Sudden Alliance

“You went inside my room?”

His dark eyebrows lifted at her surprise. “So you remember staying there?”

She struggled to recall anything that might help her. “No, I—I don’t.” The words caught in her throat.

His large hands squeezed the steering wheel. “As I said, I looked around. Your bag was on the bed.” He took his right hand from the wheel and slid it inside his jacket pocket, then pulled out a slim leather billfold and handed it to her. “See for yourself.” He waited for her to flick open the wallet.

“Your driver’s license says you’re Sara Elizabeth Regis. The photo matches you—unless you have a twin sister.”

Sara studied the photo ID. “It looks like me.”

“The slacks and jacket I found hanging in the closet were size eight.” His deep sapphire gaze raked over her again. “I’d say that was about right.”

“Could you tell if someone else was staying in the room?”

His gaze remained on the road. “I’d say you were alone. The bed hadn’t been disturbed.”

Her mind tried to piece together the information. Her clothes? Would she recognize them even if they were hers? She glanced back at the driver’s license. “Sara Elizabeth Regis,” she read aloud, hoping the name would sound familiar. “One hundred ninety-six East Monroe Street, East Bennington, Massachusetts.”

“East Bennington is the other side of Boston,” he said. “About a four-hour drive from here.”

“Four hours?” She glanced out the windshield, taking in his words. Her gaze drifted across the endless miles of sand dunes and patches of barberry thickets that stretched toward the sea. She searched for anything that might trigger a memory, but nothing looked familiar.

“If I’m from East Bennington, then what brought me here? It’s too early for the tourist season. Why would I come all this way? Was I meeting someone?”

“Maybe if you try to think back to when I found you… Do you remember anything at all?”

“I remember you and the two kind women who took care of me. I remember a dog—a collie, I think.” She looked at him. “Or did I dream it?”

His eyes were sympathetic. “No, you weren’t dreaming. After I found you wandering along the coast road this morning, I brought you to our family cottage on the point. Bridget, my oldest sister, and Willie, the doctor next door, took care of you. My sister enjoys taking a week off from her practice in Boston to stay at the cottage while getting the place ready for the summer.”

Sara couldn’t help noticing how handsome Liam looked when he wasn’t frowning. Unwelcome shivers of awareness made her arms tingle. “Your sister Bridget,” she said, distracting herself from the inappropriate response she was having to this man beside her. “Does she have a family?”

“Her husband, David, and her kids will be coming later this morning, along with most of the O’Shea tribe. I have six sisters, all married. I was the only boy.” He shot her a smile, and her stomach fluttered.

Was he married? He didn’t have a gold band on his left hand, but that didn’t necessarily mean… She shook her head. “Does your family get together often?”

“We try. Today, almost all the clan will be congregating for the baptism of the newest member.”

She liked the way his eyes warmed when he spoke of his family. What was the matter with her? She might be married or at least engaged. Why was she reacting like this?

“Do you have…children?” she asked.

His lips curved, crinkling the corners of his eyes. “No, much to my sisters’ chagrin.” His smile broadened. “Of course, they would like to see me marry first.”

Something in the way he said that made her cheeks warm. “You and your sister have been very kind. I don’t think I’ve thanked you properly. I’m very grateful it was you who found me.”

“Try not to worry. Maybe once you see the motel and your things, your memory will come back.”

The thought of leaving the safety of Liam’s car and going into a strange place suddenly filled her with unexplained panic—at something unseen, yet so terrifying that she had to look away to keep Liam from noticing. She fought through the panic, but it was hopeless. Maybe if she concentrated on what she could remember…

Her gaze studied the corded muscles along Liam’s tanned forearms as he gripped the wheel. An image of how he had looked earlier this morning when he’d practically jumped out at her, half-naked, flashed through her mind. He was definitely athletic, with incredibly broad shoulders, muscular biceps and forearms. The thick black hair covering his wide chest had trailed down to a V inside his jeans. She felt her cheeks blush at the thought. She turned her face away, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

Dear God, but this man was attractive. Maybe she didn’t have the right to look at any man like that. Was she married? Did she have a lover? Children? Her gaze flew to her own hand. No ring. No watch on either wrist. No jewelry of any kind. Nothing.

