Chapter Five
Nina followed as Boone led her up a winding path, past patches of neatly trimmed lawn that alternated with dense knots of vegetation. She was barefoot, and it felt nice to stride over the lush, springy grass. A stream gurgled somewhere in the distance, and a yellow butterfly fluttered over bright red flowers.
“Hibiscus,” Boone murmured, and for some reason, she blushed.
All the colors, the scents, the sounds piqued her senses, and the energy that had drained out of her the night before came trickling back in. Boone was part of that, too, making her mind come alive, bringing the smile back to her face.
She spotted a rooftop poking up behind a tall hedge — another dwelling on what seemed to be a sizable estate — and a square of cement with a big H painted in the middle. A helipad?
“You live here?” She gaped, looking around. Well, of course, he lived there. But the estate seemed too big and manicured for a man like Boone. The rustic beach bungalow suited him to a T, but the rest of the place didn’t seem to fit.
Boone laughed. “What? Don’t I seem like a millionaire playboy with my own seaside estate?”
“No,” she said without thinking then backpedaled wildly. “I mean, it’s not that…um…”
He grinned a mile wide. “Don’t worry. I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Nina found herself grinning, too, but then they turned a corner and emerged at a big, open-walled building set in the middle of a closely clipped lawn. She stopped in her tracks, mumbling. “I remember this…”
Boone nodded eagerly. “That’s good. You were here last night. Do you remember further back than that?”
She closed her eyes, willing that to be the case. But the only information her mind surrendered was frantic images of swimming for her life and memories from much further back, like sitting cuddled with her mother on a worn but cozy couch, reading Frog and Toad Are Friends. A bittersweet smile drifted over her lips.
“Nothing?” Boone coaxed her along.
“Nothing.” She shook her head a little. Why couldn’t she remember anything?
“That’s okay,” he murmured, making her feel less like a hopeless case. “It will be all right. A little lunch goes a long way, right?” He motioned ahead. “That’s our akule hale — the meeting house.”
She followed him toward the building, wishing she didn’t have to face anyone else right now. Walking barefoot beside Boone was easy and comfortable, but the thought of anyone else made her worry about her hair, her face, and — oh God — the pathetic impression she must have made the previous night.
“Will the others be there?”
Boone must have heard the anxiety in her voice because he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry. Silas left early this morning, and the other guys… Well, they’re all bark and no bite. Hiya, Hunter,” he called, stepping into the shade of the building.
A big, burly guy with brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard stood quickly — old-fashioned manners, Nina thought, warming inside — and nodded.
“How do you do?” he asked, ever so politely. Shyly, almost.
“I feel a lot better, thank you,” she said, turning to the second man as Boone made for the coffeepot.
Hunter put her immediately at ease, but the second man — not as big but lithe and corded with muscle — scowled. Cruz — that was his name. His striking yellow-green eyes pierced hers as he grumbled under his breath. “Does she remember anything?”
He said it as if she weren’t even there. As if she were a piece of flotsam that had washed up on the beach.
Nina looked at the floor. Well, it wasn’t that far from the truth. And Cruz was probably just cranky from her interrupting their evening, so it was her fault, not his.
But Boone didn’t seem as quick to forgive. He stalked over to the dark-haired man with a murderous look on his face. “Hunter, show Nina what we have while I talk to Cruz.”
Nina bit her lip. Boone’s expression sure didn’t look like talking was what he had in mind. Cruz looked as dark and dangerous as Boone had suddenly become, and she worried there would be a fight.
Hunter moved past her, faster than a man that size ought to have been able to move, and thrust himself between the two men who stood bristling and growling at each other like a couple of wild beasts.
“Sure,” Hunter said, in a voice that was both soft and powerful. “You two talk. Talk.” He emphasized the last word and shoved the two of them out into the noon sun.
Nina stood, chewing her lip, but Hunter just sighed. “Don’t worry about them. Come and eat.”
Reluctantly, with a last glance over her shoulder, she followed Hunter to the kitchen section of the expansive living space. There was a living room area with several couches, a dining area with a table big enough for ten, and a reading nook she longed to curl up in.
“Help yourself,” Hunter said, motioning toward the refrigerator while he drew a plate out of a cabinet for her.
The place seemed like one big bachelor pad, and Nina braced herself for what she might find inside the fridge. Jars of pickles and cans of beer? But the shelves were full of neatly arranged packages and fresh produce — so much, she hardly knew where to start.
Her surprise must have shown because Hunter chuckled. “Tessa made us promise to eat well while she was away.”
“Who’s Tessa?” Nina asked quickly, suddenly eager for female company.
“She’s Kai’s ma—” He stalled out on one word and finished with another. “Kai’s partner. A chef. They’re, um…honeymooning for a couple of weeks.”
