Forbidden Stranger Page 2

  Public outcry, led by Ewan himself, had forced the enhanced soldiers out of the army and made any further use of the tech illegal. He’d been determined that nobody should have their mind and memories deliberately stolen from them. As with any kind of tech, however, it had begun to degrade, leaving the original fifteen enhanced soldiers with deteriorating mental faculties and increasing physical problems. It had taken getting to know Nina and falling in love with her to show Ewan he’d been wrong to deny the enhanced any upgrades to the tech. He’d worked nonstop since then to not only reverse the legislation making it illegal to upgrade the tech, but also to program and provide the actual upgrades.

  What nobody had known was that the enhanced had been given additional software that did more than allow their memories to be reset. With a different set of triggers, the soldiers could be forced to self-terminate to protect classified information from being extracted or accessed. Wanda Crosson had been behind that part of it all, and the bastards who’d taken Nina had exploited that function to delete any possible recovery of information that would identify them. There was no way to know what memories or experiences her captors had tied to that programming, and the only person who could possibly have made a guess was no longer able to reveal any secrets.

  Jordie Dev had been, illegally and presumably against his will, fitted with the enhancement tech as well as the same memory-altering software. Under arrest for his part in Nina’s kidnapping, Jordie had warned his interrogators about the secret self-termination programming and what it could do. Their questioning had activated the previously unknown function, and he’d suffered such severe mental dysfunction that he’d been institutionalized in a facility for the criminally insane.

  There was no way Ewan was going to risk Nina suffering the same fate. She’d barely survived the surgery to implant the upgrades for her existing tech. Ewan had programmed it to provide all of the enhanced with better long-term quality of life, but there’d been no way to safely delete the self-termination functions. He had teams working on it to crack the coding Wanda Crosson had written. Since she could not be trusted to provide new programming that would work, not even in return for a lesser sentence, it was taking longer to find a solution than Ewan had wanted. He hoped to have the next set of upgrades coded to include a total removal of anything that would ever allow any of them to have their memories destroyed, but so far there’d been too many errors in the feedback to risk attempting actual use.

  In the meantime, he had to keep Nina safe from trying to destroy herself.

  Ewan had paid to upgrade the security on this island retreat, keeping away everyone. He’d paid even more money to throttle the ’net and limit access to the outside world to further protect her. Aggie and Jerome had both previously pulled long careers in private security, and while neither was enhanced, both had combat and med training. Aggie kept the house and Jerome maintained the grounds, including the security systems, but both were also trained to keep Nina from hurting herself. They monitored her when Ewan couldn’t be on the island by syncing the citizen identity chip implanted in her wrist. They could know where she was at all times, not that she could go very far on the small island. They made sure to watch for any signs that the fatal programming had kicked in.

  It had already, once. In the beginning, shortly after Nina had regained consciousness and managed to stay awake longer than an hour or so. Jordie Dev had not yet spilled the information about what had been done to him and all the others, so Ewan and the team of docs he’d hired to take care of Nina had not known they had to be careful about what they told her. She had asked him where she was, and why, and Ewan had told her.

  Nina had broken free of hospital-grade restraints and knocked him down to get out of her room. Ewan had run after her. She’d beat him to the island’s cliffs and thrown herself over the edge. No hesitation, not a single second of it. She’d run toward the edge and kept going. Ewan would never forget the horror of watching her determination, of being helpless to stop her.

  Nina had missed the water by only a few inches. She’d been saved from drowning, but her injuries had been severe. Ewan had fought fiercely against the use of the tech to “reset” the enhanced, but that had been the only solution to keep her from responding to the self-termination commands. They’d had to reset her three times before she’d stopped struggling and returned to a baseline docility that was so unlike the Nina Ewan had first met that he feared she’d been permanently impaired, not in her mental functions, but in her personality. Her soul, not that he believed in such a thing.

