He had started to bandage that cut, but he paused a moment.

  “It was her, now that I’m thinking about it. She—when she came in, I just thought how beautiful she must’ve been. You could tell. Sometimes we can’t, when they’re…you know, but with her, I could tell. I could tell right away. There’s always a feeling about them.”

  Should I tell him about the other side of it all?

  I looked back and found him staring at me.

  Oh boy.

  Okay.

  Here we go.

  I hoped he was open-minded. “I can feel them.”

  His eyes sharpened, finding mine.

  “When they’ve died, I can feel them.”

  “Shut up.”

  I didn’t. “If it’s their soul or—”

  “Stop.”

  “If it’s their, I don’t know—”

  “Stop talking.”

  “—their spirit. It’s them. I can feel them.”

  “Shut up!” he roared, reaching for me.

  His hand found my throat, but there was no pinch, no squeeze. It was all for show.

  “I knew she was loved when she was wheeled in. I can’t tell you how I knew it, but I did.” I swallowed, feeling his hand tighten over my throat. “Her family came, and I knew it wasn’t by them. I’d never felt that before. Ever. But I knew. I knew, and then you showed up, and I swear, I could feel her. I could hear her say, finally to me, like she’d been waiting for you.”

  “Shut,” he growled. His hand twitched, tightening on my throat. “Up.”

  I wanted to. I just couldn’t.

  Not about this. Never about this.

  My voice dropped low, almost to a whisper. “She left.”

  His hand tightened, painfully.

  “After you were there, she was gone.”

  He closed his hand, sucking a breath in, and pinned me to the table. His eyes were feral.

  I closed my eyes, feeling his hand on my throat, but my God, I had to tell it all now. “You can kill me. That’s fine, but she was there. I have to tell you that. She was there, and she was waiting for you, and when you showed up, she was happy.” My eyes were still closed, but I felt a tear trickle out, down the side of my face. I left it. It didn’t matter. “She was happy you were there. It was you she was waiting for, not her family. You. And I can feel all of that because I’ve taken care of so many dead people.” I took a deep breath, noting that I was still able to do so. “And since we’re talking about spirit stuff, the rest seems silly to keep from you...” Oh boy. Really? Yes. “I was attracted to you—not your brothers, you. I don’t know why—maybe it was her. But the doctor stuff I know about you? It’s because I googled you. I know your name. I know your medical school friends, or some of them. You were tagged in a picture someone uploaded—you and your nurses. And there’s another of you and your patients. They tagged you.”

  His patients loved him. I’d seen that.

  His nurses respected him. I saw that, too.

  “If it’s all a farce, you being a doctor, it’s a really good one.”

  He stood, releasing my neck and scattering bandages across the floor. He tossed his scissors in the sink and stormed out.

  He left me alone, with his memories.

  Chapter Seventeen

  JONAH

  Jesus. She had no idea.

  That shit she said to me?

  I couldn’t.

  I just…

  I couldn’t.

  Fuck.

  I’d left her alone again.

  Chapter Eighteen

  CARSON

  A little while later, he found me in what I assumed was the library.

  One wall was the floor-to-ceiling glass, facing the atrium, but two of the other walls were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. And books lined every inch of those shelves. The other wall was painted black with a leather couch against it that looked hella comfortable. Two afghans were folded on one end. The place should’ve been in a design magazine. I hadn’t a clue how to describe the rug, except that it was fuzzy and white, and I could’ve taken a nap on it. For twenty-four hours.

  Jonah stood in the open doorway.

  I glanced over at him as I perused the shelves. He looked ragged, and cautious. He tipped his head back, a soft sigh leaving him as he put his hands in his pockets. “I’m tired.”

  “Sorry for going all Sixth Sense on you.” But I wasn’t, actually. Not at all. It was my truth, whether he took it or not.

  “You believe what you said to me?”

  I paused, but then nodded. “I do. It’s—I’ve never felt something that strongly. It was… I couldn’t forget it.”

