Chapter 17
17
Lorelei remembered more and more about her life over the next month. The attack was still a mystery, but the events leading up to it and the other Curvy Vigilantes were people she had both old and new memories of.
The more Lorelei remembered about who she was before her abduction, the less she wanted to go back to being that woman. Alone and fiercely independent. She didn’t trust anyone, including her own partner.
Lorelei never wanted to be that alone again.
And it seemed Vinnie was happy to help her with that.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked as he drove her to Dawn’s house for a party.
Lorelei’s cast was coming off the next day, and Karli and the others insisted on celebrating the night before with a party.
“I’m just thinking I don’t want to be who I used to be. I like having people I can count on. People I can trust.”
Vinnie rubbed his hand over her thigh. “It sounds like you’ve always had people you can trust, you just didn’t let them in.”
“That’s true. I guess that’s another thing I want to change.”
“In what way?”
“I’ve made mistakes. The way I’ve treated people. I don’t want to be that person anymore.”
“Then don’t be.”
She laughed. “Just that simple?”
“Why not? You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. If anyone can do it, it’s you.”
She breathed a laugh. “I wish I had that kind of confidence in myself. That I could just decide to change and it’s done.”
“Why can’t it be? It might take some getting used to, but it sounds like the old you never would have done something like this.”
“A cast party?” Lorelei asked with a laugh.
“Yep. You’re an amazing person. What you’ve been through and the way you took it and turned it into something positive… Most people couldn’t do that.”
“I hope most people don’t have to.”
“True, but it’s not easy to go through what you went through and fight back to regain pieces of your life again.”
“I can’t let them win. Even if I don’t know who they are.”
Lorelei hadn’t figured out who any of the other people in her notes were. She was afraid to try after what happened with Abigail Painter.
The man who attacked them was found floating in the river a few days later, so Abigail was safe, but Lorelei knew that didn’t mean it was over. Or that going to find Abigail alone was okay.
Someone knew she was going to be there.
The FBI went through Lorelei’s computer and phone and found nothing that tracked her location. There was no explanation for how that man found them.
It didn’t make Lorelei feel better.
Vinnie pulled into the long driveway that led to Dawn’s impressive home. She inherited it from a man who knew she would put his wealth to good use. From what Lorelei had seen, Dawn was doing exactly that and giving back and helping the community. Including funding the Curvy Vigilantes and the others trying to put an end to the hell that started many, many years ago.
The vehicles in the driveway told Lorelei the others had arrived. Vinnie parked close to the door, in a space left open for them so Lorelei didn’t have as far to go on her crutches.
Vinnie helped her out, smiling at her and kissing her softly before the two of them made their way to the front door.
“Good afternoon,” Cole, Dawn’s butler and the man who ran the household, said. Cole was an employee of the former owner, and Dawn wanted to keep as many people employed as possible. She said Cole was like family, even though she’d only known him a few months.
“Hi, Cole,” Lorelei said. She’d been to the home a few times and understood why Dawn liked the man. He was kind and friendly and a wealth of knowledge about any subject from pop-culture to ancient history.
“How are you, Ms. Sloane?”
“I’m well, thank you. Learned anything new recently?”
The man’s eyes lit up. “I was watching this brilliant documentary about food production recently. It was talking all about the way our food is grown and produced and why it’s better for everyone if we strive to buy organic produce only.”
“Have you switched Dawn and Gage to organic?”
“Yes, I have. They wouldn’t have known, but I always make sure Ms. Dawn knows what I’m spending money on.”
“You know she trust you,” Lorelei said.
Cole nodded, smiling brightly. “Yes, but trust has to be earned over and over again if it’s going to be maintained.”
Lorelei sucked in a breath. “That’s a very interesting way of thinking about it. As someone who didn’t know who to trust for a while, I definitely agree. The people in this house earned my trust more than once, and never blinked about doing it over and over again.”
“That’s how you know they’re doing it for the right reasons.”
Lorelei nodded. “You’re a very smart man, Cole. Thank you for sharing your genius with the rest of us.”
“Thank you, Ms. Sloane.”
Lorelei squeezed his hand, then proceeded down the hall toward where the voices of the others drew her.
Vinnie paused to speak to Cole, then followed Lorelei, not far behind her as she moved through the house.
The backdoors were thrown open and people were scattered around the patio and the room Dawn had converted to a casual dining room. When she and her boyfriend, Gage, moved into the house, Dawn said it was stuffy and formal, and not at all like the man who’d given her the gift of his fortune, or like Dawn and Gage. They were slowly figuring out what each room was going to be.
“You’re here!” Karli said, spotting Lorelei before the others. Karli got up and hobbled over to Lorelei.
