Chapter 4
Chapter Four
COLE
Twenty Hours Later
Norfolk, Virginia
My friend looks worried as he stands amongst the rush of people coming and going from the hospital entrance.
Otherwise, the tall muscle-bound fighter pilot is looking squared away in his Air Force uniform. I glance down at my t-shirt which is wrinkled from the flight. Civilian life is…different.
When I haul to a stop next to him, he extends a hand. “Good to see you. Sorry for the reason.”
“What’s the latest?”
Cade’s expression turns to a grimace. “First, let me say, Sierra’s safe. Second, I want you to know that I’ve worked every angle I can. But… you’re not going to like this.”
My back stiffens as people swarm around us coming and going from the entrance. “What am I not going to like?”
He looks away. Lowers his voice to a terse whisper. “You’ve got to pretend you are Sierra’s fiancé.”
Whoa. Whoa. Fucking whoa.
Something very big has been lost in translation.
A rough sound comes out of my throat as shake my head. “Come again. Think I heard you wrong.”
My blood roars in my ears as I wait for him to enlighten me. When he doesn’t, I push him away from the hospital door so we can continue this insane conversation without people staring.
“What the hell?” I demand.
“You have to be engaged. That’s the only way the hospital will release Sierra to you. They told me it had to be family, and I got ahead of myself and said you were engaged.”
“No.” I drop my head back. “No, Cade. Just fucking no.”
“Yeah. I’m sorry. They wanted a blood relative or a husband. At least I didn’t say you were married. That would have been bad. They might have asked for proof.”
Blood drains from my head, working its way down to my feet in an icy river. “You’re serious.”
His mouth is pressed in a grim line. “You’re it. We got lucky they’re letting it slide.”
I grunt. Lucky. I beg to differ.
Cole rests a hand on my shoulder. “I tried to figure out another way. It’s a bit of a stretch of the truth.”
His hand drops to his side when I leap back.
I pace a big circle. My neck feels like it’s going to snap from the tension.
When I stop in front of Cade, I narrow my eyes.
“Cade, you’re asking me to lie to.” I drop my voice to a hissed whisper.
“Military hospital employees. To her commanding officer. To her. Lie to Sierra. I’m not okay with that. ”
“I know.” He exhales roughly and mutters under his breath. “It’s not good. But we have to get her out. She’ll be placed in a mental facility.”
My hand is in my hair, fisting the ends. “Fuck. Not good. Not good, Cade. This is really fucking bad.”
As she walks by, another woman scowls at me.
I offer her a grimace and silent, sorry, before I turn my angry stare back at my friend. “I don’t mind helping Sierra. You know I will do anything to help her and keep her safe, but this is reckless. It could hurt her. It could fuck both of us. You’re still active duty.”
He’s quick with his reply. “I know. It’s jacked. But no one knows about your breakup. She kept that stuff on lock. You left town. It’s clean and easy.”
“Christ, Cade.” I clench my fists at my sides and turn away. He had the nerve to say this is clean and easy.
Cade makes an ‘ah’ sound behind me. “Look, I have an idea. Before you leave the hospital, ask Sierra to marry you.”
I feel my jaw click, unhinge, and drop open. Propose?
I look around to see if I’ve stepped into some kind of alternate universe. Still in Norfolk. Still getting glared at by an elderly woman that’s waiting by the valet kiosk.
I spin around and stalk back to Cade. “That is the worst idea ever. In the history of the human species. Do you hear me?”
His hands come up in the universal peace offering pose. “She doesn’t remember the bad stuff. She just thinks you’re out of town and coming to get her.”
God. Bless.
Sierra is totally unsuspecting. A lump the size of a 747 appears in my throat.
“She will,” I rasp out through tight vocal cords. “And when she does, this is going to blow up in our faces.”
“I know. I accept full responsibility for my part.”
I’m pacing back and forth in angry silence. He tries to make me feel better.
“She might not ever remember. You can ask her to marry you, then it won’t be a lie. You’ll really be engaged. You could get married.”
I almost topple over on my face.
Cade’s words slice through me, right through my heart, and hit the shriveled piece of soul that’s buried inside me. The thought makes my knees buckle.
My throat goes drier, somehow, and my words come out rough. “Don’t say that. I want her to recover. I want her healthy and want her to have her life back. Even if she still hates me.”
Cade grunts. His eyes are… almost sympathetic now. “You didn’t want to give Sierra up. I know you want her back.”
The discord between my head and my heart royally pisses me off. “Let’s get this done.”
Silently, we head toward the entrance of the hospital.
Could I play out a lie about being engaged if she never remembers?
I’m a man of honor. I never sway on that.
But my heart is a traitorous bastard and chooses that idea.
It latches onto something that’s wholly immoral. The decimated organ wants one thing. Sierra back in my arms.
What an asshole thing to do.
I thought living without Sierra for the last seven months was awful. Now I know I was wrong. This is hell.
The hospital is quiet. People in scrubs and lab coats talk with families and patients in low voices. As we move further into the building, there’s a hum of beeping machines behind closed doors.
Neither of us speaks on the elevator ride. Our expressions match.
Doom. And gloom.
The walk down the long hallway that’s filled with the pounding echo of our boots.
When we reach a locked door, Cade presses the intercom button. “Major Cade Slaughter and Master Sergeant Cole Strong here to pick up Lieutenant Sierra Owens.”
“Buzzing you through now.”
A loud vibration rattles the door and the lock clicks, granting us entrance.
I have to unclench my jaw to speak. “Is a locked unit really necessary?”
“They can’t just let someone with amnesia go wandering in the streets.”
As we round another corner, we are met by a short, stout, rosy-faced nurse. The woman has every bit of her penetrating, judgmental gaze is locked on me. “I’m glad they found you. You must be worried sick about your fiancée.”
I just hope she doesn’t remember who I am. Or we will have a serious problem.
“You’re right. I’ll feel better once I lay eyes on her.”
“First, you have to meet with the doctor.”
Another roadblock. I grunt. “Copy. Let’s get this over with.”