Under the Sheriff's Protection

“Her name is Ellie Martin,” Dallas started, but his explanation ground to a quick halt as Rico shook his head.

“Then she lied about that, too.” Rico cursed and shut the door. There were people milling around so he led Dallas up the hall to talk in private. “She’s my estranged wife, and her name is Gina Blake Geary.”

Now it was Dallas’s turn to curse. “Well, whatever her name is, she’s supposed to testify against a real badass, Melvin Bowman. He’s on bail now, awaiting trial.”

Rico recognized the name. The guy was a big-time money launderer. “How the devil did Gina get mixed up with the likes of Bowman?”

“According to the FBI, she was working for Bowman at his investment company in San Antonio. She and two of her coworkers uncovered proof of his dirty dealings, and they went to the FBI. They were put in witness protection with the marshals four days ago.”

He thought of the murder victims and Gina’s head injury. That knot in Rico’s gut tightened even more. “What went wrong? Why’d the protection fail?”

“We’re not sure. Someone tasered the marshal that was guarding them, and all three witnesses disappeared from the safe house where we had them stashed. We didn’t have any idea where they were until the two bodies turned up.” Dallas paused, met Rico’s gaze. “Your estranged wife is now our best shot at finding the killer and getting Bowman convicted.”

Great. Not only was Gina back in his town, she’d brought a killer with her.

“You’ll talk to her?” Dallas asked.

“Yeah. I’ll talk to her.” Though she might not talk back. If Gina truly had amnesia, she wouldn’t even remember him. And if she was faking, then remembering him might cause her to clam up.

Rico made his way back down the hall, stopping outside Gina’s door and to pull in a deep breath. The kind of breath a man took before jumping into the middle of a fight he knew he was going to lose. He threw open the door, his attention zooming right to her bed.

Hell.

There was no sign of Dr. Landry. No sign of Gina, either. The room was empty.

Chapter Four (#u94ceb5bd-3590-5ad1-af2a-209eaebe8fce)

Gina tried not to give in to the dizziness and the pain as she followed the hall to the rear exit. She’d gotten lucky when the doctor left her alone. Luckier still that Rico had been in such deep conversation with the marshal that he hadn’t noticed her leaving. If she was really lucky, he’d keep on not noticing, because she had to get out of here fast.

The killer could come back for her and finish what he’d started.

She hurried, but tried not to draw attention to herself. Hard to do since she was wearing a hospital gown with a blanket wrapped around her like a crusader’s cape.

Each step was an effort. And a triumph. But Gina didn’t cheer when she finally made it to the door and outside. The February wind had a bite to it. She ducked behind a van and tried to gather her thoughts and breath. Not easy to do with a tornado going on in her head and the bitter wind swiping at her.

She had no money, no car and no ID, and it’d be dark soon. Basically, she was screwed. Maybe if she could make it to a pay phone she could call a friend to come and get her. After that…well, her head hurt too much to think beyond getting out of Maverick Springs. But she’d need to find a safe place to hide out from the killer.

Gina peered around the van. Didn’t see anyone, but she did spot a convenience store just on the other side of the parking lot. If it didn’t have a pay phone, maybe the clerk would let her borrow the store’s phone. She clutched the blanket around her, trying to make it look more like a coat, and she darted out from the van.

She didn’t get far.

A man stepped in front of her, catching her arms. Just like that, the nightmarish memories crashed in. Memories of another fight she’d nearly lost.

Gina didn’t think. She just fought and kicked him so she could get away.

“Stop it,” he snarled.

Her hazy brain hadn’t immediately signaled to her that this was Rico, but the voice did. Gina went still and stared up at him. “You’re the sheriff, right?” Gina said, remembering that she was supposed to have amnesia.

His left eyebrow lifted. “Well, I’m not the tooth fairy. Give it up, Gina, this memory loss thing is all an act.”

Uh-oh. Time to go on the offensive and figure out how to get away from him.

“You said I was your wife, but obviously you haven’t seen me in a while.” Four years and two months. Gina could probably come up with the days and hours if pressed. “If we were really married as you say, why aren’t we divorced?”

His jaw muscles went to war with each other. “That was supposed to be the plan. You filed for a divorce and sent me the papers, but my place burned to the ground before I could file them. Couldn’t find you after that to redo them.”

Not being able to find her wasn’t an accident. When she’d left him, she’d changed her name so he couldn’t track her down. Of course, here she was right back in front of him again. And still married to him.

Gina shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember you.”

He mumbled some ripe profanity, and that was the only warning she got before Rico slid his hand around the back of her neck, hauled her to him and kissed her. Not a chaste peck. Not this. It was a full dose of his clever mouth that knew exactly how to set her on fire.

That kiss brought back all the memories. Of the party in San Antonio where they’d met nearly five years ago. Maybe it hadn’t been love at first sight, but it’d been close to it. Lust at first sight, for sure. Gina hadn’t been able to resist him, and it’d resulted in a fast and furious courtship, followed by an equally fast and furious trip to the Justice of the Peace less than a month later.

Gina tried not to react to this latest kiss. But she would have had an easier time giving up oxygen, and it didn’t take long for her to surrender and melt against him. And she couldn’t stop that little sound of pleasure that rumbled in her throat.