which has me worried.” Griffin vacillated, but he needed to know what was going on. “If you want to ensure her safety, you need to find out where your leak is.”
“I can assure you there is no leak—”
“I’m sorry, Agent Hill, but two of your agents were just murdered and your witness barely escaped with her life.”
“And we are doing everything we can to find out how that happened.”
At the end of the hall, Tory stepped out of the examination room with the doctor.
“I need to go,” the FBI agent said, “but keep me updated.”
Griffin frowned as he hung up. If the FBI didn’t find their leak—or at least admit they had one—keeping Tory safe might prove impossible.
Tory stepped into the clinic hallway with the doctor, wishing he had given her a prescription to restore her memory. Instead he’d told her all she could really do was watch for symptoms and wait for her memories to return. But that was easier said than done. She was tired of fighting to resurrect memories she knew were there but couldn’t find. And scared at how vulnerable that made her feel.
“Deputy O’Callaghan...” The doctor dropped his pen into his front jacket pocket as Griffin walked up to them. “Sorry we took so long, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything.”
“That’s fine,” Griffin said then turned to her. “How are you feeling?”
“While I did hit my head in the accident, the doctor believes my amnesia should resolve itself eventually.”
“That sounds like good news.”
“It is,” Dr. Swanson said. “In the meantime, she’ll feel as if her thoughts and memories are clouded, but clearly they are already slowly returning, which is a good sign. I would, though, like to keep her here overnight for observation—”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Griffin shook his head. “Staying here would make it harder to limit who knows where she is. And the more people who know, the riskier this whole situation becomes.”
Tory felt another wave of panic hit. “Then what am I supposed to do? Is the FBI sending someone else?”
“Because of the storm, they won’t be able to get any agents here for at least forty-eight hours. They’ve asked me to ensure your safety until they get here.”
She worked to process the news. If trained FBI agents hadn’t been able to stop an attack, how was Griffin—a local sheriff’s deputy—supposed to keep her safe? She’d never be able to live with someone else dying trying to protect her.
“This isn’t your case—”
“No,” he said, “but I do have a solution. I want to take you to my family ranch, which is about thirty minutes from town. If we leave now, we should get there before the storm hits.”
She pressed her fingertips against her temples, trying to deal with the fact that once again she was having to trust her life to a stranger. “I don’t know—”
“It’s just a precaution until the storm passes. You’ll be safe there.”
“Will I?” She looked up at him, unconvinced. “Two agents are dead, which means I’d be putting your family at risk. And who’s to say they can’t find me there, too?”
She didn’t want to sound ungrateful, because she wasn’t. But she barely knew this man, and now he wanted to take her to his home to keep her safe? There had to be another option. Surely the roads weren’t that bad yet. If they could get to Denver, there had to be an FBI safe house where she could stay until this nightmare was over. Something that wouldn’t involve him and his family.
“I know this all has to be overwhelming,” Griffin said, “but my job now is to keep you safe. Plus, my mom’s a nurse and she’ll be able to keep an eye on any medical issues.” He turned back to the doctor. “I’m trusting you to keep this situation confidential.”
“You know I will and, with Tory’s permission,” the doctor said, “I can give your mother a call and update her, so she knows exactly what she needs to watch for.”
Tory knew Griffin must have read the doubt in her eyes, along with the fear she couldn’t shake. She might not remember what she’d eaten for breakfast yesterday, but she knew she hated feeling out of control. And that was exactly how she felt right now. But what choice did she have? Someone wanted her dead and she certainly wasn’t in a position to handle this on her own.
“I need you to trust me,” Griffin said.
She shot him a weak smile. “You did save my life once.”
“And I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you stay safe, but we need to leave now. Once the storm hits, I don’t want to be out on these roads.” Griffin caught her gaze, reminding her how she’d become totally dependent on the deputy. “Are you okay with the plan?”
She nodded, despite the fact she wasn’t convinced they were doing the right thing. What if those men tried to come after her again? Deputy O’Callaghan might have saved her once, but she’d seen what those men could do, and he was only one man.
She glanced down the hallway at the six-foot-tall Christmas tree made from blown-up surgical gloves and an IV pole and loneliness surged through her. It was Christmastime and she couldn’t even remember who was waiting for her back home to celebrate the holidays. Surely there were family, friends and maybe even someone special in her life. Why couldn’t she remember?
Griffin hesitated in front of her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She forced a smile. “I will be.”
Because she didn’t have a choice.
“I just need to stop by the sheriff’s office,” Griffin said. “Then we’ll head out of town.”
Twenty minutes later they were driving toward the O’Callaghan ranch that was nestled beneath impressive views of Pikes Peak and the surrounding mountains while the sun slipped toward the horizon in front of them. On any other day, she would be soaking up the beauty of the wintery terrain. Right now, all she wanted to do was to run far away from everything that had happened.
“What are your parents going to say when you bring home a complete stranger?” she asked, breaking the silence between them.
“Trust me, my family won’t think twice about it. It’s definitely not the first time one of us has brought home someone needing a place to stay.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “You make me sound like a stray cat.”
He chuckled. “We’ve taken in a few of those over the years, as well.”
“Funny. Tell me about your family. You said earlier you had brothers.” She needed a distraction.
