Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Rainey
“Wow, Rainey, I’m shocked. Like, blown away. I’m so sorry you’re going through all this,” Lana says, sitting next to me on the hospital bed.
I had to send Max home to rest. It took convincing.
He said he would wait in the waiting room so I could talk to Lana and my brother.
He needed rest, and he knew it, although he was worried something would happen to me.
I assured him I’d be fine. Stubborn ass.
Max finally believed me and went home to shower and pick up Daisy at Johnny’s house.
“I’m still wrapping my head around it all… I feel like I don’t know who I am, and now waking up with those memories makes it all so real.” I shake my head. “I’m so confused, Lana.”
Lana’s fingers tangle in my messy hair as she braids it.
“I understand, sweetheart. It’s normal to have all those emotions.
You’ve been through some trauma. You went from finding out you’re adopted to finding out your biological parents passed away.
Then you found out you knew Max before high school, and on top of that, you were kidnapped by a mobster or whatever they are.
Honey, you had another head injury, which triggered your memory.
It’s rare, but it happens.” Lana finishes up my braid and wraps it with an elastic. She begins to massage my shoulders.
“It’s going to take time to find your footing. It’s a lot, but luckily you have a man who has been by your side from the start. He knows you from your childhood. Hell, he knows you better than I do.”
Better than I know myself, apparently.
Lana gets off the bed, shoves her hands into the pockets of her scrubs, and peers at me with those pretty blue eyes.
I know that face. She’s worried about me.
After all, I was running out of town to get away from the newfound news and ended up locked in the basement of some crime organization’s leader.
It was all my father’s fault for scheming like the criminal that he is.
God, how did I live under the roof of parents who buried me in a pile of lies? How hard could it have been to tell a grown woman the truth? I’ll never know the honest answer to that. My adoptive mom is gone, and my scheming, cheating father? I want nothing to do with him.
I sigh and tuck myself back into the rough sheets. “He protected me,” I whisper, my voice hoarse, “from a horrible man who could have done so many cruel things to me.” My thoughts go back to those monstrous memories.
“Justin told me about how Max fought in the”—she looks around, then whispers— “Underground to save you.”
“Yes, but I’m talking about the foster home we lived in.
” I haven’t shared any of my memories with Lana.
I woke up early this morning from being in a coma, and I’m still getting out of the fog.
My brother was here with me for a short time as well.
He had to get everything in order at the law firm since he’s taking over, as he had said.
He didn’t press much on the topic, and I’m sure he sees now is not the time.
“Oh, Rainey.” Lana’s eyes water. She knows I was in a foster home with Max and that an accident happened, but I didn’t get into detail about it. “Max is a warrior. You crossed paths for a reason and ended up in the same home. Bless that man’s heart.”
“He saved me. Maybe it’s time I saved him.”
She frowns. “Sometimes loving someone with everything you’ve got is saving them.”
A knock at the door draws our attention.
Max steps in, hair damp from the shower, his familiar good looks framed in the doorway.
The corner of his mouth lifts slightly. “Hey, amor, just wanted to let you know I’m back.
I brought dinner and a guest who has been waiting to see you.
” Daisy sneaks behind, wagging her tail toward me.
She jumps on the bed and showers me with sloppy kisses.
I giggle, hugging her. “Oh, I missed you, girl… Ahh, Daisy.” I laugh harder when she licks my eyeball. “How did you get her in?” I ask Max. I assume they don’t allow dogs.
He mirrors the smile on my face while setting bags of food on the table. “When they asked, I told them she’s a service dog.” He shrugs a shoulder. “It worked. After all, Daisy can help keep you company. She’s extremely helpful with laundry.”
Yes, she is. We often found clothes throughout the house—especially Max’s underwear and my bras.
Max steps back. “I’m going to the waiting room. I’ll let you catch up. Lana, there’s plenty of food in there. Have some.”
Lana waves her hand in the air. “No, stay. I have to head to work. Downstairs to the ER. Thanks, though, Max.” Lana leans in to kiss my cheek.
“I’ll drop by on my lunch to check on you.
Let me know if you guys need anything.” She runs her fingers down Daisy’s fur and then pats Max on the shoulder.
“I would say take care of our girl, but I know you will… You always have, Max.”
