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Sam scowled. “What are you saying?”
Casey looked at Sam, compassion in his eyes. “I think it’s possible she might be the link to Amy’s past that’s been missing the past three years.”
Chapter Two
Once she’d had a chance to rest for a while, Adrienne found she didn’t have the energy to get up again. The soda had helped some, her head didn’t ache so much, but the rest of her felt more exhausted than she could ever remember feeling.
She looked out the window. If someone had followed her, they’d probably be here soon. She really should go. A quarter lay on the table in front of her. Enough for a phone call. But who would she call? The buck she’d have left after she made the call wouldn’t be enough for a taxi. And she still didn’t remember the name of the hotel she’d checked into.
Why was that? She rubbed her forehead between her eyebrows, where the pain had decided to settle. She couldn’t remember talking to a clerk or being in a hotel room. Had she checked in at all? It hurt so much to think, she leaned her arms on the table, and laid her head down and closed her eyes.
“Amy?”
Startled, Adrienne lifted her head to see the big blond man from the hospital slide onto the seat across from her. She started to slide out the other way, but he caught her wrist. “Don’t run, please.”
She glared at his hand on her wrist, trying to work up some righteous anger, but he really wasn’t hurting her. She looked up at his face, expecting anger or menace or some other sign that would show this man wasn’t as caring as he pretended. All she saw was hurt.
His expression didn’t convince her. Vaughn could conjure up any emotional expression he needed on a moment’s notice. This man could be no different. “Let go of me, please.” She kept her tone even, not wanting to let on just how frightened she was.
His gaze searched her face. For what, she hadn’t a clue. “Will you promise not to run?” he asked.
She looked him straight in the eye. “I promise nothing.”
He winced, as if she’d dealt him a blow. Then he let her go.
Her wrist tingled where he’d held it. The sensation puzzled her. It felt almost pleasant. She leaned back against the bench, not sure she could have run if she wanted to. “What do you want from me?”
“Right now, I just want to take you back to the hospital. You took a pretty good knock.”
The jackhammers going off in her head agreed with him. “What do you care?” She hurt too much to be polite.
“Amy…”
“Why do you keep calling me that?”
He didn’t react to the snap in her voice. He smiled gently instead, as if trying to allay her fears. “Because it’s your name, sunshine.”
“No, it’s not,” she said firmly. “My name is Adrienne Winston. You know it, and I know it. And if Vaughn thinks he’s going to get away with making me look crazy, he’d better think again.”
“Vaughn? Who’s Vaughn?”
Adrienne almost laughed. The look on his face shone innocent as a child’s. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he had nothing to do with Vaughn. A sudden pain shot through her head. She groaned.
Sam moved around the table to kneel by her side. “Amy! Please let me take you back to the hospital.”
“No!” She put her hands against his shoulders and tried to shove him away. He didn’t move. A wave of dizziness went through her. She looked into eyes that mirrored her fear.
“Please, honey,” he begged. “We have to take care of you. We have to take care of the baby.”
The baby, she thought. I have to take care of the baby. If Vaughn finds out…She looked at Sam. For a moment he didn’t seem like a stranger. He seemed like someone she’d known for a long time. An instant later, the feeling was gone. But not the fear.
For now, he was all she had.
She reached out to him. “Please, please help me.” Then she felt herself falling forward into his arms.
ADRIENNE WOKE to find herself once again in bed. She still wore the purple sweater, but the jeans had been removed and her bare legs covered with a pink thermal blanket. The blond man sat by her side. Sam.
Who was he? Why was he always there?
She looked down at her hand, held gently by his. The big, tan hand warmed hers, made her feel connected to him. Why, when he was a stranger? How could she feel so close to someone she’d seen for the first time mere hours before?
“Amy, are you all right?”
Adrienne didn’t even bother to correct his use of that name. Nor did she bother to answer his question. Confusion, pain and exhaustion assailed her from all sides. She didn’t want to be here. Knowing she lay hurt in a hospital bed wouldn’t stop Vaughn from coming after her. That he hadn’t appeared already left her more confused.
“Why did you bring me back?” she asked, unable to raise her voice above a whisper. Her little side trip had sapped whatever energy she had.
“You had a bad fall. The doctor needs to examine you before she releases you.”
“I’m fine.”
He grimaced. “You’re not fine. You fainted.”
She could feel a blush come to her cheeks. “I guess it was foolish to try to walk so far so soon.”
“Maybe,” he said. “Acts of survival often are. Maybe after the doctor examines you you’ll tell me what you’re running from.”
She looked away from him, still not ready to trust.
“You rest, sweetheart,” he said, a strange catch in his voice. “I’ll go get the doctor.”
The sound of his voice, the way he said sweetheart almost made her feel safe. “Wait,” she called as he reached the door.
He stopped and looked back at her.
“What’s your name?”
He looked at her searchingly. “It’s Sam, remember?”
“Yes, but Sam what?”
“Sam Delaney.”
The doctor had called her Mrs. Delaney earlier. Suddenly she didn’t feel so safe anymore. Something very strange was going on. Something her confused mind couldn’t begin to comprehend. Why would the doctor call her by the name of a man she’d never met? Why would he allow it? “What do you want with me? Why are you here?”
His blue eyes became intense with an unspoken emotion. “To make sure you get well. Now, get some rest, okay?”
Unable to help herself, she closed her eyes. She was so tired. Tired of the pain. Tired of the incessant questions in her head. She tried to focus on a once-favorite place, to let her mind drift away from the fear, away from the pain. But all she could see was Sam’s face.
