Sudden Recall (9 page)

NINE

T
hey were less than thirty miles from the ranch, and Parker was driving.

“Understood,” he said into the phone. “Thank you for your time.” He hung up from his call with the local county sheriff and said to Sienna, “We're clear to go to the ranch. No one should bother us.”

She'd remembered Thomas Loughton's name. Was this trip to her uncle's ranch, a place she'd visited as a child, going to jog yet more memories? He hoped so.

“So what's the plan when we get there?” she asked.

Parker knew she was desperate to know who she was. But it couldn't be denied that some things might be best left forgotten.

“Loughton will find a way to catch up. We need to be cautious now we know who is on our tail and why. We can't underestimate what he's willing to do to get that flash drive.”

She shifted in her seat. “Do you think he's the one who shot up my bedroom?”

Parker nodded. “Maybe he was even just trying to force you to leave the house to try and find the flash drive.”

“Doesn't that mean we're doing exactly what he wanted us to do, then—find the flash drive? If I'd just stayed home, there would be no reason for him to come after me.”

“But he would. He'd keep coming and coming, because Loughton's not going to stop until he gets his hands on what's his.”

Parker had met plenty of guys like him. Men—and women, he guessed—who thought nothing of hurting people in order to succeed. That was why he had to protect her, because Sienna didn't know what she was getting into. They couldn't afford to underestimate Loughton.

He said, “We're not playing into his hands. You're the one in charge here. No one gets what they want until you find that flash drive. The person with all the answers here is you.”

“But I don't remember.”

“You're starting to.” Parker glanced at her. “Trust your head to release the past when you're ready for it.” He was talking as much about her last mission as he was about their relationship. “Your mind knows how important this is. It's locked up your memories of this experience, along with everything else, for a reason. But your brain got as much training as your muscles. When it's ready, it will turn the key a little more, and a little more and the past will come back to you.”

“Please, Lord.” Her entreaty was a whisper.

He knew she had faith in God, but a Heavenly Father wasn't something Parker was that interested in. Still, he could admit to being curious that the faith Sienna had possessed before she lost her memories was still part of her even now. Had Karen encouraged it? He did see a peace in Sienna that seemed to fly in the face of what was going on.

When this was all over, he'd have to ask her about why that was.

When the GPS instructed him to make a right turn down a dirt lane, Parker did so. The ground was rutted and sent the SUV up on the left side and then down, over and over. Finally the main house, a run-down prefab structure, came into view.

He watched Sienna's face for signs of recognition as she surveyed the area.

“Who owns this property?”

He parked and turned to her. The sun was beginning its climb down the sky, and while they'd stopped for dinner, neither had eaten overly much. Sienna was probably as eager as he was to stretch her legs.

“Let's walk while we talk.” Maybe then they'd find a place to start searching on these acres of land for one tiny flash drive. It almost made Parker want to pray about the outcome.

Sienna strode to the front of the SUV where he stood. Together they turned to the expanse of land. Rolling hills and trees that disguised the entrance to a network of caves Sienna had told him she'd played in as a child.

They began to walk across the field. “It belonged to your uncle—you already know that. He passed away a little over four years ago, and after that, ownership transferred to your father.”

Sienna glanced over. “Do I like him?”

Parker hesitated. It was an interesting question, one that spoke of the things buried in her mind. All of it wrapped up with the little boy in the photo. “You haven't spoken to your parents in years, and the last you told me was that you have no intention of ever contacting them.”

“Why?”

Parker stopped. “Do you want to hear it, even if it's difficult? Even if the thing you don't know is tragic?”

Sienna swallowed. “I need to know it all. It's part of me.”

“You're not missing anything if you never find out. You're still you.”

“But I'll never know that for sure.”

Parker studied her face. “When you were eight, your brother—he was older than you by five years—he drowned.” He set his hands on her shoulders. “He was your best friend and your favorite person in the world. After he died, your parents went cold. That's how you described it. They sent you to boarding school. You said that it was to keep from losing you, too. But they did, anyway. It was there at school that...”

“God gave me Nina.”

Parker nodded. For the first time since she'd shown up in his town, she was most like the woman he remembered. Those were the exact words she'd given him the first time.
God gave me Nina.

* * *

Her brother had drowned? Sienna couldn't imagine how painful that had been to experience.

But she didn't remember it.

Parker angled left. “Let's head...”

She pointed. “That way.” She'd already seen the cave entrance in the rolling hills overlooking the ranch house and barn and two other smaller outbuildings. The doors hung from broken hinges and a lot of the windows were broken. The whole place was so forlorn.

Underground seemed the most obvious place to hide something where it would lay unaffected by weather, animals or people looking for stuff to steal from an abandoned house.

Her father had really let the ranch become this? She could easily imagine it as a beautiful place with fields of crops and animals grazing. Washing hung out on a line. The scent of fresh-baked bread wafting through the kitchen window as she ran past, her brother right behind her.

“Come on, Sienna.”

She pumped her arms and legs to catch him, but he was so fast. They crossed the field and Tim disappeared into the cave. “Come on, Sienna.”

His voice echoed through the hollow ground and bounced off the dirt-packed walls. Jagged stone pricked her palm as Sienna traced her way down the tunnel to the open room. Her flashlight cast an eerie yellow glow that failed to dispel the dark.

Where was Tim?

Sienna sucked in a breath. “His name was Tim.”

Parker's arm was around her. All she could hear was her own breath, loud in her ears as she panted into the darkness.

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the frightening memory. “I don't think I would have come here. But then, maybe that means it's exactly where I did come.” She tried to think, to know what she couldn't know because she didn't remember.

“I don't know what to do. I have no idea where I hid the flash drive. This is pointless.” She groaned and kicked at the dirt.

