Texas Showdown Page 6

  “We’ve had a few dustups,” Austin started.

  “Ones that drove this much of a divide between us?” Maria looked up at him, confusion knitting her brows. Her hands came up to rub her temples and she looked like she was trying to stem a raging headache.

  “No,” he said honestly. It was true. The fight they’d needed to have never came. Instead, they’d grown distant and time had worked against them, creating a gorge so deep that no bridge could connect the sides again. Being apart got easier and easier, especially for her. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to talk about the past until you’re feeling better.”

  “What really happened to me? Tell me that, at least.”

  “You were assaulted after leaving a Sixth Street bar with a few coworkers,” he supplied. He saw no need to tell her that she was most likely with Mitch.

  She sat there and chewed on her lip.

  “How am I supposed to move on when I can’t remember anything?” she asked, frustration bubbling to the surface now.

  “It’ll come back,” he said.

  And when it did, she’d be kicking him out faster than a rat in the food cupboard before running back to the new man in her life.

  * * *

  MARIA COULDN’T GET her arms around her attraction to her husband. It was so much more than a physical connection. As corny as it sounded, even to her, they’d connected on a much deeper level and she could sense the bond even though it felt like she was being met with a wall. He was holding back and he wouldn’t clue her in. Given that she remembered in vivid detail just how hot their sex had been—having memorized every strong line of his muscular body—his refusal to make love convinced her that something was really off between them. If only she could remember...

  Whatever had happened must’ve been pretty bad because she saw caution in his eyes. For now, all she could hope was to win his trust enough for him to fill her in on what they’d been going through to cause such a large chasm. There was another thing bugging her. He’d been adamant about not going to the ranch—the only place she remembered as home—which caused her to think the place was somehow connected to their issues. Whatever they could be. One thing was certain—Austin O’Brien had it all, intelligence, sense of humor, on top of being smokin’ hot. In lighter moments, she’d seen that they had an easy way with each other and she couldn’t for the life of her figure out what could have possibly gone wrong between the two of them.

  All couldn’t be lost given the fact that he was there, helping her. Even if he was keeping an emotional distance. If she could figure out what was wrong, she could try to fix it and get their lives back on track.

  Pain pierced that spot right between her eyes. She needed to give it a rest. Churning over what could’ve gone wrong was giving her a splitting headache.

  Maria made a move to get up and winced.

  “I’ll get whatever you need. Stay put,” Austin said, flat palms toward her.

  “Can I have a couple of ibuprofen?” Maria could get her own pain relievers. However, she didn’t have the energy to argue so she acquiesced, deciding to pick her battles.

  Austin nodded and went to work in the kitchen pouring a glass of water.

  There was something else bothering her, like a dark shadow lurking in the background. Maria strained to figure out what but she couldn’t reach it for the life of her. She checked her cell and saw that she had a few texts from her coworkers. They must want to know how she was doing. What could she tell them when she remembered so little?

  A knock at the door made her jump. But then, she was jumpy.

  Austin answered.

  “My name is Tyson Greer and I live downstairs,” the young male voice said. He sounded nervous and apologetic when he added, “I’m so sorry about what happened.”

  Maria didn’t recognize the voice but that didn’t surprise her. She didn’t remember living here let alone who her neighbors might be.

  Austin let the guy in and motioned for Tyson to join them in the living room. He brought over the pain relievers, which she immediately took from him. She swallowed both pills with a single gulp of water before introducing herself to Tyson and accepting his handshake.

  “Please, sit down.” She motioned toward the chair, hoping her head would stop pounding soon.

  Tyson perched on the arm of the chair. His face muscles were bunched, there was sweat on his brow and he looked panicked. “I was shocked to hear what happened. Adele has never gotten out of her cage before. I swear it’s secure.”

  Greer had longish curly hair. His light brown locks were tucked into a ponytail. He was in his late twenties, thin and looked like he’d just gotten off tour with a band. That, or worked in advertising as a creative type. His clothes were modern and he had that look that tried to be effortless but was probably a lot of work. He was, however, exactly the kind of person she’d expect to live downtown in a loft. There were plenty of musicians in the city, so that wasn’t out of the question, and no shortage of advertising companies he could work for.

  “I was working late and had no idea she’d gotten loose,” he said, looking anguished. He was twisting his hands together so hard there were red streaks and his face was distorted into a worried frown.

  “What do you do?” Maria tried to push up but pain shot through her. She grimaced and blew out a breath.

  “Are you okay?” Tyson made a move to help but Austin was already by her side.

  “I’m good. Thanks. Got hit coming home from Sixth Street the other night,” she said.

  “Austin has the worst traffic,” Tyson stated.

  She nodded, capitalizing on their camaraderie. People gave up more information when they felt comfortable. “Have you lived in Austin your whole life?”

  He nodded as more words rushed out. “I completely freaked as soon as I got Dave’s message. Like I couldn’t believe something like this could happen. I’m so careful with her.”

