Desperate Strangers

For the first time in twelve hours he felt relatively safe as he pulled into the driveway of his brick three-bedroom ranch house. He got out of the car with the hoodie in his arms, then unlocked the door and stepped inside.

The air smelled clean...like furniture polish and bathroom cleanser. Although by no means a clean freak, he’d spent the day before cleaning the house in a frenzy to occupy his mind before heading out to murder a man.

He’d known the risks, that he might be arrested or killed himself. He’d supposed that if either of those things had happened, he’d at least be at peace that the police would find that he kept a clean house.

He sank down on his sofa and rubbed a hand across his forehead where a headache threatened. He hadn’t had a chance to breathe since he’d stumbled onto Brian’s dead body.

You could just stay right here, a small voice whispered. Julie doesn’t know your address. She doesn’t even have your phone number.

There was no question the thought was more than a bit appealing.

Then he thought about the hug he’d shared with her. Her slender body had felt so fragile in his arms. He’d felt not only the press of her breasts against him but also the rapid beat of her heart.

How frightening was it to wake up and lose almost a year of your life? How scary would it be to not have a single memory from that length of time? He couldn’t imagine. But he’d love to go to sleep and wake up and magically lose the last three agonizing, lonely years of his life. He’d welcome the amnesia that would wipe away all memories of the brutal murder of the woman he’d loved.

Debbie. She’d been a go-getter. She’d gotten her real-estate license and had landed a job with an upscale real-estate company. She’d been dynamic and a hard worker and, within two years, she’d established herself as one of the top sellers in a four-state area. Nick had always said she could successfully sell the swamps in Florida.

Nick had loved her, but he’d grown to dislike her job, which kept her busy at all hours during the days and late evenings.

That job was what had taken her to an empty mansion to meet a potential buyer. That job was what had led to her murder. Nick shook his head to dispel his train of thoughts.

He couldn’t go there. He couldn’t think about her murder right now. He had bigger decisions to make at the moment. Should he just stay here or should he go back to Julie’s and continue his pretense?

Debbie wouldn’t want him to leave Julie hanging, especially given the fact that Nick had filled her head with a bunch of lies to save his own ass. By claiming her as his fiancée, Nick had given Julie an instant sense of false comfort.

He looked around, the very room where he sat evoking agonizing memories. He and Debbie had bought this house just before her murder. They had painted the master bedroom her favorite shade of light blue and had updated the kitchen. They had also planted a small redbud tree in the backyard. She hadn’t lived long enough to see its first buds.

They had planned for children to fill the spare bedrooms. Dammit, they had planned a life together and some man—some animal—had taken her away from him.

He swallowed the familiar rage and got up from the sofa. He grabbed the hoodie with the gun, ski mask and gloves wrapped inside. He then went into his bedroom and opened the closet door.

On the top shelf were several folded blankets. He shoved the hoodie between them, knowing sooner or later he needed to get rid of that damned gun.

He picked up a duffel bag and placed it on his bed. He’d stay with Julie for a couple of days to help her navigate. Maybe during that time he could manipulate a fight and a breakup. That would be the best way for him to exit her life with no questions.

Still, when her memories returned, he’d have some explaining to do, but he’d face that when it happened. What concerned him more than a little bit was the scene in her living room. What had happened there in the minutes before she’d gotten into her car and hit that tree? It looked like she’d fought with somebody.

He had no idea if she was in danger or not, but that was another reason why, in good conscience, he couldn’t walk away from her yet.

It took him only minutes to pack enough clothing and toiletries for a few days away. He then left his house and got back into his car.

He turned on the radio in an effort to clear his mind from all thoughts. He didn’t want to think about how screwed up everything had become.

He was exhausted. He’d gotten little sleep in the nights leading up to Brian McDowell’s murder. Now he feared that any sleep he did manage to get would be haunted by the vision of the bloodbath he’d seen.

Who had committed the crime? The question thundered in his head. If it hadn’t been one of the other men in their murder pact, then who else knew about their plan to get justice that had been denied?

