Hard to Trust by Wendy Byrne Page A

them on. The bra had been a sports bra, which worked fine considering the circumstances. Whoever bought them, they went high end, as the fabric felt soothing against her damaged skin. Next she pulled on the sweatpants and sweatshirt, even while her achy muscles started to rebel. Rummaging through the medicine cabinet, she found an unopened toothbrush and a bottle of Motrin.
    Nirvana.
    By the time she opened the door from the bathroom, he was standing inside the bedroom. Resisting the wild urge to apologize for him risking his life to get her back had been on the tip of her tongue.
     Before she could form the words he spoke. "Feeling any better?"
    "My whole body feels like it's broken, but I think that might be an improvement." Her brain still felt a little fuzzy, like she had to concentrate on the conversation. Still, the fog seemed to be lifting little by little. "What day is it?"
    "Monday afternoon." He folded his arms across his chest. "Did you notice any blood when you…ah…peed." If she didn't know better, she could have sworn he blushed.
    "Just a bit."
    "Are you sure?" He cleared his throat. "My sister was worried you might have injured your kidneys, so told me to ask."
    She arched her brow. "I've injured my kidneys before, and there was a lot more blood. I'll be fine."
    "Are you sure?"
    "Promise." She couldn't help but smile. "Mom."
    He shrugged. "You don't know my sister. She's probably left a half-dozen texts for me to make sure I check this or that. She thought you should see a doctor, but I didn't think that was a good idea considering the circumstances."
    "She was the one who brought the clothes and did the acupuncture, wasn't she?"
    He nodded. "Yep, that was Sabrina." He glanced at her face and tsked. "Do you know the guys who were holding you?"
    "You mean the circus performers?" She grinned, thinking about that crazy trip they'd sent her on with their drug of choice.
    "Circus performers?"
    "Yep, that's what they looked like to me—the tall man on stilts, the clown, and the trapeze artist. That was some trip I was on."
    "Can't say for sure what they gave you, but my guess would be an ecstasy derivative."
    She nodded. "That's what I was thinking, but they injected it." She bit her tongue to avoid sharing her thoughts on the hybrid drugs the CIA had used for years on people, which brought her back to the conclusion it was the CIA.
    "Now what?"
    "Care to elaborate?'
    "Any idea what they're after?" He gave her the look that said, before she even spoke, he knew she was holding back. Like he expected her to hold back. Maybe he'd press her on the issue. Maybe he wouldn't.
    "No clue, but they'll figure out you're a part of this eventually."
    "I'm pretty sure that ship has sailed. It's only a matter of time before they figure out who I am. I heard them talk about facial-recognition software from the train station in Virginia."
    "I guess it's good to know they're the same guys who ransacked my house. Sweet gun and nice shooting, by the way. I'm pretty sure I'm impressed, even if I can't remember much. All I know is there were three men wanting a piece of me, and then they were writhing on the floor."
    "Figures my all-star moment is forgotten with that patchy memory of yours."
    "Even if I hadn't run away, they would have put two and two together from the other night and would have tracked you down eventually." She shrugged. "Except now you're in their crosshairs." She stopped and chewed her lip as the memory flitted back through her mind.
    "You mean their Russian crosshairs? What's that all about?" He stared at her as if looking for confirmation.
    She shook her head. "This memory thing is weird. It sort of flits in and out." For some odd reason, she resisted corroborating his story. "Russian?"
    "Are they connected to one of your CIA operations? Maybe Afghanistan, like you mentioned earlier?" His voice reflected the skepticism she spotted in his eyes.
    She hedged, partly because she didn't trust him, and partly because