Page 51 of Never the Same

Our first hug, apparently.

“I got you,” he promised in a hoarse voice as I trembled, sobbing. He kept hold of me, letting me unleash every ounce of sadness I’d held back before this point, while whispering, “I’m not going anywhere.”

My ugly cries mixed with the sounds of Ranger’s worrying whimpers as he pawed my leg.

I wasn’t sure how long we stayed like that—seconds or minutes—but when the tears slowed down, I lifted my head to look up at him.

He framed my face between his big hands and stared at me like I was the light at the end of his tunnel.

“Twenty-four hours gone,” I said softly, hiccupping. “It just hit me that they . . .”

“They what?” His fingers gently pressed into my damp skin, and his thumbs caught more tears. “Do you remember something?”

I lightly shook my head. “I’d know if they did that, wouldn’t I? Or made me do something, right?”

His eyes immediately tightened on mine, understanding what I was trying to ask without spelling it out.

I’d swear the blood visibly drained from his face as he processed my questions.

“No,” he gritted out, lowering his hands to my bare shoulders and then to the sides of my arms. “I don’t believe that. We don’t know why you were taken, but it’s most likely someone who you’d let in your own house. They knew you, and I . . .” His words trailed off, like he didn’t have it in him to lie to me.

Memories or not, I was well aware that sometimes the people you knew the best were the ones to cause you the most pain. A gut feeling, at least.

“I don’t hurt anywhere.” Just my chest. “But I have a million horrific ideas from A to Z that could have happened flying through my mind.” I stepped out of his arms and swiped the backs of my hands across my cheeks.

I supposed even warriors could have their hot mess moments. I didn’t have to be one or the other. Julian had told me to hang somewhere in between while I worked through this, and maybe he was right. Also, now I was feeling bad for turning my back on my twin. My whole family. But . . . I still had questions.

“I, um, was so distracted by waking up without my memories I didn’t stop to think about those missing hours.” Ranger slipped between us and plopped down on my bare feet, and I forced a smile, not wanting him to worry about me. “People don’t deserve dogs.”

“I say that all the time.” His gravelly voice had me peering at him, but I couldn’t meet his eyes because his were pointed at the ceiling, throat muscles taut, a vein visible.

I shivered, realizing I was covered in chills for more than one reason. I was only in a bra and panties, and that was why this man was respectfully looking anywhere but at me.

“I’m sorry. I was mad and took off your shirt. I’m clearly not acting like myself.” I stepped away to grab his shirt from the bed.

“Not your fault.” His voice was steady. Calming, even. “Also, I’m sorry I upset you in the kitchen.”

“Not your fault, either.” I swallowed. “I pushed you, which is probably one reason you didn’t like me before.”

He didn’t reject the idea. Didn’t say anything at all. Just remained quietly standing in the hall, hands on the doorframe, head bowed, and eyes closed.

Shirt on, I dropped on the bed and patted the spot next to me, signaling for Ranger to join me. “I’m dressed.”

Reed slowly looked at me, dispensing a deep breath before crossing into my room. “You’re going through a lot right now. The least I can do is be, uh, cordial while you’re here.”

“O-okay.” You really don’t like me, but based on how I’m feeling, I was only pretending to dislike you before.

I stroked Ranger’s head, finally calming down, but that oddly opened my mind to new what-if ideas, and a movie memory popped up and had me rushing out, “Wait, what if they Jason Bourne’d me?”

He frowned and cupped the back of his head at the base of his skull. His arm muscle flexed, temporarily drawing my eye to his obvious strength. “You mean—”

“Used my skills to do something for them.” My heartbeat pulsed up into my ears at the new theory percolating. “They didn’t need to super-soldier me because I’m apparently already that girl, but maybe they brainwashed me into committing a crime, then wiped my memories so I wouldn’t remember I did it.” I stopped petting Ranger and stood. “Anyone get assassinated while I was missing?” Did I really just casually ask that?

He grimaced. “Not that I’m aware of, no.”

That’s a relief. “What if they needed me to access something that only someone in my family could, and then they wanted me to forget afterward and used the drug on me?” I proposed next before my eyes went wide as another idea lanced my mind.

He closed the space between us, and his warm, rough palm slid down my forearm and to my wrist. “You’d never talk. Too stubborn—I mean, strong.”