Читать книгу Undercover Memories - Lenora Worth - Страница 16

Since Emma insisted she was leaving with or without the doctor’s release, the hospital signed her out and Ryder followed her wheelchair. The orderly pushing Emma’s chair had been handpicked by the doctor, and Ryder had two patrol officers flanking them.

They made it to Ryder’s big Chevy without incident, but he kept his gun at the ready until the orderly had helped her into the dark navy truck.

After thanking the nervous hospital attendant, Ryder turned to the two officers. “Thanks. Let me know if you find anything regarding the man we arrested tonight. I’ll be in to question him later.”

“Do you want an escort, Detective?”

“No,” Ryder said. “I’ll be taking the back roads.”

He got inside and glanced over at Emma. She now wore an old gray sweat suit he’d had stashed in the truck. At least the garments were clean, even if she’d had to tie the pants tight and the hoodie hung loose on her. He’d have to find her some more clothes. Meantime, he’d called ahead to warn his mother and sister that they were about to have a houseguest.

“How are you?” he asked once she was settled in.

“I’m having the best time of my life,” she said, her tone solid deadpan, her hands hidden under the cuffs of the hoodie. “Life in Dallas is so much fun I can hardly contain myself.”

Ryder cranked the big truck and the motor roared to life. Her sarcasm matched his own to perfection, which made his frown dig deeper into his bones. “Well, you’re about to leave the city for a while. You can rest and heal in a secluded, safe place.”

“I appreciate being sprung,” she said, “but I don’t intend to rest. Do you have Wi-Fi and modern communications?”

“No, we get by with soup cans wired together and yodeling across the woods.”

“Funny.” She stared out the truck window. “They’ll keep coming. Someone wants me out of the way.”

“Well, I’ll keep pushing right back,” he replied. “We can sit down together tomorrow and try to figure this out, Emma. But you can’t go out there without having a plan and a sense of what you’re getting yourself into.”

“I can’t remember what I’m into, Ryder. It’s frustrating.”

Ryder wanted to reach out to her but knew better. He had to convince her not to run. She’d do it. He could see it in her eyes. “I’ll help you. Whatever you stumbled into surely has something to do with my case. It might even give us the break we need.”

“Whatever I can do to help. Lose my memory. Regain my memory. Badger you. Pray. Rant. Get back at it.”

“Hey,” he said, touching her arm. “Hey, do not do that. They’ll kill you. They’ve already tried three times now. And you dead won’t save whoever you’re trying to help.”

Emma gave him a hard stare and winced as she shook her head. “I’m well aware of that, so why would I want to put your family in danger, too?”

“My family will be okay, trust me.”

Had she picked up on the panic in his voice and misread it? Well, he couldn’t protect her if she went rogue on him. And he couldn’t solve his case if she got in his way.

But Ryder knew his concerns stretched a little further than just duty. He kind of had a thing for her. She was tough and pretty in a striking way and she knew her stuff—or at least she knew the ins and outs of life on the streets and dealing with criminals. She’d fought against two of the meanest lowlifes in Dallas. He liked the entire package, but he wanted to get to know the woman inside that tough package. That unexplainable need shook him up more than anything else that had happened over the last few days.

Yeah, he had a thing for a woman who couldn’t remember why she was here or why someone would want her gone. And he was taking that woman home to his ranch.

There were all kinds of wrongs in that scenario.

But only one right. He didn’t have a choice. He wouldn’t toss her out there to the wolves.

“You aren’t sure about this, are you?” she asked when he didn’t say anything else, her hair falling all around her face in an auburn cascade.

“I’m sure of one thing. I wasn’t about to leave you in that hospital. Now quit trying to outsmart me. You won’t win.”

“Sure of yourself, too, aren’t you?”

“I told you, what I’m doing is the right thing for now. You can’t do this alone. I’m in it all the way.”

“I’m not too happy about that.”