  He narrowed his eyes, tilting his head to the side. “Can you—I mean… Do you feel her now?”

  “I’m not psychic, so no. Whatever that was, it was a one-and-done thing.”

  “You said you’ve felt them before?”

  “Yes. Sometimes it’s a presence, like if you’re sitting somewhere and someone comes up behind you. I feel ’em once and then not again after.” Goose bumps lined my arms as I remembered some of those times. “I’ve never told anyone about that stuff. It makes me sound like a freak.”

  He snorted. “We have a situation, or I have a situation. I’m dead on my feet, and knowing my brother, when he gets back here, he’ll be raring to go. So while I’ve adapted not to need a ton of sleep, I’d still like to get some.” He raised an eyebrow.

  I shifted my feet. “What?”

  “You.”

  “Me?”

  “I’m not a fan of tying you up, or using handcuffs, or even locking you in a room. So yeah. You’re the situation.”

  “I’m not going to run.” I motioned toward the glass wall. “Run where? And who buys a place in the middle of a forest, but has cameras and lights installed? That’s insane.” I thought about it, and a shiver went through my body. “Don’t answer that. I won’t run.”

  “I’m hoping you won’t kill me either.”

  “Huh?”

  He moved across the room and grabbed my wrist, then switched his hold. He dropped his hand into mine and led me from the room. We went down a hallway and back to the other building. Then we went down some stairs, and he tugged me into a back corner room.

  It was large, dark, and the bed was enormous.

  Releasing my hand, he waited till I stepped all the way inside before shutting the door. There was a code set next to it. He pressed and held the bottom button. Two green lights flashed, and there was a locking sound in the door.

  “If you put in the wrong code even once, the room will light up, and an alarm will sound. We’ll have guards at the door within ten seconds.”

  Okay, then. No trying to hack a coded breaker.

  He went to the far end of the room and opened another door. A light switched on. “Here’s the bathroom if you need it.”

  He disappeared into a walk-in closet and came back with clothes. “Here. For sleeping.”

  He had everything I would need: a soft tank top, pajama bottoms.

  He went back into the closet, leaving me alone in the room.

  Guess it was bedtime?

  But I felt dirty from my forest jog, so I went to the bathroom. I cleaned up as much as I could, rifling through the drawers and finding a toothbrush still in its wrapping. I brushed my teeth, and after I couldn’t stall anymore, I opened the door. But I wasn’t ready.

  Who could be?

  I should’ve been, because I’m a forensic technician. Bodies weren’t new to me. They were my job on the daily. But no. No one could’ve been prepared because holy fuck me, Jonah Bennett’s body was glorious. Glor-i-ous. Emphasis on all of that.

  He was standing, his head cocked to the side, in a pair of sweats. They dipped low, resting on his hips. My mouth went dry. It wasn’t that he was ripped, because he wasn’t. I didn’t like that look, but he was lean, and there was definite muscle definition. He took care of his body. That was evident.

  He had the penis landing strip, the two muscles (I knew the scientific names, but they weren’t coming to me right now) that if you kept following them down…there you go. As a colleague would giggle sometimes, you’ve landed on home base. I’d never been infatuated with those muscles (on live people, of course), but on Jonah, they made my knees a bit weak.

  And his arms.

  I was a puddle of a gooey virgin, acting like I’d never been around a guy before.

  I hadn’t moved from the bathroom doorway.

  “I’m not doing the floor,” he announced. “So you can, if you want, or suck it up and share a bed with me.”

  “What?”

  His eyes narrowed. “I’m not lying. I’m exhausted. It’s almost six in the morning. I need some sleep before Tanner comes and ruins the weekend.”

  Oh. He thought… I shuffled to the side. Yeah. I wasn’t flustered because we were sharing a bed, but now looking at it, those were satin sheets. Satin. Now I had a whole different kind of fluster going. Down south. In my vagina.

