Chapter Twenty
Elizabeth flashed a quick smile to the check-in clerk at the motel. She gestured toward Cecelia and held up two fingers. Then Elizabeth pushed cash across the desk. The young clerk swept the money away in a flash.
“You sure we can trust them?” Flynn asked as he edged closer to Sawyer. “One of us should have gone inside…”
“And then the clerk would remember our faces. When the search starts, he’d sell us out in a second.” Besides that fact, he and Flynn both looked like shit. The run through the desert had been fucking hell, and sweat covered his body. They’d come across this little motel, and it had been like a sign from above. Their group could get shelter, shower, eat. And then plan their next course of action.
They’ll be hunting us. No way would Wyman Wright just let them walk.
“I can’t contact any of the others.” Flynn’s voice was threaded with tension. “I-I tried, man, after the crash. Just to see who was left standing, but the rest of the team is still dark.”
Sawyer’s head turned toward Flynn. “Don’t reach out to them again.”
“They’re our team.”
“You really want to risk Five getting close to Cecelia again?”
Flynn’s face went ugly. “That bastard gets near her, and he’s dead.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Five wasn’t the only one we left behind. You know there were others—”
“I can think better now. More clearly.” Sawyer tapped his temple. “The poison is bleeding away. Whoever was controlling our emotions—we left him back at Lazarus.”
Flynn glanced toward the motel office.
“I can’t risk losing control again. We can’t risk it.” If Sawyer ever did anything to hurt Elizabeth… “We can’t go back for the others until we know more.”
“You think that ‘more’ is on Landon’s laptop?”
“I sure as hell hope so.” But getting anything from that laptop wasn’t going to be easy. When they’d been rushing through the desert, Elizabeth had said she had a friend who might be able to help them. A hacker.
“You really believe we were best friends?”
The women had exited the office. They were walking slowly and easily, as if they didn’t have a care in the world—a great front—toward Sawyer and Flynn’s place in the shadows.
“I mean, wouldn’t I know if we were tight?” Flynn pressed, “Shit, not like we’re wearing freaking matching charm bracelets for besties—”
“You’re here,” Sawyer cut through the guy’s ramble.
“Uh, yeah, so?”
“I didn’t bring anyone else from the team, did I? Not once I realized how many fucking secrets we all had.” Secrets they’d even kept from each other. “You’re here,” he said again, “because you were different. I knew it from the start.”
Flynn frowned at him.
“I knew I had to save your sorry ass,” Sawyer added. “No matter what. Guess that was left over from our bestie days.”
“Fucking asshole,” Flynn muttered. But then he added, “I knew I had to save you, too.”
Elizabeth flashed Sawyer a quick, nervous smile. “Got two rooms. It’s a really good thing that Cecelia had some cash on her.”
Cecelia wasn’t smiling. She cast a nervous glance over her shoulder. “I didn’t like the way that guy looked at us.”
Elizabeth pushed back her hair. “Considering that we just walked out of the mountains with only the clothes on our backs, it stands to reason he’d give us some weird looks.” She shrugged. “But the man did say he’d had plenty of other lost hikers stumble onto his motel, so I don’t think we raised any suspicions with him.”
“Let’s get cleaned up,” Sawyer said, glancing around the area. There was a small twenty-four-hour gas station down the road. They were going to need a car, and they’d probably be stealing it from that place because the motel’s parking lot was deserted. “Shower, get the blood off, and we’ll grab some food and maybe some fresh t-shirts from that place over there.”
“I’ll get the food and the clothes.” Cecelia said quickly. She motioned to Flynn and Sawyer. “Since you guys are staying off the grid, you don’t need to be running inside. There are probably security cameras in there.”
“I’ll come—” Elizabeth began.
“No.” Flynn shook his head. “I’ll go with her. I won’t go in the store, but I’ll keep watch. Make sure she’s safe.” He cut his gaze to Elizabeth. “Better for you two not to be seen together again. We need to mix up our interactions with the outside world, just in case folks come looking for us.”
Elizabeth frowned at Cecelia. “That plan okay with you?”
Cecelia nodded. “Of course.”
Her “of course” hadn’t sounded very confident.
“Okay.” Elizabeth straightened her shoulders as she held a key out to Sawyer. “You and Flynn are in room six. Cecelia and I will take room seven.”