“Well, you can turn that pretty frown upside down. You’ll be safe at the ranch. I have workers who carry weapons for all kinds of protection and...I have a mama who can pack some heat, too. Pretty sure my sister’s had enough target practice to take down a longhorn if need be.”

She absorbed that. “And then there’s you.”

“And then there’s me, yes. I’ll be right there with you. Until we’re done.”

Emma pushed at her hair. The bandage on her head had been changed to a smaller one, and she’d passed most of the tests the doctor wanted her to pass. She was full of stubbornness, which meant she wouldn’t back down until she found the truth.

They had that in common. Ryder figured they had a lot more in common, too. But he didn’t have time to explore such things. He wanted the truth before he made any stupid moves.

He had a feeling once the dam on her memories opened up she’d take off like a jackrabbit. And he might not ever see her again. Dead or alive.

He wanted her alive. So they could have that not-gonna-happen date that he wanted to happen.

Emma didn’t say anything else. She leaned against the glass of the passenger-side window and watched the road.

She was mapping the road signs. He’d do the same if someone was taking him to a strange place.

He only hoped she didn’t map her way off the ranch without him. That could become her last trip, and then they’d never have the answers they needed.

Emma squinted into the dark, tired from the drive and wondering why she didn’t have any energy. But it had already been three days since she’d been hit over the head and left for dead in that alley. Trying to focus on the glowing interstate signs only made her dizzy. She’d figured enough to know they were heading west on I-30 but then he took the truck north above Fort Worth proper. From his vague description of the location, she knew the ranch had to be miles from either the Dallas area or Denton. She’d have to remember the county roads, too.

Grateful to be alive and away from the hospital, where anyone could sneak in and kill her, Emma sighed and tried not to think about the man at the wheel of this monster truck. So she focused on the road signs and wondered about the place where this mysterious man lived. What would that be like?

Soon, she saw signs for Lake Worth and the Trinity River, but Ryder guided the truck away from the subdivisions around the lake and kept going northwest until he finally turned onto a deserted road.

“You do like to get away from the city,” she said. “We’ll be in West Texas if you don’t pull over soon.”

“Impatient to see where I live?”

She lifted up too fast. Dizziness made her blink. “No, just ready to be out of this truck.”

While Ryder turned the truck to the right and slowly guided it up a long gravel lane, she thanked God that his partner had found her. She’d have to thank Pierce Daughtry next time she saw him. If she ever saw him again. When she’d asked Ryder for help, Emma had not factored in his bringing her home to Mama. She’d agreed to come here only to get out of the hospital. She knew how to find her way off a ranch, even one that was gated and apparently had an alarm system and security lights shining on every corner of the house and yard.

The house was two-storied and huge, but it wasn’t a stuffy old palace at all. It looked like a farmhouse but stretched on both sides like a large plantation house. The stark white wooden walls contrasted nicely with the darkly varnished shutters lining the windows. A massive porch wrapped around the bottom level, and smaller balconies finished out the top floor. Two huge mushrooming live oaks bookcased each side of the house and shaded the porches. Crape myrtles lined the driveway and the fence lines. Roses blinked underneath the security lights and heavy shrubs added protection along the white wooden fence lines. It might be tricky to find her way out of here.

“Nice digs, Detective.”

“This is where my mom and sister live. I have a cabin down near the pond.”

He had mentioned that, but she turned to him as he pulled the roaring truck up to the side of the house. “Oh, a lone wolf?”

“A man can only take so much bickering and chattering about hairstyles, shoes, gaining weight and losing boyfriends.”

“Do you actually allow you sister to date?”

“I wouldn’t call it allow. More like I don’t have much choice, but I have them all vetted and if I don’t like what I see, I have my way of stating my case.”

“Does your sister know you do background checks on her boyfriends?”

“The subject hasn’t come up.”

Probably because he’d threaten any man after his sister within an inch of his life if Ryder didn’t like the man.

