably Zander. He was in living in Memphis last I heard.”

“Yeah. That’s probably another six to seven hours away.” Rex shrugged. “Might still be worth it to wait.”

“No. We can’t live in your car for that length of time.” He peered at his boss through the darkness. “What’s really bothering you? We’ve been outnumbered before. I trust our military training over a bunch of guys on a horse farm any day.”

“I’m used to having more intel before making a breach,” Rex said. “But you’re right. We can’t wait for Zander or any of the others to get here. Even if Grady and Lauren happen to be in Chicago for the summer, she’s due to deliver her baby very soon, and I wouldn’t want to pull Grady away.”