Chapter Six

W es caught Ellie before she could hit the ground. He hadn’t experienced this level of shock and disorientation since three rounds from a PKM shattered his lower leg. His heart was racing so damn hard he thought it might rip out of his chest. Thankfully his instincts weren’t tied too closely to his racing mind.

Ellie was alive! Holy fucking shit! And the tangible evidence was out cold in his fucking arms.

He didn’t understand it, couldn’t explain it, but he’d never been more relieved. His emotions bounced all over the place. He’d been knocked off his game and wasn’t even a little upset about it.

So many questions swirled through his head. There’d been zero recognition in her pretty, sea-colored eyes when they’d met his. And when he’d called her, she’d run away. Why?

Corey skidded to halt in front of him, Lex and Xander right on his heels.

“Holy shit, Murph,” Corey exclaimed, ice-blue eyes going wide.

“She’s alive,” Wes murmured, cradling her against his chest, not wanting to ever let go.

“Good to know. Who is she?” Xander asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

“His wife,” Corey answered, voice laced in awe.

“His wife who was murdered by pirates over a year ago,” Lex clarified.

“Never a dull moment with you guys,” Xander murmured.

“C’mon,” Lex said. “We’ll help you carry her back to the Zodiac.”

Corey and Lex each grabbed one of Wes’ arms and hauled him to his feet. Once Wes was up, he tucked Ellie closer, tightening his arms around her, unwilling to loosen his grip.

“I’ve got her,” he murmured. They knew better than to argue, so Corey and Lex led the rest of the way through the jungle, making sure to point out tripping hazards, while Xander brought up the rear.

“I feel like we should let the other guys know,” Corey said. “Mind if I call in the good news, Murph?”

“Not at all,” Wes answered, unable to tear his eyes off Ellie. She looked a little blurry through the tears filling his eyes, but she was still the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. He couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that his wife was once again in his arms. Sending up a thank you to the Universe and every god, angel and being who’d brought them back together, he pressed a reverent kiss to her head. Her hair was darker again, like it used to be when they were younger, but everything else about her was exactly as he remembered. God, he’d missed her sweet honeysuckle scent.

The rest of the team was just as shocked and overjoyed as he was, throwing questions and encouragement at him as they helped Wes get Ellie onto the Zodiac. But he didn’t have any answers.

Once they reached the fishing boat, everyone climbed aboard. With no beds, Wes laid Ellie down on the built-in bench and sat beside her, keeping a close eye on her and checking her vitals. The others grew quiet and contemplative, exchanging looks with each other.

Xander broke the silence. “Maybe we should wait until she wakes up before abducting her.”

Wes’ attention snapped up and, as much as he wanted to tell the other man to piss off, he knew the former agent had a point. “Let’s give her a minute.” The last thing Wes wanted was for Ellie to wake up and be scared.

The other guys backed away, giving them space. After a few minutes, Corey came over and crouched down in front of him. “How’s she doing?” he asked quietly.

“Still passed out.” Wes checked her pulse again and was relieved to discover it was still strong. He kept picturing the blankness in her eyes when she’d looked at him. It gnawed at his insides. “She didn’t recognize me, Cor.”

It hurt him to say the words. His Ellie never would’ve looked at him with fear or tried to run away from him.

“What do you mean?”

“She looked at me like I was a stranger. Someone she’d never seen before.”

Corey squinted his ice-blue eyes, mulling over that piece of information. “You think she has amnesia?”

“I don’t know why else she wouldn’t know her own husband or would’ve stayed here instead of returning home.” When Ellie began to stir, Wes leaned in and grabbed her hand. “You’re okay, Ellie. You’re safe.”

Her beautiful blue-green eyes fluttered open and she appeared confused. The confusion quickly gave way to terror and she popped up into a sitting position, yanking her hand away. Curling up into the corner, she looked on the verge of running or screaming as her gaze left Wes and swept the other men standing on the deck.