Her hands weren’t callused. What did she do for a living? Was she good at what she did? Why would she think of such a thing?

Sara turned toward him. “Did you say the older woman who helped your sister take care of me was called Dr. Willie?” She shook her head. “It’s all so fuzzy. Like a dream.”

He nodded. “Dr. Wilhelmina Prescott. She’s an internist who summers here on the island who still makes house calls. Dr. Willie is a legend around these parts.” He raised his brows and glanced at her. “You weren’t very cooperative. You refused to go to the hospital. Willie and my sister think you should be x-rayed, and I was hoping that later you’d let me take you to the E.R.”

“No!” Gasping, she clutched the dashboard with one hand and the armrest with the other. Her eyes squeezed shut as she fought the white panic, like a snowstorm in her mind.

“Are you okay?” He pulled the car to the side of the road and parked, his eyes filled with genuine concern. “Take deep breaths. You’re having a panic attack.”

She struggled for control, gulping air. “I—I don’t know what’s wrong with me. All I know is that if I go to the hospital, something terrible will happen.” Even to herself, she knew her reasoning wasn’t making sense.

Liam put his strong arm around her shoulders. She leaned into his hard chest, fighting the overwhelming terror with his comforting embrace. Was she a fool to trust him? She didn’t know. Yet something about him made her want to believe she could. Ignoring her pounding heart through willpower alone, she forced herself to focus on the man beside her.

She breathed in the clean scent of his aftershave. His black leather jacket was open, and against her cheek, the soft cotton fabric of his black T-shirt felt comforting. Blue-black stubble covered his strong jaw. A thin scar creased his chin left of the cleft. She stared at his firm, chiseled lips. Lips made for laughing, for teasing, for kissing.

She blinked free of the trance and pushed away. “I—I’m okay,” she said, her voice a scratchy whisper.

His piercing blue gaze questioned her. “You’re not okay. Let me take you to emergency.”

“No!” Sara took in several deep gasps, aware of his arm still curled firmly about her shoulders. “Maybe later,” she added, not wanting to appear hysterical. “First, let’s go to the motel. Maybe if I see something familiar…” She held on to that hope as she stole another sidelong glance at him.

His arm uncurled from her shoulders, and he straightened, restarting the engine. The wind tousled his thick black hair as he pulled the convertible onto the road.

She drew a wisp of hair from her face and turned to stare out the windshield.

“The motel isn’t much farther,” he said finally. “Officially, we’re on an island, Bellwood Island, which is connected to the mainland by a causeway. The island is surrounded by sand dunes, which makes a great tourist attraction. The town of Bellwood Harbor has a winter population of 260, swelling to 20,000 between the Fourth of July and Labor Day.”

She glanced at the lobster boats bobbing in the harbor. “Nothing seems familiar.” She stared out the window, her head reeling in an effort to remember anything. Along Main Street, empty colonial homes and vacant boutiques lined both sides, silently waiting for their owners to return with the warm weather. Empty flower boxes hung from the storefront windows, waiting for summer’s red geraniums, blue verbenas and white petunias to spill from the planters. An empty flagpole stood in the park square, and she could imagine Old Glory waving proudly as the Fourth of July parade streamed past.

So she knew about small New England towns, after all. Was her memory coming back? The idea filled her with excitement and dread. Dear God, why was everything so confusing?

Judging by the dashboard clock, it had taken them less than five minutes to drive through the village. Now more sand dunes stretched along both sides of the road. To the east, the Atlantic glistened, a blue horizon. When her eyes turned back to the road, an L-shaped single-story building appeared ahead. She stared blankly at the white block letters painted across the black slanted roof: SAND DUNE MOTEL.

Now maybe she’d find some answers.

“NOTHING LOOKS FAMILIAR?” Liam asked, relieved that his voice didn’t betray the skepticism he was feeling. From what Willie had said, Sara hadn’t suffered enough of a physical head trauma to produce complete amnesia. He found it hard to believe she couldn’t remember something.

He jammed his fists into his pockets and studied her as she examined the slacks, cotton turtleneck and wind-breaker hanging inside the closet.