“You’re in a cast? What happened?” Lorelei asked. Why didn’t she know her cousin broke her leg?
“It’s fake,” Karli said, holding her casted leg up and unstrapping the boot. “We didn’t want you to feel alone at your cast party.”
Lorelei looked around the room and saw a cast on every single person’s leg. Including Vinnie’s when she turned to look at him.
“What? You guys are crazy. Why did you do this?” Lorelei asked, laughing. She couldn’t believe they were all willing to wear casts for her.
“We figured it was your last night, and we should know what you’ve been through for nearly two months,” Frannie said, stomping her cast on the ground in an awkward walk to say hello.
Lorelei hugged Frannie. “This is just too funny.”
“It was Vinnie’s idea,” Karli said. “He knew you were sick of being in a cast, especially through the warmer weather. He said he wished he could wear a cast to support you, and it just took off from there.”
Lorelei turned to face him. “How did you get a cast?”
“Cole stashed it for me. He handed it over when you came back here, and I slipped it on.” Vinnie grinned, clearly enjoying that they pulled the whole thing off.
“Well, this better be one hell of a party if we’re all in casts.”
“Cast party!” Karli said, lifting her foot high in the air and nearly losing her balance. “Oof.”
“Be careful. You don’t want to end up in a cast for real!” Jessica said.
“Trust me, you don’t,” Lorelei said, hugging her cousin. “This is so great.”
Karli laughed. “I agree. It’s a good excuse for all of us to get together, and it’s fun. Come get a drink.”
Lorelei laughed and followed Karli to the drinks table set up near the patio. “This is insane. I can’t believe you guys are all wearing casts.”
“It’s a cast party. We could have all pulled out our masks and had a masks and casts party.”
Lorelei snorted. “That would have been insane. Someone definitely would have gotten hurt.”
Karli chuckled. “Probably true.”
“What are you two laughing about?” Frannie asked, wrapping an arm around Lorelei.
“I told her we should have worn our masks and made it a masks and casts party,” Karli said.
Frannie laughed with them. “I love being around you ladies. You keep me feeling like I’m not the old lady I know I am.”
“You are not an old lady,” Karli insisted. “You are an inspiration to all of us.”
Frannie’s cheeks reddened. She waved her hand. “You’re too much.”
“Not even close. I don’t know what any of us would have done without you bringing us together and giving us all a place to feel like we belong,” Stacey said. Stacey Allen worked for Frannie, but she was also one of the Curvy Vigilantes.
“I was definitely feeling very alone and lost when I met all of you. I don’t think I would be here if it weren’t for you,” Dawn said, joining their group. “I definitely wouldn’t have created a life that makes me feel like I’m doing something good for the world.”
“You are,” Frannie said, grabbing Dawn’s hand. “And your donation was beyond generous.”
Dawn smiled. “What you do, helping women and children who have nowhere to go… It’s amazing. I know you need the money, and I know you will use it to help even more people to feel safe and to start over.”
“She will,” Stacey agreed. “She’s been talking about the things she wants to do. You’ve made a huge difference for Shelter in the Storm.”
“Good.” Dawn smiled, looking truly pleased to hear her money was going to help people. As a former nurse, she dedicated her life to giving to others, and with billions, she was making sure her lifelong mission was felt by the community.
“Enough about all of this,” Jessica said, dropping her voice, “how are things with Vinnie? He’s a seriously sexy man.”
“Jessica!” Karli hissed.
“Oh, please. You’re not asking because she’s your cousin and you already know. The rest of us want to know if things are going as well as it appears they are,” Jessica said.
Karli and Jessica were college friends who reconnected years later. So many things Jessica said reminded Lorelei of Karli. Lorelei understood why they were such good friends. Adding in Raina as the third one of their group made the trio fun, hilarious, and took away any chance at a filter.
Lorelei glanced at Vinnie, where he was talking to Gage and Marcus. He looked over at her and winked. Lorelei’s cheeks warmed, and the chorus of aww behind her said they were all watching.
“Let’s go on the patio. So he doesn’t overhear this and run for the hills,” Lorelei said.
“The only place that man is running is to bed with you over his shoulder,” Edie said.
Lorelei felt a connection to Edie. They’d become friends in the last few weeks. Edie had also experienced memory loss because of the abuse she suffered at the hands of the same organization. It was worse for Edie. She was held captive for months. She escaped, or she’d have died in their sex dungeon, available to whatever man paid the owners to have her.
