Free Forgotten Memories (SWAT: Top Cops Book 4) by Laura Scott Page B

time ago to suppress her feelings, ever since the tender age of nine when she’d been thrust into the highly competitive environment at the Einstein School of Brilliance. As the youngest student in residence, she quickly realized that showing any kind of emotion was displaying a sign of weakness. A weakness that other pupils wouldn’t hesitate to use to their advantage. She also learned to become impervious to their jeers and insults, remaining strong in order to survive.
    Attending medical school and working through her residency as a female surgeon in a male-dominated career hadn’t been much different. Even after Damon’s assault and the subsequent rumors he’d spread about her, she’d kept her emotions tightly under wraps.
    “I’ll need you to write your statement,” Nate said, pushing a pad of paper and a pen toward her.
    She could type faster than she could write but sensed Nate didn’t care to make things easy for her. She picked up the pen and began to detail the events that were clearly etched in her memory.
    The grim-faced deputy didn’t say anything, waiting patiently for her to complete her report. Because her brain was wired to catalog every minute detail, the process took a long time.
    The door behind her opened and the back of her neck prickled with awareness as she caught a whiff of Shane’s woodsy aftershave. She told herself to ignore him, but it wasn’t easy. She paused, momentarily distracted from what she’d been writing.
    Seriously, she really needed to get her emotions back under control. Especially since she knew she couldn’t afford to trust Shane. Personally or professionally.
    She focused on completing the account of what she remembered and shoved the pad of paper toward Nate. “There you go. Let me know if you have any questions.”
    His eyebrows rose as he scanned the three pages she’d written. “Uh, no questions. I think this covers everything.”
    “Great, then you don’t mind if I head over to the hospital?”
    Shane cleared his throat. “Actually, Gabby, would you mind going back to your stepfather’s house with me first? The techs have found something interesting and I’d like your input.”
    She turned to glance at him in surprise. “What did they find?”
    “They found some documents in Richard’s study.” He avoided her gaze in a way that put her instincts on red alert. “It’s hard to explain—I’d rather show you.”
    Gabby knew that she should return to the hospital to check on her stepfather, but at the same time, she needed to see what had been found in his office. She hadn’t known that Richard was in financial trouble, although frankly, she wasn’t surprised. Richard was all about looking and acting wealthy even when he wasn’t.
    “All right,” she conceded warily. “I’ll go with you to his place.”
    “Great.” Shane turned toward Nate. “You’re the computer whiz, will you start on the background checks? And did you hear that we got an ID on one of the dead men?”
    Nate grimaced and nodded. “I heard, although we don’t know much about what Wilkens was up to.”
    “So you’ll do the background checks?” Shane persisted.
    “Sure, why not?”
    “Thanks.” Shane bent over and scribbled the names she’d given him on the pad of paper. “I’ll be in touch.”
    She followed Shane back outside to his vehicle. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask about his meeting with Griff, but she held back, reminding herself that Shane didn’t need her interfering with his job.
    Once they were seated and ready to go, Shane glanced at her. “How did things go with Nate?”
    “Fine, considering he doesn’t trust me.”
    Shane’s brows pulled together in a deep frown. “What do you mean, he doesn’t trust you?”
    Was Shane being sincere? Or trying to trap her into saying something to implicate herself? “He thinks that I know Creighton and that I took money from him to pay for my outstanding loans that Creighton now wants back.”
    “Oh,