Forgotten Sins Read online

  She stiffened. The nickname. Shane had discussed her with his brother. What had he said? “Thanks.”

  Matt shook his head. “The badge is authentic. I’d rather not have the connection between Nathan and Shane on the record. Not yet, anyway.”

  “Why not?” Her hand cramped around the gun. She should put the weapon in her purse, but that seemed unwise. Just in case.

  Matt shrugged. Standing, he seemed even taller than Shane, who stood to six foot three.

  She faced Nathan. “You’re really in the FBI?”

  “No.” Nathan grabbed a California driver’s license out of the wallet and studied the plastic.

  “I don’t understand. Why do you have so many fake credentials?” Unease began to make her head pound. Who were these guys?

  Nathan yanked a large handgun from the back of his waistband and tossed the weapon to Matt. “I shouldn’t be armed.”

  Matt placed it on the scarred table holding the rickety television. “We can’t really explain. Shane trusts you, so we’re letting you know this much. But the less you know, the safer Shane is.” He turned to Nathan. “Good luck.”

  Nathan nodded. “I brought a suit—it’s in the car.” With a wink at Josie, he dodged out the door.

  Silence. Alone with Matt, Josie turned to take him in. “So, you’re Mattie.”

  He crossed his arms over a broad chest. “That’s me.”

  “Does Shane love me, or what?”

  * * *

  The smell of the interrogation room set neurons firing in Shane’s brain. Antiseptic. Fear. Blood. He rested his elbows on the hard metal of the bolted-down table, his hands handcuffed before him. In less than a minute, he could have them off.

  The dingy green walls closed in on him, and he again counted the rate of buzzing from the fluorescent light above him. Two cameras were hidden in the ceiling, also emitting a low frequency.

  Memories.

  A room like this. A large man, buzz cut, dead eyes. Telling him if he lost again, he’d go to the other camp. Disappear like those other kids.

  A training field. Hard packed and dusty. Boys, his age, fighting hand to hand. With knives.

  Barracks. Beds for growing boys. His brother Matt teaching him how to block a side attack.

  The door banged open, ripping Shane back to the present. Malloy stepped inside, followed by another man wearing a navy blue suit and bold power tie.

  Malloy tilted his head. “Your lawyer is here, Major Dean.”

  Shane lifted an eyebrow, keeping his face blank. His stomach clenched hard. Memories shot like spikes of glass through his brain. His brother wasn’t a lawyer. But his brother was there.

  His brother brushed past the detective, taking a seat next to Shane. “Whatever my client said without counsel is irrelevant.”

  Malloy snorted, chomping his gum. He reached down and unlocked the cuffs, twirling them in the air. “No worries, counselor. Your client hasn’t uttered one peep since we brought him in three hours ago.” The door clanged shut as he stomped out.

  Shane turned toward the man. The past slammed hard into his gut. His brother. Breathing hurt suddenly. “Nathan.”

  Nathan nodded. “Yes. Nathan Jones, your attorney.” He peered closer. “Major Dean, how’s the head?”

  Memories rippled through Shane’s brain—so many, so fast. Triggered by his brother. He swayed. “Great.” Nathan teaching him to pick a lock. Times they’d spent together growing up, the time he helped Nathan in a knife fight. Blood spraying. For one second Shane wondered if he could trust Nathan. Instinct and memories comingled into a desperate yes. His brothers were the only people he could trust.“Memories filtering in fast.”

  Nathan’s eyes lightened. “Good. Good to know.” He eyed the ceiling. “So. I checked at the desk, and you haven’t been formally processed yet.”

  Shane nodded. That was good considering they’d have to steal his prints back if he had been. His skull pounded as the dam holding his life back released. “I assume it’s a matter of time?”

  “No.” Nathan flipped open a small smartphone to read the screen. “My firm is in touch with the prosecuting attorney’s office. They don’t have a case, and you should be let go soon.”

  “Think so?”

  Nathan shut the phone. “Well, you did save Mr. Marsh and Mrs. Dean from two attackers. You were defending your spouse when you took the gun from Mr. Marsh and were forced to render him unconscious. Temporarily, of course.”

