She appeared to be in her element. Grace never once admitted to regretting that part. Only compromising situations and taking lives. What if her memory returned and she decided to go back in? Not every operative compromised their morals or their faith. She might want another go at it. Hollis couldn’t blame her. But like Mary Beth, she’d leave for something that was more satisfying and thrilling than him.

  That thought alone had kept him from barging into her bedroom in the middle of the night and fighting for them. Demanding she admit she loved him.

  It was there.

  In the kiss.

  It was in her words. Her touch. The way she looked at him. The way she smiled when he entered a room. Hollis had ignored it, passed it off as nothing, but after the kiss he could no longer deny what he knew. Grace Thackery loved him.

  Didn’t mean she wouldn’t leave him.

  He wished he was still unaware about it—about his own feelings for her. It would make not being together easier. He had to determine a line, draw it and not cross it.

  Find a way to be content with only friendship.

  He went into his office and opened up his laptop. SAR training classes were coming up again and he needed to go over the volunteer applications, confirm the dates with Cord and send some emails.

  His cell phone rang.

  Cord.

  “Hey,” Hollis said.

  “Levee broke, Hollis. Big trouble. We got vehicles floating down roads and people on the roofs of their homes. I’ve already called the Coast Guard. SAR isn’t going to be enough.”

  “I’ll send an emergency text out to volunteers. Where do you need me most?”

  “Hope Glen apartments are in trouble. First floor is totally flooded and cars are underwater.” A crack of thunder sounded, and Hollis felt it in his chest. “And another thing. I had to take my deputy off the inn. I’m sorry but I need all the help I can get, and let’s be honest—Grace is quite capable of taking care of herself. I have a bruised windpipe to prove it.”

  No doubt, but Hollis wasn’t underestimating agents or even Hector’s men. They may have been called off, but they weren’t gone. They were lurking. Watching. Hector wouldn’t be so stupid as to let them pick up camp and move on.

  “Patsy still at the station?”

  “For now. But it won’t be long and we’ll be underwater too.” His voice held a heavy dose of concern, but not panic. That was Cord, though.

  “I’m heading to Hope Glen.” He hung up and put his raincoat on. He patted his pockets searching for his keys and felt something in his right lower pocket. He retrieved a note. When did that get here? Hanging on to it, he found his keys on the desk and grabbed them in the other hand, then hurried to the training room to grab the extra survival packs he’d put together earlier.

  Once he got the gear and the rubber boat loaded, he climbed inside his truck and opened the note.

  Dear Hollis,

  Grace must have put this in his pocket in the truck this morning. He continued to read:

  I think I’ve known a lot of people and done a lot of things in my life. Most of which I don’t remember. Some I do, and it’s not pretty. You keep saying that God will work things out for good. I say He already has. The best thing that has ever happened to me—and though I can’t remember the past, I just know it—is you. You found me that day. I’m glad it was you. I’m glad I’ve spent the past year and a half being your friend. Friends take care of one another. They look out for each other and they want the best for one another.

  You’ve been the best friend. I have not. I’ve let you put your life in danger time and again. I’ve let you feel things for me that you shouldn’t. Because I’ve needed you. I’ve been the bad friend, and that makes sense. I think I’ve been bad most of my adult life. Don’t deny it. You know a blip of the things I’ve done. But I’m tired of being the bad friend. So I’m going to look out for you. Make sure that you get the best life, the one you deserve.

  By the time you read this, I’ll be gone. This fight isn’t yours, and when it’s over there’s a huge possibility that a new fight will begin. We have no clue how many people want me dead for multiple reasons. We aren’t sure if my memory will ever fully surface. There is too much uncertainty. Leaving will keep you safe as well as Tish and the town.

  Don’t worry about me, even though you will, I’m saying it anyway. I know more now than ever before. I’ll figure it out. We both know I’m resourceful and good with a gun. Ha.

  I’ll never be able to thank you enough. But I’ll always be grateful.

