Lisa Phillips - Sudden Recall

Brown hair fell down across his forehead and surprise flashed on his face, distracting him enough that Sienna was able to slam his head back against the side of the helicopter. He dropped to the concrete, unconscious. Maybe she hasn’t forgotten everything.

A boot crunched gravel at his back and Parker spun. He sideswiped the rifle with his forearm and punched the man. The fight was nasty, but Parker got him on the ground, arms behind his back. “Who sent you here?”

The man didn’t answer.

Sienna sprinted over and took cover behind Parker.

Parker asked again, “Who sent you?”

The man on the ground chuckled. The words he spoke were Italian, but Parker understood them nonetheless. He was going to kill himself. Before Parker could flip the man to his back and prevent the suicide, he’d already bitten down on what was likely a cyanide capsule in a fake tooth.

Parker pulled Sienna away so she didn’t have to see or hear the man’s unpleasant death. The helicopter rotors spun faster and it lifted off the ground, those inside apparently fully prepared to cut their losses and bail on this whole endeavor.

Parker held his arm around their faces while wind flicked his shirttails up and down. A convoy of cars pulled up and parked in the spot where the helicopter had been, surrounding the remaining living man. His team piled out, guns drawn, looking as perturbed as he felt.

Parker turned Sienna so she could focus on him. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

He wanted to say, “Always,” but that would imply there was some kind of link between them, some emotional connection deeper than two strangers standing by a truck on a highway. He wasn’t going there again; he had to keep a distance.

“You want to tell us what on earth is going on, Parker?” His boss, Jonah Rivers, was newly married and probably mad he’d been pulled away from precious time with his bride. Behind Jonah was US Marshal Wyatt Ames, a former police detective, and behind him the team’s married couple—Hailey and Eric Hanning. Jonah’s gaze was riveted on the front of Parker’s vest.

Parker glanced down and saw the bullet lodged there. Jonah’s eyebrow rose.

“Everyone, this is Sienna.”

Ames grinned, but then he always was cocky. “Explains a few things.”

Parker ignored him and pointed out everyone so she knew their names. “I was with Sienna when she was almost abducted by this guy.” He pointed at the man who’d killed himself with the capsule in his tooth. “And this guy.” He pointed at the man who’d been shot, though Parker was only responsible for the graze on his arm. “The one over there is only unconscious.”

Eric and Hailey broke off to handcuff the last man alive.

Parker blew out a breath while Jonah strode over and held out his hand. “It’s good to see you, Sienna.”

Parker whipped his head around. “You know her?”

Sienna said, “I watched some of the zoo animals at my ranch after the flood, up until Jonah’s wife, Elise, reopened it a month ago.”

“That was you?”

“Yes.” There was a question in her eyes. “My aunt didn’t like it, either, but I told her it wasn’t like the animals were going to come in the house, so why should she be bothered by them?”

“That’s how I met Sienna.”

Parker didn’t like the smug look on Jonah’s face. He wanted to tell his boss everything he knew about Sienna’s past—her real past and not whatever story she’d concocted instead of telling people the truth about her bizarre medical case. Then he’d watch Jonah’s facial expression change.

Instead, Parker said, “How nice.”

Jonah chuckled, apparently not fazed by Parker’s belligerence. He never was, and Parker hadn’t been hired on to a fugitive apprehension task force because of his people skills.

“I’m assuming the helicopter reported in this area was on account of you?”

* * *

While Parker told Jonah all about what had happened, Sienna left him and strode to her truck. Her purse was still on the front seat, her phone inside. Nothing had been taken, which made sense since the gunmen hadn’t been there for that. They’d been there for her, and when they’d failed, the one in charge had...killed himself. Who did that? Her mind spun so fast she was dizzy from it.

Sienna had twenty-three texts and three voice mails from her aunt. She sent a text back that said, I’m fine.

Two seconds after it sent, her phone rang. She turned to sit sideways on the front passenger seat and answered.

“Yes.”

“Where are you? I’ve been calling you for an hour!”

Sienna gritted her teeth. “I got a flat tire, then three men with guns and a helicopter chased me through the forest and I barely got free before they could put me in the chopper and take me to who knows where.”

Silence. “Did you kill them?”

Sienna choked. She’d said the whole thing in her most sarcastic voice, like what happened was just another day at the office, and Aunt Karen only wanted to know if Sienna had killed them? “Two of them are dead, but it wasn’t me who did it.”

Why was her aunt worried about that, and not whether or not Sienna was okay? Because while she was fine physically, mentally was a whole other question. “Listen, Aunt Karen, I’ll be home soon to heat up dinner...”

“I already ate. Is someone there with you?”

“A marshal stopped to help me with the flat.”

“Jackson Parker?”

Sienna frowned. “How did you know that?”

“Have him drive you home. Tell him to come inside so I can meet the man who saved my darling niece’s life.”

It just didn’t ring true. Nothing about her life did except the feel of Parker’s hand wrapped around hers. Remembering it was keeping her sane when she wanted to drop to the ground and cry. Not just from fear. When she looked at Parker it was like all those feelings of loss surrounding what she couldn’t remember intensified.

Maybe he was right and they had been friends. She wasn’t big on trusting people on face value, but Parker made her want to believe it. It felt right. He felt right.

But there was nothing she could do about it when she didn’t recall a thing. She couldn’t make any kind of move when she didn’t know their history. What if there was something huge she was missing because she’d lost her past? If she jumped in now, she’d look naive. That was why she had to back off and not rely on Parker too much, even if it was the easy route.

Sienna hung up and rubbed her gritty eyes. When she looked up, one of the marshals was in front of her. He shot her a cocky grin and stuck his hand out. “Wyatt Ames.”

She shook it. “Sienna Cartwright.” As always, it sounded foreign. Like she was living someone else’s life.

“So you’re the one who has him all tied up in knots.”

“Excuse me?”

“Parker.” Wyatt glanced once in his direction and then back at her. “A man doesn’t look at a woman like that if it doesn’t mean something.”

“Am I supposed to know what you’re talking about?”

He grinned. “I guess not. Parker told us about the amnesia thing. That really happens?”

Sienna kept a straight face. “I wouldn’t know. I can’t remember.”

Wyatt laughed, which made Parker pause in his conversation and look over at her. “That’s exactly the look I’m talking about.”

Parker went back to his conversation, and Sienna shook her head. “It’s not like that. We barely know each other.”

Well, she barely knew him. The reverse might not be true.

“Listen, I really need to...”

She was interrupted when the gunman she’d knocked out started yelling as he regained consciousness. Parker raced over while the marshals struggled to restrain him. Sienna watched, wide-eyed, as he stuck two fingers in the gunman’s mouth. The man bit down. Parker winced but didn’t back off. He pulled out a capsule and lifted the man up. “Put this one on suicide watch.”