Tightening his hands on the steering wheel, he turned into the cul-de-sac and steeled himself to tell even more lies. He parked and grabbed the duffel, then walked up to the front door and knocked.

The lock clicked, the door opened and Julie launched herself into his arms as deep sobs exploded from her.

“Hey...what’s happened?” It was obvious she hadn’t regained her memory, otherwise she wouldn’t be in his arms right now.

She shook her head, apparently unable to speak around her tears. He dropped his duffel and hesitantly put his arms around her. “Julie, talk to me. Tell me what’s going on.”

What he really needed her to do was to step away from him despite the fact he’d pulled her closer into his arms. Her trembling body against his felt far too warm as he became aware of the faint, attractive floral scent that emanated from her.

As if she read his mind, she took a step backward and instead grabbed his hand and held tight as he picked up his bag once again. She then led him into the living room. She dropped his hand and pointed to the telephone answering machine on the end table.

“What is it?” he asked. A new tension tightened his stomach. What now? As if this whole situation wasn’t complicated enough.

Julie stared at him with wide, tear-filled eyes. “The last message. You need to listen to it.” She made no move to approach the phone, but instead stared at it as unmistakable fear leaped into her eyes.

With a sense of dread, Nick walked over to the machine and punched the appropriate button so he could hear the message. As the rasping voice filled the room, Julie sank down on the sofa and began to quietly cry again.

Fear replaced his sense of dread. The venom-filled voice hadn’t issued just a warning...it sounded like a promise. What in the hell was going on? He’d escaped one murder scene only to walk into another potentially deadly mystery.

“You don’t recognize the voice?” he asked. He hadn’t even been able to tell if it was a man or a woman. It had obviously been computer distorted.

Once again she shook her head and wiped the tears from her cheeks with her fingertips. “I don’t know the voice and I don’t remember what I’m not supposed to tell. I was hoping you could tell me. Did I share with you anything that might explain the call?”

He sank down next to her, wondering what in the hell he’d gotten himself into. “No, I don’t have a clue. You never mentioned anything to me about any kind of a dangerous secret.”

“I’m in a nightmare,” she said softly. “I’m in a damned nightmare and I can’t wake up. I can’t tell what I don’t remember and how will the caller know I have amnesia?”

“We should call the police.” As much as Nick didn’t want any authorities involved with him, this sounded serious and he couldn’t—he wouldn’t—choose his own safety over hers. She didn’t deserve that.

“No, I don’t want to talk to the police,” she surprised him by saying. She rubbed two fingers in the center of her forehead. “I’m not sure why, but my gut is telling me I don’t want the police involved in this. Besides, what could they do? It was an anonymous call. It would be easy to write it off as some kind of a terrible prank. They aren’t going to put manpower and effort into figuring it out and, without my memories, I can’t help them at all.”

She reached for his hand and her fingers clung around his tightly. Her blue eyes gazed at him with love...and need. “I’m just so grateful I have you, Nick. I don’t know what I’d do right now without you.”

He squeezed her hand. “I’m here and nobody is going to hurt you as long as I’m around.”

An overwhelming sense of resignation swept through him. Damned. He had a feeling he was damned if he stayed with her and damned if he left.

* * *

JULIE BOLTED UP with a scream on her lips. Instead of releasing it, she gasped, her racing heart making it difficult for her to draw in a full breath. Her bedsheets were twisted around her thighs, as if attempting to keep her in the nightmare she now couldn’t remember.

Morning light drifted through her thin, lacy bedroom curtains as her heartbeat slowly returned to normal. She drew in several deep breaths.

What had she dreamed? It had obviously been a nightmare. Otherwise she wouldn’t have awakened with the taste of fear lingering in her mouth and a scream begging to be released.

Disappointment washed over her as no memories of the past ten months had come to her with sleep. But what she remembered vividly was the frightening phone call promising her death if she told what she knew.

What did she know? What secret was trapped in the darkness of her mind that was worth her death? Was she safe because she couldn’t tell anyone? Would the caller leave her alone if she didn’t spill whatever secret the caller thought she knew? Was that what she had dreamed about?

