He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not

shot to remember whatever it was she might have forgotten.
    Karen obviously didn’t know about her background, at least not enough to realize the significance of where Logan was. Good, that would work in Amanda’s favor. Because otherwise, there was no way Karen would agree to do what Amanda was about to ask her to do.
    Calling Logan now wasn’t an option either. Even though he wanted her to talk about her past, he wouldn’t want her to go to Black Lake, to revisit the cabin where the torture had taken place, where the old Amanda had died and the new one was still struggling to figure out who she was.
    She took a deep breath and forced a smile onto her face. “Karen, I need a favor.”
    “W e’re done here.” Logan glanced around the interior of the cabin. He’d hoped that coming to Black Lake, walking off the crime scene, would give him a new perspective, new insight into what the murderer had thought when he’d brought Dana and Amanda here. But the crime scene was too old. The cabin was dry-rotting. The metal bed Dana had died upon had been hauled away long ago along with anything else that might have helped set the scene.
    “It was worth a look,” Pierce said. “Even this many years later, we could have found something that was missed the first time around. But you know that already. As many courses as you’ve taken at Quantico, you probably know more than me. What did you do, spend every vacation for the past ten years training at the FBI academy?”
    Logan narrowed his eyes at him. “Did you run a background check on me?”
    “Let’s just say I was curious to know why the guy who solved the Metzger case would settle for a chief of police job in a little backwater town like Shadow Falls.”
    “Watch the insults. This is my hometown.”
    Pierce held up his hands in a placating gesture. “No insult intended. Hell, I grew up in Savannah, only moved to Jacksonville a few years ago. Trust me when I say both those places, in spite of their size, have a lot of similarities to this little town. But both of them have enormous opportunities for a career in law enforcement. Shadow Falls doesn’t. So tell me. Why did you come back? And don’t tell me it’s because of that rookie mistake you mentioned the other day.”
    “I didn’t lie when I said that’s why I came back.”
    Pierce leaned back against the lone window and crossed his arms. “That’s one reason. Not the only reason. What happened in New York? Why’d you leave?”
    “Is this going somewhere? Because I have a hell of a lot of work to do if this doesn’t have something to do with the case.”
    “Was it a woman?”
    Logan strode across the cabin and stopped a few feet in front of Pierce. His fists clenched at his side. “You got something to say, Buchanan, say it. Quit pussyfooting around.”
    “All right.” Pierce shoved away from the window sill. “I know you left New York right after your divorce.”
    “So much for respecting my privacy,” Logan sneered.
    “I’ve seen friends go through that rebound stage, fixating on the first pretty woman that passes their way.”
    “I care about this why?”
    “I’ve seen the way you look at Amanda Stockton. I want to be sure that you can keep it professional with her staying at your house. Too much is riding on this investigation to let anything personal get in the way of your thinking.”
    Logan hadn’t been this tempted to slug anyone in years. The only reason he hadn’t hit Pierce yet was because he knew Pierce was only being an ass because he wanted to catch the killer just as badly as he did.
    “What I feel for Amanda is none of your concern. I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize this case. All I care about right now is finding the bastard who killed Carolyn O’Donnell.” Logan shoved Pierce.
    Pierce shoved him back.
    “Um, excuse me, boss?”
    Logan and Pierce both whirled around at the sound of Karen Bingham’s voice in the open doorway. Logan let out a string of curses when he saw who was behind her.
    Amanda.
    I t took every ounce of courage Amanda had to stand her ground as Logan strode across the cabin toward her, his face as dark as a thundercloud. Her own face felt as hot as the summer sun beating down on her back. She hadn’t heard much, but what she did hear when Karen opened the cabin door was enough for her to realize that Pierce thought Logan was interested in her.
    And Logan hadn’t exactly said he wasn’t.
    “Amanda, you shouldn’t be here.”