She’d never thought about it before, but heck, if she lived in Hawaii, she could honeymoon at home.
Honeymoon… A dark memory raced in and out of her mind, too quickly to catch.
“Would you like me to make you a sandwich, too?” she asked, resisting the chill that swept over her mind.
Hunter nodded eagerly.
“Let me guess. Ham and cheese with mustard and a little honey,” she tried.
His jaw dropped.
“I have a knack for guessing.” The grin that came as easily as the words turned into a frown when she realized what she’d just said. How did she know what she had a knack for? Did it have to do with a hobby or what she did for a living?
“Hey,” Boone murmured, coming up behind her. “Did you find something you like?”
The sound of his voice halted the sinking feeling in her gut, pushing the what’s wrong with me worries away.
She nodded, not trusting her voice yet, and started pulling out cold cuts, condiments, and lettuce. She tried guessing what Boone would like. “Roast beef for you?”
He nodded, helping her set up. Cruz, she noticed, kept his distance, eyeing her from the perimeter of the space like a lion from a cage. There was something decidedly feline about the way he paced — all power, all masculine, all pent-up frustration. She looked away quickly. Why did she have the feeling every man here had a hidden, feral side? That and a past filled with pain and regret, for all that each covered it up. Even quiet Hunter, the biggest and quietest of the group, carried a hint of sadness about him.
She slabbed mustard on the bread Boone handed her in heavy strokes and added several slices of salami.
“What happened to roast beef?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She pointed to the second sandwich — the one with extra tomato. “That’s yours. That one is for Hunter, and this one is for him. Cruz, right?” She called his name cheerily. Whatever had happened between Cruz and Boone was her fault, and she wanted to extend a peace offering. “Do you like salami?”
Cruz glowered at her from the shadows, then gave a curt nod.
“Perfect,” she murmured brightly, pretending he’d lavished her with praise. Some guys were just cranky, and little gestures went a long way, even if the man didn’t let on right away. How she knew that, she wasn’t sure. But somehow, she knew it was true.
She, Boone, and the others all clustered around the bar that extended from the kitchen — even Cruz, who perched on a barstool at the far end — and chowed down on their lunches. Nina relished every bite of her turkey sandwich and soaked in the happy sound of munching all around. She’d been famished, and the men looked like it, too.
“You guys eat like a pack of wolves,” she joked.
Boone choked on his sandwich, and Hunter thumped his back, flashing her a huge grin. “You could say that.”
“Great sandwich,” Boone said, covering up whatever had thrown him.
Even Cruz appeared to hide a little chuckle, and she wondered what she’d just said. Whatever it was, the tension in the room continued to ease, and that felt good. She stood for the coffeepot and made a round of everyone’s mug.
“Refill?” she asked Hunter.
“Sure. Thanks.”
She pushed the sugar and cream his way. “Pass the cream to Boone when you’re done.”
“Whoa,” Boone murmured, putting his hand over his mug.
“No more for you?”
“I do want more, but how did you know I take milk and no sugar?”
She shrugged, making her shoulder ache. “I saw you make it before. Hunter takes both, you take milk, and Cruz drinks his black. Right?”
They all stared at her for a second before Boone cracked into a smile. “I’ve been living with these morons for years, and they still don’t remember how I take my coffee.”
“As if you remember how I take mine,” Hunter sighed.
They chuckled, though Nina winced a little at the word remember. “I guess you just have to pay attention to the little things.”
Boone saved her plummeting mood with a broad smile and a wink. “Come to think of it, I can’t even remember these guys’ birthdays.”
Nina smiled and sat quietly, hoping her own birthday might pop into her mind. But three different dates floated around in that foggy haze, and none felt exactly right. But at least there was that — the blank area was slowly filling with blurry shapes, sounds, and emotions. Maybe if she gave herself a few more days, her memory would return.
She looked around. Did she even have a couple of days? Would they let her stay? Wouldn’t her family miss her while she was gone?
She downed the last of her sandwich with a long gulp of coffee, trying to swallow the vague sense that she didn’t have anyone who might miss her.
“So, what next?” she murmured, looking at Boone.
He grinned. “Next? Cruz does the dishes—”
Cruz muttered something under his breath, but Boone just laughed.
“—and you and I go to town to investigate what’s going on.”
“Whoa,” Hunter said. “Silas didn’t say investigate. He said to go to the police.”
Boone stood, tugging Nina’s hand gently. “Someone tried to kill her. Someone who probably thinks she’s dead. And dead is safer than alive, don’t you think?”
Nina didn’t know what to think — only that an icy chill crept down her spine. Someone did try to kill her. Had she done something awful to deserve it or was it all a terrible mistake?