“I obviously wasn’t planning to stay long,” she said finally, removing the jacket from the hanger and sliding her arm through the sleeve. So far, she’d said very little about what was going on inside that lovely head of hers.

Damn, but he couldn’t figure her out. Was she for real, or was she putting on an Academy Award performance? Sara was hardly his idea of a covert operator, yet he couldn’t rule it out.

Only last week, Interpol had notified the TALON-6 headquarters in New York City that a terrorist had been arrested in London and plea-bargained with them, offering information about a plan to steal the Land-Net 17, Liam’s latest design for an electronic security net. Was Sara part of that plan? He thought of that silky red hair and those long, incredible legs. Hell, everyone including the local priest knew that Liam O’Shea had a weakness for tall, beautiful redheads.

Anything was possible. Until the schematics for his security net were safely in the hands of the Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency, Liam knew he couldn’t leave anything to chance. Especially a disarming redhead who looked as though she’d just stepped out of his most erotic dream.

He felt like a bastard for doubting her, yet he wouldn’t put it past the terrorist mentality to think they could infiltrate TALON-6 with a woman like Sara. He’d made no secret of the fact that he was a self-proclaimed protector of alluring, downtrodden women. Especially a woman with sexy-as-sin looks combined with innocence and vulnerability. He was the first to admit it would be his favorite way to go down.

She turned toward him as she took a seat on the edge of the king-size bed. Her fingers sifted through the meager contents of a straw bag. She was truly stunning, he decided. Her hair hung down her back in a lustrous curtain of red. Long eyelashes swept her cheekbones as she studied the set of keys, the billfold and a tube of lipstick, as though she could piece together the framework of her life from these few articles.

What must it be like to lose a lifetime of personal memories? What was it like to feel mentally naked and completely vulnerable? He felt a tug of compassion for what she must be going through. Yet how could he possibly imagine the depth of her fear and panic?

Was there a special man in her life? Had the guy told her how very desirable she was? For a brief, insane moment, Liam wanted to be that man.

He swallowed against the surge of heated desire. He’d better get some sleep. He was becoming delusional. He shook away the thought and strode toward the window. Across the road he could see an expanse of sun-bleached sand, then cold gray sea for miles. A sailboat tilted back and forth in the breeze. For an odd moment, Liam was reminded of when he was six years old and had found a stray kitten after Labor Day along the sand dunes. Some bastard had abandoned the animal. His mom had let him keep it and he’d called it Tiger. He glanced back at Sara, whose head was bent over the assorted items in her hand. Would tender loving care heal her as it had his pet?

She must have sensed him watching her because she lifted her head and that megawatt green-eyed gaze fixed on him. He fought back the urge to pick her up and cradle her in his arms.

She wasn’t a lost kitten. And until he received the results of the background check that he’d asked his TALON-6 partner, Clete Lawton, to run, Liam needed to keep his emotional distance.

“If you’re about through,” he said, giving his watch a glance, “I think we should leave.”

“Nothing looks familiar,” she said, brushing her hair away from her face. “It’s as if these things belong to someone else.” She put the gold cap back on the tube of coral lipstick, then opened the billfold and stared again at the driver’s license and her photo. She lifted her gaze to his, and if she was acting, he sure as hell admired her talent.

Still, she hadn’t noticed one thing. He picked up her straw bag from where she’d left it on the bed and pulled out the picture of a man in his early thirties, standing in front of a palm tree. Liam had found the photo hidden in a side pocket in the lining of her bag when he’d gone through her possessions earlier that morning. At the time, he’d wondered if the photograph would trigger her memory. “Know who he is?” Liam asked her.

She stared at the photo, then shook her head. “No.”

“Is he Gregory Urquhart?”

“I—I don’t know. Should I?”

“Urquhart is listed as the person to contact in case of emergency.” Liam lifted a brow as he showed her the ID card inside her wallet. “Think this is an emergency, Sara?” He couldn’t quite hide the sarcasm from his voice.

Her lips opened slightly. “I don’t know. Y-yes. Yes, it is.”

Was Urquhart her ex-husband? Lover? Why else would she be hiding his photo? Was she running from him? Or to him?

