A Memory Worth Dying For Read Online Free PDF Page B

corner. A set of four miniature horse-heads lay in a pile on the velvet. They were carved in wood with a variety of jewels set in the mane of each horse.
    He must have carved the set. His father had reminded him of his woodcarving hobby. A small white tag was attached to the velvet.
    To Matty, the sweetest wife a man could ask for.
    Symbols of our wedding vows: Purple amethyst for honor, blue sapphire for trust, yellow topaz for joy, green emerald for forgiveness, and red ruby for love.
    I’ll always love you, darling.
    Daniel
    He felt as if he’d been punched in the stomach. What a joke—four years? Always?
    But there were only four horses. The horse with the emerald was missing. He scrambled around in the box, looking for the fifth horse, but it wasn’t there. His wife must have taken it with her. The green emerald was supposed to symbolize forgiveness.
    Yeah, right—like that’s going to happen.
    He dropped the pile back into the box and slammed the lid tight. Tossing it back on the shelf, he mumbled. “That’s enough of this nightmare back into the past.”
    Forgetting his marriage was the best outcome of losing his memory. It was time to leave the painful past and look forward to the future.

SIX
    TENNESSEE
    MARTI STRUGGLED TO BREATHE WITH the knee of her assailant pressed into her back and left arm, forcing the air from her lungs. The tube in her right hand burned her skin as she squeezed it tighter and prepared to use it on her attacker.
    When he reached for her right arm, she twisted her shoulder and aimed the pepper spray toward his face. The spray spewed out in a steady stream. His surprised jerk back gave her enough time to struggle out from under him and scramble to her feet. She took off at a run, but almost as soon as her feet hit the ground, she could hear footsteps pounding behind her. She lowered her head and with everything inside her, she forced one last burst of energy into her racing steps.
    The light from the lamppost at the end of the alley was only a few feet away. Blood pumped into her legs, and they burned as she pushed them to the limit. She felt the pounding of the man’s feet behind her, gaining ground.
    Suddenly, hands grabbed her shirt from behind. The man jerked her back until her collar cut into her throat and she couldn’t breathe—couldn’t scream. The tube of pepper spray tumbled from her hands, and her purse slid as it hit the ground. Gloved hands threw her back up against the brick wall, and a muscled body pinned her close.
    She looked up and faced black mesh covering the man’s face. Globs of red and orange liquid were sprinkled and heaped across the front of the mask.
    Screams welled up inside her throat. She opened her mouth, but before she could release a sound, his gloved hand covered her face—clamping down tightly over her nose and mouth. He jammed her head against the hard brick wall. In his other hand flashed a knife.
    “Shut up or I’ll end it here and now. You understand?” The voice was nothing but a low growl—rough and raspy.
    She jerked her head up and down and tried to breathe through the hand over her nose and mouth.
    The man placed the blade of the knife in his right hand against her throat then slowly took his left hand off her mouth. When she didn’t make a sound, he wound his hand in her hair and gave a tug. She whimpered as the knife in the other hand pressed into the skin of her neck.
    “I’m only saying it once. Stay out of Texas! If you don’t, you’ll be sorry. Art galleries make good kindlin’. It’d be a shame if your friend didn’t make it out of the flames.”
    Marti sucked in a horrified breath. He was threatening Sandra.
    “Remember, I’m watching.”
    “Why are you doing this?” Her whispered voice threaded with fear.
    He didn’t say a word but pulled her body away from the wall and then slammed her head against the bricks. She saw stars and slumped to the ground as the sound of running footsteps faded into the distance.
    She