  If she was not the same woman he’d first met, the one who’d had no problem putting him in his place and keeping him on his toes, she was still the woman he loved more than anything else the world. Her enhancements helped her to heal faster, but they wouldn’t be able to bring her back from death. Ewan had determined there would be nothing to provoke another attempt. No matter what he had to do.

  The airtranspo settled onto the scourged stone clifftop. Its bland metallic voice announced that he’d arrived, and moments later, the door opened so he could hop out. Transpo vehicles were mostly government owned and operated, but this one belonged to him, so it wouldn’t be going anywhere until he ordered it. Ewan had spent close to a hundred thousand credits for the privilege and considered it worth every penny for contributing to his privacy.

  Too bad money couldn’t buy any guarantee of Nina’s complete recovery. It could not promise she would ever be the woman she’d been before. The best his insanely enormous bank account could do was to keep her in comfort in this place on the island, where it was possible her memories could eventually return to her safely, without tempting her to kill herself.

  Ewan traveled light, having already shipped everything he needed to the island house, so when Jerome came out to greet him, all Ewan had for him to grab was a handshake. “Jerome. Good to see you.”

  “G’day, Mr. Donahue, sir,” Jerome said as he gave Ewan’s fingers a hearty squeeze. The tall, gray-haired man was stronger than he looked.

  Ewan didn’t bother to correct or remind the groundskeeper to call him by his first name. Jerome had always insisted on formality. “How’s life been here?”

  “The same. Cold. Rain. Dark. Other than that, uneventful, which I’d say is what we like best.” Jerome shrugged. “No bags?”

  Ewan laughed and shook his head. “Not this time. I think I finally have everything I need right here.”

  Clothes, food . . . Nina. Onegod, he was so looking forward to seeing her again. It had been a couple weeks since his last visit, and he hated being away for even a day. It had taken a few months to get his business in order enough that he could spent all of his time dealing with it remotely, but finally everything had settled into place. He should rarely have to leave the island again. He could devote his time and life to being with the woman he loved, for at least as long as she allowed him to.

  Nina might never remember who she’d been or what had happened. She might never remember him from before, or what they’d been to each other. In time, it was likely she’d want to leave the island, and him behind.

  Ewan wasn’t going to think about that right now.

  Jerome led the way over the rocky cliff toward the patches of sparse grass that bled into slightly better-kept grounds. Beyond that, the house. It wasn’t old, but it looked it. Weathered by the fierce winds and rains that frequently scourged the island, the house’s white paint was shabby. The roof shingles had faded to a dark gray from the original black. The front door had been painted crimson, and even that had faded to a dull rose red. The door opened as they approached the house, and Ewan strained to see who was welcoming them.

  It was Aggie. She wore her familiar uniform of dark gray trousers and a matching sweater, with a full apron over it that she used now to wipe her hands. She waved at him and Jerome with a broad grin. He couldn’t smell anything from here, but Ewan knew the house would be redolent with the delicious odors of cooking from Aggie’s kitchen. She w
as an amazing chef and household manager, but Ewan hadn’t hired her solely for her skills in the kitchen or the way she made the beds. She was also a trained medic as well as a former assassin. Aggie had a lot of special skills that would come in useful on the island, if she ever needed to use them. Ewan hoped she never would.

  But then. There. From around the side of the house, coming from the direction of the long path accessing the rocky beach. There she was, jogging lightly toward them.

  Nina.

  Ewan’s heart seized at the sight of her. Her dark curls fell to the edges of her chin. They’d had to shave her head to operate. It was still so much shorter than when he’d first met her, yet the length now showed how much time had passed since he’d found her in that onedamned closet where Crosson’s minions had dumped her after digging through her brain with what had appeared to be medieval torture instruments.

  She waved when she saw him and slowed her jog. “Hello! Ewan! Welcome back.”

  “Nina,” he said and could not keep the joy at seeing her out of his voice. “You look . . . amazing.”