  You’ll always be my favorite.

  Love,

  Grace

  Hollis’s vision blurred from the moisture collecting in his eyes. Had she lost her mind? She was leaving? She thought going it alone was smarter, braver, better? Who would watch her back? The last time she went it alone, Peter Rainey nearly killed her. Granted, he had a bioterrorist weapon which gave him the advantage, but still.

  Cottonwood with no Grace? Hollis with no Grace? He’d rather hang right here in limbo than be in a world without her.

  The apartment complex needed him, but roads were flooding. Grace might not make it out of town. She could be stranded at the inn right now. He needed to get to her first and he prayed no one else did.

  He rushed into the storm. Lightning flashed too close for comfort and he hopped into the truck. The road leading from the facility was almost under water. He had to go slower than he wanted so he wouldn’t stall out.

  Even Main Street was underwater. Fishing boats had taken the place of cars as families tried to escape. Was the whole town going to go under? Hollis parked and bounded out into knee-deep water as he slogged down the street and to Tish’s inn. Water hid Grace’s tires.

  Tish met him at the door in waders. “Everyone is upstairs. We’ve got water everywhere.”

  “Where’s Grace?” They’d deal with the mess later.

  “She was here earlier, but when I finished upstairs she was gone,” Tish said. “I assumed you’d come to get her.”

  How had she left town without a vehicle? Prickling went down his spine. “Did you see her with anyone?”

  “No, but with all this rain and flooding, I’ve been preoccupied.”

  Now, Hollis hoped Grace had taken off like she said and was safe. This flood was a prime opportunity to strike, though it would be difficult. Everyone, including law enforcement, was distracted.

  “Hollis, what’s wrong?”

  “Probably nothing. Stay here, tend to the guests and call Cord to be evacuated. For now, there’s a shop vac in Grace’s place. I’ll bring it to you and then I have to go.” But where? Where would Grace be?

  He went out the kitchen door into the rain. He trekked to Grace’s house. The place was a disaster. Everything was in disarray. No way Grace would have done this. Did she come inside to pack and get ambushed? His heart jumped out of rhythm.

  He turned and Crewcut came out of the blue. He drew his weapon. Hollis was too far away to disarm him. “You and me are gonna take a ride.”

  “I doubt that,” Hollis said, calculating his moves. He inched forward. All he needed was to get close enough to get the gun, and if Crewcut wanted Hollis dead, he’d be dead. No, the guy from the shed the other day wanted Grace, which meant she’d either escaped or had been gone when Crewcut had arrived. Either way, she’d slipped through Crewcut’s hands. Leaving might have been the smarter choice. Whatever it took for her to stay alive.

  “I’m the one with the gun,” he said.

  For now.

  Hollis inched a little farther as he spoke. “Lose Grace again?”

  Crewcut laughed. “I don’t lose anyone. I’ll get Max. And I’m gonna use you to do it.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Hollis threatened.

  “We will indeed.” A new voice reached his ears.

  Hollis turned and saw only darkness.

  ELEVEN

  Grace perched on her chair at the Muddy Brewhaha. Public, but empty. With all the flooding, no one was having coffee. She cautiously watched the blonde who’d been sitting at the inn earlier. She now knew her as Siobhan. In her memory, she was a friend. Guess she’d find out soon enough.

  Grace had refused to ride with her, so she’d slogged through the water in her knee-high rain boots and met Siobhan here. Away from the people she cared about at the inn. If Hollis came looking for her, he wouldn’t come here. She was leaving town which meant stopping for a cup of joe wouldn’t be on the to-do list.

  Kali hollered from the counter, “The usual?”

  Grace nodded.

  Frowning, Siobhan pointed to Grace. “You look like a drowned rat, Max. But I get you don’t trust me. You’ve never trusted anyone. I don’t take it personally.”

  “My car was bombed so...”

  “Wasn’t me.”

