Chapter 2
2
Vinnie watched Lorelei speak to her cousin. The confusion on her face when Karli said something Lorelei didn’t remember was enough to make Vinnie want to throw everyone out of the room so Lorelei wasn’t under anymore stress, but it wasn’t his place. He wasn’t her boyfriend or husband or even her partner.
Vinnie glanced at the man who’d been by Lorelei’s side for years and found Adam Johnson staring at him. When Adam jerked his head toward the hallway, Vinnie nodded.
“Where are you going?” Lorelei asked, the heart rate monitor beeping faster as soon as Vinnie stood.
“I’m going to speak to Adam and whoever else is waiting outside that door to see you and assure them all that you’re okay and tell them you might not be ready for a large group of people. If you’re okay with that.” Vinnie paused, holding eye contact with Lorelei until she nodded.
“Are you coming back?”
“Absolutely.”
Lorelei nodded again, then turned her focus back to Karli.
Vinnie felt like he was walking into the lion’s den, but he understood why there would be questions. Lots of them.
Adam stepped out ahead of him and looked up and down the hallway. He nodded to the two men standing guard, then jerked his head to an empty break room across the hall.
Vinnie followed the other man, hating that his heart pounded at the prospect of getting his ass handed to him by a man who, for all intents and purposes, outranked Vinnie.
Adam closed the door behind them, and Vinnie stood at attention, preparing for the lecture.
“Thank you,” Adam said, surprising the hell out of Vinnie.
“Sir?”
Adam waved his hand. “You don’t have to call me sir. I’m not in your command. And I am going to make sure you are not reprimanded for this.”
“Why would you do that?”
Adam let out a shaky breath. He ran his hand over his face and shook his head. Emotion filled his blue eyes, emotion that showed Vinnie just how much Adam cared for Lorelei. “She’d be dead if it weren’t for you.”
“I was only doing what I thought was best.”
“And you were right. When Raina, my wife, and I heard Lorelei was gone, we panicked. We started making calls in the middle of our reception. We had everyone we knew looking into her disappearance. For days, we waited for news. We thought she was gone. Vanished like so many others who were never seen again.”
“They wanted someone to find her.”
Adam nodded, his face twisting with pain. “They did. But I imagine they wanted it to be after she was dead. Which was what would have happened if you hadn’t gone looking for her. So, thank you. And I will do everything to make sure you don’t lose your job or have even one mark on your record as a result of this. And if that doesn’t happen, if my word isn’t enough, I guarantee you I will find a new place for you. My cousin is one of the F-BOMB owners, and they’re always looking for good people.”
“Thank you, sir,” Vinnie said, appreciating the support. He didn’t care what happened when he left town in search of Lorelei. All he cared about was finding the woman who was working harder than the rest of them to find the people who were destroying their city.
“The team at her apartment said there was nothing left behind. Nothing that would say who brought her there. Did you see anything?”
Vinnie shook his head. “No, sir. I noticed her doorknob was only locked on the bottom, not the deadbolt, and picked the lock. As soon as I was inside, I saw her and did what I could to judge her injuries. That was when my boss called and sent the police.”
Adam sucked in a breath and nodded. “That’s what we were told. Your prints were on the doorknob but nowhere else in the apartment, so they immediately ruled out you as a suspect.”
“I was a suspect?” Vinnie asked. That surprised him.
Adam shrugged. “You were the one who found her. You know how these things go. Guilty until proven innocent.”
Vinnie snorted. If that wasn’t the truth. “So, this was about confirming my story?”
Adam shook his head. “No. This was about me thanking you for saving the life of one of the most important people in my world. After my wife, my sister, and my parents, sometimes before, it’s Lorelei. She’s saved my life more times than I can count, and I’ve done the same for her. I wouldn’t have Raina if it weren’t for Lorelei. I wouldn’t have any of the good things in my life. I love her like family, and to me, she is family. So this is about me saying thank you, and asking if you’ll stick around.”
“Stick around, sir?”
“She trusts you. She’s never responded the way she did when you were right there. She’s going to need help going forward. Not just because of her injuries but mentally, she’s not the same person she was before this.”
Vinnie started to interrupt, but Adam held up a hand.
“She will get back, but she doesn’t know me or Karli, and I’m sure she’s not going to know anyone else.”
“She doesn’t even know herself. I overheard her in the bathroom asking who she was. She was alone, so I know she was talking to herself.”
Adam closed his eyes and drew a breath. “For whatever reason, probably because you were the first person she saw, she feels like she knows you. I want to ask your boss if you can be temporarily assigned as her personal protection. If you are willing to do it. If you’re willing to be that person for her. Until she’s back to herself.”
“Yes, sir. Of course. I will do whatever it takes for her to feel like herself again.”
“Thank you. Can I call you Vinnie?”
“Of course, sir.”
Adam breathed a smile. “Again with the sir.”
“Sorry, sir. Habit.”
“I understand. But if you’re with Lorelei like you’re going to be, you’re going to have to see me as an equal. These people don’t see rank.” Adam nodded his head toward the hallway, where four people were talking. Adam lifted his hand when one of them noticed him, then the group moved toward the break room Adam and Vinnie were in.
