been a distraction. The kiss on the train—anotherdistraction. It must have been. He’d made it very clear that he couldn’t become involved with a witness. And he considered her a witness. He’d made that very clear to his supervisor.
“I’d rather talk about what happened at the house,” she finally admitted.
“We probably shouldn’t ignore what you think happened over the past two years.”
“What I think happened?” A surge of fury racedthrough her, causing her fingers to curl into fists. “There’s a lot of things you need to explain, but let’s see if what I think happened is correct.”
“Okay.”
“My father wanted to investigate my mother’s death so he lied to me about the danger to his life. He encouraged me to move away to get me out of the picture, but asked you to spy on me. Which you did, asking colleagues to participate.All the while continuing to lie to me. How am I doing so far?”
“Your father asked me to do my job and check up on you. It has nothing to do with now.”
“Your supervisor seemed to think differently. You’ve been suspended.”
“I can deal with that later. The important thing is getting your memory restored.”
“So like my father. Focused on the most important thing first. The mostimportant thing to you. Not me. Never my desires.” Furious, not just at herself for trusting Levi with her life, but also at him and her father. Neither had thought she could manage alone. And both thought they were right making the decision for her to enter the WITSEC program and live another lie.
She was sick of deceptions.
Forcing herself to calm down, she continued before she losther courage. “Back in St. Louis, you said you weren’t a liar. My definition must be different than yours.”
“Jolene—”
“Please don’t.” She raised her hand to keep him on his side of the room. “Don’t hug me and tell me it was for my own good. Lying by omission is still lying. What else haven’t you told me?”
“There are things I can’t share. I can tell you some eventually because you’llremember and then I can fill in the blanks. A lot I can never talk about because of what I do.”
“I don’t know whether to admire you or hate you.”
“Are those the only two choices?” He took a couple of steps toward her.
Jo suddenly felt defeated or conquered. His grin had her heart and mind hoping for possibilities that could just be a ruse to get what he wanted.
“What do youwant from me, Levi?”
“Nothing. Is that so hard to comprehend?” Another step her direction.
She could concentrate, her hands weren’t fisted around her middle. She might actually consider herself calm. But if she faced him...he’d see the longing in her eyes. She was sure he would. Watch the traffic.
“For the record, I got you into this mess and I’ll get you out,” her protector announced.“What did you remember at the house?”
“How is LuLu connected to the men who murdered my parents?”
“I can only guess. I’m sure you have questions, but for now, tell me what you saw and we’ll work out the rest later.”
“What can you do since you’ve been suspended?”
“I still have friends, Jo.” He closed the distance between them and cupped both of her shoulders. “We’ll find her.Right now, I need to know if you remembered what the Rainbow Man looked like.”
She tried to dip her shoulder and be released from his grip, but he didn’t budge. She didn’t want to be this close to him. Something happened when he touched her. Her mind just went blank.
“Jo, can you picture his face?” he asked.
Levi’s voice was soft or far away. She shut her eyes and the image in thekitchen flashed.
“No, his face is just a blur of colors and fog. Why can’t I see?”
“You will. Don’t run after it. Relax and let it come to you.” He tugged her closer.
His clean smell mixed with a nice musky scent.
“The images are hard to put words to. Memories? Fantasy? It’s hard to separate
“I’d rather talk about what happened at the house,” she finally admitted.
“We probably shouldn’t ignore what you think happened over the past two years.”
“What I think happened?” A surge of fury racedthrough her, causing her fingers to curl into fists. “There’s a lot of things you need to explain, but let’s see if what I think happened is correct.”
“Okay.”
“My father wanted to investigate my mother’s death so he lied to me about the danger to his life. He encouraged me to move away to get me out of the picture, but asked you to spy on me. Which you did, asking colleagues to participate.All the while continuing to lie to me. How am I doing so far?”
“Your father asked me to do my job and check up on you. It has nothing to do with now.”
“Your supervisor seemed to think differently. You’ve been suspended.”
“I can deal with that later. The important thing is getting your memory restored.”
“So like my father. Focused on the most important thing first. The mostimportant thing to you. Not me. Never my desires.” Furious, not just at herself for trusting Levi with her life, but also at him and her father. Neither had thought she could manage alone. And both thought they were right making the decision for her to enter the WITSEC program and live another lie.
She was sick of deceptions.
Forcing herself to calm down, she continued before she losther courage. “Back in St. Louis, you said you weren’t a liar. My definition must be different than yours.”
“Jolene—”
“Please don’t.” She raised her hand to keep him on his side of the room. “Don’t hug me and tell me it was for my own good. Lying by omission is still lying. What else haven’t you told me?”
“There are things I can’t share. I can tell you some eventually because you’llremember and then I can fill in the blanks. A lot I can never talk about because of what I do.”
“I don’t know whether to admire you or hate you.”
“Are those the only two choices?” He took a couple of steps toward her.
Jo suddenly felt defeated or conquered. His grin had her heart and mind hoping for possibilities that could just be a ruse to get what he wanted.
“What do youwant from me, Levi?”
“Nothing. Is that so hard to comprehend?” Another step her direction.
She could concentrate, her hands weren’t fisted around her middle. She might actually consider herself calm. But if she faced him...he’d see the longing in her eyes. She was sure he would. Watch the traffic.
“For the record, I got you into this mess and I’ll get you out,” her protector announced.“What did you remember at the house?”
“How is LuLu connected to the men who murdered my parents?”
“I can only guess. I’m sure you have questions, but for now, tell me what you saw and we’ll work out the rest later.”
“What can you do since you’ve been suspended?”
“I still have friends, Jo.” He closed the distance between them and cupped both of her shoulders. “We’ll find her.Right now, I need to know if you remembered what the Rainbow Man looked like.”
She tried to dip her shoulder and be released from his grip, but he didn’t budge. She didn’t want to be this close to him. Something happened when he touched her. Her mind just went blank.
“Jo, can you picture his face?” he asked.
Levi’s voice was soft or far away. She shut her eyes and the image in thekitchen flashed.
“No, his face is just a blur of colors and fog. Why can’t I see?”
“You will. Don’t run after it. Relax and let it come to you.” He tugged her closer.
His clean smell mixed with a nice musky scent.
“The images are hard to put words to. Memories? Fantasy? It’s hard to separate
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