Oliver (Project Arma Book 7)

Tori sank lower into the tub. The warm water lapped around her like a giant soothing blanket.

Bliss. Or at least the closest she was going to get. She may not remember much about who she was, but she did know that a warm bath with a glass of wine could go a long way in soothing a scattered mind.

Her feet ached from walking around town all day. Her mind was tired from trying to ignite some sort of memory or familiarity.

She’d gained nothing new. Maybe she hadn’t explored the town when she’d been here last. Maybe Oliver was the only person she’d seen and his home the only place she’d gone…if she’d gone to his home at all.

So many questions…

If it wasn’t so frustrating, it would almost be funny, the things the mind hung on to. She remembered her favorite foods, in particular burritos and wine…yes, she was classifying wine as a food group. She remembered math, spelling, direction…procedural memory, as the doctor had described it. She even had fragments of memories from her childhood. Of playing in parks, sitting in classrooms, running around ovals…

All of which told her diddly-squat about who she was today.

“Who are you, Tori no-last-name?” She lifted her glass and swirled the contents. “Are you an adventurer? An academic?”

Maybe she was a historian who spent every spare moment at a museum.

Ha, she doubted it. She certainly hadn’t gravitated toward any art or sculptures that she’d occasionally passed in the last few weeks.

Why was it that meaningless memories stayed with her, yet the recent memories, the ones which would tell her something about the person she was today, were gone?

Not just gone. Stolen. Taken from her and buried somewhere she couldn’t find.

She sipped the wine, letting the fruity flavors of the Shiraz soothe her frayed insides.

The worst part was that when she’d woken up in the hospital with no recollection of her name, address, or loved ones, people had told her someone would be looking for her. Someone would contact the hospital or police when she didn’t return home. When she missed work or yoga class.

That’s why she’d remained in a motel near the hospital all those weeks. She’d been waiting for someone to collect her.

Well…they hadn’t.

Sighing, she placed the glass back on the edge of the bath.

No one’s missing you, Tori. Not a single soul.

And with no ID, her whole life was the cash and note in her pocket.

Tori poked a foot out of the tub and studied her tattoo. A half sun sat on the inside of her left ankle.

When had she gotten the tattoo? Why had she gotten it? Was there a story behind it? A meaning? Did someone else have the other half?

Gah. Why didn’t she remember?

Tomorrow. Tomorrow she would spend time with Oliver after the class. She would not let his overwhelming good looks and silky-smooth voice turn her to mush. And she would not let the danger that surrounded him frighten her off.

He had to be a good guy. Why else would she have kept his note? She needed to trust herself.

Plus, he hadn’t followed her back to her motel and tried to kill her the other day. That’s what the bad guy would have done. Right?

Tori continued to study the tattoo on her ankle. Leaning forward, she brushed her finger over the outline of the sun.

Suddenly, something flashed through her mind. A memory. Of a woman laughing. A woman with big blond curls and a huge smile.

The water whooshed around Tori as she shot into a sitting position. She scrunched her eyes shut, trying to picture the woman’s eyes…the rest of her face…anything.

But she went blank. The memory disappeared as quickly as it had come.

It’s fine. A memory is a memory.

It was a start. A connection to who she was. Maybe next time she’d remember her face. A name.

Tori was just leaning back when a loud bang sounded from the wall that connected her room to the one next door. Rolling her eyes, she ignored it.

This was the cheapest motel in Marble Falls. All she had was cash, and cash runs out. Who knew how long it would be before she had more money?

She’d assumed the place would be okay, seeing as it was in Marble Falls. The town wasn’t exactly a place of high crime. And most people at the motel did seem okay. Unfortunately, there was also the odd person here and there who looked rough. Like drug dealers or pimps kind of rough. And it was just her luck that some of those people had a room right beside hers.

Also, just her luck that the guy at the front desk couldn’t find a new room for her.

Another bang sounded. This one louder.

Okay, relaxing bath time was well and truly over.

She’d just climbed out of the tub and wrapped a towel around her body when someone knocked on her door. It was a loud sound that reverberated through the room.

Tori remained still. Droplets of water trickled down her arms. She didn’t know what the person wanted, but she did know there was no way in hell she was opening the door.

Another set of loud knocks.

“Hey! You got a smoke?”

A smoke? Was he serious? No, she didn’t have a smoke. But even if she did, she wouldn’t be opening her door and giving him one.

“Woman! I know you’re in there. I need a smoke.”

Go. Away. The words were on the tip of her tongue. But silence seemed smarter.

He knocked a few more times, the odd curse word filtering into his sentences. After what felt like a full minute, she finally heard his retreating footsteps.