Sara put her head in her hands. “Liam, I’m trying the best I can. I don’t know why I came here. Was I passing through? Was I planning to meet someone?” She leaned over and reached for the phone on the bedside table. She glanced at Urquhart’s telephone number, then lifted the receiver.

Liam stopped her. “If you’re calling Urquhart from this phone, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Why not? He must know who I am.”

“Okay, but let’s not use this phone.” Liam took the receiver from her fingers. “I’ve got a cell phone in my car. Why don’t you pack your things, and if you want, I’ll drive you back to the cottage? You can call Urquhart on the way. By the time we get there, my family will have left for church. The place will be quiet and you can rest.”

She rose, picked up the set of car keys from the top of the dresser. “I obviously own a car. I’ll follow you back to the cottage.”

“Good idea.” Liam slid the mirrored closet door open and pulled out a small floral piece of luggage that he’d seen when he first checked out her room. Opening it on the bed, he stood back.

She pulled a blue, long-sleeved T-shirt from a hanger and began folding it into the suitcase. “I feel like these are someone else’s clothes and I’m stealing them,” she said with a weak smile. When she looked away, a jab of sympathy charged through him and he had to physically stop himself from touching her.

“Don’t worry, Sara,” he said instead. “The answers will come when you’re ready. Just relax.” He picked up the photo of the smiling young man and slipped it inside her open bag.

“Can you guess why you might have come to Bellwood?” he asked as she finished packing.

“No.” She gave a slight shrug as she closed the lid of the suitcase.

No? Not even a feeble attempt at a guess? He felt slightly irritated with himself. Should he have let her call Urquhart? Or would that have signaled her accomplice that she had made contact with Liam? He was beginning to doubt his own instincts. Was she playing him? Well, damn it, there was one way to find out, once and for all.

Something flickered in those pretty green irises when he came over and pulled her to him. His body brushed hers, and he felt her tremble when he wrapped his arms around her. She didn’t resist when he pulled her closer. He found himself breathing in the scent of the sea in her hair.

Her breath caught; he felt her stiffen, but her eyelids fluttered shut. Morning sunlight slanted through the window, making a reddish halo of her hair. He could feel her heart hammering in her chest, or was it his own?

He was afraid that if he kissed her she might bolt out of the room, into her car and out of his life. That is, if she was innocent…

And if she wasn’t? He took in a slow breath as he dragged the tip of his tongue along her full lower lip. Testing. Teasing. Taunting.

She didn’t bolt. She didn’t throw herself into his arms, either. Those ripe lips parted slightly, and he was lost.

He hadn’t expected her mouth to be so warm, so sweet, so trusting. Kissing her was like slipping into a deep, delightful abyss. The kiss deepened, and the groan he heard vibrating low was his own.

This was no femme fatale. This was a flesh-and-blood woman. A beautiful, appealing woman who had stepped out of his fantasies and into his world. But at what cost? A woman like this could be more dangerous to a man than a thousand land mines.

He released her and stepped back, wanting to shake off the fog that had settled over his brain. What a foolish thing to do. He should say something. Instead, he made a helpless gesture with his hands.

Her green eyes were wide, confused. He made fists of his fingers to keep himself from pulling back a glistening red strand from her cheek. “I’ll wait for you outside,” he said, ignoring the underlying reason that he had to leave. If he didn’t get out of that room, he’d take her into his arms again.

Chapter Three

“Thank you, Ms. Regis,” said the desk clerk as he slid Sara’s credit card through the machine. Liam couldn’t help noticing the young man’s appreciative glances at her from behind the counter as he finished preparing her checkout statement.

If Sara noticed, she gave no sign. Nor did she seem aware of her exceptional beauty. Yes, she was beautiful. Not in that flashy, glittery way he usually found attractive in women. But this woman had skin the color of clotted cream, and eyes as green as the first shamrock to greet the April sunshine.

Hell, when the rest of his family, especially his other sisters, arrived this morning, they would take one look at Sara Regis and think that he’d finally brought home “the one.”

“Oh, we found your camera,” the clerk said to Sara, almost as an afterthought.

She looked up from signing her credit card statement. “My camera?”

“Yeah. A man stopped in here a little more than an hour ago.”

“Did this man have a name?” Liam asked.