  I cursed under my breath as he went into the bathroom.

  What am I doing?

  I’d run for my life forty minutes ago. Jonah came after, brought me back, and cleaned up my wounds. But had I forgotten the whole kidnapping part before that?

  I went to the far side of the bed and got under the covers, and oh my God! This was pure heaven!

  I should’ve been freaking out—again. I should’ve been planning my escape.

  I should’ve been…I didn’t even know. But as I touched those sheets, my eyes closed and that was all…

  * * * *

  JONAH

  Soft, light, feminine snores floated through the room when I opened the door.

  I had to stop a second to appreciate them because it’d been a long time since I’d heard sounds like that. I’d been with women since Melissa’s death, but never at my place and never overnight. It was usually a hookup in a bar, or outside in the car, or a hotel room. I never went to their place, and I never let them come to mine. Nothing personal. Nothing humane.

  Just sexual need, and then I’d go back to my place.

  My phone lit up on the nightstand.

  Tanner: Her phone is legit. As far as the hacker can tell, she’s legit, too.

  My gut shifted. I felt a certain way about that.

  Me: You serious? A coincidence?

  Tanner: Seems like. The guy went through everything. Kai sent someone to her apartment. It was clean. We can’t find anything on her. Finances are good. Her home life is normal. Nothing’s getting flagged.

  I looked down at her. She was turned toward me, on her side. The cover was tucked over her chin, and damn… Damn. We were assholes.

  Tanner: What are you going to do with her?

  Me: Not a clue. I have surgeries lined up starting Monday. When is this thing with the hitman?

  Tanner: Kai is still in negotiations for the details. Stay put. Can you cancel your surgeries?

  He had no clue how that worked.

  Me: No.

  Tanner: What about your med school friends? You were supposed to be with them this weekend. Will they be a problem?

  Me: No. They reached out, but I handled it.

  Tanner: I’ll be back later today. Have you slept? Where’s the girl now?

  I snapped a picture of her and sent it to him.

  Me: We’re in the lock room.

  Tanner: Make sure to hide the guns. You’re crazy.

  Yeah. Yeah, maybe I was.

  Me: I need sleep. Don’t wake me up when you get here.

  Tanner: Nighty night. Keep your balls.

  I rolled my eyes and fought another yawn as I blacked my screen and put the phone on the charger in the drawer beside me.

  I went to sleep listening to Carson’s snores.

  Chapter Nineteen

  CARSON

  I woke, stretched, and froze.

  My hand hit a body next to me. Then I felt the satin, and reality sank in.

  I wasn’t home. Where was… Jonah. Kidnapping.

  I was tired, really tired, but also alarmed. I opened my eyes, knowing I needed to deal with reality, but not wanting to in any way, shape, or form.

  Still.

  I looked over and found Jonah watching me. He was sitting up, his back against the backboard, the sheet pooling at his waistline. Those delicious washboard abs looked even more defined than last night.

  Was that a thing? Could muscles get more defined from sleep?

  And I was stalling. Again.

  “Morning.”

  My own morning breath hit me, and I wrinkled my nose, pulling the sheet over my face. “Sorry. Bad breath.”

  “Your breath is fine, but go wash up. We have things to talk about when you’re done.”

  I froze. “Talk about what?”

  He motioned to the bathroom. “Do that first.”

  Slipping out of bed, I passed him to the bathroom. I felt his gaze, but when I snuck a look, he wasn’t watching me. His eyes were deadlocked on the bed, his jaw clenched.

  What was that about?

  He was standing when I came back out with my teeth freshly cleaned, which was exciting. He’d pulled on a white T-shirt with his sweats. Bummer. Yeah...something was wrong with me.

  “Maybe sit for this?” he said.

  Dread spiked my pulse, but I did as he said. I crawled back to my spot on the bed, sat back, and pulled a pillow over my lap. “What’s going on?”