“Ellie, honey, it’s me,” Wes murmured, doing his best to sound soothing and not panicked. “You’re safe now. I want to take you home. Do you want to go home?”

Her gaze landed back on Wes. “Who are you?” she finally whispered, and he felt like someone just ripped his heart out of his chest.

“You don’t know?” he asked, voice low, searching her face intently. She shook her head and swallowed hard. “I’m Wes.”

“I know that name, but…” She frowned. “I don’t remember you.”

“Murph, if she has amnesia, you can’t overwhelm her right now with stuff from the past,” Brandon stated, moving closer. “You could do more harm than good.”

Ellie chewed on her lower lip like she always used to when things became too much for her. Wes knew Brand was right, but how was he going to take it slow when all he wanted to do was hold her until the end of time?

Fuck. Even though it was hard, he forced himself to back off. The fear in her eyes was killing him.

Corey reached over and squeezed Wes’ shoulder. “Why don’t you go clean up,” he suggested in a low voice and gave him a pointed look. “I’ll watch her.”

Wes glanced down and realized he was still covered in blood. Shit. No wonder she was so scared of him. He looked like he’d just murdered an entire family with an ax. Isn’t that what you are, though? A murderer?

“Yeah, okay.” Wes met Ellie’s unsure gaze. “I’ll be right back. Corey will sit with you.”

Wes stood up, reluctant to leave her. Now that he had her back, he didn’t ever want to let her out of his sight again.

“Do you want some water?” Corey asked, his voice low and gentle. His best friend had a soothing demeanor and a good heart. It was probably why wild animals flocked to him like some kind of freaking male Snow White. If anyone could help Ellie feel comfortable, he could.

As Wes turned away, Brand walked with him across the deck. “You okay?” Brand asked.

Still having trouble wrapping his head around Ellie being back from the dead, Wes forced a nod. “I can’t believe she’s here,” he whispered, glancing back over his shoulder, needing the visual reassurance that she was in fact really there and not just a figment of his imagination. Corey was still talking to her, probably reassuring her that everything would be okay. “It’s a miracle.”

“I’m so damn happy for you.”

Wes was having trouble gathering his thoughts and processing the situation, but he managed a nod.

“I think we need to get her stateside ASAP. But she needs to agree to go.”

Wes gave a sharp nod. “If she won’t get on the plane then I’m staying here.”

“Understood. Why don’t you and Corey take her back to her place, see if you can get her to pack a bag. The rest of us will return to the safehouse, pack up and I’ll contact the pilot. Mitch is already sending in a clean-up crew.”

“Thanks, Brand.”

“If you need help finding a good doctor, I can ask around. Especially if we’re dealing with amnesia.”

“Yeah, that would be good. Appreciate it.”

After quickly washing up as best as he could—it’s not like he had any detergent or a washing machine—Wes hurried back to Ellie. At least he’d gotten most of the blood off his hands and from underneath his fingernails. His forearm stung, the wound starting to bleed again from carrying Ellie through the jungle, but he ignored it. It was the least of his concerns, and worth every pain and scar that would result from neglecting it in favor of getting back to his wife.

Corey pushed him down into the chair closest to Ellie, muttering something about changing the bloody dressing. While Corey attended to his arm, Wes turned his attention to Ellie. She still looked frightened, but Corey had definitely calmed her down.

Pulling in a breath, reminding himself to take it slow, he placed his hands on his thighs, so he wouldn’t reach over and touch her. Leaning forward, dropping his voice, he said, “Please, don’t be scared. No one’s going to hurt you.” God, he had so many questions. “Do you remember anything? Your research trip? The pirates? Me?”

Even though she shook her head, she didn’t pull away this time. She also kept her storm-tossed eyes locked on his, as though he were her anchor in the chaos. “No,” she finally whispered. “Everything is fuzzy. I’m just…so confused.”

“Everything is going to be okay. I promise.” Wes shifted in his seat. “I want to take you home, Ellie. Back to your family and friends. But, if you aren’t ready…if you don’t want to go—”

Hell, he’d camp outside her place and keep watch day and night.