Hunter seemed dubious, but Boone just tugged her along. “We will go to the police — eventually. But it won’t hurt to look around first. Right?”
The first part of Boone’s question was aimed at Hunter, but the second was aimed squarely at Nina, and she managed a nod. “Right.”
“Hang on. Where are you going to start?” Hunter said. “You need a plan.”
“Such a bea—” Boone started, then coughed.
Bear? Nina chuckled. Hunter definitely was a bear of a man.
Hunter shot Boone a look of warning, but the smile he gave Nina was genuine. Caring. “What do you remember?”
Nina bit her lip. The man was sweet, putting it that way instead of emphasizing what she couldn’t remember. Which was a lot. She stammered and did her best to reply, but her mind kept serving up blanks, and her tongue kept getting stuck on how exactly to put the blur into words.
“Can you ID the men who pushed you off the boat?” Boone asked.
She closed her eyes and caught a brief flash of a strangely familiar face. One moment it was there, sneering in her memory, and the next, the face of her would-be killer was gone.
She shook her head. “No. I don’t think I can.”
“What about the boat? Was it a runabout? A cruiser? A sport fishing boat?”
The men looked at her expectantly, but heck. She couldn’t tell the bow of a boat from the stern. How could she describe a boat she only remembered in snippets?
“It’s okay,” Boone murmured. “I’m sure you’ll remember when you have something to spark your memory. We’ll start at the marina.”
Hunter didn’t look convinced, but Boone was so sure of himself — no, sure of her — that it gave her confidence, too.
“Sure,” she murmured, though her knees threatened to lock up.
“We won’t be long,” Boone told the others as he stood and took her hand.
He led her away from the building and up a long, winding driveway to what looked like a stable, although it turned out to be a garage full of exotic cars. Nina’s eyes went wide as Boone led her past a Ferrari, a vintage Jaguar, a Land Rover, and a Mercedes S class, all waxed and polished until they shone brighter than the sun. Who owned this place? And which was Boone’s car? She pictured him in a beat-up pickup with a surfboard on the roof, but when he turned left into the last archway of the long, sprawling building, she spotted a motorcycle. A big, black Harley.
She hung back a little, suddenly unsure. “What if they see me?”
They were the men who’d tried to kill her, and Boone seemed to understand, because he took her shaking hand. “No one will be able to see you.” He held up a helmet with a tinted visor. “See?”
She nodded but didn’t budge one inch.
“No one will see you, Nina. But I’m hoping you’ll see something that sparks a memory.”
She gulped. “What if I don’t? What, then?”
He curled his lips inward, holding back whatever answer had nearly rolled off his tongue. “If you prefer to go straight to the cops, I can take you. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”
She had no idea where she wanted to go. Only that she wanted to stay close to him. Not so much from the fear of who was out there as from the overwhelming feeling that she belonged with him. As if destiny was watching at exactly that moment and signaling her wildly from behind Boone’s back. This guy. Believe me, you want to stick with this guy.
She gulped. Why was it that nothing was clear to her except that?
Boone waited quietly, hope shining in his eyes.
“No cops,” she murmured. “Not yet.”
He broke into a smile so wide, so sunny, that she grinned, too.
“We’ll look around town then figure out what to do next. I promise I’ll take care of you,” he murmured, going all warrior on her again.
She’d never been the need-to-be-taken-care-of type, but at that very moment, his words gave her the shot of confidence she needed. So much that she rolled onto her toes and kissed him on the cheek. No more than a quick, chaste peck, really, but still, her heart leaped.
Boone blinked, standing perfectly still except for the vein pulsing in his neck.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
“For what?” His voice was hushed.
“For helping me. For everything.”
He bit his lip, and his eyes seemed to glow. Her heart beat faster, because they were slipping into that bubble again. Then he gave himself a little shake and nodded. “For you, Nina — anything.”
He kissed her knuckles and kept them pressed to his lips as his eyes closed. Nina closed hers, too, savoring that feeling of connection, of trust. She’d been so alone for so long — that much was perfectly clear in her mind, even if the circumstances were not — and somehow, this perfect stranger felt like a lifetime friend.
“Ready?” he whispered.
She nodded. Boone helped her slide the helmet on. His touch was tender and careful, and when she had it on, he smoothed her hair back from her cheek and tucked it carefully inside.
“All set,” he said, though his voice was muffled now that she had the helmet on. He slid her visor down, and a gray layer covered her field of vision. That made her feel safe, too.
Boone pulled on another helmet, walked the bike out of the garage, and straddled it. When he nodded her onto the back, she went without hesitation and snuggled up behind him like they’d gone riding together dozens of times.
“All set,” she murmured, hanging on to his waist.