Chapter 19 #3
“He’s back. Mostly,” she added, before Mia could get too excited.
“I had to put memories in his head that didn’t happen.
It was the only way to draw him out of the real memories.
I had to make up things as I went. So, he thinks we’re married.
He doesn’t seem to remember anything about the bore or being captured.
I’m afraid to trigger something, so we must play along with what he thinks is real. ”
Mia nodded. “Whatever we have to do. Does he remember me?”
“We’ll soon find out.” She nodded for them to follow.
“Meanwhile, we still have these sons of bitches to deal with,” Jessup said.
“And a Kade who doesn’t know who our enemies are,” Violet added.
They walked inside and to the kitchen, where Kade had every cabinet door open.
He turned as they came in and smiled. “Oh, hey, Mia. Did I forget that you were coming for dinner?” His expression shadowed.
“I can’t remember much of anything. Like where anything is in our kitchen.
” He gave Violet a pained look. “How long have we been married?”
“Just eight months.”
He seemed to search for that memory. “I have pieces of memories. Like…like a broken mirror. There are a bunch of shards that reflect something back to me, but there are a lot of empty spots where the shards have fallen to the floor.” Fear flickered across his face, but he gave her a heart-clenching smile. “I have bits and pieces of you.”
She hoped it wasn’t the one where he was going to kill her. His memories were a house of cards. She put her hand to his cheek. “It’s okay, sweetheart. They’ll come back. Don’t push it.”
He took her hand in his. “Was I in an accident?”
She wrestled with when to tell him the truth. “Ferro…” She let the word hang, checking his reaction.
“My boss?” No, he recalled nothing about his betrayal by the mildly curious expression on his face. “What about him?”
“He’s a bad, bad man,” she said, exactly how Kade had once referred to himself.
Kade blinked, like he’d heard that phrase before. She saw the wobble, felt his hand tighten on hers.
Quickly she said, “The doctor said to let the memories come back on their own.” Amazing how easy the lies flowed. It hit her then, that her and Kade’s whole relationship was built on lies and pretend.
He brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. “This has been hard on you. I see the strain in your eyes.” She tightened her mouth, nodding. He pulled her into his arms, his body strong and warm and real. “I love you, Vee. I may not remember everything, but I feel that.”
She had to choke back a sob. She held on tight to him, glancing over at their audience. Mia, particularly, watched with surprised wonder. Her eyes were teary, and in them Violet saw the same mixture of both hope and fear.
Kade backed up, and he seemed to only then become aware of the others and gave them a sheepish grin. “Sorry, the world falls away when I look at Vee.”
Jessup couldn’t hide his sharp grin. “Yeah, it’s been like that since you two first met.”
“You’re Vee’s brothers.” Kade pointed at him, snapping his fingers as he obviously tried to recall his name. “Jessie? No, Jessup. And Ryan.”
Relief passed over their features, until Kade frowned. “We were fighting. Why?” That blank darkness crept across his eyes.
Violet shook his arm. “Like brothers do,” she said brightly. “Wrestling.”
He blinked, coming back. “But I saw—”
“Don’t worry about that. I’m starved.”
Kade took the three in. “Do you want to join us?”
Out of Kade’s sight, she gestured for them to go. “They need to keep an eye on the property. We’ve had trouble here lately.”
Kade’s eyebrows furrowed. “I should be out there, too.” He turned his arm so that his dagger showed. His fingers traced the V, and for a moment he was lost in the sight of it.
“Kade?”
“I fight for a living. I can help.” He remembered his identity as a Vega. Because it was so engrained in him probably.
She patted his arm. “You need to recuperate. You can fight soon.”
The mist in his eyes swirled at the prospect. He liked fighting for the right and just.
“First we eat,” she said.
He leaned close, nuzzling her neck. “And then we work more on making babies.”
She couldn’t help but look at her brothers at that one. Their shocked expressions almost made her choke. Why, oh why, had she uttered that particular embellishment?
Kade straightened. “Guess I shouldn’t talk about that kind of thing in front of your brothers. We’ll see you around then. Be careful. And Ryan, if you put the moves on my sister and break her heart, I’ll cut off your appendages one by one. Got it?”
Violet only then noticed Ryan’s proximity to Mia, how closely he’d been watching her reactions to Kade. How he cared what she felt.
Ryan looked surprised and embarrassed. “I won’t hurt her, I promise.”
Those words stilled Kade. He had said similar words to her mother. The blankness moved across his eyes as the memory tried to come.
Violet gripped his arm. “Kade, let’s work on dinner. I’ll show you where everything is again.”
She needed him to remember his past, and she was terrified that when he did, she would lose him forever.