Tori sagged. Well, if that wasn’t reason enough to come clean to Oliver and figure out who she was so she could get out of this place, nothing would be.

She placed a hand to her chest, expecting her heart to be pounding. For some reason, it wasn’t. Maybe the chain on her door made her feel safe?

Or maybe she was familiar with unsafe situations.

The first sign that someone was in his house was the blue sedan that sat on the street. The next was the light poking through the window blinds.

Wyatt was here. Possibly a couple more guys from his team.

His teammates were like brothers, so they could come and go as often as they liked. They each had a spare key. The question was, why were they here tonight?

Oliver parked in his driveway and headed inside. He immediately spotted Bodie lounging on the sofa, Wyatt sitting beside him. Mason stood, leaning against the wall.

There was also a fourth person in the house. Oliver could hear the person’s heartbeat and their breathing coming from the kitchen. He scanned the adjoining space.

A second later, Kye walked out of the pantry, eating a bag of chips.

Oliver dropped his keys on the table beside the door. “As lovely as it is to see everyone, I feel the need to remind you that we were all together at work today. Miss me so soon?” Oliver himself had stayed late to do a workout. It wasn’t unusual for him.

Wyatt leaned forward. “We want to do a background check on Tori.”

Not surprising. He hadn’t mentioned his strange conversation with Tori from Monday, but he knew someone who might have. He shifted his attention to Bodie. “I’m guessing I have you to thank for this?”

Bodie lifted a shoulder. “You spent a night with the woman. She’s suddenly back in town, taking a class at Marble Protection, acting sketchy.”

At the use of the word “sketchy,” Oliver almost jumped in to defend her. He quickly gave himself a mental shake. Bodie was right. He barely knew her. She’d said she was in town to see him, then hadn’t been able to get away quickly enough. It definitely felt like something was going on.

Mason pushed off the wall. “Doing a background check sounds like the safest thing for the team.”

It was. He knew it was. But for some reason, the idea of doing one left a bad taste in his mouth. He shouldn’t care. It may be an invasion of her privacy, but it was for the safety of his brothers.

“It’s for the best,” Kye added, shoving another chip into his mouth.

Oliver didn’t know why he was hesitating. “She and I are spending time together after the class tomorrow. I’ll find out what her last name is and pass on the information. You can run it through the system, Jobs.”

Again, the thought of doing so didn’t quite sit right in his gut. What the hell was going on with him? It had to be the vulnerability in her sky-blue eyes last Monday. They were messing with him and his damn overprotective nature.

Kye’s hand stopped, chip partway to his mouth. “You didn’t get a last name?”

Nope. How dumb was that?

Oliver scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I remember asking, but we got distracted by something and she never answered.”

The same expression sat on each of his friends’ faces. Suspicion.

“Will a coffee after class be enough?” Bodie asked.

Oliver didn’t really know the woman well enough to say how long it would take to get a last name. “Don’t know. Last time we were together,” the only time they were together, “she didn’t reveal much about herself.”

Now that he thought about it, she’d revealed basically nothing.

“We could cancel the group class tomorrow and you could give her a one-on-one session,” Mason suggested. “We can call around, tell everyone we’ve had to cancel. Tori will arrive, you tell her we didn’t have a number to reach her—which we don’t—so you can just instruct her yourself. That way, you have more time with her. And quite often, you can learn a great deal about a person in the way they defend themselves.”

That was true. The way they flinched away from an attack or jumped into action. The speed of their heart and expression on their face.

Oliver didn’t hate the idea. “Done.”

Bodie smiled. “Great. We can make it up to the rest of the class by adding an extra lesson at the end of the course.”

Wyatt stood. “You feeling okay with this?”

Oliver nodded. “Of course. Safety for the team is a priority.” He wasn’t inferring he thought she was a danger to anyone. But erring on the side of caution was always smart. Oliver shoved his hands into his pockets. “Want to stay for dinner? We can order pizza or Chinese?”

Wyatt checked his phone. “I think Quinn’s actually waiting at home for me with Chinese.”

“Maya’s got dinner on the stove,” Bodie said, standing.

“Sage asked me to pick up burgers,” Mason added.

Kye shook his head. “Women come into the picture and we’re all but forgotten, Ax. I’ll stay for dinner.”

The three guys all said their goodbyes before leaving. Kye dropped onto the couch with the bag of chips, already flicking on the TV.

Oliver grabbed his phone out of his pocket to order food, thinking about tomorrow.

Even though he’d agreed to the plan, he kind of felt like he was playing Tori. Manipulating the situation to get what he wanted. And, yet again, he wondered why he cared so much.