Her reaction to Sam was so visceral. On every level. Yesterday before she’d met him, she had thought he was a head case that could be a bit out of control, maybe even broken. But then she’d talked to him, seen the terrible scars on his back, the remnants of his agony. When he’d woken from that nightmare, the fear stark on his face, everything in her galvanized into a hard ball of need to help him any way she could.
“He took advantage of that for the sole purpose of murdering my mother.” Sam’s voice broke and she reached out and touched his shoulder. He sidestepped her hand and paced away. “After Mike shot her, I questioned everything I knew.”
He paused and she could see how he was struggling with Mike’s betrayal. Even more surprising was her need to comfort him, but he wasn’t allowing that. She was so happy that Mike Harris had failed. Olivia was a big supporter of Sam’s mother. She thought Kate Winston was a wonderful vice president. Of course, she had voted for her and would vote for her whatever office she was running for. She was one of those no-holds-barred politicians and she told it like it was. But Olivia wasn’t going to gush all of that to Sam. She could only secretly hope there would be an opportunity to meet her.
He set his hands on his hips and faced her squarely. She appreciated his honesty. She didn’t think Sam had anything to hide, really. John was tight-lipped about Sam’s circumstances. Her brother was always aware of his patient’s confidentiality, so Olivia was really in the dark here about Sam. She would have to rely on her own interviewing skills to decipher what was going on with this guy.
“I assume you suspect I had something to do with your brother’s death and that’s the reason for this subterfuge.”
He wasn’t one to pull punches, but she guessed that was true because he was a Ranger and those kinds of guys hit things head-on. There was something unsettled in his eyes, something apprehensive, with just a touch of fear there, too.
“No, going undercover was John’s idea, Sam. He wanted you to be safe, but he didn’t want to break or damage your trust with him. So he asked me to be totally discreet. I got a job at the spa to stay close. But I will admit that after my brother’s murder, the thought had crossed my mind. My brother asked me to follow you for a reason. Now I wonder if it got him killed.”
“You don’t think I killed him?”
“He was concerned about you, Sam. He thought you needed protection. Why would I think such a thing?”
“Because I wasn’t sure. Olivia, I have memory loss and sometimes I black out and do things I don’t remember.”
“You didn’t kill my brother. I don’t believe that.”
“Thank you for that.” He glanced away, then back. “Dr. Owens hired you to protect me?” That made him smile wryly. “Damn, Dr. Owens,” he said, shaking his head. “He thought I needed protection...yet he was the one who suffered for trying to help me.”
“So you think his murder has something to do with you?”
“I don’t know, Olivia. I truly don’t, but it feels like he was...assassinated.”
That jolted her with a sudden fear of who was behind this, but it wasn’t going to get her to back off. There was more here with Sam, but they were just getting started and she would get Sam to open up to her later when he trusted her more. Because now that she was here, she had no intention of leaving until she got to the bottom of her brother’s death and the threat to Sam. Sam was very much alive, and Olivia believed he was in danger.... She knew he was in danger. Walking away from this wasn’t an option. She owed that much to John.
But even with that determination, her stomach knotted. She tried to get detached from her brother’s murder and think like a private investigator, but she couldn’t quite get to that level of objectivity. She said, “What do you mean? The police won’t tell me anything.”
He looked at her as though he didn’t want to go on.
“Tell me, Sam. I can take it. I need to know.”
He crossed back to her and stood close, his voice a low rasp, his teeth clenched. “He was shot in the head. A kill shot that, to me, says professional.”
Her stomach jumped and tumbled. That information was certainly cause for alarm and made it clear why Sam was worried. “Even if that’s the case, I intend to find out who killed my brother.”
He set his jaw and looked past her into the darkened kitchen. “Olivia, you don’t have a clue what you’re up against. I don’t know who could be involved here, but ever since Mike and I were captured and imprisoned, I haven’t trusted my government. Hell, I can’t even trust my own memories. What I have of them.”
“Why don’t you trust them?”
“I’m only telling you to convince you of the folly of pursuing this.” The reluctance in his voice indicated to her that he was clinging to his training and the “need to know” edict that he lived by. What he was telling her must be classified information. “Very few people knew where we were on that mission. It had to have been compromised. I can hardly remember the details, but what I do remember feels like a damn ambush. I don’t trust the army and I don’t trust the CIA, even though they rescued me. I don’t even know if I’m going back, if I can even get my memories back and feel fully functional again.”
Olivia watched his face, saw the way his jaw hardened against the uncertainty of his life, saw the anger in his eyes and the vulnerability that lay beneath it, and her heart ached for him. He was close to her, leaning slightly toward her to make his point. She wanted to cup his jaw, give him some comfort. The memory of her hands on him came back at her with a sizzling jolt, the feel of his hot, slick muscles beneath her palms. She had totally tried to remain cool, but with each stroke of her hands over his skin, she’d lost that impartiality in the heat of him.
It was clear that he was attracted to her, and that gave her a thrill. His blue eyes dipped to her mouth and she shivered at the thought of him leaning in, pressing that mouth against hers, the tactile memory of his body only fueling the sudden need. They stared at each other.
She held his gaze for what felt like an eternity. Then he broke it and stepped back out of her reach, battling with the temptation that only made her heart pound that much harder at the sheer promise of giving in to it.
“I’m sorry for what you went through. I’m sure it was horrible, intense and extremely terrifying,” she said with compassion. “But the fact remains that my brother was murdered and I’m sticking like glue to the man who may be the key to discovering who killed him. I can’t back down. John wouldn’t want me to.” Her voice was a bit unsteady as the emotion and enormity of what she was saying sank in. “I’ve lost my brother and I can’t...won’t abandon my promise to him to protect and help you, Sam.”
“There are some dangerous people out there, and you might be out of your league, he said, clearly exasperated as he ran both hands over his short hair.
The movement only tightened his powerful biceps and drew attention to his face. With his closely cropped hair, his maleness and his striking looks were pronounced, which made his impact on her even more of a gut punch to her senses. She could only marvel at how calm her voice was. “I’m aware of that.” That calmness seemed to set him off. His eyes went a hot blue and he was in her face again. He clasped her upper arm roughly and shook her slightly.
“Dammit, Olivia. I won’t be able to sleep at night knowing you could now be in danger because of me. I can’t bear another innocent death on my hands. If you are going to continue with this investigation against my advice, then you are sticking close to me, rather than blunder into something that will get you killed.”
“Sam, I’m a private investigator, not some innocent woman off the street. I understand the danger and the consequences.”
His eyes narrowed