Sawyer took the key to room seven from her, and he tossed it to Flynn. Flynn caught it easily and fisted his fingers around the card. “Sorry, doc,” Sawyer told her, not really feeling sorry at all. “But you’ll be staying with me.”
“And you’ll be with me, Cecelia,” Flynn added quietly.
Elizabeth’s lips had parted in surprise.
“It’s safer that way,” Sawyer said before she could argue. “And despite anything else you believe, we don’t want you two hurt.”
She glanced down, not meeting his eyes. “I do believe that.”
Good. That was something, anyway. He caught her hand in his and held tight. Flynn and Cecelia hurried toward the gas station. When they were gone, Sawyer and Elizabeth headed for their room. “You can shower first.” He gave her a faint smile when they stopped in front of door number six. “See, I can be a gentleman.”
“I never said you weren’t.”
He should let go of her hand, but he liked holding her. “I’m not just a fighter.” He opened the door with his left hand.
“Sawyer, you’re many things. I know that.”
He wasn’t sure how to take those words. Sawyer entered first and flipped on the light.
The room was small, the carpet was thread-bare, and the furniture looked as if it would break apart any moment. “Guess he didn’t take you to places like this.” Sawyer finally pulled his hand from hers and locked the door. The flimsy lock wouldn’t keep anyone out. He dropped the key on the nightstand and set the backpack down on the floor.
“He?” She wrapped her arms around her body. “Who are you talking about?”
“The Sawyer you used to know.” The one you loved. “Bet he took you to all kinds of fancy places. Expensive restaurants. Not shitholes like this room.” And he wished he could remember. He wanted to know more about the life they’d had. He wanted to know more about the man she’d loved. So I can be him again?
Elizabeth swallowed. “We…we weren’t supposed to fraternize.” A faint smile pulled at her lips, but never reached her eyes. “Wright had rules about his team, and we were afraid if he found out that we’d broken those rules, he’d split us up.” A tear leaked down her cheek. “So there weren’t any fancy restaurants. They were stolen moments. Secret meetings. Promises for more.”
Only those promises hadn’t come true. “What did he promise you?”
“He?” Elizabeth shook her head. “You. You promised. And you promised that you’d come back.” She licked her lips. “I think I will take that shower first. If you, ah, don’t mind.” Then she shook her head. “Screw it. I’m going in even if you do mind.” She practically ran toward the shower, hurrying away from him.
The bathroom door slammed behind her. A moment later, he heard the rush of water.
Sawyer stood inside the motel room, his body tense. There were a million questions he wanted to ask Elizabeth, but every time she revealed more about his past—it just hurt. It hurt him. It hurt her. Her pain was the last thing he wanted.
The thing you want most…it’s her. All of her. To own her. To bind her to you. To never let her go. The thoughts slid through his mind. They were dark and hard and…
This time, the thoughts are mine. Because he did want to bind Elizabeth to him completely. Irrevocably.
“Fucking hell.”
He wasn’t going to give in to the dark spiral. He was going to beat it. He could be more than a weapon. His mind could be more than madness. He’d gotten out of Lazarus. He would get his life back.
And that life included Elizabeth.
His Elizabeth.
Sawyer strode toward the bathroom door. His hand lifted, but he stopped. No, shit, no. She needed space. She didn’t need him rushing at her like a starving man. Even though he was starving, even though he was desperate. Even though he craved her more than anything.
Even more than his own freedom.
Elizabeth.
Sawyer forced himself to step back. With his enhanced hearing, he could detect every single movement that she made. He could hear the hitch of her breath. The sigh that slipped from her. He could imagine the water sliding over her beautiful skin.
He wanted to see her completely naked. He wanted to touch every inch of her. Wanted to kiss her everywhere. When that chopper had crashed, he’d known real fear. For the first time since he’d woken at Lazarus, he’d been absolutely terrified. Not for himself. He’d been afraid Elizabeth would be taken from him. And if she’d died…
What would I have done?
The water turned off. The drip, drip, drip, seemed too loud. He took a few more steps away from the bathroom. The rustle of the towel teased his ears. The creak of the floor as she moved toward the door reverberated around him, and then that door was opening. Faint wisps of steam slid out and Elizabeth stood there, framed in the doorway, her wet hair sliding over her shoulders and a thin, white towel wrapped around her body. Her gaze met his. Red tinged her cheeks. “I…tried to hurry. I know you have to be feeling worse than I am. You’re the one who ran all the way here.”