  Her sunny grin. It was the same and yet so different, the way Nina herself had changed, overall. Gone was the snark, along with her determination, focus, and stubbornness. She hadn’t become anything close to meek or mild, but she never argued with him the way she had before. She was polite, gently humorous, soft-spoken. Appreciative of the roof over her head and the care and keeping of her that she believed he provided because she’d been a valued employee and not because she was the woman he loved so desperately.

  “I’m not sure I’d go that far,” she said and touched her hair self-consciously. “I’m kind of a mess right now.”

  Jerome muttered something and moved off toward the backyard and the garden, probably heading toward the shed where he spent most of his time. Ewan let himself drink in the sight of her, trying to keep the longing out of his expression. Before they’d figured out the extent of the damage the LOH had done to her, it had already become clear that she had no idea she and Ewan had once been in love enough to talk about getting married. She’d forgotten their previous relationship, and there was no way he could tell her. The best he could do was try to keep it from being so obvious that he was completely and utterly in love with her.

  “You’re never a mess,” Ewan said.

  Nina gave him an inquisitive tilt of her head, her brow furrowing. “That’s a nice thing to say. Thanks.”

  Ewan bit back a grimace. He’d gone too far. Been too happy to see her. As far as Nina knew, she was his clerical assistant and nothing more. Ewan pressed his lips thinly closed and straightened his shoulders, reminding himself he had to keep it together.

  “Good to see you.” Ewan held out a hand. The touch of her fingers against his had him wanting to pull her into an embrace. He quickly let go. Too fast, he could see that in her confused expression. He’d made it weird, but scratch it, this was tricky business.

  “How was your trip?” She pulled her hands into the sleeves of her oversized sweater. Her wide and welcoming smile had faded a bit, but her gaze was frank and open as she looked him over. “Bumpy? The wind’s pretty bad today. I think we’re in for a storm soon.”

  “It wasn’t too bad. How are things here?”

  Nina’s eyes narrowed a bit as she appeared to ponder his question, then she shrugged and laughed gently. “The same. I’ve made a lot of progress on the files. There’s not much else to do, honestly.”

  Ostensibly, she’d been hired to compile and sort a library’s worth of paper documents, entering them into a database Ewan had told her was important to his business. It was busywork, designed to give Nina the illusion of employment while doing nothing to either strain her recovering body and mind, or to inadvertently trigger her into a relapse.

  “Terrific. Did you get the most recent shipment?” He’d sent another bunch of boxes last week, because Nina was so efficient that she was completing all the tasks he set for her in half the time he’d figured she’d take. If she’d truly been nothing more than a clerical assistant, he’d have been paying her too little. Of course, if she’d truly been a clerical assistant, he’d have no need for her. None of the information in the paper files was worth anything.

  “Yes. I’ll be able to get to it by the end of next week, I think. If that’s okay?”

  “That’s more than okay. That’s beyond what I would expect.” Ewan cleared his throat. “You know, Nina, there’s no need to exert yourself too much.”

  She gave him another curious look. “I’d hardly consider transferring information and data entry exerting myself. If you give me a job to do, I’m going to make sure it’s done.”

  When you’re mine, you’re mine all the way.

  Her voice echoed in his head, a reminder of how they’d met and what it had been like to face her without the barrier of her damaged mind between them. He shouldn’t have been surprised that her attitude about responsibilities had remained. He only wished she was still saying that about him and not a pile of moldering and useless documents left over from a world long gone.

  Together, they walked toward the house and Aggie, who still stood in the doorway. The cook stepped aside as they came through, Ewan holding back to allow Nina to go first. He hugged Aggie, or rather allowed himself to be gripped tight in the older woman’s greeting, before she pulled away.

  “Mr. Donahue, welcome home.” She also refused to use his first name. “I’ve made your favorite. Lamb roast with potatoes and rosemary. It’s ready, if you’re hungry.”