Nick. Just thinking his name caused a calming effect even though the night before had been a bit awkward. She’d just assumed he would stay in her room and sleep in her bed with her. Despite having no memories of him, she was fine with that. But he’d insisted he stay in her guest room.

She knew he was only thinking about her and she appreciated that, but it would have been nice to go to sleep last night with his big, strong arms around her. Maybe then she wouldn’t have suffered from a nightmare.

She glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. It was a few minutes after seven. She’d called her father last night to tell him about her accident and her stolen memories. He’d immediately declared a family meeting at her place at eight thirty this morning.

It would be the first time her family met her fiancé. She hoped they weren’t too hard on him, but the Peterson family was definitely loud and opinionated. And, as far as she could remember, they had never liked anyone she had dated, not that she had dated that often.

She got out of bed and went into the adjoining bathroom. Twenty minutes later she was showered and dressed. The scent of coffee met her as she headed down the stairs, letting her know Nick was already up.

She walked into the kitchen to find him seated at the table, a cup of fresh brew in front of him. “Good morning,” he said with a smile.

“Good morning to you,” she replied and beelined to the cabinet where the coffee cups were stored. He was a welcome sight, his buff body clad in a pair of jeans and a navy T-shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders.

Her heart fluttered a bit in her chest. There was no question that she was intensely physically drawn to him even without her memories. But what woman wouldn’t be attracted to such a good-looking man?

“How are you feeling?” Nick asked as she joined him at the table.

“Pretty well, except for the memory thing. How did you sleep?”

“I slept fine.” He took a sip of his coffee.

“Are you ready for the onslaught of my family?”

“I have to admit I’m a little nervous,” he replied.

“Oh, Nick, it will be fine. I can’t imagine a single reason why they won’t like you. Besides, it’s time to meet them. We’ve been dating a long time and talking about marriage.”

He nodded and his gaze went to his coffee.

She took a sip of hers and continued to look at him over the rim of her cup. She still had a hard time believing this terrific guy was in love with her, but it must be so. Otherwise he wouldn’t be here with her now.

“We have time for a quick breakfast before my family arrives. I’m sorry, I don’t know what you like to eat.”

He looked up and smiled once again. “I’m not much of a breakfast eater. I’m generally good with just a couple cups of coffee.”

“Me, too.” She was ridiculously pleased that they had even this relatively small thing in common. “There are so many things I don’t know about you. Do you have a big family?”

His eyes darkened slightly. “No. It’s just me. My parents were killed four years ago in a car accident and I didn’t have any siblings.”

“Oh, Nick, I’m so sorry.”

The smile he offered her wasn’t as big as the last one. “Thanks, but it was a long time ago.”

It might have been a long time ago, but it looked like raw grief that had momentarily darkened his eyes.

“This is all so awkward,” she said in an effort to change the subject. “You probably know everything there is to know about me and I don’t know anything about you except for the really important things.”

One of his dark brows quirked upward. “Important things?”

She nodded. “You must be a good man. You are kind and good and love me passionately. I wouldn’t have dated you so long and agreed to marry you if you weren’t that kind of person.”

He frowned and shifted positions in the chair. “I’m no saint, Julie. And while you can’t remember me, don’t try to make me into one.”

She raised her chin and smiled at him. “Okay, but I stand by my feelings. I know who you are at your core, Nick. I wouldn’t have settled for less.”

He drained his coffee cup and jumped up. “Is there anything we need to do to prepare for your family?”

“Make a fresh pot of coffee,” she replied. “Unless something drastic changed in the past year, my family chugs coffee like it’s the fountain of youth.”

“You sit tight, I’ll make a fresh pot,” he replied. “And while I’m doing that you can give me a quick refresher on your family members.”

She took another sip from her cup, set it down and then leaned back in the chair. “I can only tell you what I remember about them from a year ago.”

Grief and anger suddenly rose up in the back of her throat. Grief over the missing memories of the people she loved, and anger that her brain continued to betray her by not functioning right.