Don’t touch her. But he found himself being pulled toward her.
Elizabeth slipped away from the doorframe, clearing his path to the shower. She waved toward the bathroom. “Go inside. I, ah, saved you some hot water.”
He didn’t fucking care about hot water. In fact, what he needed was cold water. Ice cold. Because the sight of her in that towel was his undoing. No, she was his undoing.
He headed for the bathroom, yanking his shirt off as he went. He was at the door—
Her fingers touched his stomach. “You’ve already healed.”
Only on the outside, baby. Inside, I’m broken beyond repair.
Her soft touch burned him worse than any fire. But what he wouldn’t give for more of that burn right then.
Cold water. Icy cold.
He strode into the bathroom. He pushed the door closed behind him, but didn’t shut it fully. He just—he couldn’t shut her out. If she wanted to come in with him, hell, yes, he’d grab her and hold her tight. A yank of his hand had the shower thundering on once again. He stripped, shoving the rest of his clothes aside, before he climbed into the shower, moving beneath that icy water.
He put his head beneath the spray, closing his eyes as he tried to shut out visions of Elizabeth. Of what he wanted with her. Of—
Strawberries. How could she still smell like strawberries? But the scent was drifting to him, and he heard the soft creak of the door moving.
His eyes opened and his head angled toward the door. Elizabeth stood there, as if frozen. But he didn’t want her frozen. He wanted her need, her desire, he wanted her to be wild for him. To want him so much that nothing else mattered.
“Sawyer.”
He didn’t try to hide his arousal. His dick was long and hard for her, and his body ached. A thin frame of glass separated them, and the glass was partially covered with steam, blocking his view of Elizabeth.
Sawyer grabbed that glass door and shoved it aside.
She stared at him.
I almost lost her. Lost what I had just found again.
Elizabeth let the towel drop to the floor. She didn’t speak as she came toward him.
Fuck. Get the water warmer for her. His hand shot out and he cranked up the heat. He didn’t want Elizabeth cold. He always wanted her hot.
Tense moments ticked past. Steam began to rise. A faint smile pulled at her lips as she climbed into the shower. As she stood less than an inch from him. The bathroom light was on, glaring down over them. His body was so much bigger than hers. Thicker, stronger, darker. He was covered in scars, marks that he would always carry. He felt too rough, too dangerous.
And she—she was slender, but curved. Her skin was a soft gold, her body absolute perfection to him. But she was so delicate. So vulnerable. So breakable. He never wanted her broken.
Her hand lifted and pressed to his heart. She still hadn’t said another word. She had to feel his dick shoving against her. She was staring at him with her deep, dark eyes, and he wished, he wished so much, that he could be the man she remembered.
But I do remember one thing. I remember how to give her pleasure. I remember how to make her want me.
So he did.
His head bent. His mouth took hers. The water was still pouring on him, a hot bite on his back, and he didn’t care. Her mouth was open, her lips parted perfectly, and his tongue swept inside as he pulled her closer. Her nipples were tight, hard peaks. He wanted them in his mouth. Wanted to lick and suck until she was moaning for him. Until she was begging him to thrust into her. Begging him for release.
Begging.
Her legs parted as she moved closer. She was smaller than him, so much smaller. He lifted her up, moving her into position so that his cock pushed at the opening between her legs. She gave a little gasp, and his eager cock jerked even more for her. He turned, pushing her back against the tiled wall of the shower as he kept kissing her. He held her easily, even as one hand moved down her body. Moved to tease her sex, moved to make her moan.
Her nails sank into his back. He kissed his way down her neck, stopping in the places that made her tremble the most. Stopping and licking, biting, then journeying down even as he lifted her higher.
He licked her nipple. Pink and pretty and perfect for him. He licked and he sucked and when the dark urges inside of him told him to take, take, take…
Sawyer thrust two fingers into her. Withdrew. Thrust again. He worked her sex, stretching her, making sure she was ready. They hadn’t spoken again, and he couldn’t speak. Not then.
Fuck her. Claim her.
His fingers withdrew. She was panting, her scent all around him. He positioned his cock, stared down a moment—down at their bodies as they pressed together. She was so perfect to him.
Mine.