  “What about your girlfriend?” she hedged, trying to get a sense of who lived downstairs without coming off as invading his privacy. She could pull her badge and rank but Tyson was already practically shaking and she didn’t want him closing up.

  “There’s no one right now,” he said and there was a familiar note to his voice...loneliness?

  Maria connected with the emotion but she couldn’t pinpoint why it resonated. Then she thought about her relationship with Austin and chalked it up to that.

  “Have you had any friends over recently?” she asked.

  “Not since my party last weekend but that was just a couple of guys from work coming over to watch the game,” he stated.

  “Which one was that?” She figured it would be easy to find out if he was lying. Nothing about his body language said he was and her gut agreed. Experience had taught her to fact-check everything involving an investigation. She had to admit, focusing on work made her feel as close to normal as she could be under the circumstances for the first time in days. She could shelve the strange reaction her body had, was still having to her husband and the mixed-up bag of emotions that came as a result.

  Tyson glanced up and to the left, a sign he was recalling information.

  “Texas-OU,” he answered.

  “When was the last time you saw the snake in her cage?” she continued.

  “This morning when I gave her breakfast,” he admitted.

  “Dave said you work for the FBI. Am I going to be arrested?” Light blue eyes wide, his youth and innocence had a certain charm.

  “No. Nothing like that,” she confirmed. “I would like to see where you keep—what’s her name?”

  “Adele.” Relief seemed to wash over him like a tidal wave cleansing sand from a bridge. “Like the singer.”

  “Mind showing me Adele’s cage?” Maria asked, thinking that Tyson seemed genuine enough. She didn�
�t know him personally but his responses to her couple of questions came off as sincere. The job had given her good skills at detecting lies. It was most likely safe to cross this guy off the suspect list. So, it was back to Dave and his keys.

  “Not at all,” he said, pushing up to his feet.

  Austin was already offering a hand up. She took it, ignoring all the confusing kinetics pinging back and forth. The two of them followed Tyson to his place a floor below and Austin’s hand rested on the curve of her lower back. It felt so natural there and he seemed genuinely surprised when she stepped away from him. She wasn’t trying to be a jerk by putting a little distance between them; she was trying to keep her sanity.

  Maria had no idea what a proper snake cage should look like but the one in Tyson’s living space looked legit. It wasn’t huge. She pointed at what looked to be a light source. “What’s this for?”

  “Keeps her warm. She’s native to Sri Lanka, so she’s used to sunshine. I got her after a great surfing vacation there. Guess I wanted something to remind me of the experience. Didn’t realize when I got her how long snakes live. It was a stupid decision to keep her and then I didn’t feel right getting rid of her. It wasn’t her fault that I made a dumb choice, you know.” Tyson’s place looked like he might be a professional surfer. There were three boards stacked in the corner of the loft and most of his furniture looked recycled. It had an earthy, artistic look, she mused. His layout was similar to Maria’s since he was directly below her but it wouldn’t have mattered if it wasn’t since the whole room was open concept.

  “Have you lived here long?” she asked. His place was definitely more settled than hers. There were a few photos hanging of him on various vacations. In one he jumped high in the air over what looked to be a cliff. She’d heard of those as scare-your-momma pics. Another showed him holding on to one of his boards as he stood ankle-deep in clear blue water.

  “That one’s from South Africa,” he said, beaming. “You ever been?”

  “Too many deadly sharks for my taste,” she said.

  “With your line of work, I wouldn’t think you’d be afraid of anything,” he said.

  He had a point.

  “I like to face the demons I can see coming,” she joked, but there was a strand of truth to it. She preferred monsters on the surface rather than in the deep.

  “What will happen to Adele?” Tyson’s voice sounded tormented. “I feel like a jerk for letting this happen. I don’t know what went wrong. I promise that I always lock her cage.”

  “I’ll see what I can arrange,” Austin said as he lifted the lid and tested the lock. That was going to be her next move. He was a natural investigator. “I may be able to get her back to her natural habitat.”

  “That would be awesome actually.” Tyler perked up.

  “What about other visitors?” Maria asked. “You mentioned the guys you had over to watch the game. Has anyone been by your place in the past few weeks?”

  “Had a guy stop by with his daughter about two weeks ago. She was selling Girl Scout cookies. I figured they live in the building,” Tyson said.

  “I don’t remember seeing kids here. I’d think that I would’ve heard one by now,” she said.

  “He’s a weekend-type dad. Shared custody,” Tyson stated.

  “Did they come inside?” she asked.

  “No. Stood at the door,” he answered.

  “Did you leave them alone at any time?” Maria surveyed the rest of the room.

  “Just long enough to get my wallet on the counter.” He motioned toward the bar area where there was a pile of mail. He’d pitched his keys there when they’d walked inside.

  “So, your back was turned a few seconds,” Maria said. “That’d be enough time to get a visual of the place.”

  Tyson’s eyes widened. “I didn’t think much about it at the time.”

  “Anyone else stop by unexpectedly?” She walked over to the stack of mail. It was the usual stuff.