CLOSING THE DOOR softly behind him, Sam stood for a moment, listening. For what, he didn’t know. Maybe just the sound of his name. Spoken by a woman who knew him and shouldn’t have to ask why he was there.
Impatient with himself, he crossed to the nurse’s station. Kathy, the young, red-haired nurse he’d yelled at earlier, looked up from a chart as he approached. Taking in her wary expression, he spoke quietly. “Is Dr. Yamana back yet?” Once he’d calmed down, he’d realized it hadn’t been the nurses’ fault Amy had escaped.
“No, she’s not, Mr. Delaney.” She smiled tentatively. “Why don’t you go get yourself something to drink? We’ll let you know as soon as she returns.”
Sam appreciated the suggestion, but he wasn’t leaving the floor. “It’s very important that I speak to her. I’ll be in the waiting room.”
He walked to the small room at the end of the hall. Glad to see it empty, he slumped onto a barely comfortable cranberry-colored couch. The relief he’d felt at finding Amy safe and sound had worn off. Now he just felt tired. He rubbed a hand across his dry eyes. What was he going to do? He had to think.
“The nurse said I’d find you here.”
Sam looked up at his brother. “Where else would I be?”
Casey sat on the couch opposite him. “Where did you find her?”
“At the diner down the block. You were right. She didn’t get far.” Sam sat up, leaning his elbows on his knees. “What about you? What did you find?”
“Nothing yet. Damian’s still looking into this Adrienne Winston. But that doesn’t mean she exists. She could have gotten the name from a book she’d been reading before she fell.”
Sam rubbed his eyes. “I don’t understand it. It’s as if she’s made up some secret life. She keeps talking about some guy named Vaughn.”
Casey sat forward. “Did she give you a last name?”
Sam shook his head.
“How is she?”
“Exhausted. I managed to convince her to get some rest. It wasn’t easy. She’s scared, Casey. The fear’s eating at her.”
“Does she know who you are?”
He shook his head. “There’s not one bit of recognition in her eyes. Why, Casey? Why is she calling herself this strange name? Why is she afraid of this Vaughn person? Why is she afraid of me?”
“There’s something you have to consider, Sam.”
The seriousness of his brother’s voice spurred him from his seat. “She’s not crazy!”
Casey stood up. “I wasn’t going to suggest she was. In fact, I have a hunch it’s the opposite.”
“What are you talking about?” Sam demanded.
“Maybe she really is Adrienne Winston. Maybe she has been all along.”
Sam couldn’t believe his ears. “You said it was a long shot.”
“That was before I knew she’d been talking about this Vaughn guy. I can see someone with a head injury picking up a name from a book. But to be afraid the way you say…”
“Stop!” Sam wouldn’t hear another word.
Casey put a hand on his shoulder. “I wish I could have spared you this.”
“Me? I don’t give a damn about myself. It’s Amy I care about. If all this stuff she’s been coming up with is true, it’s possible she’s in very real danger. I need to see her.” He strode out of the room.
Halfway down the corridor, Casey caught up with him, grabbing his arm.
Sam glared at him. “Let me go.”
“You’re too worked up. You think going in there like this is going to help her?”
His brother was right. He had to be strong now. And calm. He had no idea what he was dealing with. “It’s been three years, Casey.”
“I know, Sam.”
Sam winced at the compassion in his brother’s voice. Hearing it scared him. Casey was a cop. A cop whose hunches were always on target. “Learning about the baby, we were so happy. How are we supposed to deal with this?”
Casey put an arm around him. “I don’t know, Sam. But you will. You’re the strongest man I know. Besides, if Amy really is Adrienne Winston, the fear she’s experiencing comes from three years ago.”
Sam shot him a grateful look. “I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe I should go tell her.”
Casey half laughed. “Tell her what? We still don’t know anything yet. Why don’t we go get some food instead?”
Sam shook his head. “I’m not hungry.”
“My treat,” Casey said.
That surprised him. “Your treat?”
“You’re looking at me as if I’m some kind of tightwad or something.”
Sam managed a smile. “Or something.”
Casey laughed. “Then you’d better take me up on it. It’s a one-time offer.” His demeanor turned serious. “You have to eat, Sam. You can’t—”
“Take care of Amy if I don’t take care of myself. All right, Mom, you win.” He glanced at the closed door of her room. “I just hate to leave her alone.”
“She needs to sleep. The nurses will keep an eye on her. Especially after what happened earlier. And once Dr. Yamana has had a chance to completely examine her, we’ll have a better idea what we’re dealing with.”
Casey’s words echoed Sam’s own thoughts. After dropping by the nurse’s station, they headed down to the cafeteria.
WHEN ADRIENNE WOKE for the third time, she felt as if she’d been asleep for weeks. A glance at the clock on the bedside table told her it had only been thirty minutes. The pain in her head had faded to a dull ache.
The panic she’d felt had faded, too. Once she told the people here about Vaughn, they wouldn’t have him near her. And even if they didn’t believe her, once she told Vaughn about her proof, he wouldn’t dare hurt her, despite what he’d threatened.
The door opened. Adrienne tensed, then relaxed when Dr. Yamana stepped into the room. So much for my new confidence, she thought wryly.
“Well, you look like you’re feeling better.” The doctor moved to her bedside. She took out the same black instrument and once again shined the light in Adrienne’s eyes. “How’s your head?”
Seeing this as her chance to get herself released, Adrienne smiled. “The pain is all gone.”