  “Of course.” Flashbacks. Nathan had always been able to spin the bullshit with the best of them. Warmth settled beneath Shane’s rib cage that he remembered his brother. His life was coming back. “Where’s my wife?”

  Nathan pushed back from the table, his hands tapping the arm of the chair. “I’m sorry. I have no knowledge of your wife.”

  Shane counted the taps. Morse code. Josie was safe with Matt.

  Matt?

  Yeah, Matt. His oldest brother, the one who’d taught him to fight. Shane’s breath whooshed out, and he blinked against light-headedness. Tears tried to prick the backs of his eyes. He remembered. He wasn’t alone.

  So he cleared his throat, trying to clear his head. “Yeah, well, I figure she’s about done with me. After this arrest and all.” He relaxed his shoulders and gave a small shrug. The woman had better not even think of being done with him. She was his life, and no way was he letting her go again.

  Nathan narrowed his eyes, stopping his tapping. “Yes, well, that probably would be best. Considering the danger you’ve put her in.”

  If Shane had a “screw you” smile, he gave it to his brother. “Speaking of such, any clue why danger is following me?”

  “No, sorry.” Nathan had a pretty decent “screw you” smile as well. “Of course, I’m just your lawyer. You don’t tell me everything.” The door opened, and he cleared his throat, straightening when a tall woman in a sexy red cocktail dress clicked stilettos across the floor.

  She sat across from them. “Gentlemen.” Her black hair had been swept away from pale skin smattered with freckles. “I’m Cynthia Miller, the prosecuting attorney. The chief of police dragged me out of one hell of a party.”

  Nathan smoothed down his silk tie. “Nathan Jones here for Major Dean. I do apologize, Ms. Miller. Our client here, well, he should be let go. Or charged.” The smile Nathan flashed was all teeth and dare.

  Malloy lumbered in, dropping his bulk into a chair next to the prosecutor. “I have a victim willing to press charges.”

  Nathan tsked his tongue. “You have a spurned lover who was pissed-off my client saved the girl while Marsh ended up on his ass.” He cleared his throat. “Begging your pardon, ma’am.”

  Green eyes flashed. “I know what an ‘ass’ is, Mr. Jones.” Her tone made it perfectly clear she considered him one. She cleared her throat. “I assume the woman is willing to testify?”

  Nathan sat forward. “She’s willing to testify Tom pulled a gun on Shane, who just defended himself. Then she went willingly with him.”

  Cynthia narrowed her gaze on Shane. “Major?”

  He cleared his throat. “The two men I took out meant harm. I didn’t kill them and merely trussed them up for the police.” He pinned Malloy with a hard glare. “Marsh pulled out a gun. Josie was too close to the barrel; I thought she might get hurt. I disarmed him, he struggled, and I knocked him out for a brief time. No damage, not even a bruise.”

  Cynthia sighed. “There’s no case here, Detective.” She stood and glanced at an antique watch around a rather delicate wrist. “Let him go.”

  “But—” Malloy pushed back from the table, his chair scraping across the hard concrete.

  “But nothing.” She opened the door. “You want to take a decorated marine to trial for saving his wife from two attackers and a spurned boyfriend with a gun. If something else comes up, charge him. Right now, there’s nothing here to take to trial. Let him go.”

  Malloy stood, his gaze hard on Shane. “Looks like you lucked out again
, Dean.” He tapped files against his hand. “Leave town. For once, be a decent guy and let that little girl go. She’s better off without you.” His jaw hardened.

  Shane straightened his shoulders and stood. “I’m never letting her go, Malloy.” He pivoted and followed his brother from the room.

  Chapter 17

  Josie fought the urge to thump her head against her desk. Now she had to convince three larger-than-life jackasses she needed to go to work. There was suddenly way too much testosterone in her life.

  The good news was that since Shane had been freed, he could openly bring her to work. No more hiding. Which was good because she disliked lying to her coworkers. But it was bad, because the man sat sprawled in her guest chair, gray eyes focused solely on her.

