Chapter 2

Chapter Two

He shouldn’t have come here.

Over Cassidy’s shoulder, Gabe could see the destroyed interior of his home. Then he realized something was missing.

“My computer.” He brushed past Cass to stride into the kitchen. Or what was left of his kitchen. “My laptop computer is gone.”

“Good to know but stay back,” she warned, grabbing his arm in a firm grip. “I need to make sure the assailant isn’t hiding somewhere.”

That possibility hadn’t occurred to him. “Okay, I’ll wait.”

“Don’t touch anything.” Cassidy moved through the open-concept kitchen and living room to head down the hall toward the bedrooms. He felt useless standing there, but since he didn’t have a gun, there wasn’t anything he could do to help.

Did he own a gun? He frowned. Somehow, he couldn’t imagine using a weapon, pointing and aiming at a person. Yet even as that image wouldn’t mesh in his mind, he found himself wishing he was armed.

If someone tried to harm Cassidy, he wouldn’t hesitate to use any weapon at hand.

“Bedrooms are clear,” she announced. “If you had a computer on your desk in the office, that is missing as well.”

The news was like a fist punch to the gut. He wasn’t sure why, but knowing his computers had been taken brought a wave of depression. As if he’d lost his right hand.

“Hang tight,” Cassidy said. “I’ll check the basement.”

He turned to look at the door leading to the basement. Interesting that he knew exactly where it was. And that his laptop was missing. His desktop device, too, apparently. Slowly but surely, memories were coming back in bits and pieces.

Maybe all he needed was a good night’s sleep. Surely by morning he’d remember everything that had transpired out at the side of the road. And the source of the danger he was convinced lurked nearby.

Maybe.

He moved to the kitchen sink, grabbed a towel, and ran it under cold water. The ache in his head would not go away, so he used the wet towel to wipe away the blood.

“You weren’t supposed to touch anything,” Cass chided when she returned.

“I highly doubt the crime scene techs will find any prints.” He glanced around while holding the cold towel to the back of his head, trying to make sense of this. But more memories didn’t come. “I should grab a few clothes and some money so we can get out of here. I wouldn’t bother changing except mine have blood stains on them.”

Cassidy sighed, then nodded in agreement. “Okay, but don’t take too long. We’ll call dispatch to report the damage once we’re back on the road.”

He tossed the blood-stained towel aside and headed toward the bedrooms, turning into the one he used without conscious thought. It was only when he had grabbed a small suitcase from the closet and began stuffing clothing in that he realized he knew exactly where he stored things.

Progress in his memory returning? He could only hope.

He also found a small wad of cash in his top dresser drawer. Not a very original hiding place, but when he looked inside, the money was still there. It was only about a thousand dollars, but better than nothing.

Less than five minutes later, he joined Cass in the kitchen, rolling the small carry-on suitcase behind him. She turned and led the way back outside. He took a moment to use the keypad to close the garage door, then asked, “How do you think they got inside?”

“No sign of forced entry,” Cassidy said with a shrug. “Could be they somehow got your key code information.”

He didn’t think his key code was common knowledge; his house didn’t appear to have had any repairs lately indicating he may have given it out to a worker. Yet thanks to his inability to remember anything, he couldn’t say for sure he hadn’t shared it with someone.

Maybe even the same person who’d driven him outside of town, clubbed him on the head, and left him to die.

He abruptly stopped midstride. Had he known his assailant? Was that the reason he’d gotten into the car with him?

Not being able to remember was infuriating. He needed his brain to heal and fast.

Before it was too late.

Too late for what, he wasn’t sure.

“Gabe? Is something wrong?” Cassidy’s voice penetrated his troubled thoughts.

“No. I’m fine.” He opened the rear hatch, set his suitcase inside, and closed it again. He slid into the passenger seat as Cassidy started the engine. As they drove away, he turned to glance back at the house. He wouldn’t have been able to give Cass directions on how to get there, but he was relieved to discover the inside was familiar.

It occurred to him that he might be able to jog his memory by looking at photographs of people he knew. To do that, he’d need a computer. Maybe Cassidy had one he could borrow. The previous sense of urgency he experienced upon waking up at the side of the road returned with a vengeance.

As if there was something important he had to do. Maybe even something related to his computer.

When Cassidy took the on-ramp to the interstate, he asked, “Where are we going?”

“My place.” Then she hit the phone button on her steering wheel. “Call dispatch.”

He heard the other end of a phone ringing, then a voice answered, “This is precinct seven.”

“This is Officer Cassidy Sommer. I’m calling to report a break-in at the following address.” She rattled it off from memory, a feat he couldn’t do despite how the house belonged to him. “I understand the location is in White Gull Bay, but the home belongs to our tech analyst, Gabe Melrose. His computers are missing, and those devices are used in conjunction with our network.”