Parker stood silent and steady beside her, waiting. For what, she didn't know. Who knew when she was going to remember? He wasn't going to wait around forever. His vacation would only last so long, and then Parker would have to go back to his life as a marshal.

Sienna would be left with...not much. Unless she could remember.

A step. Another. Sienna moved farther into the darkness, Parker right there with her. She wouldn't find her brother this time, but maybe she would find the flash drive.

The tunnel opened and she found herself looking at the room she'd just pictured in her mind, the room where her brother had hidden. She took the flashlight from Parker and scanned until she found the tiny space, barely big enough for a child to crawl into. She'd circled the edge that day, and Tim had stayed silent until Sienna came close to him.

He'd reached out and grabbed her ankle, and Sienna had screamed while her brother erupted into laughter. The noise had been deafening in the small space. Her uncle had come running, thinking something terrible was happening. That had only made her brother laugh more.

It was one of the few times her uncle had smiled, seeing Sienna get all mad and kick her brother. The man hadn't been big on instilling anything of value in his niece and nephew; he'd mostly just let them run wild.
The ranch will teach them what they need to know.

“He had a scar on his forearm.”

Parker's arm around her loosened and she felt him shift until his hand closed around hers. The simple squeeze imparted strength to her shaky knees.

Sienna crouched at the hole and ran her fingers along the dirt on all sides. Nothing undisturbed. No loose dirt. “Nothing was buried here.”

Parker took the flashlight and circled the room, ten feet in circumference and a rough circle.

Another tunnel began at the far side, but Sienna and Tim had never been allowed to play any farther in than this room.

“I don't see anything, either. The dirt is packed tight. We'd know if you had buried anything here.”

Sienna blew out a breath. “I guess we aren't going to find it here.”

Parker held out his hand. When she grasped it, he pulled her to her feet and didn't let go. Together they made their way back to the tunnel's entrance.

Sienna could see the disappointment in the slump of his shoulders, but he didn't say anything. They'd thought this was the right place to start, but it seemed she'd led them on a wild-goose chase. If she couldn't trust her own judgment on this, if she couldn't trust the memories she had, how could they possibly solve this problem?

Her shoe hit a rut in the dirt and she stumbled forward. With nothing else to grab, Sienna grasped two handfuls of Parker's shirt. “Sorry.”

He chuckled. “It's all right. I need some kind of reason for being here other than as the driver—might as well be to catch you.”

She pulled up short. “What are you talking about?”

In the dim light she saw his eyebrow lift.

Sienna opened her mouth but couldn't think of anything concrete. It was just...natural that he was here with her. “Are you planning on leaving if I can't give you a good reason why you should be here? Like dealing with Thomas Loughton wasn't enough.”

She'd be hard-pressed to give him a decent excuse aside from abstract need or the fact that no one really wanted to be alone.

Parker shook his head. “Never mind. That was a dumb thing to say. You don't remember what happened, and I shouldn't be punishing you because of it. I'm sorry.”

“Apology accepted.”

“Just like that?”

Sienna lifted her chin. “Maybe when I get my memory back it'll turn out I'm the one who needs forgiveness.” After all, she didn't know why she'd killed their relationship. “If I offer it freely now, maybe you'll do the same when it counts.”

* * *

Parker stopped at the entrance. Sienna stilled behind him, then whispered, “What is it?”

“I heard something.”

He eased to the edge of the mouth of the cave, where he could hear boots on the ground coming up the hill. A diesel engine. The rhythmic rap of a helicopter motor in the distance.

“We have company.”

“Should we run?”

Parker thought for a second as he weighed the decision to run for it and risk getting hit by gunfire or stay put and end up being pinned down in the cave.

Neither option was good, but there was usually a better one in these situations. It wasn't like he'd never been in a standoff with his enemy before. Parker was just used to having a team—whether it was SEALs or marshals—to back him up. Sienna had the gun she'd found in the SUV. The bulge was clear on her lower back, under her shirt. He didn't begrudge her the need to arm herself, especially not when it may even come in handy.

Parker grabbed her hand and stepped out. He'd made his decision. He would cover Sienna, and they wouldn't be stuck here waiting for death to come. But it wasn't to be.

Shots pinged the cave entrance beside him and flicked up shards of dirt that rained toward them like hail. Stinging erupted on his cheek, way too close to his eye for comfort. Parker moved them right back into the cave and drew his weapon.

Four men outside gathered in formation to block their exit. Professionals. Hired mercenaries with no personal stake in what was happening, unless he counted the money that would line their wallets when they were finished with the job. That's all this was to them.

Parker scrounged for a way to twist that fact to his advantage. He leaned around the entrance and peered out.

The lead man had a bullhorn. The helicopter rotors spun as it descended to the ground. Dirt and dust circled in the air and whipped up the man with the bullhorn's jacket to reveal extra magazines for his gun. His boots and pants were military but with no designation—like he shopped at an army surplus store.

The man lifted the bullhorn. “Send the woman out, and no one dies.”

Parker turned to her. Sienna's brown eyes had widened. Had she remembered her CIA training, it would not have taken away her fear, but she would at least know what to do with it. “That's not going to happen.” He gripped her shoulder. “I won't give you up to them.”

“Maybe you should. They'll kill you otherwise.”

“We don't know that.”

He knew she wasn't questioning his skills; she was simply concerned for his safety. The warmth of her care whether he lived or died rushed through him, but there was no time to dwell on it.

“We'll figure a way out.”

There was no team within range to help them, but he could call local law enforcement. But would that country sheriff, sixty years old and past ready to retire, live through this? Parker wouldn't be able to stand it if he was responsible for the man being killed or even injured, so he didn't make the call.