  “Those were the only two people.” He stared at a spot on the wall, as though trying to remember anyone else. “Yeah, that’s it. I’m sure. Work’s been busy and I’ve been doing nothing but working and sleeping.”

  “No deliveries or maintenance calls?” Maria continued.

  Tyson shook his head. “Just work.”

  By all accounts, this looked like an accident. Tyson could’ve been in a rush after a feeding and forgot to lock the cage. Mistakes happened.

  Austin tested the lock on the snake’s cage one more time. “Everything’s in good working order.”

  “I’m mega careful,” Tyson said, hands on his head, looking exacerbated. “I’d be crazy not to take every precaution with her. She’s deadly and I didn’t give that nearly enough respect when I got her. I wasn’t thinking about how long the commitment would be or the fact that she might figure a way out of her cage one day.”

  It might’ve been Maria’s imagination but she could swear that she saw Austin nodding out of the corner of her eye.

  “I’m just so glad that nothing happened other than a scare,” Tyson said, and his face paled. “I mean, I’m not taking this lightly but this could’ve been so much worse, right?”

  “It could’ve,” Maria agreed. She didn’t want to acknowledge just how close she’d come to being bitten. Her body shivered at the thought.

  “Are we cool after this?” Tyson asked. He was so nervous that his hands were shaking and her sense was that he was a good guy. She could easily verify whether or not he’d been working as much as he said, but she suspected he was. There was no drug paraphernalia in his apartment or warning signs that he could be something more than he was projecting.

  “Sure.” She offered a smile.

  “There’s nothing else to be done here,” Austin said to Maria.

  How much of their current relationship did that statement cover?

  Chapter Six

  Austin stretched out sore legs. Sleeping on the couch, if he could call it sleep, for the past few nights had caused him to rack up some seriously angry muscles. He needed a cup of strong black coffee.

  A hint of light peeked through the wall of windows. The sun would rise above the buildings soon. As it was there was barely enough light in the kitchen to move around easily.

  “That smells amazing,” Maria said from the open-concept bedroom. He didn’t want to remember being so close that he could hear her breathe last night.

  “I was just about to pour a cup.” He pulled two mugs out of the dishwasher. “How’s your head this morning?”

  “A couple of ibuprofen and a cup of coffee will go a long way toward making me feel human again.” She threw off the covers but was slow to her feet.

  “Doc wants something in your stomach before you take those.” Austin set two pills next to a piece of fruit and yogurt—her favorites—on the place mat of the breakfast bar. He added a glass of water to the mix.

  Maria did the same thing he would’ve done, grabbed the coffee mug first. He cracked a smile.

  “What?” she asked, crooking her head to one side.

  He didn’t want to think how beautiful she was in the morning, or how much her sleepy grin tugged at his heart. That road would lead nowhere fast. Unless misery was a town he wanted to revisit. No, thanks.

  “Nothing. I woke up thinking about your assault last week and then what happened last night.” He sipped the dark liquid to clear the haze from his mind, a haze that had him noticing the flush to Maria’s cheeks that she always had in the early-morning hours.

  “The timing has been bothering me, too.” She finished her fruit and yogurt before palming the ibuprofen and tossing them into the back of her throat.

  Austin forced his gaze away from the soft lines of her neck as she threw her head back.

  “I’ll be good as new by�
��” she glanced at the clock on the microwave “—six twenty.”

  She pinched the bridge of her nose, her I’m-about-to-get-a-raging-headache move. The rest of her body language said that was an overstatement, which was not surprising given recent events. Her back was rigid and she clenched her fingers around the coffee mug. Since a round of tension-breaking sex was out of the question, he figured that she needed some semblance of her old routine back. The added benefit was that she might remember something from her past. It had occurred to him last night as he lay awake staring out the window that the reason for these incidences might very well be locked in her memories.

  Trying to think seemed to make his head hurt.

  He walked over and then picked up the pair of running shoes docked next to the door. “We’re going for a jog today.”

  “We are?” Her face lit up.

  “I know how much you like it and I figured you could handle getting outside.” He dangled the pair of shoes. “You have to swear you won’t push yourself, though. Doc hasn’t technically cleared you for exercise.”

  “I’ll walk if it means getting out of this place in the fresh air.” She lunged toward him and snatched the shoes out of his hands. “Ha. You can’t stop me now, mister.”

  He wouldn’t share the part where he’d let her beat him. It was worth it to see her keep her smile.

  She was already tying her laces when he said, “We should check in with your boss this morning. Let him know about yesterday.”

  “I was just thinking the same thing.” She popped her head up and locked gazes for half a second.

  It was enough to make Austin’s body react in more ways he didn’t want to acknowledge.

  A red blush crawled up Maria’s neck as she looked away. “You must have something besides boots around here. Hold on—”

  “I don’t,” he said before she could get too far down that path. “My running shoes are in my truck.”

  “Oh.” A curious look darkened her features. “Okay.”

  “We’ll grab ’em on the way out.” Getting her moving would hopefully stem the flow of questions building behind her eyes.