  She didn’t say it wasn’t the CIA though. It could have easily been one of the three agents at the safe house, including the young one they’d dubbed Crewcut. Grace was as skilled in half-truths as Siobhan. Must have come with the training. “I have a million questions,” Grace said.

  Siobhan pointed a perfectly manicured, cherry-red nail at her. “I believe it. Let’s see if I can answer them before you ask. How did I find you? Noel. Tracked him with a chipped pen.”

  A pen with a tracking device. She really was a spy.

  Siobhan sipped the coffee. “This is good.”

  Did she realize Grace had no memory? She hadn’t mentioned it or acted like she knew. Grace’s mistrust seemed in character with who she’d once been. But if Grace was in Siobhan’s shoes, she’d have done recon. Oh boy. That instinct. It scared her, mystified her and gave her a small thrill.

  Grace wasn’t up for small talk about coffee. “You tracked Noel.”

  “With the pen. The one Clive gave us all after our recruitment training.” She leaned in. “Only works when it’s writing, though. It pinged on Monday. Took me a day to get here. Been watching the inn where it was located, and you. I had to be sure you and Noel weren’t in cahoots, but I haven’t seen him. What’d you do to him?”

  Like kill him? She said it as if Grace had no problem eliminating a person off the face of the earth.

  Noel must have not realized he had a tracker on him. But they never found any pen or paper in his room...wait...the silver pen in the rooster holder. When guests left them behind, under beds or tables, Tish put them in the holder. Either she found it after the room was searched or Noel lost it in the inn and Tish found it. “Noel is dead. Sniper. Last Monday.” It had been Grace using the pen that had sent the signal to Siobhan. Grace could only hope her old friend was telling her the truth.

  Siobhan sighed and shook her head. “Who?”

  Grace suspected the CIA, but Siobhan would deny it. She kept up the charade of having her memory. “Maybe Salvador’s men. I assume they found me the same way Noel did.” She told her about them coming for her but left out the part about Patsy. “Noel tried to kill me in Colombia.” She relayed her newest memory as if it hadn’t only recently surfaced. “I don’t trust any of you.”

  “Noel was sent to extract you, the research and the toxin from Colombia. Hector was onto you. When he returned, he told us that you died in a lab fire with all the research and the toxin, and that Dr. Sayer must have escaped or been taken by the DEA. We had no reason not to believe him.”

  “He said he was following orders.”

  “He wasn’t. Maybe he came to aid you but couldn’t pass up a sweet opportunity to steal the goods and double-cross us all. I don’t know. But why would Clive want you dead? He’s the closest thing to family you have. Noel was always jealous of you, and he would have loved to hit you where it hurt most right before he tried to kill you.”

  Grace wasn’t sure. She had no memory of her and Noel except the kiss they shared on what was probably an assignment. “So, Clive and all of you thought I was dead until the pen pinged?”

  “Clive suspected Noel’s duplicity when he disappeared about three months ago. He believes that Noel stole the research and toxin and was dangling carrots to buyers all along. When he went off the grid, Clive suspected he found one. We assumed then that Noel had killed you and you hadn’t died in the fire. When the pen pinged...we thought we were chasing down bad guys. We found you instead. I assume Noel saw you on TV like you said and came to finish what he started since you could prove he tried to murder you. He’d lose it all. Go to prison.”

  Made sense, but Noel had seemed genuine and sincere. Again, they were trained to lie and to pretend. Grace herself had done it and fooled Hector, along with countless others no doubt.

  “If that’s true, then why did agents try to kill me at the farmhouse in Starkville?”

  “How do you know Hector Salvador didn’t hire mercenaries? He’s a smart man. Coming after Mad Max? He would know better than to send gunrunners or average criminals.” She grinned and sipped her coffee. “You’d have had them subdued in seconds.”

  Like the two men who’d blown her tire. She could have easily killed them. “It’s possible.” Grace wasn’t sure who to believe. Everyone’s story sounded plausible. If Noel was going to kill her, then what was all lies? Why offer to help her when he easily could have killed her like the sniper had killed him?