  “Shane. You need to leave so I can get some work done.” Either that, or toss his sexy ass on the desk and have her way with him. Again.

  He steepled his fingers under his chin. “So. You and Mattie had quite the discussion, I take it?”

  Heat filled her face. “I had some questions.” She leaned forward, her elbows on the desk. “Are you remembering your life?”

  “Yes.” His eyes betrayed nothing. “There are many blanks, but the holes are filling in—though my brothers have some explaining to do.”

  The veiled expression was one she knew well. Apparently the real Shane was returning… the one who couldn’t trust her with reality or with the truth. She bit back a hurt sigh. “They haven’t explained everything?”

  “Not yet. We’re all scrambling right now, but I plan to pin them down soon.”

  She nodded. “Don’t you have a follow-up visit scheduled with the doctors?”

  “No.” He stretched his long legs out and crossed them at the ankles. “What did you talk about with Matt?”

  “I asked him if you loved me and why you left.” She had no doubt Matt had already given Shane the rundown. She had absolutely no reason to lie.

  “I told you I loved you.”

  “You told me a lot of things.”

  He exhaled, giving a short nod of his head. “That I did.”

  “Matt also said you were a bad bet, that all of you were bad bets.” He’d said the statement with sadness and a determined jaw.

  “We are.” Shane stretched his hand, curling the fingers over. “But that doesn’t mean you’re not rolling the dice, angel.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “This time, I’m not letting you go.” His voice remained steady and sure, while his jaw tightened.

  Her heart thumped hard against her rib cage. “Why did you leave me, then? Why did you lie about remaining in the marines?”

  He sighed. “I’m not sure. But I will find out the truth, I promise.”

  Hurt filtered through her skin until her heart ached. “Why couldn’t you trust me? Why couldn’t you just tell me?”

  “I do trust you, and I will tell you as soon as the memories come back.” Determination flashed in those dangerous eyes. Rough cedar and male scented the space. He sighed. “You’re about to become pissed off at me, and before you do, I’d like you to understand I do love you. Have since the second you flashed those baby blues at me.”

  Oh, this so didn’t sound good. “I already am pissed off at you.” She flipped closed the file she’d been pretending to work on. “What do you have to say?”

  He cleared his throat. “I want you to quit your job and move to our, ah, headquarters. Where I can keep you safe.”

  “Where is your headquarters?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  Disbelief had her catching her breath. “You don’t even trust me enough to explain what’s going on, and you want me to pack up and move with you to someplace you won’t reveal?” Anger battled with a temptation she’d never admit out loud. He wanted her with him. How easy would it be to kick reality out of the way and go? “I want to try and trust you, Shane, I really do.” She gripped a pen so tight her knuckles turned white. “But I don’t know you. You won’t let me.” No way was she giving up this life she’d worked so hard to create the last two years. Not without knowing everything.

  “You know what you need to know.” He dropped his elbows to his knees, leaning forward. “You’re everything to me, and I’ll keep you safe. I promise.”

  He didn’t understand. “I don’t want safety.”

  A puzzled frown settled between his eyes. “Sure you do. A woman like you, you need safety. I can provide that now.” He rubbed his chin. “Or I’ll be able to soon.”

  “A woman like me?” Who the hell did he think he married? Sure, she wanted to be safe, but she was no frightened victim.

  “Yes. Soft, smart, sexy.” He licked his lips. “Fragile.”

  Fragile? Not in this lifetime. Where did this distorted perception of women come from? “What was your mother like, Shane?”

  He started. “Ah, I’m pretty sure I didn’t have one.”

  “Like you didn’t have brothers? Or you honestly didn’t have one?” He could evade with the best of them. He grimaced. “No. I kind of remember wanting a mother but not getting one.”

  “Father?”

  “Don’t think so.”

  So that much might be true. He was an orphan like her. “You know your brothers. Who would take in four boys?”

  Shane shook his head. “That’s a tale I’m not ready to tell today.” He placed both palms on her desk. “I will, I promise. Once you’re somewhere safe and I can remember everything.” He frowned. “Some of my past is still so hazy.”