He sank into her. Elizabeth’s legs wrapped around his hips and she squeezed him so tight. With that first plunge into her, all control was gone. Lost. He was maddened, desperate, but not for his pleasure. For hers. He had to give Elizabeth pleasure. So much pleasure that she forgot the man he’d been. So much pleasure that she wanted him. Broken, damaged, dangerous—didn’t matter. She would want him. Always, him.
The way Sawyer knew he would always want her.
He drove into her, tilting his body the way she liked, sliding down so that his cock stroked over her clit. Her nails sank deeper into him even as her sex squeezed him tighter. He thrust again and again, and when she came, when she exploded for him, it wasn’t enough.
Not close.
He stilled inside of her, and her sex squeezed him, contracted, held him in a white-hot grip. He didn’t want to come, not yet.
Not yet.
“Sawyer?”
He gazed into the darkness of her eyes.
His Elizabeth.
Without a word—because talking was beyond him—he lowered her until Elizabeth’s toes touched the bottom of the shower. Then he yanked the faucet, turning off the water.
“Sawyer, you didn’t—”
He had her in his arms again. He carried her out of that bathroom and to the bed. Still not speaking, he spread her out, pushing her thighs apart and staring at her. All of her. So beautiful. How could he have forgotten her?
You knew something was missing. All that time. A part of you was gone. That part—it was her.
Sawyer put his mouth on her sex. He was rough, too wild, too far gone as he tasted her. Her hands sank into his hair and her hips surged up against him. He needed her to come again, at least once more, come for him. To let go with him. To give herself fully to him. Always.
She tasted so good. They’d never given him wine at Lazarus. He knew what wine was, though, just as he knew about chocolate. He also knew those things didn’t taste as good as Elizabeth. They couldn’t.
Nothing could.
She came against his mouth. He loved it. Loved her pleasure. And he pulled back to lick his lips. To savor her and watch the pleasure slide over her face.
“You,” Elizabeth gasped. “I need you.”
He surged into her. The bed rocked beneath him as he drove harder and harder into his paradise. The climax hit him, barreling through his whole body, gutting him, driving him absolutely beyond rational thought—driving him so hard that all he could think about, all he knew—
Was Elizabeth.
His heart raced too fast, a drumbeat in his chest, and Sawyer shoved his body up so he wouldn’t crush Elizabeth. He propped himself up on his elbows and gazed at her even as his breath sawed in and out of his lungs. Her eyes were wide, her lips red, her smile was beautiful enough to break a man’s heart.
“I missed you,” she confessed.
And he knew those words weren’t for him—not for the new Sawyer, not for the man who couldn’t remember his past and was only designed to kill. No, those words, those soft tender words—they were for the lover she’d lost. The one she still loved.
He also knew something else. Sawyer knew he was fucking insane because he was jealous of himself. Jaw locking, he withdrew from her body. He hated to leave her. He wanted to stay inside of her and fuck her endlessly.
But they didn’t have forever. They barely had the moment they were in. Sliding from the bed, his muscles were tense. He headed for the bathroom.
“Sawyer?”
He cleaned up and got her a warm cloth. He came back to the bed to find she’d dragged a sheet over herself. With a soft touch, he pulled the sheet away, and he slid the cloth between her legs. “Sorry if I was…rough.”
“I didn’t mind.” Her words were halting. “And you…weren’t.”
She was lying. He didn’t need enhanced senses to know that. He tossed the cloth onto the nightstand. His knuckles pressed to her throat. “I marked you here.” His knuckles trailed down her neck, moved to the curve of her shoulder. “Here.” Down, down he went, to the swell of her breast. “Here.”
She caught his hand. “And I’m sure I marked you plenty. Do you want me to prove it with a body check?”
His jaw locked. “Was it always like this?” Why was he asking? Shit, what did he want her to say? That it was better now? Better with the new Sawyer?
“Like this?” Her head tilted. Her hair had already begun to dry. “Do you mean did we touch and go crazy?”
He wanted to kiss the faint marks he’d left on her body. He wanted to mark her more.
“Yes, it was always like this. I wanted you from the first moment I saw you, even though I knew it was wrong.”
“Nothing about us will ever be wrong.”
Her lashes flickered. “You…said that before. A long time ago.”