  Grace closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, mentally counting to ten. “Patsy told me that Clive wanted me dead.”

  “That’s old hat.” She cocked her head and studied her. “Patsy isn’t who she says she is, and just because she knew your mom and bonded with you on the compound by using her history with your mom doesn’t make her an honest woman. She was working for Hector for money. A lot of it. She was afraid Clive was on to her and you were going to haul her in. She used your mom to get to you, and the Max I know would make her pay dearly for it.”

  Grace wasn’t the Max she knew, though. “No, she was threatened.”

  Siobhan nodded, but her face was as sarcastic as one could be. “Then why would Hector bother to pay her, if he could get her to work on a threat alone? That home her sister lived in was a pretty penny. We chased every rabbit trail that we could to find her.”

  She finished her coffee.

  “Max, when are you going to come clean and tell me you lost your memory? It’s obvious you are not the same. You haven’t even asked about Magnum.”

  Magnum?

  “Your cat.”

  “Oh. Sorry.” She had a cat? Who was caring for him?

  “You don’t have a cat. Noel hit you with the toxin, didn’t he?” Her voice gentled. “I’m sorry. But if you come with me, we can help you. We have skilled doctors who can bring your memory back. Clive has been going nuts.”

  “Why isn’t he here then?” The bubbling anger rose.

  “A softer approach was necessary. A woman. And we didn’t know you had amnesia. We were following Noel.” She scooted her coffee aside and took Grace’s hands. “He was afraid you’d been completely brainwashed by Patsy and possibly Noel. You might have shot him on sight.”

  “I am not like that anymore.”

  “Of course not. Let’s fix this memory issue and get you back to normal. I miss my roommate. My bestie. My colleague. We’ve got bad guys to fight.”

  Someone who could get her memory back sounded like a dream. But could she trust Siobhan?

  Her cell rang. She braced herself for Hollis’s call which she would ignore. Best to go cold turkey. But it was Cord and an eerie feeling came over her. “I need to take this.” She answered.

  “Grace, are you okay? Is Hollis with you?”

  “I’m fine.” Panic tightened her chest. “He’s not. Why?”

  “He didn’t show up at the Hope Glen apartments. Thought he got stalled out. Wouldn’t answer my calls so I suspected you might be in trouble. I saw his truck at the inn. Checked your place and it’s completely trashed, and I found his cell phone smashed on the living room floor...and fresh blood.”

  Grace’s entire world stopped.

  She’d left Hollis to protect him, but leaving had put him in even greater danger. She’d never forgive herself for this. He might not either.

  “What’s wrong?” Siobhan whispered.

  She raised an index finger. “I haven’t seen him since earlier. Have you checked the SAR facility?”

  “No.”

  “I will. I’m closer. Call if you find him.” She hung up and relayed the message to Siobhan. “I’m going to borrow Kali’s car. She won’t mind.” Although, the road was flooded; it would be tricky and maybe impossible.

  “No way. This guy is important to you. I read it all over you. And no one has ever meant anything to you. So I’m all in, Max. Whoever has him, you have our full backing to get him. Let’s go do what we do best.”

  “Okay.” Grace only hoped her memory of Siobhan held true. They jumped up and raced out of the café, getting inside Siobhan’s Jeep. “We’ll find him. I promise.”

  “Thank you.”

  Whether she was proving she could be trusted for good reasons or more sinister motives, Grace didn’t care at the moment. She’d take every stitch of help she could get and then some.

  She felt nauseated. A headache coming on.

  Hollis. Someone had hurt him. Taken him. It was all her fault.

  They eased through the floodwater, Siobhan’s vehicle handling the road pretty well. “Salvador’s men must have taken him alive. Let that comfort you.”

  “Why?”

  “Girl, you truly don’t have your memory or you’d know why. To get to you.”

  “But I don’t know anything.”

  “Sure about that?”