Lana slips out the door, and Max slides beside me. His lips find mine, and the air between us crackles with electricity. It’s not an open-mouth kiss, but a kiss that I needed from him.
“How are you feeling?” His fingers brush my cheek tenderly.
“I feel better…rested. The nurse came in and gave me my meds, and they are also going to have me do a CT scan before I leave. If it all comes out good, then I’ll be in the clear to leave in the next couple of days.”
Max opens the bags of food and hands me a burger and fries. I devour it. All I had this morning was beef broth and a bowl of pears.
Daisy sits next to me on the bed, catching any crumbs that come her way.
“That’s good to hear. We can’t wait to have you back at home.”
Home. Max will always be my home.
It’s been two weeks since I’ve been home.
Not my home, but Max’s. I’ve been slowly recovering; the nightmares are what keep me up at night—those flashbacks of my childhood, and those moments when the leader of the underground took me.
Lately, more memories are driving into my head like lightning strikes—unwelcome illuminations I both crave and dread.
Max continually asks how I’m doing, watching me like a hawk.
I lie, telling him I’m fine, but I’m not.
I’m grieving. The darkness is swallowing me, and I can feel the walls of a tunnel closing in around me.
The voices keep calling for Sol. Who is Sol?
She’s a distant memory, but all the same, I’m her.
The little girl in my dreams. The happy, beautiful girl who was loved by her biological parents.
I compare my childhood with my adoptive parents.
It’s different, filled with lies and a family that didn’t belong to me.
I guess when you have something to compare it to, you see the difference.
I always thought my parents were so much in love that when the affair happened, it was what broke them.
Boy, was I blind. Justin told me last week when I asked why they wanted to adopt me.
He told me Mom found out she couldn’t have more children right when they were trying for another child.
And Mom found out Dad had been having an affair once again.
Dad suggested adoption to lift her spirits and to repair the relationship.
Justin said the agency mentioned there was a young girl—me—who needed a home.
I was young enough with memory loss that I wouldn’t remember anything about my life before them. Perfect solution for everyone involved.
Max stirs in his sleep, and he flops onto his stomach. A lock of hair covers his eye. The sheets slide off his body, revealing his back tattoos and scars. My heart squeezes, knowing I’m the reason behind it. He’s never resented me for them. Not even once.
His skin is warm on my lips as I kiss every mark decorating his back. He groans, and goosebumps rise on his skin. I keep fighting back tears.
“Rainey, baby, what time is it?” he rasps in his sexy morning voice. His large hands go for my butt, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“It’s a quarter to five,” I tell him, leaning in to blow a kiss on his back. We haven’t been intimate since before I left that morning, before it all happened. He holds me in his arms, kisses me, but nothing further.
“Get some rest.” His morning husky voice always does something to me. I lay my head back on his chest. His fingers run down my hair, giving me a gentle scalp scratch. “Are you sleeping okay?”
“Yes,” I say. His fingers move through my hair. I stare at the ceiling. The dark pressing in at the edges. The way it always does now. “Your body heat keeps me warm.”
He’s already doing too much for me. He’s taken over the bakery in the last weeks. He hired two women to work, paying them out of his own business. I told him no, but of course, he won’t listen.
“It’s early enough for you to go on your run. You haven’t been going to the gym to spar or jogging like you usually do.”
“Being close to you is all I need.” He kisses the scar on the side of my temple.
I lift my head to gaze into those green eyes. “You have a fight coming.”
“I know, and I’m ready.”
I give him the stink eye. He might be ready, but he knows he has to continue training.
“I know you are, Max, but let’s be real.
This part is critical. You have three weeks.
You haven’t run or been to Carlos’s gym.
You have been training for this your whole life.
” He’s afraid to leave my side, and when he does, he goes to my café to help Isabella while I stay home to rest. If you can even call it rest. My head is a mess.
Being home alone with memories and thoughts is dangerous; it’s fucking with my head.
“You’re my priority.”
I lift a hand. “And so is boxing,” I argue. “I can go to the café while you work out. Either go to Carlos’s or work out in the pool house gym.”
He bites his lip. “Well…I need to meet the new chef I hired. He’s an expert in French pastries. He actually went to school in France.” Max smiles proudly.