to admit I’m scared because I don’t know if I can trust you with that admission of weakness. I’m afraid you’ll use it against me.”
“Leigh.” His voice was gruff. Then it changed. It softened. His hand was already on her hair. It was definitely intimate contact, but he didn’t pull away. Gabe figured he would kick himself for it later. “Being scared doesn’t mean you’re weak. It just means you’re scared. And smart. Stupid people are too stupid to be scared. By the way, your middle name is Ann.”
“Ann,” she repeated on a heavy sigh. “It doesn’t even sound familiar.”
Gabe said nothing. He leaned his head against the cool window and listened to the sound of her voice.
“I don’t know what I was. Who I am. You don’t know how frustrating that is.”
Oh yes he did. Gabe knew a lot about frustration. After all, Leigh was right next to him, and more than anything, he wanted to touch her. Maybe even kiss her again. The old wounds stopped him. And the fact she’d probably slap him if he tried to do anything like that. She didn’t know about the old wounds, but that didn’t mean she trusted him.
“I seem to know a little bit about a lot of things,” she continued. “Like I knew the clinical name for my amnesia, but I didn’t know you. What was I, Gabe? And don’t you dare say I worked in a bookstore in Austin, because I know that’s not right.”
He debated telling her since the truth would just create more questions. But without the truth, he didn’t stand of chance of tapping into her mind to find out what had gone wrong.
“You were an FBI agent,” Gabe answered. “The last year you were with the Bureau, you were part of the ERT, the Evidence Response Team.”
“Yes.” She nodded. Paused. And repeated it. “Now, that feels right.”
It should. She’d been one of the best. “You resigned after all of this happened with the corrupt government official.”
She pushed out a deep breath. Of relief, maybe. It didn’t feel much like relief to Gabe. Her warm breath dusted his bare stomach. Not good. Maybe he should have risked roasting and kept his shirt on after all.
He inched slightly away from her. Not that he could inch very far without leaving the truck.
“So, I was working for the FBI and came across evidence against this official? Then what happened?” she asked.
“Things resolved themselves. At least we thought they had.” He shrugged. “And then you disappeared.”
Leigh started to come off the seat, but Gabe laid a hand on her shoulder to stop her. That would put her mouth much to close to his. He couldn’t handle that right now. Best to keep as much distance between their mouths as possible. Another of those husbandly kisses was the last thing either of them needed.
“I think you left because of me,” Gabe said, anticipating her next question. “We’d talked about a divorce.” It was the truth, even though it was something Jinx and Walters had ordered him not to tell her. “It’s late. We should get some—”
“You didn’t know where I was all this time?”
Hell, she just didn’t intend to stop. “Sometimes I knew,” he admitted. “But I couldn’t quite catch up with you.”
“Was I ever in Houston?”
“Probably.” And he made a mental note that it was the second time she’d mentioned that particular city. “You’re originally from Dallas. Why? Do you remember something about Houston?”
“Not really. It’s just a place that keeps coming to mind, but I can’t associate it with anything. Houston might mean nothing.” A moment later, she dismissed it with a wave of her hand. “I have to ask. Considering our marital problems, just how hard did you look for me during the past two years?”
“I looked,” he said defensively. “You’re the one who walked out. You didn’t want anyone to find you.”
“Apparently someone found me,” she pointed out.
“Maybe. Or maybe you had no choice but to be found. Sometimes things play out that way.”
She stared up at him. “What does that mean?”
“It means you need to get some sleep.” Gabe yawned. Not a fake one either. It’d been a hell of a long day, and he was bone-tired. “Who knows? You might wake up tomorrow and remember everything.”
She didn’t disagree, but the little sound she made wasn’t one of hope. Still, at the moment, hope was about the best thing they had going for them.
Hope that Leigh would regain her memory.
Hope that those gunmen would stop following them.
Hope that he could, somehow, keep her alive.
Chapter Five
Leigh awakened slowly, trying to get her bearings before she moved or even opened her eyes. Her bearings, however, were wrapped all around her. She was on the truck seat cradled in a man’s arms. Gabe’s arms. Her face was buried against his neck, and his musky scent surrounded her.
This was not good. Not good at all. That scent went straight through her like a triple shot of whiskey. Not a memory, exactly. More like a feeling that what they were doing was right.
And wrong.
Quickly but not so easily, she unraveled herself from his snug grip so she could get to a sitting position. The moment she moved, Gabe did as well. He came off the seat, reaching for his gun in the same motion.
Their gazes collided. His eyes were still ripe with sleep, and she saw some of the emotions that he’d kept so guarded, so under control the day before. The concern. The stress.
And other things she didn’t even want to explore.
Leigh took a deep breath. Just who was this man that she’d once promised to love forever? She was almost afraid to find out.
Pulling herself away from that naked gaze, and from his partly naked body, Leigh opened the truck door and stepped out, careful not to put direct pressure on her wounded ankle. She made a sweeping glance around the thick cypress woods. The sun was just rising over a misty-topped bayou, and with the exception of a snow-white egret, they were alone.
Completely alone.
“Are you all right?” Gabe asked.
No, she wasn’t. Reality was even harsher in the early-morning light than it had been in the darkness. She was in the middle of a bayou with a man she didn’t know. She had no memory. And someone wanted her dead. Not the best way to start the day. Oh, and she was scared. Add to that a wicked headache and what felt like an overwhelming need for a cup of coffee, and it didn’t seem she had a lot to look forward to.
Leigh leaned against the truck and tried to catch her breath. “So, what happens now?” she asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
With catlike grace, Gabe slid off the