The thought of what Edie went through turned Lorelei’s stomach, but seeing the way the other woman fought back and reclaimed her life inspired the hell out of Lorelei. All the women did. Arrested, accused, left for dead, stalked and attacked, and worse. They were strong. They were survivors. And they were the reason Lorelei was alive. They were the ones who knew she left, and they were the ones who made sure others knew. Who got the word out.
If it wasn’t for them, Vinnie never would have gone looking for her.
Lorelei settled onto one of the wide and comfortable chairs Dawn decorated the patio with. The summer evening was warm but not uncomfortable. The breeze floating around them offered enough to cool them down, but not so much to put a chill in the air. It was perfect.
“So, things are going well?” Jessica asked.
Lorelei smirked. “Yes. Things are going well.”
“She has flat out refused to move in with me and Cade,” Karli said. “We keep asking, but she’s said she’s not leaving Vinnie until he makes her.”
“That’s how I felt about Holden,” Mackenzie said. “After we were snowed in, it was almost impossible to go back to a life where he wasn’t there all the time.”
“You were snowed in?” Lorelei asked.
Mackenzie nodded. “You didn’t hear that story?”
Lorelei shook her head. “Can’t say I remember that one. I thought I knew all the stories.”
“That was when I showed up at the rescue center,” Edie said.
“Oh!” Lorelei exclaimed. “I heard about that. I don’t think I pieced it together, though. That’s crazy.”
Mackenzie nodded. “I never thought Holden was serious all the times he was flirting with me. But those few days it was different. I saw so much more of him.”
“Me, too,” Edie said.
The other women laughed. Edie winked at Mackenzie, who pressed her hands to her cheeks.
“I still feel bad we were fooling around with you right there,” Mackenzie said.
“I was pretty out of it. I really don’t remember anything. I just like teasing you,” Edie said.
Mackenzie sighed, her shoulders sagging comically. “I wish you’d told me that before. I’ve been feeling guilty.”
“You should! You were getting it on with the sexy paramedic in front of a woman who could have been dying,” Raina teased Mackenzie.
“I’m never telling you guys anything again.” Mackenzie crossed her arms and sat back in her chair, attempting to pout. Her smile messed up the effect.
“I feel honored I was there when you and Holden fell in love. Even if I don’t remember it,” Edie said.
“I definitely didn’t know I was in love with him then. I was still fighting it,” Mackenzie admitted.
“Yes, but it worked out. He didn’t give up on you. Ever,” Frannie said.
Mackenzie nodded. “He saved my life.”
“You saved my life,” Raina said.
“And mine,” Edie agreed.
The three of them reached out to hold hands. They told Lorelei she was there the day they were talking about, but she hadn’t regained her memory of that day.
“I thought for sure you and Adam were going to end up together,” Raina admitted to Lorelei. “When I met you two, I thought there was no way he wasn’t in love with you.”
“Why would you think that? We’ve never… well, I don’t think we’ve ever been like that,” Lorelei said. “I definitely don’t get those vibes from him now.”
Raina shook her head. “He told me the same. That you two clicked instantly as partners. He knew from day one he could trust you with his life and that you would always be there for him.”
“That’s how I feel about him,” Lorelei agreed. “Why would you think there was something more between us?”
Raina chuckled and looked around at the others. “Are you serious? Is she serious?”
Lorelei looked at the smiles on the other women’s faces. “What?”
“You are a badass. You are smart and strong and sexy. You never seemed scared of anything. Hell, you were protecting me. I mean, I wished I was half as brave as you. What man wouldn’t want you?” Raina asked.
Lorelei snorted. “I don’t think I was a very good person, or a great partner, but it seems as though there weren’t a lot of men beating down my door. There certainly haven’t been any that came to find me when I disappeared.”
“Vinnie did,” Karli reminded her.
“Yeah, but Vinnie said we didn’t know each other before. We weren’t dating. He just worked on the task force that went into Davis Developments,” Lorelei said.
“It was meant to be that he found you. And now you’re in love,” Raina said.
“In love? No,” Lorelei argued.
The others exchanged glances, avoiding Lorelei’s.
“Karli, tell them. There’s no way. It’s not like that. We’re having fun and enjoying each other’s company. We’re getting to know each other and solving the mystery of who the fuck kidnapped me. I don’t love him, and he doesn’t love me.”
“Are you sure about that? Because he’s looked over here about every fifteen seconds to make sure you’re okay,” Jessica said.
Lorelei glanced back and found Vinnie watching her. He smiled, and her chest squeezed painfully.
“I can’t be in love with him. I barely know him. Hell, I barely know myself.”
“Clearly your heart didn’t get the memo.”
Lorelei sucked in a breath. They were right. Her heart didn’t get the memo. Because she might not remember having been in love in the past, but she was pretty damn sure she was now.
With the man who saved her life.