“And I’m saying it again.” He caught her chin in his hand and forced her to stare at him. “Nothing about us is wrong. I know I’m different, but give me a chance. I can be better, I can get better. The poison—those dark emotions—they’re not going to rule me. They’re not as strong. They’re not—”
I’m going to find you. The words poured into Sawyer’s mind. Only they weren’t weak. They were strong and clear. Very distinct in a voice he recognized. Five. No, no, the bastard had a name. Bryce King.
I’m going to find you, and you’re going to watch while I kill your precious Elizabeth.
“Sawyer?” Elizabeth curled her fingers around his wrist. “What is it?”
You’re not the only one who’s out. Bryce’s laughter echoed in Sawyer’s mind. And I’m close, so close. The closer I get to you, the more power I’ll have over you. I’ve been holding back. I won’t hold back any longer.
“Bryce,” he snarled. He let Elizabeth go, and his hand rose to grip the headboard behind her. “The bastard says he’s loose.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“I hear him,” Sawyer felt the wood start to splinter beneath his grasp. “In my head.”
You should have seen the fire. It was so beautiful. Burn, burn, burn…and the screams. God, they were so loud. The guards weren’t all unconscious when I let the fire go.
Sawyer shook his head. You fucking bastard, did you kill them all?
Laughter came again. We’ll never go back. Because there’s no place to go back to. They’re all gone. Now I can hunt who I want, I can kill who I want, and no one will ever cage me again.
Sawyer’s temples throbbed.
And guess who I want to hunt first, One? It’s you…because it’s time for a new leader in this pack. I’m going to kill your precious Elizabeth, and then I’ll kill you.
Rage washed over Sawyer. Dark, twisting, consuming. Making him want to roar his fury. Making him want to attack. To destroy.
Attack. Destroy. K—
“Sawyer?” Elizabeth was stroking his cheek. “Talk to me!”
How do you like that taste? Bryce taunted. Just wait until you see what I can really do. I’ve been pulling strings you don’t even know about, and it’s time for you to see the truth.
“Get the fuck out of my head,” Sawyer snarled.
Elizabeth’s eyes widened.
“Now!” Sawyer roared and he sent a blast of pure rage flying back toward Bryce. He didn’t know if that trick would work, but he was too furious to stop.
And…
Bryce’s connection to him winked out.
Elizabeth’s breath panted in and out. “Tell me you’re not having some kind of breakdown.”
That would be easier to handle. “Bryce isn’t dead. The sonofabitch was just in my head.” He rose and paced away from the bed, his body full of desperate energy and his muscles tight with battle-ready tension. “He’s coming after me.” No, not just him. Bryce was doing something far worse. Swallowing, he faced Elizabeth. “He’s coming after you. Because of what I feel for you, the bastard is using you as a target. He’s going to hurt you so he can get to me.”
She slid from the bed, pulling the sheet with her. “Why does he think I matter to you?”
“Because he’s been in my head.” Because you do.
“He can really do that? Slip into your mind?”
“I think he can do a hell of a lot more than we all realized.” He whirled and stalked toward the backpack. He unzipped it and pulled out the damaged laptop. “Secrets are on this damn thing.”
The floor groaned beneath her steps. “I told you when we were in the desert that I have a friend who can help us. If anyone can access the data on that machine, it will be Jay.”
Jay. Her voice softened a bit when she said the other man’s name. Did she realize that? Sawyer looked back at her. “But where the hell is this Jay? We need answers now.”
Her gaze darted to the phone on the nightstand. “Jay has some pretty incredible resources.”
Well, wasn’t he just fucking fantastic, this mysterious Jay that she spoke of so easily.
“If I call him…” She was still looking at the phone. “I know he can be here for us within the hour. He can take us out of here and put us in a safe place until we figure out our next move.”
Be here within the hour. Eyes narrowing, Sawyer tilted his head and studied her. “How is the guy so close?”
“Because he’s been working with me all along.” The sheet trailed over the floor as she advanced toward him. “He didn’t like me going into Lazarus alone, so he told me he would be close by, in case I needed him. I think it’s safe to say that we need him now.”
Something was twisting inside of Sawyer’s gut. Something that made him feel… “Who is he to you?”
“A friend. An old friend.”
“Just that?”
“Does it matter? We’re kind of in a shit situation at the moment, and we need him. He’s a phone call away.”
“You’re asking me to trust a stranger.” A guy who could sell him out in an instant.
