Heart Remembers

Anne Manning

Description

School-teacher Lara Reynolds was dying...until the gift of a heart transplant gave her another chance to live a full life. The only problem was her donor Mo Priestly wasn't giving up on bringing his murderer to justice. Beset by nightly dreams filled with Mo's final moments of life, she fears she's going crazy. When Mo starts talking to her, she comes to care about him and knows she has to report what she knows to the police, even though she knows they won't believe her. With no suspects and no new leads on the Priestly murder, San Antonio detective Kurt Andersen has no choice except to take Lara's statement. Her details fit the facts of the case, and he considers her a suspect, though she was on the heart transplant list and wasn't physically capable of murder. How else would she be able to so accurately describe Priestly's murder?Lara agrees with Mo's opinion that Detective Andersen is "yummy," but she won't allow herself to feel anything for him. What man would want a woman with an eighteen-inch scar on her chest? Repeated attempts to silence Lara convince Kurt that she's telling the truth and his protective instincts kick in as his attraction to her grows. But he'd already failed to protect one woman he cared about. Would he be able to keep Lara safe?

Sujets

• Thriller

Informations

• Publié par: Uncial Press
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 0001
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781601741530
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Heart Remembers
 
By
Anne Manning
 
 
Uncial Press       Aloha, Oregon 2012
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events described herein are products ofthe author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Anyresemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirelycoincidental.
ISBN 13: 978-1-60174-153-0
The Heart Remembers Copyright © 2013 by Anne Manning
Cover design Copyright © 2013 by Judith B. Glad
All rights reserved. Except for use in review, the reproduction or utilization of this work inwhole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafterinvented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by theFBI and is punishable by up to five (5) years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
Published by Uncial Press, an imprint of GCT, Inc.
Visit us at http://www.uncialpress.com
Prologue
The day had been hot for April, even in San Antonio. As darkness fell over the city, agentle breeze brought relief from the heat stored in the concrete and asphalt and took awaysome of the stink in the alley. Curious glances followed the slight man in the pink stretchpants and heels as he paced outside The Alternative bar. He ignored the gawkersand raised his arm to see his watch. Ten-thirty.
Where was he? He'd said he'd be here at ten.
Maurice Priestly tapped his toe as he lit another cigarette. He'd wait one more minutebefore he called. Jack hated when he called.
The click of footsteps echoed from the other end of the alley. Maurice stepped into thedark of the alley toward the tall, broad-shouldered silhouette.
His heart beat faster, as it always did at the sight.
"Jack?" He called his lover by the name they'd agreed to use when not in the safety ofMo's apartment. "Is that you, Huggy Bear?"
Another step brought the man farther into the alley. Darkness closed around him like ashroud.
It must be both desire and fear that made his heart pound so. The game that hadseemed so much fun, he now realized was stupid. Jack was not a man to play with. Unlessthe game was played by his rules.
"Okay, Mo. What did you want to see me about?"
Maurice set his fist on his hip, shooting out one knee. The pose always got Jack hot.
"No kiss?"
Jack's mouth tightened. "I don't have time. I have to meet with some importantpeople."
Maurice's gut clenched. "And I'm not important."
"Mo, please. Don't be a drama queen. You know how it has to be."
Yes, Mo knew. Coming out would ruin all the big plans Jack dreamed for his future.They would always have to hide their love. But to be with Jack, he'd do anything.
"I know, Huggy Bear. I told you I wouldn't do anything to hurt you." He reached forJack's hand.
Jack hesitated, then threaded his long, strong fingers through Mo's. "I wish it could bedifferent, sweetheart. But I have too much to lose."
"You're in danger of losing everything anyway," Mo said. "Your wife has hired a privatedick. Did you know? He's been nosing around, asking questions."
Jack's beautiful wide shoulders jerked. "What kind of questions?"
Mo wrapped his arms around Jack's strong body. They hadn't been together for daysand days. It felt so good to touch him that he didn't mind when Jack didn't hug back.
"What would a woman ask? She wants to know how you spend your evenings whenyou're not home. Now that she knows, she'll leave you, sweetie. She'll take you foreverything you've got. Your house, your money, your kids."
Jack pulled from Mo's embrace and settled his hands on his shoulders, his intense gazeburning into Mo's eyes. Sometimes, Jack frightened him. He was so strong, and the gun hecarried on his hip was a reminder that he was dangerous. Jack's fingers tightened painfully,reminding Mo how dangerous.
"What did you tell the investigator?" Jack said.
It was cute how he always talked like that. So precise, so authoritative.
"Nothing, baby, nothing." Mo stroked the side of Jack's dear face. "I'd never betrayyou."
Jack's fingers relaxed and he lowered his head until his forehead touched Mo's. "Sheknows. What am I going to do?"