“I want to go home,” she said, voice firm and unwavering.

Relief flooded through Wes and the tension in his shoulders eased. “Okay, good. Corey and I can take you back to your place to pack a bag. We have a jet waiting.”

“Okay,” she whispered softly, putting on a brave face that made Wes’ chest tighten.

◆◆◆

Be brave. Ellie had no idea where home even was, nevermind who this man was claiming to be her husband, but she could do this. It’s what she’d been waiting for. However, a part of her was nervous, unsure if she could trust him. What if he was lying? What if she was being kidnapped?

But a bigger part of her longed for answers and she believed Wes could give them to her.

Besides, most of the men on the boat had kept their distance from her. Nobody had threatened her verbally or tried to lay an aggressive hand on her and, although she knew they had to be armed, none of them had shown any hint of a weapon. Most importantly, the moment her anxiety became too much, she looked into Wes’ soft, brown eyes and she knew he would never hurt her.

It was strange because even though her mind couldn’t remember him, it’s like her heart did. Something felt very familiar about him. Every time he looked at her she could clearly see the love in his eyes. She might’ve been scared at first when he was chasing her through the jungle, but now she felt much more at ease. Which didn’t make sense at all.

Unless everything he said was true.

Ellie wasn’t stupid, though. Yes, she wanted to go home, but first she wanted some kind of proof before she hopped on a flight with seven strange men who were all physically imposing and likely armed.

“I need verification,” she said, doing her best to sound all business. But even she heard the slight shakiness in her voice. “That I am who you say I am.”

“Yeah, sure. Of course.” Even though he agreed with zero hesitation, she couldn’t miss the hurt that flashed across his face. But he quickly hid it, went over to a duffel bag and pulled out his cell phone.

As he began to swipe, searching for the validation she required, Ellie took a moment to study him more closely. And what she saw made her very curious.

He was tall, well over six feet, and appeared to be in his mid to late forties. The telltale silver threaded through his hair only added to his attractiveness, and she felt a little flutter in her belly when he glanced up and caught her staring. Those brown eyes of his held so much warmth, almost like a cozy blanket. And all she wanted to do was wrap herself up in it.

You don’t even know who he is, she reminded herself as he sat down beside her.

“I don’t want to overwhelm you, but there are a lot of pictures. Just go ahead and scroll.”

Ellie put her hand out and he placed his phone in her palm. Pulling in a steadying breath, she looked down at the screen and froze when she saw her face smiling back at her. She and the man beside her had their arms wrapped around each other and were grinning so big. So ridiculously, crazy big. They looked like the happiest couple she’d ever seen. Her heart gave a kick in her chest and she slowly swiped to the next image…and the next…until she’d gone through so many, her head spun.

In every picture, they were laughing or kissing. Always smiling or being playful. Constantly touching. She pressed her lips together, not sure what to say or how to react. Even though it was clearly her in the pictures, it almost felt like she was looking at a stranger’s life.

Because, dammit, she couldn’t remember any of it.

Emotion swelled up inside her and she couldn’t look at them anymore. He had thousands of pictures and her brain was having trouble processing it all. Giving him the phone back, she dropped her head and massaged her temples.

“Those look a little too good to be photoshopped,” she said, and a laugh burst from him.

“I promise you they’re real, Ellie-Bean.”

She squeezed her eyes shut and told herself it would all come back eventually. It had to. Because living in this twilight state, not remembering anything about her former life, was awful. Hopefully now that she would be back with people who knew and loved her, the memories would return.

Ellie looked up at Wes. “Where’s my family? Can I call them?”

“We have a sat phone on the plane,” Wes said and looked over at Brand who inclined his head. “You can call them once we’re safely in the air.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. And even though she had a million questions, she was suddenly so very tired. Finally, she was starting to get the answers she’d so desperately wanted. The question was would any of it make sense? Would her fractured memory finally return? Or, was it a lost cause and she’d be stuck in this limbo of not knowing forever?