Nick poured the water into the coffee machine and then turned back to face her expectantly.

“George is my father and he runs the business and us with a heavy hand. Lynetta is my mother. She’s loud and opinionated and as tough as Dad. Max is my oldest brother and he’s just like my father...they both have a lot of bark, but not too much bite. Then there’s Tony who is a year older than me. He’s quiet and, like me, doesn’t like confrontation. Finally, there’s Casey. She’s the baby of the family and is the apple of my parents’ eyes.”

She couldn’t help the smile that curved her lips as she thought of her baby sister. “She’s also spoiled and wild, a bit lazy and totally gorgeous.”

“And all of you work at the pawn shop,” Nick said.

She nodded. “That pawn shop isn’t just our business, it’s a family legacy of sorts. My grandfather started it, but it was Dad who built it into the largest pawn shop in Kansas City.”

“Everyone has heard of Peterson Pawn, but I’ve never been inside the store.”

“Once you meet my family I’ll take you in with me and give you the grand tour.” Once again a roll of emotions swept through her. What had changed at the store over the past ten months? What had happened in her family’s life that she couldn’t remember?

Had Max finally found somebody to date? What about her other siblings? Max and Tony hadn’t even been dating anyone ten months before. Casey was the only one in the family who dated often, exchanging men as quickly as she changed her nail color. Had Julie gone to a wedding? Had she been Casey’s maid of honor like the two of them had always promised each other?

She wanted to pull her brain out of her skull and shake it violently until it started working right again. What was the amnesia protecting her from? A car accident?

Don’t tell. The two words thundered in her head, momentarily stealing her breath as an icy hand gripped her heart.

“Julie? Are you all right?” Nick gazed at her with a touch of concern.

“I’m fine.” She forced a smile as she stood. “I’m just going to set out some cups and cream and sugar for when the family arrives.”

“Can I help?”

“No, thanks. I’ve got it.” She needed to do something to keep the simmering fear in her at bay. Not only was she afraid of the phone threat, now a new rivulet of anxiety swept through her as she prepared for her family to arrive.

She placed the cups on the countertop and then turned to face him once again. “How do you feel about little white lies?”

“What are you talking about?” He said the words slowly...a bit warily.

“I was just thinking that I’d like to tell my family we’ve been dating for well over a year. I don’t want them to know I have no memories of you. That will just complicate things with them.”

He leaned back in the chair and nodded. “If that makes you feel better, then I don’t see why we can’t tell that little white lie.”

She sighed in relief. She loved her family, and her father and mother had raised them to be loyal to each other and to the pawn shop. She’d never made trouble. She’d worked long hours and done everything she could to be an obedient daughter.

She might not know what had gone on for the past ten months in her life, but one thing she knew for certain...if they made her choose between them and Nick, she wanted her man.

Chapter Four

“Who in the hell are you?” George Peterson was a tall man with broad shoulders and a slight paunch. As he glared at Nick, he raised his square chin as if in anticipation of a brawl.

He and his wife, Lynetta, had entered the house without so much as a knock and now stood just inside the kitchen.

“Dad, be nice,” Julie said with what sounded like a nervous laugh. “Sit down and I’ll get you both some coffee while we wait for everyone else.”

George didn’t move. Nick walked over to him and extended his hand. “I’m Nick Simon. It’s nice to meet you.”

George hesitated a moment and then shook hands. Nick couldn’t help but notice the rolled-up morning paper in George’s hand. When Nick had awakened earlier than Julie, the first thing he’d wanted to do was to check the morning news, but he hadn’t been able to find the remote for the television.

“Sit down, George,” Lynetta said as she took a seat at the table.

He moved to a chair next to his wife and placed the paper in the center. “I brought in your morning paper.”

“To heck with the paper,” Lynetta said. Her dark eyes lingered on Julie. “What I want to know is why you didn’t call us immediately from the hospital last night after your wreck.”

“Everything happened so fast,” Julie replied as she poured coffee for her mother and father.