"We could kill her."
The words were intended as a joke. Mo wasn't a violent person, but now that his loverwas threatened, he felt like a mama bear protecting her cub.
Jack raised his head and stared into Mo's eyes. The expression on his face shook Mo abit. It was horror.
"I can't do that. My kids..."
Mo patted his shoulder. Jack's love for his children was one of the things he loved somuch about him, why he couldn't let him go. Suddenly, his joking suggestion didn't seem tobe such a joke. It might be the only way to protect his lover.
"She's taken the choice away from you."
"We'd never get away with it. Then my kids would have a dead mother and a father ondeath row." Jack pushed away, leaving a stinging void within Mo's arms.
Mo let him go, considering what it meant that Jack hadn't completely rejected the idea."You could figure out a way to get away with it. You know all the tricks and with yourposition you could make sure the cops never get close."
Jack turned and walked a few paces away. Mo let him have his space. He'd come back.He always came back. Mo waited, all tingly.
"No, Mo. It would never work. The husband is always the first suspect."
Mo didn't like the look on Jack's face. His tingles became cold and the little hairs on theback of his neck shot up.
Jack stepped closer. "On the other hand, if they never knew a person knew someoneelse, a murder could be done successfully."
Mo felt his brow crease in confusion. "Honey, I was only joking--"
"I'm sorry."
Lights exploded in his eyes as he crashed to his knees. A ribbon of agony swept aroundbehind them, through his brain. He could feel the air current signaling the next blow.Instinctively, he raised his arms to protect himself as the man he loved rained hatred downon him. Killing him.
Still, he loved his Huggy Bear.
Mo tried to get up, to escape the assault. Jack leaned over him as he had so many timesbefore. Instead of a gentle kiss, though, Jack landed another blow.
Mo forced his eyes open. "I love you."
Jack's arm froze in the air above his head. The police flashlight he held reflected the dimlight from the street.
"I love you, Huggy Bear," Mo said again, praying to hear his feelings returned.
All he heard were Jack's footsteps as he walked away.
Mo lay in the alley, trying to marshal enough strength to call for help. His head poundedin time to the sound of Jack's footsteps getting farther and farther away.
He lay there for a long time, unable to get up for the pain in his head.
Then he heard footsteps coming closer. His heart leapt.
Jack was coming back to apologize, to help him up, to take him to the doctor or to theirapartment where he would tenderly clean the wounds, kiss away the hurt, ask forforgiveness.
Which Mo was ready to give with no reservation.
He was coming back. He always came back.
Mo raised his head, trying to focus blurry eyes on the approaching figure. "HuggyBear..."
"You like to suck on long, hard things, faggot?" The voice was evil, cold, the wordsspoken in a gruff whisper. It wasn't Jack's voice.
Cruel fingers laced through Mo's hair and jerked his head up. Cold metal touched hislips and shoved into his mouth. The tang of steel tickled his tongue. "Suck on this."
He heard a snap. He heard a crack.
No! No! No!
Mo heard nothing more.
Chapter One
Lutheran Medical Center San Antonio, Texas April
"Wake up, Lara. Lara, can you hear me? Open your eyes, honey."
The sea of mist in her head parted and Lara swam toward consciousness.
"The surgery's over and you did great."
She couldn't open her eyes. A bright light burned into her retinas, blinding her.
"Open your eyes for me, Lara."
"I can't," she whispered through cracked lips. "It's too bright."
"What's too bright? The lights are all off. It's okay, honey. Open your eyes."
She drifted. She felt herself falling. Pain blasted through her head. A moan she onlydistantly recognized as coming from her own lips broke through her pain.
She tried to raise her hand to her head.
"Don't try to move yet, Lara. Just open your eyes for me."
The light disappeared and a face appeared, but not clearly. It was like she was lookingthrough water.
"No."
Cold touched her lips. She felt cold metal shove between her lips, into her mouth.
"No, please don't!"
"Don't what, honey?"
A snap.
A crack.
Thunder ripped through bone and brain. Blinding pain.
Oh, God! I'm dead.
"Lara, honey, you've got to open your eyes."
She struggled toward the concerned voice. She forced her eyes open.
She wasn't dead.
The reassuring beep of the monitoring equipment by her bed confirmed it.
"She's waking up. Call Dr. Hanson."
Her tongue cleaved to the roof of her mouth as she struggled to speak.
"Wait, sweetie." Gentle hands raised her head. A straw touched her lips. "Sip a littlewater."
Lara greedily sucked.
"That's enough for the first drink."
She almost cried when the straw was pulled away.
"More," she begged. Her voice was no more than a pitiful croak.
"In a minute. Don't rush it."
Lara felt the comforting presence move away, heard the gentle voice calling thedoctor.
In a few moments, another face appeared before her eyes. She knew the kind laughingeyes, the snow-white hair worn a little too long to be professional.
Dr. Hanson.
She tried to say his name. Her lips moved, but no sign came out.
"Don't try to talk, Lara. We just took you off the ventilator. Your throat will be sore for acouple of days. You're stable and doing really great." He flashed a little light into hereyes.
The reminder of the light and the face made her shiver.
"Ursula, can you get a warmed blanket for our girl here?