  His memories were returning. When they did, he might leave again. “Do you remember why you left me?” Fire rippled through her blood.

  A matching fire flashed through his eyes. “I’m sorry. I know Jory died around that time. Maybe I left because I didn’t want anything to happen to you. Matt said I went undercover to find out what happened to Jory.”

  So many questions. “How did Jory die?”

  He stretched his neck, exhaling loudly. “We’re still figuring that one out, angel. I went undercover for two years to find out. Unfortunately, the memories of the last two years haven’t come back.”

  “Do you think you found out who killed him?”

  “I assume so, considering someone’s after me. Someone has learned enough about me to bug your house.” He stood and leaned closer, his palms still on the desk. “Matt and I are meeting later to go over the files and try to make sense of the whole situation. Apparently I went so deep I couldn’t make contact, and he doesn’t know much more than I do.” Shane leaned even closer. “But obviously they discovered you, so keeping away is no longer necessary. You’re in danger from whoever is hunting me, and I have a feeling they’d use you to get to me in a heartbeat. I’ll do what’s necessary to keep you safe.”

  What about her heart? He wouldn’t keep that safe. He towered over her. Even with the desk between them, he exuded deadly promise. She shivered. “I refuse to make a decision concerning the rest of my life without all the facts.” She was a CPA for goodness’ sake. What else could he expect?

  “I understand, and I will tell you everything.” He straightened, sliding his hands into the pockets of well-worn jeans. “However, you’ll get to safety first. Like it or not.”

  Fury set up a ringing in her skull. “You try to take me again, and I will press charges for kidnapping.” She jumped to her feet, slapping her hands on her desk and leaning toward him. “I wonder how well you can bother me from a jail cell.”

  His upper lip quirked. “You are so cute when you’re threatening me.”

  The anger zipped through her until she feared her head would explode. “Don’t you dare get condescending with me. I took one jerk to the ground with a well-aimed kick yesterday, I have no problem doing it again.”

  Both eyebrows angled up. “Were you in danger? Who exactly did you need to kick?” Tension tore through the air.

  She cleared her throat, ignoring the ripple of unease filtering through her skin. No way should she back down. D
etective Malloy had already taken Shane away when she knocked Tom’s balls to the roof of his mouth. “I’m not prepared to discuss that with you.” See how he liked not having the proper clearance for the truth.

  He lowered his chin, his eyelids at half-mast. “You want to play games with me, angel?”

  Talk about intimidating. She straightened her posture. “Bring it on, Major.”

  “Not wise, little one.” The smile revealed both a dimple and odd light in his eyes. “I know rules for games you’ve never heard of. I promise.”

  A delicious shiver ran up her back. Only pride kept her in place. “Do you? Interesting.” Something had happened in the two years they’d been separated. Or while his memory had fled. Shane was different. He was finally revealing parts of himself. She’d wanted so badly to know him. All of him. “Where in the world did you learn such games?”

  “Oh, baby,” he breathed out. “Some of the thoughts scattering through my head would scare you spitless.” He shook his head, regret twisting his lips. “You don’t want to challenge me, Josie. You won’t win.”

  Wouldn’t she? The temptation to see where he’d go flirted with her. The sense of danger softened her sex. “What thoughts scatter through your head?”

  “No.” He moistened his lips, and she fought a groan. Then he flipped open his phone, reading the screen. “We’ll finish this discussion later, sweetheart.”

  Why did that sound like a threat? “Think so?”

  His phone snapped shut, his gaze pinning hers. “I guarantee it.” Two strides had him at the door, where he halted as he ran into Vicki. The woman stared up at him, her red-painted mouth open. Shane stepped back.

  Josie fought a snort. “Shane, this is my assistant, Vicki.”

  Vicki stuck out her hand, her eyelashes fluttering rapidly. “You must be the husband.”

  “Yes.” Shane briefly shook hands, sidling around Vicki toward the door, giving the woman a wide berth. Once safely out of reach, he faced Josie over Vicki’s head. “Stay in your building until I get back. I’ll give you the rest of the week to wrap things up here. Then we leave.” He strode away before she could answer.