Emma didn’t understand her keen need to banter with this cowboy. But something was sure stewing between them. Probably just the apprehension connected to this case, all those variables that should add up but didn’t. Was it natural to want to kiss him and then leave him?

I can’t think about him. Not in that way. He’s here to help me until I don’t need him anymore.

Then she had to wonder. Is that what I do to people? Use them and lose them so things don’t get messy?

“Hey, are you okay?” Ryder asked, jarring her out of the non-memories that held back with a sad edge.

“Just taking it all in. I don’t like depending on other people.”

“I can see that, but could you just let me help you? Don’t try to do this on your own when you’re still confused and disoriented, okay?”

Could he read her mind? Of course. He was a detective after all. Used to people figuring out ways to get away from him.

“Am I under house arrest here, too?”

“No, but you are under protective custody. My protection.”

“Not your custody, though. You can’t force me to stay here.”

Before he could respond, the front door of the house swung open and an older woman with shoulder-length grayish hair came out onto the porch. “Ryder, bring her on inside. It’s hot and muggy out here.”

Emma glanced at the truck’s still-glowing dashboard clock. It had taken almost an hour to get here. “Midnight. Your mother is up late.”

“She never sleeps,” he said. Then he got out of the truck and came around to her door.

“Must run in the family,” Emma retorted, opening the door before he could.

“Hello there, I’m Nancy Palladin,” the woman said as she greeted Emma by placing both of her warm hands over the one Emma extended. Nancy wore a blue T-shirt over worn jeans and boots.

“Hi,” Emma said, fatigue tugging at her. “Thank you so much for allowing me to...stay here.”

“Nonsense,” Nancy said. “We don’t get many visitors, and it’s a rare day when my son brings home a pretty woman.”

“Mama,” Ryder said, clearly uncomfortable with that comment, “this is Emma. Is her room ready?”

“Of course,” his mother replied, letting go of Emma’s hand to take her by the arm. “C’mon in and we’ll get you settled. We can get acquainted in the morning.”

Emma followed Mrs. Palladin into the house where the huge entryway led to big rooms on both sides, one a den with a massive fireplace and the other a formal living room. The wide staircase stretched beyond the entry and central hallway.

The house was lit with muted lamps here and there but Emma had seen enough to tell it was well maintained and comfortable, and it smelled of spices and lavender.

“We have two guest rooms downstairs,” Nancy explained. “I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.” She stopped and waited for Emma. “I elevated the pillows on your bed. That’s important after a head trauma. No reading, online browsing or texting, and no exercising. If you wake with a headache, take your meds. You might have trouble sleeping, but that’s normal. And your emotions will be all over the map, so just go with it for a few days. Mainly you need to rest.”

“I feel as if I’m back in the hospital,” Emma said with a smile. “Ryder told me you’re a retired nurse.”

“And a bossy one,” Ryder added, nodding. “Mom, she doesn’t have a phone or a laptop, so she has no choice but to rest.”

“Good.” Nancy turned to Ryder. “And I fixed up the room across from Emma, just as you asked.”

“What?” Emma said, turning to face Ryder. “You’re staying here tonight?”

“Yes,” he said, daring her to complain.

She complained anyway. “I don’t need you across the hall from me.”

“Yes, you do,” he retorted. “It’s late and you need to rest. My sister, Stephanie, found you some pajamas and an outfit for tomorrow. I’ll take you to your room.”

“I can take care of things myself,” she retorted, trying to find a suitable reason to ditch him.

“I’m going to be across the hall,” he replied, stubborn all over his face. “And that’s that.” Then to push the matter home, he added, “My family is here, too. I have to watch out for all of you.”

Since he had a point, Emma didn’t want to make a scene in front of the man’s mother. “All right,” she said. “I just want to go to sleep.”

Then she turned to Nancy. “Thank you again. I’ll be more human tomorrow, I hope.”

Nancy chuckled and glanced at her son. “I understand so much more now than I did before.”

Emma saw the exchange between mother and son. But she wasn’t sure she liked what that exchange implied.