  His eyes flared before they grew hooded. “Good news: you’re in the clear. Everything checks out, so it looks like you being at Bresko’s actually was a coincidence. For that, I apologize.”

  My gut shriveled. If that was the good news… I gulped. “What’s the bad news?”

  “You.”

  “Me?”

  “You don’t know who my family is—”

  I jumped up, shaking my head. Panic spread over my entire body.

  I wasn’t scared with Jonah. That was the truth—that’s why I had different reactions, kept feeling attracted to him. But his brother, the other guy from the morgue? I was terrified of those guys.

  I held my hands up. “I don’t want to know.”

  Jonah took a breath, looking down. “We kidnapped you. That’s a felony, and if you go to the polic—”

  I shook my head, because no, no, no. That was not happening. “I remember the guns,” I said, my voice a whisper.

  Jonah started around the end of the bed toward me, his head still down.

  I took a breath, flattening my hand against my stomach. It was rumbling all over the place. “I don’t know what your family does, but I’m not dumb.” I tipped my head up.

  He moved even closer.

  “Jonah.” My voice was wobbly. He had to know I wouldn’t say anything, do anything. “It was very obvious that your family is wealthy—like, the type I didn’t even know existed. All the guards? That’s scary. Whatever your family does, I don’t want to know. I don’t need to know. I won’t say anything.”

  He was in my space, but his eyes were soft. “It’s not that simple.”

  It had to be. Panic was branding me from the inside out. I had to convince him of this.

  Would they kill me?

  No, this is Jonah.

  My God. Why did I have blinders with this guy?

  Jonah closed in, but he didn’t touch me. He stayed just out of touching distance, but he watched me, and I was flipping the fuck out.

  I blinked away tears. “What are you going to do to me?”

  He stared long and hard, as if looking inside of me. Then he reached up, his hand cupping the side of my face. “I remembered you, too, after that night. You showed me kindness when no one should’ve been doing that. You did. That meant something to me.”

  I closed my eyes, wanting him to close the distance and wanting him to step away at the same time. Fear and desire pumped through my blood, heating me up. “Are you going to kill me?”

  His hand flexed against my cheek.

  I opened my eyes, finding his gaze on my lips.

  Oh man. What was he thinking?

  “Jonah,” I whispered.

  His eyes flickered, coming back into focus.

  “What are yo—”

  “No.” That’s all he said before he lowered his head, and his mouth touched mine.

  I gasped, grasping his wrist.

  He pulled back. Lust had darkened his eyes, but he was holding, waiting.

  He was waiting for me.

  My heart thumped against my chest. I knew what I wanted.

  Need flooded me. The ache inside me spread outward.

  I started without fully admitting to myself what I was going to do. I moved closer, my lips searching for his, and after another second’s hesitation, I let go of his wrist. I grabbed his shirt and raised up on my toes.

  I found him this time, and all the hesitation was over.

  Chapter Twenty

  CARSON

  This was different.

  The way he touched me—tender, soft, like I was fragile. I didn’t want that.

  “No.” I pulled back and shook my head, my arms tightening around him. “No.”

  He studied me a moment, and then his eyes flashed. Determined. Hard. His jaw tightened, and then his mouth was on mine.

  He wanted everything.

  His tongue dipped inside.

  I could only gasp, responding in kind.

  God. I was melting.

  I remembered that night, and how I’d wanted him even then. I’d felt guilty about wanting him. Not now. Not anymore.

  He grabbed my ass and hoisted me up.

  I went with him willingly. Anywhere. My legs wrapped around his waist, and he turned toward the bathroom.

  I heard the shower start, and then the steam hit us, and I gasped again. The water drenched us as he moved me against the wall—pinned in place, grinding into me.

  Pleasure and lust swept through me.

  I wanted him inside of me, but as I pushed against him, my back still to the wall, he grabbed one of my hands. He pinned that to the wall as well, his mouth moving down my throat.

  I felt the sensation of water on skin as he ripped away my shirt.