“No, I’m asking you to trust me.”
Hell.
“There are things you don’t know about me. Things I’m not proud of,” Elizabeth said as her dark stare held his. “I’m the one who created Lazarus. I’m the one responsible for the formula. And it’s because of me that you’re even in the program now.”
He didn’t move. “Why do you say that?”
“Because Landon…he told me that Wright wanted you in the program because your involvement would be a way of controlling me. As long as you were in Lazarus, Wright knew that I couldn’t walk away. I’d always come back when he needed me.” She gave a hard, negative shake of her head. “No, not when he needed me. Fuck Wright. I would come back when you needed me.”
And she had.
“Jay is my friend. I trust him with my life.”
Sawyer trusted her. “Make the call.” He nodded grimly. “Do it, now.”
Her breath slipped out on a sigh. She hurried toward the phone and dialed quickly. He didn’t move closer to her. Sawyer knew his enhanced hearing would let him hear every word of the conversation even from his position across the room.
The call was answered on the second ring.
“Elizabeth?” A man’s voice. Rushed. Worried. “I just saw the report on TV. Shit, baby, you scared the hell—”
Baby?
“What report?” Elizabeth asked. “And how did you know it was me?”
“Other than West, you’re the only person who has my private number.” Again, he spoke in a rush. “And the report I’m talking about—it’s the one that’s blasting on every TV channel in the area. The one that says a government research facility was bombed. There are over twenty confirmed fatalities, and two female doctors—Dr. Elizabeth Parker and Dr. Cecelia Gregory—are currently missing. The reporters are suggesting that you two may have been kidnapped by the bombers, that we have some domestic terrorism nightmare going on—”
“I wasn’t kidnapped. I’m okay. Cecelia’s okay, too.”
“I’m coming to get you.” Flat.
“You don’t even know where I am!”
“Oh, baby, this is me.”
Again with the baby shit?
“I had a lock on you the minute you called this number. Stay where you are, and I’ll be there to get you in thirty minutes.”
Elizabeth glanced over her shoulder at Sawyer. “I’m not alone.”
“Right, Dr. Cecelia Gregory. Don’t worry, I’ll get her, too.”
“No, I mean, yes, Cecelia is here, also, but two men are with us. I need a safe place for them. And I need your computer skills.”
Silence.
Sawyer found himself gliding closer to Elizabeth.
“You need me, huh?” The guy—Jay—gave a low laugh. “You know I’ll give you everything you need. I’ll get the transport. You just stay out of sight until I arrive.”
“Thank you.”
Jay had jumped to help her, no questions asked.
“Is he the man you remember?” Jay’s voice was halting now.
Sawyer saw Elizabeth’s shoulders tense.
“Beth?” Jay prompted.
Beth. A more intimate name, and the man’s voice had held a tone…they aren’t just friends. And the sudden emotion flooding through Sawyer’s veins was heavy and ugly and angry. Jealousy.
“I’ll see you soon, Jay,” Elizabeth said, and she hung up the phone.
Let it go.
“He’ll be here in thirty minutes.” She gave Sawyer a weak smile. “Jay always keeps his word. I should, um, I should go get dressed.” She took a step toward the bathroom and stopped. “Only I guess I don’t have any new clothes.”
“Flynn and Cecelia are in the room next door. I heard them return.” But he’d been preoccupied at the time, so he hadn’t cared.
Her eyes widened as she looked toward the wall that separated their room from Flynn’s. “You heard…oh, no. Tell me that he didn’t hear us, too.”
Flynn probably had.
Her cheeks stained. “Wonderful.”
“Why would you care if Flynn heard us having sex?”
“Because I do, okay? I just—”
“Have you had sex with Jay?” His voice was angry, and the darker emotions were surging in him, but he didn’t let those emotions loose. He held them back with a stranglehold even as his hands clenched into fists.
She sucked in a sharp breath. “Does it matter?”
He stalked to her. Stopped only when he was right in front of Elizabeth. “Yes.”
Her chin lifted. “I did.”
Fucking sonofabitch—
“Before I ever met you. Before a tough as nails SEAL headed into my exam room, and I found myself looking into a pair of blue eyes I’d never be able to forget.” Her smile was sad. “Jay and I were before you.”
