taking her to my ranch,” Ryder said, daring either one of them to argue. “My mother happens to be a retired ER nurse.”
“How convenient,” the doctor quipped. He looked down at Emma. “Do you want this man to take you away from me?”
“More than you’ll ever know,” Emma replied. “But he could have cleared it with me first.”
Since Emma insisted she was leaving with or without the doctor’s release, the hospital signed her out and Ryder followed her wheelchair. The orderly pushing Emma’s chair had been handpicked by the doctor, and Ryder had two patrol officers flanking them.
They made it to Ryder’s big Chevy without incident, but he kept his gun at the ready until the orderly had helped her into the dark navy truck.
After thanking the nervous hospital attendant, Ryder turned to the two officers. “Thanks. Let me know if you find anything regarding the man we arrested tonight. I’ll be in to question him later.”
“Do you want an escort, Detective?”
“No,” Ryder said. “I’ll be taking the back roads.”
He got inside and glanced over at Emma. She now wore an old gray sweat suit he’d had stashed in the truck. At least the garments were clean, even if she’d had to tie the pants tight and the hoodie hung loose on her. He’d have to find her some more clothes. Meantime, he’d called ahead to warn his mother and sister that they were about to have a houseguest.
“How are you?” he asked once she was settled in.
“I’m having the best time of my life,” she said, her tone solid deadpan, her hands hidden under the cuffs of the hoodie. “Life in Dallas is so much fun I can hardly contain myself.”
Ryder cranked the big truck and the motor roared to life. Her sarcasm matched his own to perfection, which made his frown dig deeper into his bones. “Well, you’re about to leave the city for a while. You can rest and heal in a secluded, safe place.”
“I appreciate being sprung,” she said, “but I don’t intend to rest. Do you have Wi-Fi and modern communications?”
“No, we get by with soup cans wired together and yodeling across the woods.”
“Funny.” She stared out the truck window. “They’ll keep coming. Someone wants me out of the way.”
“Well, I’ll keep pushing right back,” he replied. “We can sit down together tomorrow and try to figure this out, Emma. But you can’t go out there without having a plan and a sense of what you’re getting yourself into.”
“I can’t remember what I’m into, Ryder. It’s frustrating.”
Ryder wanted to reach out to her but knew better. He had to convince her not to run. She’d do it. He could see it in her eyes. “I’ll help you. Whatever you stumbled into surely has something to do with my case. It might even give us the break we need.”
“Whatever I can do to help. Lose my memory. Regain my memory. Badger you. Pray. Rant. Get back at it.”
“Hey,” he said, touching her arm. “Hey, do not do that. They’ll kill you. They’ve already tried three times now. And you dead won’t save whoever you’re trying to help.”
Emma gave him a hard stare and winced as she shook her head. “I’m well aware of that, so why would I want to put your family in danger, too?”
“My family will be okay, trust me.”
Had she picked up on the panic in his voice and misread it? Well, he couldn’t protect her if she went rogue on him. And he couldn’t solve his case if she got in his way.
But Ryder knew his concerns stretched a little further than just duty. He kind of had a thing for her. She was tough and pretty in a striking way and she knew her stuff—or at least she knew the ins and outs of life on the streets and dealing with criminals. She’d fought against two of the meanest lowlifes in Dallas. He liked the entire package, but he wanted to get to know the woman inside that tough package. That unexplainable need shook him up more than anything else that had happened over the last few days.
Yeah, he had a thing for a woman who couldn’t remember why she was here or why someone would want her gone. And he was taking that woman home to his ranch.
There were all kinds of wrongs in that scenario.
But only one right. He didn’t have a choice. He wouldn’t toss her out there to the wolves.
“You aren’t sure about this, are you?” she asked when he didn’t say anything else, her hair falling all around her face in an auburn cascade.
“I’m sure of one thing. I wasn’t about to leave you in that hospital. Now quit trying to outsmart me. You won’t win.”
“Sure of yourself, too, aren’t you?”
“I told you, what I’m doing is the right thing for now. You can’t do this alone. I’m in it all the way.”
“I’m not too happy about that.”
“Well, you can turn that pretty frown upside down. You’ll be safe at the ranch. I have workers who carry weapons for all kinds of protection and...I have a mama who can pack some heat, too. Pretty sure my sister’s had enough target practice to take down a longhorn if need be.”
She absorbed that. “And then there’s you.”
“And then there’s me, yes. I’ll be right there with you. Until we’re done.”
Emma pushed at her hair. The bandage on her head had been changed to a smaller one, and she’d passed most of the tests the doctor wanted her to pass. She was full of stubbornness, which meant she wouldn’t back down until she found the truth.
They had that in common. Ryder figured they had a lot more in common, too. But he didn’t have time to explore such things. He wanted the truth before he made any stupid moves.
He had a feeling once the dam on her memories opened up she’d take off like a jackrabbit. And he might not ever see her again. Dead or alive.
He wanted her alive. So they could have that not-gonna-happen date that he wanted to happen.
Emma didn’t say anything else. She leaned against the glass of the passenger-side window and watched the road.
She was mapping the road signs. He’d do the same if someone was taking him to a strange place.
He only hoped she didn’t map her way off the ranch without him. That could become her last trip, and then they’d never have the answers they needed.
Emma squinted into the dark, tired from the drive and wondering why she didn’t have any energy. But it had already been three days since she’d been hit over the head and left for dead in that alley. Trying to focus on the glowing interstate signs only