“Is this him?” one woman asked.
Adam nodded and reached his arm toward the woman. “Vinnie, this is my wife, Raina. That’s Karli’s boyfriend, Cade, and more friends, Jessica and Braden. When we heard Lorelei was alive, we got here as fast as we could.”
“Thank you for finding her,” Raina said. “I don’t know how we can repay you.”
“Just doing my job, ma’am,” Vinnie said.
“Did he just call me ma’am?” Raina asked, glaring at her new husband.
“Duty requires it. He saved Lorelei.”
Raina growled and glared at Vinnie. “Please call me Raina. It’s so much better than ma’am.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Raina smiled at him. She drew a breath and let it out slowly. “Can we go see her?”
Before Adam could reply, Vinnie stepped forward. “Lorelei is very tired and confused. She’s been through a lot, and she needs a minimum level of stress right now.”
Raina looked at Adam, then back to Vinnie, then to Adam. “What am I missing? Do we know you? Do we know him? Why are you the one in charge right now?”
“I apologize, ma—Raina. Lorelei went through hell. She doesn’t know who she is. She is scared and overwhelmed and confused, and Adam’s asked me to stay and keep her safe.”
Raina’s brows shot up. Before she could argue, Adam spoke up.
“Lorelei is responding to Vinnie. He found her, so she trusts him. When he speaks to her, she calms down. He’s the only person she is relaxed around right now, so it’s important we all listen to him.”
“But he doesn’t know her. Does he? Do you? Do you know Lorelei?”
Vinnie shook his head. “No, ma—Raina. I don’t. We’ve never spoken before this. I was on the SWAT Team that helped bring in Trevor Davis, and I’ve been called in for some of the other things happening, but Lorelei doesn’t know me. Traumatic brain injuries are complicated, and most people who suffer from them take a while to figure things out. When one person imprints on them, it’s encouraged for that person to be their buffer. Their contact. I have no intention of keeping any of you from seeing Lorelei or from negatively affecting her at all. I only have her best interests at heart.”
“And you think the best thing for her is rest?” Braden asked.
Vinnie met his gaze and nodded. “I do. She will need lots of help. She will need every single one of you to be there for her. I know you’re all anxious to see her tonight.”
“We thought we lost her,” Jessica whispered.
“I understand. And I know it’s important to all of you to see for yourself she’s alive. I will ask her if she’s up for visitors, but I reserve the right to throw you all out as soon as I suspect she needs a break.”
“We can respect that,” Cade said. “We’re not going anywhere. We will be around to do whatever Lorelei needs.”
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate that. She’ll need a lot of help. But her recovery needs to be on the doctor’s timeline so she has the best chance at healing.”
Raina snorted. “You definitely don’t know her if you think she’s going to wait for anything.”
“I’ve seen her in action. She’s the strongest woman I’ve ever had the privilege of working with. I have no doubt she will push the doctor’s orders and will be back at it before she’s supposed to be because Lorelei Sloane is not the kind of woman you can keep down. But that also means she’s at risk for setbacks. If she ignores what the doctors say, she’s at greater risk and could never fully recover.”
“He’s right,” Braden said. “We learned a lot about TBIs in our training. Lorelei is going to hate it, but she will need to take some things slow.” Braden turned to Adam. “We trust him?”
Adam nodded. “Without a doubt. I’ve read his whole record, and it’s impeccable. He’s on SWAT because he’s damn good at what he does. Never even one mark on his record. There’s no doubt in my mind he’s the only one Lorelei will listen to, too.”
“I find it hard to believe she’ll listen to anyone,” Jessica said.
“You’d be surprised.” Adam turned to Vinnie again. “Will you go back in and see how she’s doing and if she’s up to anyone else seeing her?”
Vinnie nodded, moving through the group with the awareness that it was an excuse for them to talk about him without him in the room. Not that they had any trouble talking about him while he was there, but he didn’t want to know what else they were going to say.
Besides, being away from Lorelei, even for fifteen minutes, made him anxious. He wanted to see for himself that she was okay.
Lorelei stared at the door when Vinnie walked out. She felt like a piece of her was missing without him by her side. She couldn’t explain it, but she figured that was part of her injury. Another thing she couldn’t explain.
“How are you really doing?” the woman in the chair asked. Karli. Her cousin.
Lorelei didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what she was supposed to feel like. “I’m okay,” she settled on, knowing it was a benign answer that would likely appease her cousin.
Karli pursed her lips. She was familiar, like the woman Lorelei saw in the mirror, but any memory of the woman was out of reach. “Want to tell me about the hottie who found you?”
“Back off,” Lorelei blurted.
Karli smirked. “So you do like him. I thought so. The way you looked at him told me. You always wore your expressions on your face. You learned to hide them over the years, and the training, but I could always read you.”
“You’re wrong. And Vinnie is just doing his job. He found me because I was missing.”
Karli’s brows went sky high. “You don’t know, do you?”
“I thought we established I don’t know a damn thing.”
Karli snorted. “Sorry. And true. But about Vinnie. He didn’t come here because he was ordered. His boss is pissed. He left. Didn’t tell anyone where he was going or what he was doing, just came here because some instinct told him to.”