“I was trapped in Lazarus hell for three months—” He stopped, unable to say more. His jaw locked as his teeth ground together. Had she been with someone else during that time? Had another man touched her, kissed her, made the pleasure tremble through her body while he’d been locked away? Had she turned back to that Jay asshole? Don’t want to know. Shouldn’t have asked. Want to kill—
“Jay was before you, and there was no one after you.” Her gaze held his. “Did you really think I’d just go to someone else, when I knew what was happening to you? That I’d just turn my back on you that way?”
He’d hurt her. Shit. He could see it now. “I didn’t mean—”
“I know that you don’t remember me and that hurts. Because I remember it all. But try to understand me now, would you? Try to know me. I’m not the kind of person who’d do that. For me, you were…it.” Her lips pressed together and she blinked quickly. “Being with someone else would have been wrong. Not that I ever wanted anyone else. Just you.” She shouldered past him, marching for the bathroom.
He could only stand there, with his hands clenched, and with the image of her tear-filled gaze burned into his mind. “Beth!”
She stiffened. “You never called me that.”
Jay called her Beth. Jay helped her. Jay remembered her. So why the hell hadn’t she gone back to Jay?
“Why not?” he rasped.
“Because you got into the habit of calling me ‘doc’ when we first met.” She reached for the doorknob. “And then, whenever we were together, you’d call me other things.”
“Like what?” He should stop. Just—stop.
“Sweetheart. Baby.” Her shoulders rolled back. “The endearments that lovers use.”
“What did you call me?”
She looked over her shoulder. “Mine.” She licked her lips. “Because you were mine, and I was yours, and then everything went to hell.”
Yes, it had.
Elizabeth hurried into the bathroom and the door shut softly behind her.
Sawyer spun on his heel and strode for the motel room door. He wanted his past back. He wanted his life back.
I want Elizabeth.
He opened the door, making sure to check the perimeter to be certain there weren’t any unwanted guests lingering around. Then he knocked softly on Flynn’s door. The door was jerked open immediately, and Flynn stood there, looking slightly flushed, his hair raked back from his head.
“Clothes,” Sawyer snapped. “I need them for Elizabeth.”
Flynn lifted a brow. “Sure about that? From what I heard, didn’t sound like you two were doing an activity that involved—”
Sawyer grabbed Flynn and shoved him back, surging hard until Flynn’s shoulders hit a wall.
Cecelia gave a quick gasp and ran toward them. “Stop it!”
Sawyer didn’t let him go. “You don’t talk about her. Got it?”
Flynn searched his gaze. “Do you got your control, bro? ’Cause you seem a little unsteady to me.”
Cecelia grabbed Sawyer’s arm. “Let him go!”
He did, mostly to prove that, yeah, he still had his control. For the damn moment. Sawyer exhaled and rolled back his shoulders. “Give me the clothes.” He didn’t comment on the fact that Cecelia was wearing a towel and that Flynn was partially dressed. How’s that for control?
“On the nightstand.” Flynn caught Cecelia’s hand and pulled her behind him.
A protective pose. Interesting.
“Elizabeth called her friend.” Friend, ex-lover, hell—he was going to have trouble being around that guy. The surge of emotion was not good. “Jay is coming for us. He’ll be here within thirty minutes.”
Flynn’s brows rose. “Can we trust him?”
“Don’t have any choice. He’s not the only one coming for us.” Sawyer snatched up the bag of clothing. “Got a little telepathic visit from our buddy Bryce. He’s pissed as hell, and he’s promised to hunt us down.”
“He got out of the facility?” Cecelia cried. Fear flashed on her face.
Fury darkened Flynn’s eyes. “He’s a dead man.”
“Aren’t we all,” Sawyer muttered. “The bastard said he was coming after Elizabeth. He thinks he’s going to kill her and push me over the edge. Not happening.”
Flynn nodded grimly. “We’ll stop him.”
I’ll kill him, and he won’t come back. That will stop him.
“Better turn on the TV.” Sawyer inclined his head toward the dark screen. “Seems we’ve made the news.” He strode toward the door.
“The news? What do you mean? Is Wright looking for us? Did the bastard say we’re—”
“The whole facility is gone. Exploded. And Jay said the news reports are claiming that Elizabeth and Cecelia were kidnapped. Kidnappers. Hell.” He yanked open the door. “Add the crime to our damn resume.”