Page 38 of Storm Warning

Remi gave Shawna the long-story-short version and took the coffees. Honestly, Remi hated sharing the traumatic events with Shawna, who’d already been through too much. She’d killed her husband in self-defense, and now she was here, on the other side of the country, escaping the pain and serving up coffee.

“Are you sure you’re up for the drive?” Hawk asked her, pulling her attention back.

No. She wasn’t sure of anything right now. “We’ll keep each other awake.”

Coffee cups in hand, raincoats donned, they made their way to her Bronco and climbed in. After cranking the heat and stripping off her rain jacket, she pulled out of the parking lot and steered along the slippery, muddy road out of Cedar Trails Lodge and Resort—so said the sign. Every time she saw it, she almost snorted a laugh. Backwoods and rustic andboastingno amenities, the lodge didn’t live up to the image of a resort.

Once she finally got onto the main highway, she headed south. On the road like this and away from the immediate threat, she could almost breathe. When she’d given her statement, she’d come clean and told Deputy Hunter about her amnesia. The deputy thought it might be a stretch until Remi told her about the puzzle pieces, which added substance to her conclusion. No more puzzle pieces had come to her yet, as far as she knew. Even if she had all the puzzle pieces put together to complete the picture, she wasn’t sure if it would help her remember or if she would recognize the place.

Hawk grunted as if in pain. “I don’t have time for this.”

He was moving and talking okay, so maybe he was all right, but she was glad he agreed to see a doctor at all. She couldn’t shake the sense that something was bothering him.

“Look, I know this has been a trying day,” she said. “I don’t know you all that well, but I can tell something is eating at you. What happened tonight? I mean, other than the obvious stuff that happened. Don’t forget, Hawk, you’re the guy who’s going to help me remember.” She hoped her not-so-subtle reminder would prompt him to open up about what he was keeping to himself.

“And have you remembered anything more?” He practically grunted out the question. “Because I think you have and you’re not telling me. Maybe you told the deputy.”

“I didn’t have a chance to tell you, all right? I had a flashback.It was like reliving the moment. I was told this is how the memories could come back to me. Like someone who has PTSD. A guy was hanging out of a helicopter, looking at me. He was reaching for me, to pull me up inside. We were already in the air.” Nausea threatened with the memory. The rush of contrasting emotions. Terror. Hope. Confusion. “It just seems crazy. I don’t know what I was doing there, but it’s in my head. It’s a memory, I’m sure of it.”

Remi’s throat tightened. “Hawk, you don’t think—he sounds like the man you described.”

“No. It could be anyone. Lots of people fit that description.”

“But it could make some sort of sense that the man who attacked me was with me during that missing week. I can’t be one hundred percent sure I’m remembering correctly. Repressed memories are a complex issue. Memories can’t really be trusted. Not completely. Your brain fills in the gaps, the holes. Fixes things, and sometimes it lies to you.”

Hawk shifted in the seat. “Do you remember his name? Anything else about him?”

“He was a soldier.”

Hawk’s expression tightened.

“Now that the door has opened, the memories of that time should start coming back to me. I need to see Dr. Holcomb as soon as possible. I’ve been a little busy tonight, though.” She accelerated on the lonely highway. The sooner they got to the hospital, the faster they could leave and she could get to Seattle. “You never told me what happened tonight. You obviously got his mask off.”

“He wasn’t wearing a mask. You already know he hit me in the head.”

“And that’s it? What else? I know you must have fought with him. But whataren’tyou telling me?”

Remi risked a glance his way when she should have reallybeen watching the road. In the dim light of the cab, she could make out the determined set to his jaw. Apprehension gripped her. Hawk had learned something vital. She could see it in his face.

“I don’t know how to tell you this,” he said.

“Just spit it out.”For crying out loud!

“I know him.”

“Wait. Just so we’re talking about the same guy—you know who?”

“The man who attacked you.”

Oh. She’d been hoping for a different answer. “Who is he, Hawk?”

For a few heartbeats, excruciating silence filled the cab.

Then... “He’s my brother.”

Remi slammed on the brakes.

16

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