Forgotten Sins (Sin Brothers, #1)(102)

Matt eyed Shane. “Well?”

“Well what?” He fought the urge to shift his weight under the watchful gaze of his older brother.

“Say what you can’t figure out how to say.” Matt took another swallow of beer.

“I think maybe Jory is alive.”

The world froze. Or maybe only his brothers stopped moving. Stopped breathing.

“What did you say?” Only Nate’s lips moved. His body remained still, ready to pounce.

Shane eyed each of his brothers in turn. “I said that maybe Jory is alive. Or rather, maybe he didn’t die from those bullet wounds.” If his brother was still alive, why hadn’t he contacted them? “I saw a second video. He might’ve blinked.” Or it was a trick of the lighting.

“Jesus.” Nathan dropped into a vacant chair. “Might have? Shane, you’re dreaming here. I understand it, but you’re dreaming.”

Matt’s expression didn’t change. Pure stone. But those eyes. Dark, dangerous, they swirled with enough emotion to make sound. “Tell me you’re sure.”

“I’m not sure.” Shane squared his jaw. “There was a second video, and he may have blinked. That’s why I broke cover and headed to Seattle. To see you—see if any of your contacts could get a better image from the video.” The video that had disappeared along with his memories—probably in the river.

“What happened after he blinked?” Matt asked.

Shane concentrated on the memory. The camera angle had been toward the floor, where Jory lay. “A pair of shoes, high heels, crossed in front of the camera. Female hands grabbed his shoulders.” Doubt filled Shane as the memories tumbled back. He might be giving his brothers false hope. “Then the video went blank.”

“Dr. Madison?” Nathan hissed.

“I don’t know.” Many women wore high heels. God help Jory if it had been the psychotic doctor.

“Where’s the video?” Ty asked.

“I don’t know,” Shane repeated. “Though chances are I had it at the house I stayed in to watch Josie.”

Matt jumped to his feet. “We need to search that house and break into the police evidence room to find it. Probably on some sort of flash drive.” He glanced at Shane’s battered torso. “Good job, Shane.”

Shane shrugged. “I wish I could say for sure. Nathan’s right. I may be dreaming.” But he’d move hell to find out the truth. “I stopped by to get Josie on the way to Seattle, found the bugs, and figured I’d better hang tight to see if the commander found her—hoping I’d find him.” And have some answers about Jory.

Matt nodded. “Yeah, I get that. Shane, stay here and monitor the lines for any information on the explosion in Washington while you get your wife settled in. Nate will head back to Snowville to find the flash drive.”

Nathan stood. “I put the Texas coordinates in your phone for your next mission.”

“Thanks.” Matt poured the rest of his beer down the drain of the sink. He turned and strode from the house.

Shane frowned. “What’s in Texas?”

Nathan sighed. “Hopefully more intel on the commander and his funding.” He set down his beer and eyed the door. “I’ll go talk to Mattie before he leaves.”

Shane stretched to his feet, careful of the bandages around his torso. Long strides had him pushing open the heavy oak door to the guest room. Josie sat on the bed dressed in a sweat suit, her wet hair wisping around her face. Fragile and soft, she took up a tiny space on the huge bed.

His heart thumped. Hard. “Are you all right?”

She arched an eyebrow. “Of course. I’m not the one covered in bandages.”

He smiled, kicking the door shut behind him. Determined steps brought him to the bed. “So.”

“So.” Her intoxicating scent of wild berries filled the room, filled his heart. “Um. Thanks for my clothes. For having Matt grab them.”

“Sure. We’ll get the rest this week. In fact, we’ll get all your belongings for you.” He tucked his hands in his jean pockets to keep from reaching for her. They needed to talk. “First, I just heard from Malloy, and he came up with a pretty creative explanation as to why he was at the airport. But he played dumb as to why there are dead bodies around. Just claimed that he caught the end of the fight.”

Relief played across her pretty face. “I’m glad. He wanted to help me.”

“He helped us all. We definitely owe Detective Malloy a favor or two.” Shane cleared his throat. “Second, I don’t want to lie to you.” There had to be a smooth way to get her to stay. But all training, all manipulation flew out the window when he dealt with her. She deserved the truth.

“That would be a nice change.” A small dimple flirted at the corner of her mouth. The raw bruise on her cheekbone made him hope Tom landed on a spike.

“Do you love me?” He needed to know. He needed to hear her say the words.

Her eyes darkened to nearly purple. “I love you.” She plucked at a loose string on the duvet. “I always have.”

“You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved.” He couldn’t live without her. Didn’t want to. “I’m selfish, Josie. Life is hard, and I don’t want to fight it without you.” Sparks flared in her stunning eyes, and he fought a grin. “Because I love you. Because I need you with me. When I stopped by your house on the way to Seattle, I was going to ask you for another chance. Ask you to go with me to meet Matt.” Of course, he’d found bugs in her house instead.