“No, but he left his phone number.” The clerk turned and pulled a plain business card from the mail slot for room 26. “Feel free to use the house phone, Ms. Regis.”

Liam reached for the card just as Sara did. “Thanks,” he said, snatching it from the clerk’s fingers.” He looked at the youth. “Where’s the camera?”

“The man didn’t leave it.” The clerk shrugged. “He wanted the lady to call him first.”

The hair on the back of Liam’s neck stood up. Something didn’t sound right about this. He looked at Sara. “It will be quicker if you call from the car.”

Her expression didn’t give a hint of what she was thinking. “Okay.” She looked back at the clerk. “Thank you.”

When they were outside, she snatched the card from his hand. “I’m not helpless.” Her green eyes glittered with agitation. “I’m perfectly capable of calling the number myself.”

“I know you’re not helpless,” Liam said, “and I’m sorry if I gave that impression.” He was overreacting, something he never did, but he couldn’t ignore the possibility that this man who had her camera was connected with whatever had terrified her. Liam whipped out his cell phone and gave it to Sara. “Here, why don’t you call the number? Maybe if you hear the man’s voice, it will trigger your memory.”

Sara bit her lip as she took the phone. “I hope so. Maybe he knows why I came here this weekend.”

Liam’s uneasiness increased as he watched her punch in the numbers. She acted calm, yet her shoulders stiffened, a mannerism he’d noticed before when she’d been overly tense.

She put the receiver to her ear. A few seconds later, her green eyes widened. “I don’t understand.” She repeated the number on the card. “A man left me this number to call. He said he had found my camera.”

Her face paled as she listened to the conversation on the other end of the line. Liam’s senses went into full alert. “What’s the matter?” he asked.

She handed him the phone without explanation. He grabbed it from her trembling fingers.

“Who is this?” he demanded, almost shouting into the mouthpiece.

“I already told the lady. This is the Bellwood Funeral Home.”

“Did a man from there go to the Sand Dune Motel early this morning and say he’d found a camera?”

“Like I told the lady, no. What is this, some kind of joke?”

“Let me speak to the owner.”

“You’re speaking to the owner, and I have no time for games,” he said indignantly, then hung up.

Liam clicked off the phone, then caught Sara’s gaze. She shook her head, glancing at the business card in her hand. “I know I dialed correctly. The man verified the number written on the card.” She tucked the card into her bag. “Maybe we should go there and question each employee?”

Liam didn’t want to squelch her hopes, but the whole camera story sounded fishy. If someone had found a camera, why not leave it for her at the desk? Maybe Sara had a point. If they spoke to the other employees, someone might recognize her. “Good idea. Let’s go,” he said.

A few minutes later, after they had stowed Sara’s bag in the trunk of Liam’s sports car, they walked around the motel to the rear parking lot.

She held her fingers over her eyes, squinting into the bright sunlight. “Omigod. I have no idea which car is mine.”

He looked at the cars parked in a row along the back of the building, then at the keys in her hand. “No problem. You have one of those new automatic ignition starters on your key ring. Just click the button, and whichever car starts is yours.”

She pulled back her hair from her face as she studied the keys in her palm, then smiled at him. “You’re a genius,” she said, and pressed the starter button.

SARA FELT THE EXPLOSION before her brain processed what was happening. A force like a giant fist jerked her from the pavement and carried her toward the motel with the impact of a freight train. She felt herself cannon through the air and land with Liam, entwined in his strong embrace, against an evergreen hedge.

Heat burned her skin. Corrosive smoke filled her lungs. She choked on the acidic fumes as she peeked over his shoulder at what was left of her car.

The row of vehicles in which it had been parked now looked like a mound of burning, twisted metal, a smoking inferno. Although the explosion had occurred several seconds ago, plumes of black smoke, flying metal and debris still spiraled through the air.

“What happened?” she asked, her ears ringing.

Liam held her, frantically searching her face. “Are you hurt?” Pure terror edged his voice.

She glanced down at herself and realized her body was shaking uncontrollably. “My ears…I can barely hear you.” Then she realized he might be hurt, too. “Liam?” she cried, her voice rising. “Are you okay?” She ran trembling fingers over his face, her heart hammering with fear.