Free Cover Me by Joanna Wayne Rita Herron and Mallory Kane Page B

found, dehydrated, skin parched, my face beaten into a meaty, bloody pulp that had little resemblance to anything human.

    So, like Carlotta, Remy and so many others, Nicole’s life had been destroyed by the tragic hurricane and the flooding that followed. No wonder shehadn’t wanted to talk about it last night.
    The journal read like a novel, and Remy became so immersed in it, he didn’t notice when the thunderstorm intensified and the raindrops became sheets of water.
    Details flowed. The agony of waking up in a hospital and not knowing who or where she was. The hopelessness she’d felt when no one had come looking for her.
    The despair when the policehad told her that her fingerprints were not on file and her dental records were not a match to anyone reported missing after the storm.
    When they’d removed the bandages and she’d gotten her first look at her pummeled face with its shattered bones and displaced features, she’d wanted to die. But then Leslie Cantrell had walked into her hospital room and offered her hope.
    Dr. and Mrs.Cantrell wanted to give more than money to the victims of Katrina. They wanted to give of themselves. And give they did. With the blackness of amnesia still blocking all memories of past friends and family from Nicole’s mind, Leslie offered her friendship and emotional support.
    Dr. Cantrell offered his expertise. He performed surgery after surgery, all pro bono.
    A nurse in the hospitaldubbed the patient Nicole after a redheaded friend of hers. The name stuck.
    When Nicole wasn’t recovering in the hospital, she recovered in the Cantrells’ home. They took her in and treated her like a daughter. To Nicole, they would forever be saints.
    Thunder rattled the windows and lightning spiked the skies as Remy read the final pages. He was awed by Nicole’s struggles and triumphs.She was truly amazing.
    But she wasn’t Carlotta.
    She didn’t have the innocence or the naïveté Carlotta had had back then. She’d lived through hell. But then, he wasn’t the man he’d been eight years ago, either. Heartbreak had left him with an edge and a wariness that he hadn’t possessed as a young cop who thought he had the world by the tail.
    The time and date of the last notationin the diary indicated it had been written tonight—after the kiss. Remy read it hesitantly, not knowing what to expect after his blunder with the names.

    For the first time since Katrina, I feel as if my heart is beginning to heal. Today, real excitement bubbled inside me. I took risks. I trusted a man I barely knew. I felt truly alive. No matter what happens after this, my life isforever changed for the better.
    Dr. and Leslie Cantrell brought me back from hell. Remy Comeaux has brought me back to the threshold of love.

    Remy closed the journal and carefully laid it back on the table. The storm was kicking up something fierce. But the desire to see Nicole was far more intense.
    He knew that going to her now would lead to their making love. He’d neverbacked down from a risk where his job was involved.
    Maybe it was time he took another chance on love.
    * * *
    N ICOLE WAS ALREADY slick with desire when Remy slid between the sheets and joined her in her bed. When his lips took hers, she lost all inhibition. She responded hungrily, her tongue parrying with his, the thrill stealing her breath.
    She’d waited so long for this kindof passion, had feared she’d never know the ecstasy of making love. But now Remy was here and she wanted him. Oh, how she wanted him.
    His mouth moved to her breasts. He sucked each nipple in turn while his hand splayed her abdomen. Slowly his fingers trailed lower until they began to explore her most intimate places. She moaned and thrust against him.
    “Take me. Please make love to meall the way.”
    He spread her legs then thrust his erection deep inside her. Over and over until the hot core inside her exploded.
    “Oh, Remy.”
    “No, Nicole. It’s not Remy.”
    She jerked awake. A flash