“He is definitely from New Mexico,” Tav said, again reaching for the spoon, but Lora waved him away. She had already tempted fate enough by eating when her nerves and body were so uncertain. “There’s no record of him living anywhere in Colorado, but he does have a residence in Taos.”
A peculiar prickle shot down Lora’s neck.
Taos, New Mexico. That is familiar. That means something to me, something more than Colorado ever did.
Her heart leapt into her throat. This was becoming clearer, hazy as it still was, but Lora couldn’t help but feel like there was an explanation in sight.
Tav immediately caught the expression on her face and leaned closer.
“Does that ring any bells?” he asked urgently. “You look like you know something about that.”
She swallowed and met his eyes, gulping back the lump forming in her throat.
“I’m not sure,” she breathed. “I-I mean, it might? It’s more familiar than Denver or having a husband…or a brother for that matter.”
Tav seemed relieved.
“Well, that’s something,” he said. “But there’s still no word on his criminal past or anything about you. We’ll know soon. These things just take a bit of time.”
Lora didn’t ask what she was thinking.
How much time do we really have if Oliver is out to get me? If he found me once, he might find me again.
She quickly reminded herself that he had only found her because she had given herself up. Under Tav’s protection, he wouldn’t find her again…would he?
She wracked her mind to remember how much she had told Oliver about Tav, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that the conversation had mostly been on bringing Lora “home.”
“I don’t understand why he would go through all this trouble if he’s lying,” Lora muttered, more to herself than him, but Tav answered all the same.
“I’m sure he’s got his reasons,” Tav growled, his voice laced with anger. Lora eyed him.
“You think he means to hurt me?”
“He won’t,” Tav said tersely. “I won’t let him.”
“But is that his intention?” she insisted. “Do you think that’s what he wants from me?”
Tav pressed his lips together as if he were steeling himself from saying something. Instead of answering, he rose and picked up the tray.
“We’ll get to the bottom of this, just like I promised,” he told her. “We’re getting closer with each second. I just need you to hang in there a little longer.”
Lora didn’t respond, her dark eyes taking in his movements as he collected her leftovers and ambled toward the door.
“Get some rest,” he told her softly. “And come get me if you need anything, all right?”
Lora nodded slowly.
“Okay.”
Tav paused to give her a final look, the expression on his face filling her with heat. There was no doubt how he felt about her, no hiding his intentions. The question was, how did she feel about him?
“Sleep well.”
The door closed behind him, and she sank back along the pillows, her stomach rumbling nervously as the movie played in the background. Her attention was no longer what was on the screen but on what Tav had just told her.
There was no husband.
Oliver had lied to her.
She was not even from Colorado, a fact that she had half figured, even without her memory.
I do believe him, she realized. But I think he’s hiding something from me too.
Was it possible that both Oliver and Tav were out to get her? Were there a trail of men set on destroying her, men that she simply could not remember?
It was difficult to reconcile that Tav wanted to hurt her. He had had ample opportunity to precisely do that. As much as his abrupt kidnapping had startled her, it didn’t make sense that he would give her up only to reclaim her once more. Everything he had told her was plausible, even if Lora didn’t understand it.
She could still feel the linger of Tav’s innocent touch on her bare skin, feel the way his eyes had raked over her body as he lowered her into the bathtub. She could not forget the way he had spoon-fed her, cooked for her, run her a bath. Despite her faulty memory, Lora knew this was not the behavior of a man trying to hurt her.
There was no denying that she wanted him with overwhelming intensity, wrong as it might be.
But she believed him.
She believed that there was no husband and that Oliver Church, whoever he was, had lied to her for reasons she did not claim to understand. He was the only friend she had in this messy, confusing world, and instead of throwing herself at his feet, she had given him nothing but trouble.
I’m safe here, for now, thanks to Tav, she thought, slowly sitting up again, her pain almost forgotten as a heady sensation took her over. I have been a fool to question this. Tav has put up with too much from me already.
She didn’t let herself reconsider what she was about to do, her feet touching the heated floors of the bedroom as she made her way into the hallway. She vowed to show her appreciation to Tav and never again doubt him.
She didn’t question the fact that she seemed to be floating above herself as though the real Lora Young had been stuffed down into a crevice of something brand new, something that had been born on the afternoon Tav had found her.
But of course, Lora didn’t remember any of that.
15
Tav put the tray on the kitchen island and stared off into space for a moment. His thoughts were still on the conversation he’d had with Lora and what was bound to happen with Oliver in the aftermath of the next few days.
He loathed that Oliver Church remained so heavily on his mind, but until the matter was properly resolved, Tav suspected that he had little say in the matter.
Tomorrow night, she will shift, and we’ll have that mess to deal with, but after that, Oliver will still be a threat that I’ll have to do something about it.
The question of how much he would need to be dealt with and what Tav was apt to do about it were two different questions. The answer would depend strictly on who Oliver Church really was and what he wanted with Tav’s mate.
Tav had a bad feeling about the outcome of all that, but he knew that whatever the truth was, he would not rest until Lora was safe and free of all threats. He wished that Rhodes would get back to him, but he knew he couldn’t rush his brother. The information would come when it came. In the interim, there was nothing Tav could do but wait it out and take care of Lora.
The sound of footfalls caused him to turn, and he blinked unexpectedly at the sight of Lora. He almost hadn’t noticed that she had crept down the stairs and watched him.
“Hey! Is everything okay?” he asked, spilling about. He noted the odd expression on her face. “Were you calling me?”
“No,” she replied lightly, in a lilting voice that wasn’t quite her own. “I wasn’t.”
Tav’s brow furrowed, and he stared at her in confusion.
“Do you need something? Did I forget to get you something?” he asked slowly, not fully understanding the look on her face. His gut told him that something was off, but Lora shook her head, a slightly dreamy look in her eyes. Before he could ask her anything else, her arms snaked out to wrap around his neck.