“I thought he was sent to find me.”
Karli shook her head. “Nope. He came on his own.”
“But he saved me. He helped me. He’s… he’s police, right? Isn’t he?” The machine beeped faster and faster. Lorelei struggled to breathe properly. Everything hurt, like she was trapped.
Who was she supposed to trust? Who was really there to help her? To make sure everything was okay? Was she even who they said she was? What if everyone was lying to her?
“Lorelei,” Karli said. “You’re safe. Vinnie is safe. He’s police. He worked with you in Niagara Falls. I was just saying he didn’t come find you because he had to. He came because he wanted to.”
The beeping slowed down, but it was still fast. It was still hard to breathe. Panic seized her. Was she safe? Would she ever be safe? Who was telling the truth?
“Lorelei,” Vinnie said, his voice breaking through the haze of fear that settled over her like a blanket. “Look at me, Lorelei.”
She struggled to find him, but he let her search on her own, not forcing her gaze to his until she was ready to find him.
“There you go. Breathe with me. In. Out. Slow. In, two, three. Hold. Out, two, three. In. Out. Are you okay?”
Brown eyes with a golden ring around the center. Dark brows drawn low over those eyes. Wrinkles marred his skin at the edges, like he was a man who enjoyed life, even though he saw the worst it had to offer.
“She panicked when I told her you weren’t ordered to come find her. That you came on your own,” Karli explained.
Vinnie closed his eyes, stealing the comfort from Lorelei. He swore under his breath, then opened his eyes and caught her gaze once more.
He was a stranger. Everyone told her that. Even he told her that. But she knew him. She knew she could trust him. She couldn’t explain it, but looking into his eyes, Lorelei knew she’d never been safer in her life than she was with him in the room with her.
“You’re okay now,” Vinnie said. “I will tell you anything you want to know. You can have Adam or Karli investigate me. Whatever makes you feel safe.”
“You do,” she said without thinking about how it sounded.
His lips lifted on the edges like her answer made him happy. “Offer still stands. Anything you want to know, I’ll tell you.”
“Did you really come here without being ordered?”
Vinnie nodded. “I did. And I might lose my job for it, but it doesn’t matter to me because you’re alive. You’re safe. That was worth it.”
“They can’t do that. Why would they do that?”
“I defied orders. I left the state without telling my boss. They don’t like that. Even though I was not working, I was technically supposed to be on call and available.”
“Did someone else get hurt because of me?”
Vinnie shook his head. “No. I didn’t miss any calls. But I would have, and I knew I would, and I was willing to take the risk. Finding you was more important to me than anything else.”
Lorelei sucked in a breath, her throat stinging with the move. She winced, and Vinnie noticed, immediately backing up and grabbing her water.
Lorelei hadn’t realized how close he was until he wasn’t. He held her hand and hovered above her, blocking everything else from her view.
She sipped the water he offered, the cool liquid soothing her throat.
“Better?”
She nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He set the water down, then looked at her again. “I came in to see if you were up for more visitors, but it looks like maybe you’re not.”
Lorelei closed her eyes. If she said no, she would hurt the feelings of whoever was out there waiting to see her. Any of them could trigger something. A memory. Something that would help her figure out who the hell she was and what she was doing when she disappeared. “It’s fine.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. “For a few minutes.”
Vinnie nodded, then lifted his gaze to Karli. Lorelei hadn’t even realized Karli was still in the room. “Will you let them know they can come in, but only for a little while? Please?”
Karli nodded and moved to the door.
Lorelei took another moment to study the one and only person she trusted. “Thank you for saving me.”
Vinnie smiled, and something settled into place for Lorelei. Something she couldn’t define. “You’re welcome.” He squeezed her hand, giving her strength and courage to face the people who walked in the door.
More strangers who were supposed to be friends. One by one, they approached her. Having been told what was going on, they each moved to the edge of the bed and introduced themselves, then stepped away, not reaching for her or anything.
Lorelei didn’t realize she needed that until Karli was at her side again. Karli had her arm around a man Lorelei had zero memory of, even though she was sure she should know him. He was dating her cousin. Why wouldn’t she know him?
But he was a stranger.
“We’re just so happy you’re okay,” one woman said. Raina maybe? There were too many names.
“When the doctor says you can leave, Dawn said you can stay with her. Or at one of her houses. Unless you want to stay with one of us,” Jessica said. Lorelei was pretty sure that was Jessica.
“Okay,” Lorelei agreed. She had no idea who Dawn was or why she would stay with her, but maybe by the time she got out of the hospital, some of her memories would come back.
“We know this is a lot,” Adam said. “You will be able to decide everything when you’re ready.”
Lorelei nodded, looking for Vinnie. He’d moved out of the way while the others spoke. It was clear he wasn’t a part of the group. He didn’t speak when the others did. He didn’t add to the conversation. He didn’t even really seem to know them.
But he was the one Lorelei wanted to hear from. The one she wanted to know.
His presence made her feel safe. But he was the only one who hadn’t offered to let her stay. She’d have to change his mind about that.