When Lightning Strikes

“I can’t just turn this lady over to people I’m not sure about—not until I know how those muscle boys found us. I can’t take her to the Farmington police either, because the minute they hear about the theft and her supposed attack on her uncle, they’d have to take action. And if they think she’s dangerous, she could end up in a psychiatric ward someplace and possibly in more danger from whoever’s after her. Besides, our clients specifically wanted to avoid the police. I figure that the best thing I can do is keep her out of sight until I can get to the bottom of this.”

Silentman said nothing for several moments, then finally spoke. “Okay. It’s your call. Just remember, she may be unstable, so her word isn’t worth much.”

“Understood,” Daniel said.

“The hours that she claims not to remember probably hold the key to what’s really going on,” Silentman said. “Her uncle can’t help us fill in any more details on that, other than with his own suppositions, so start with the last thing she remembers doing and try to trace her steps from there. In the meantime, let me do a full background check on Hannah Jones. And get me a description of the man who supposedly abducted her. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

Daniel returned to the car and found Hannah playing tug-of-war with Wolf, using her seat belt. It took him a moment to register what he was seeing. He’d tried to play tug-of-war with the massive animal once, but Wolf had shaken the knotted rope and nearly yanked him off his feet, making it clear that he played to win. Yet, with Hannah it appeared Wolf was going out of his way to be gentle.

“Back seat,” Daniel ordered Wolf, and the dog jumped through the gap. If Hannah Jones could even get the dog to soften his style for her, the woman was trouble.

“I need to know what you’ve decided,” she said, her voice calm, but firm. “I don’t like dragging anyone into my business, or depending on strangers. Unfortunately, I’m in trouble and I could use your help—but only if you’re truthful. I’m not interested in lies, no matter what the reason.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, his tone guarded.

“I know who you are and Lightning isn’t your name.”

Daniel studied her, saying nothing. She had guts, he had to give her that. She confronted things squarely. “Who do you think I am?”

“Your name is Daniel Eagle, you’re thirty-two years old, and you’re an investigator for Gray Wolf Investigations.”

He checked for his wallet. It was still in his hip pocket. “Okay. And how do you know all that?”

She gestured to the glove compartment. “I looked in there while you were talking. This car is registered to the agency, but it’s leased to you. The agreement is there on a piece of paper inside the owner’s manual.” She didn’t give him a chance to comment. “I’ve heard of your firm, and I know it’s supposed to be one of the best. But I’ve also heard that Gray Wolf doesn’t always play by the rules.”

“I apologize for underestimating you, Hannah. I should have kept the papers in my wallet, I guess.”

“I may have a blank in my memory, but I’ve still got a brain. I know I’m in trouble, and my life is probably hanging by a thread, but I don’t know why. I could sure use an ally, but the next move is yours. Are you my friend or my enemy?”

He considered trying to placate her with soothing, comforting words, but decided the truth would be better all the way around. Telling her a lie now would only complicate things if the truth came out later. “I’m not sure yet, but I’ll tell you this—I won’t turn you over to anyone until I’m certain who the victim really is in all this.”

“Fair enough.”

Daniel pulled back onto the highway and continued east, still trying to make up his mind about Hannah. The bits and pieces he knew about her refused to fit into one neat package. On one side there was the innocent beauty who wore panties decorated with mice—the woman whose sense of loyalty had kept her from running away in the face of danger while others fought on her behalf.

Then, there was the other side of Hannah. If the reports he’d been given were accurate, he was dealing with a woman who had a history of psychiatric disorders and was capable of bashing her closest relative on the skull, stealing a church’s money, then going into hiding.

Daniel glanced over at Hannah again, noting the bump and discoloration just beneath her bangs. He needed to take things one step at a time. “Our next stop is a free clinic I know of in Farmington.”

“I can’t go there. What if the people after me have places like that staked out?”

“I doubt they have the resources to cover a large area. The two back there weren’t high-priced talent. I figure they’ll be watching your house, and maybe places where you work. Widening the search beyond that would take a lot of manpower. Besides, we need to check out that bump on your head and see if that’s the reason your memory’s been impaired. I promise you’ll be safe. There’s a doctor at the clinic who’s on the agency’s payroll and who has worked with us before on sensitive cases when we’ve needed him. He’ll keep our visit quiet and check out that bruise to make sure you don’t have a concussion or something serious, and then we’ll talk.”