  Beside him, Nina’s stomach rumbled so loudly they all heard it. She gave an embarrassed laugh and clapped a hand to it over the thick wool of her sweater. Aggie shook her head, also laughing. The noise sent a pang of emotion through Ewan. How often in the past had he teased Nina about her voracious appetite and the fact that her body needed more sustenance than usual, because of her enhancements? That hadn’t changed about her, and he found it as endearing as he always had.

  “I can see one of you is hungry, at least, not that I’m surprised.” Aggie sounded fond. Liking Nina hadn’t been a requirement of Aggie’s employment, but Ewan was glad she did. She knew all about Nina’s dietary needs, of course, although she’d been sworn to secrecy about mentioning anything about why the younger woman was always ready to eat. “Come on, then, the pair of you. I’ve plates ready in the kitchen.”

  “Let me just grab a quick shower,” Nina said. “I’ll be right back down.”

  Ewan hung back again as Nina went upstairs. He waited until the creak of floorboards overhead told him she was out of earshot. He shared a look with Aggie, raised brows and a question in his eyes. She shrugged.

  Aggie had been trained to notice any changes or anything that would indicate progress or decline in Nina. Her last report to him had been brief. Nothing much to say. Nina remained unchanged. Physically healthy, her injuries healing. Mentally alert. She did her job and helped around the house, even though she didn’t have to. She ran to the beach and back again.

  “She seems happy,” Aggie said in a low voice.

  He wanted her to be happy, didn’t he? Ten minutes later, watching Nina move around the kitchen as she hummed to herself beneath her breath and looked completely at home there, Ewan had to admit that while her well-being was his highest priority, he wanted her to be happy with him. Not simply . . . around . . . him. Or in spite of him, he thought. Because when she did remember their relationship and everything that had happened, he was sure Nina was going to be anything but happy.

  “Water?” Nina held up the bottle of sparkling liquid she’d pulled from the fridge. She wore a gauzy, flowing skirt and matching tunic top, the colors bright. The fabric outlines, soft. He’d bought those clothes for her, but she chose to wear them instead of the other, more utilitarian items he knew were also in her dresser.

  “Yeah. And can you grab me a . . .” Ewan paused as she turned with a bottle already in her hand. “Beer. Thanks.”

  She laughed and set t
he bottle in front of him. For a moment, Ewan caught a full whiff of the lingering scent in her hair. Salty air. The faint undercurrent of flowers—her shampoo. His heart clenched. Lower, his cock throbbed.

  Nina paused, turning her face to his with a furrowed brow. “Are you all right?”

  “Shiny fine,” Ewan managed to say in a neutral tone.

  “You seemed . . .” She laughed under her breath and shook her head as though bemused at herself. “Never mind. I’m not sure what I meant.”

  Her enhancements would have allowed her to sense his elevated temperature, the increase in the tempo of his pulse. Without her memories, though, she wouldn’t understand what she was processing. She took the seat across from him and turned her smile on Aggie.

  “Smells so good I can hardly stand it,” Nina said.

  No point in asking Aggie if he could help or trying to serve himself. She wouldn’t stand for it. He waited instead for her to bring him the plate laden with slices of deliciously prepared lamb. Aggie didn’t join them, claiming she’d spent the day “sampling” and therefore wasn’t hungry, but the way she ducked out of the kitchen to leave them alone told Ewan she wasn’t being totally truthful. He didn’t blame her. She was essentially a full-time caregiver, always on alert in case Nina had an episode or showed signs of attempting to self-terminate. Aggie was no doubt grateful for a chance to relax and have some time “off.”

  He and Nina polished off the dinner quickly. Their conversation ranged from discussion about the last batch of files, to how she felt about the work, and what sorts of things Ewan had planned for his “vacation” here. Only when they’d both eaten their fill and left the table, leaving the dishes for Aggie who would have scolded them for doing anything else, did he ask her how she’d been feeling.