Once again Nick was struck by Julie’s prettiness. Clad in a pink T-shirt and a pair of jeans that hugged her slender hips and long legs, there was no question that physically she stirred something in him. Her dark hair hung down just beneath her shoulders, looking shiny and soft.

It surprised him. She couldn’t have been more different than the woman who had been his wife. Debbie had been blond and was always fighting with her weight, not that Nick had cared. Debbie had been short while Julie was tall and willowy.

Julie had just finished pouring coffee for her parents when Max and Tony came in. The two looked remarkably alike. They both had dark hair and eyes, but while Tony greeted him amicably, Max had a wealth of suspicion in his eyes.

Nick had just taken a seat at the table when Casey arrived. The long-haired, curvy young woman swept in and, with a dramatic wail, embraced Julie. “Daddy told us you hit a tree. You could have been killed.” She released her sister. “What were you thinking?”

“I don’t know,” Julie confessed. “In fact, I don’t have any memories of the past ten months.”

“Before we get to that, let’s talk about the white elephant in the room.” Max looked pointedly at Nick. “This is supposed to be a family meeting.”

“And soon he’s going to be family. Everyone, this is Nick and he’s my fiancé,” Julie said.

Chaos broke out. Everyone talked at once until Lynetta raised her hands. “Everybody shut up,” she yelled. Surprisingly everyone did. She looked at Julie. “And how is it that you have a fiancé we didn’t know about?”

“Yeah, I can’t believe you didn’t even tell me,” Casey added. “I thought we shared all of our secrets.”

“I totally get why she kept it a secret,” Tony said. “Every man Julie has ever dated, you all have chased off.”

“Nick isn’t going anywhere,” Julie replied with a warm smile at him.

A sick guilt surged up inside him. Now there were more people to lie to and Julie gazed at him with such certainty, such open trust.

He was trying to be present for Julie, but it was becoming way more difficult than he’d anticipated. Besides, more than anything, he wanted to grab the newspaper from the center of the table and see if Brian McDowell’s murder had made the news.

Her family members began to fire questions at him. Where did he work? How long had he held that job? Where did he live? What did he love about Julie? He answered them all as truthfully as he could.

“I’d like to know about your financial situation,” George said. “One day Julie will own part of the business. That makes her quite a catch for somebody who has nothing.”

“Dad! Enough,” Julie finally said in protest.

“I want to know more about this memory loss thing,” Max said. “Is it really true that you don’t remember the last ten months?”

“It’s true, but we’re hoping that I’ll get my memories back very soon,” she replied.

“That’s so weird,” Casey said and gazed at her sister as if she were an alien from another planet.

“Weird or not, what I need to know is if you’re okay to take your shift tomorrow,” George said. “You’re on the schedule to open and work until five.”

“Please don’t tell me I have to start covering your shifts. It’s bad enough I have to cover for the baby half the time.” Max shot a pointed glare at Casey.

Was Nick the only one who saw the dark hesitation that leaped into Julie’s eyes as one of her hands rose to the base of her throat?

“What do you say, girly?” George persisted.

Julie’s hand dropped to her side and she raised her chin. “As long as nothing has changed in the last year at the store, then I’ll definitely be at work tomorrow.”

Nick couldn’t believe her family didn’t think it a good idea for her to take a little time off given she’d been in a serious accident and had missing memories. But he kept his mouth shut. He didn’t know enough about Julie or her family to form an opinion, although he wasn’t especially eager to be friends with a man who called his daughter “girly.”

George shoved back from the table and everyone else rose as a unit. Lynetta gave Julie a quick hug and George cast Nick a dark stare. “The verdict is still out on you,” he said.

Nick merely nodded in return and then they were all gone. “Why didn’t you tell them you weren’t really ready to return to work yet?” he asked.

“Was it that obvious?” she asked as she led him into the living room.

“Apparently only to me.” He eased down opposite her on the sofa.

“It will be fine and it’s not as if I have any real physical injuries. I’ve been working in the pawn shop since I was fourteen. I could do the work there in my sleep.”

“You still should have told them you needed a few more days of recovery,” Nick replied. “Remember the doctor said you needed time to rest.”