“I hate doctors and I hate hospitals. This isn’t necessary.”

“It is to me,” he said flatly. “You took a blow to the head, based on that bruise, and you’re going to see a doctor. No argument.”

“That’s what you think. Stop the car.”

He glanced over at her.

“Stop the car,” she repeated. “I’m not going another mile until you listen to me.” When he didn’t respond, she started to open the car door, but he reached over to her and grasped her arm. She kept her free hand on the door handle. “Slow down and park, or we’re both going to be statistics to the highway department.”

He wasn’t sure if she was bluffing or not, but he couldn’t keep her steady and in the car while he was still at the wheel. Muttering a curse, he pulled over to the shoulder of the road and stopped. “What the hell are you trying to do?”

“You’ve seen what I’m up against, Daniel. Sure I took a blow to my head, and there are things I don’t remember, but fear and my instinct to survive tell me that there are certain things I have to do. I need an ally, but one who’s really on my side. From what I can see, you’re not certain which side you’re on and that scares the daylights out of me. And nobody I’m unsure of is going to order me around.”

She started to get out of the car, but he reached for her arm, stopping her.

She jerked free. “I don’t care if you can fight like a martial artist, Daniel. No one has the right to manhandle me either.”

“I can’t let you go, Hannah. It’s my job to make sure you remain safe and that’s exactly what I intend to do. I’m going to protect you, even from yourself.”

“I’m not crazy,” she said, her voice trembling. “I won’t be treated as if I can’t make my own decisions.”

“In this case, you can’t. I have a lot more experience in these matters than you have. You’ll have to play by my rules.”

“And your rules are to force whatever you want on me?” Tears filled her eyes.

Seeing it, Daniel groaned. Now he felt like a heel for not having taken the time to treat her with more care. He smoothed his palm across her cheek. “I’ve been too hard on you. I should have taken more time to explain things. Don’t be upset. I really am trying to protect you.”

He saw her trying to manage a smile, and pieces of the armor he’d always kept around his heart broke off, dissolving as if they’d never been. “I’m really sorry.”

“Your apology is accepted,” she said quietly.

As he looked at her, he felt himself drowning in her gaze. His heart hammered in his chest and he ached with the need to kiss her.

He glanced away. This woman made him feel all soft and crazy inside. What the hell did he think he was doing?

“I really think you need to get that bump checked out, if you expect to make it through the next few days. Concussions are serious, Hannah. What kind of protection would I be giving you if I saved you from those guys back there, then let you get hurt even more seriously because I didn’t follow up on an injury.”

“All right. At least I know why you’re so intent on doing this. But they won’t find anything wrong.”

“Then that’ll be good news we can both live with.”

Being with Hannah was like working with nitroglycerine—there was an undeniable excitement about it, but if you got overconfident, or made the wrong move, it could spell disaster. Daniel couldn’t be sure of her, and to trust the woman could prove to be a lethal mistake. Yet, despite all that, he liked having her with him.

The plain truth was that he couldn’t remember ever being around a woman who fascinated him as much as Hannah did. She was an enigma hidden in beautiful packaging. But he would have been a fool not to realize how dangerous that made her to him. His attraction to her was already undermining the control he always exerted over himself and his emotions. That fact alone made him uneasy and guarded. An investigator needed to know himself and depend on his reactions. Without that, he was headed for trouble.

IT TOOK LESS THAN AN HOUR to reach the free clinic in Farmington. He parked in the small graveled lot, and walked inside with Hannah, guarding her back with his body. He’d left the windows down in the SUV for Wolf, knowing that with him inside the vehicle, there was no danger of a break-in, even in this poor neighborhood.

As they walked inside, Daniel saw the waiting room was nearly empty. As soon as he identified himself to the nurse at the desk, they were shown to an empty examining room.

“Do you plan to stay in here with me?” Hannah asked irately.

Daniel considered it. “I’ll give you some privacy once the doctor gets here, but I’ll be right outside in the hall.”

A short time later, the doctor came into the room. Hannah didn’t recognize him, and he apparently had no idea who she was either.