“Understood. I’ll send uniforms to the scene,” the dispatcher said.

“Thank you. I’ll make sure Captain Finnegan is aware as well.” Cassidy glanced at him as she ended the call. “Do you remember our boss?”

He grimaced. “Not really.”

“How is it that you remembered me?” Cassidy asked. “Not just me personally, but also my phone number?”

He flushed with embarrassment and hoped she wouldn’t notice in the darkness. “I don’t know why you popped into my head. Maybe I was thinking of calling you before I lost consciousness.”

“That makes sense,” she said. “It’s a good thing you were able to get to the gas station to make the call.”

“Yeah.” There was no denying the malicious intent. Whoever had dumped him at the side of the road had likely expected he’d succumb to hypothermia before he could be rescued. “I guess God was watching over me.”

She snapped her head over to look at him. “I’ve never heard you say that. I didn’t realize you believed in God.”

“I, uh . . .” He wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Did he believe in God? He must, otherwise why would he have said that? The phrase had come to him before he could consider what it meant. But even as he repeated the words in his mind, they felt right. He put a hand to his throbbing head. “I think so, yes. But I really wish I could remember.”

Her expression softened, and she reached over to pat his knee. “You will. Give it time.”

Time. He swallowed hard, instinctively knowing he didn’t have time to sit around, waiting for his memory to return.

He needed to understand what was going on before the assailant struck again.

Cassidy needed to call Rhy but hated the idea of waking him up at the late hour of eleven thirty at night. His wife, Devon, was pregnant and due in the middle of January, and they had a one-year-old daughter, Colleen.

Was the loss of Gabe’s laptop a security risk? Could the person who broke into his house and trashed the place access the police database? They each had their own computer passwords, but she wasn’t enough of a computer geek to understand if that was enough.

Gabe was the expert in that area, but she hated to put more pressure on him. She felt bad enough about not insisting he go to the hospital.

After seeing what had been done to his house, she had decided against forcing the issue. She didn’t know who had assaulted Gabe or why, but she sensed he was right about staying under the radar.

But if his memory didn’t return by morning, she’d insist he get checked out. She felt certain Rhy would back her on that too. Maybe she could wait until morning to call him. Things may have changed for the better by then.

“Where are we headed?” Gabe asked.

“My place. I have a condo in Greenland. It should be safe enough for tonight.”

He glanced at her. “Have I been there before?”

She arched a brow, then nodded slowly. It must be difficult to not remember basic things you’d done. Places you’d been. People you worked with. It was concerning to her that Gabe didn’t remember Rhy, their tactical team captain, whom he worked very closely with on a daily basis, but had remembered her. Not just her name, but her phone number. “Yes, you drove me home a few times when my car needed repairs.”

“Oh. Okay.” He glanced around with interest. “Maybe I’ll recognize it when I see it.”

She hoped he would, but when she headed down her street to the cluster of condos lining the west side of the road, he didn’t say anything. When she pulled into the driveway, he sighed.

“Guess not,” he muttered half to himself.

Once they were inside, he paused. “You said I dropped you off. Have I been inside?”

“Just once. Why, does it look familiar?”

“Not really.” He turned to look at her. “Do you want me to sleep on the sofa?”

“No, I have a guest room.” Jina had lived with her for several weeks prior to moving in with her then fiancé now husband, Cole Robertson, after a fire had destroyed her home. Something the old Gabe would have known. “Follow me, I’ll show you the way. The guest room has its own bathroom.”

“You have a very nice place,” Gabe said as she flicked on the light. “I appreciate you allowing me to stay.”

She squelched a flash of annoyance. It wasn’t Gabe’s fault that he didn’t remember their friendship the way she did. “Anytime. Any of the other members of the team would do the same thing.”

That seemed to surprise him. He lifted his suitcase onto the bed. “I was thinking we should look through pictures, see if they spark my memories.”

“Now? It’s a little late.” She regarded him thoughtfully. “Is this your way of asking to borrow my computer?”

“Yes. I was hoping you had one,” he admitted.

She hesitated. “I’m not sure you should be looking at a computer screen while suffering from a head injury. I think you should get some sleep first. We can go through pictures tomorrow, hopefully when you’re feeling better.”

He looked as if he wanted to argue but then sighed. “Okay. You might be right. My head is killing me.”

“Get some rest.” She gave him a quick hug. “I’m glad you’re okay. And I’m sure you’ll feel better by morning.”

“Good night, Cassidy.” His voice was low and husky in a way she’d never heard from him before. Then again, the poor guy could barely remember his own name.

She closed the guest room door behind her, then crossed the hall to her room. Pulling out her phone, she was about to plug it into the charger when a text from Rhy popped up on the screen.

What’s going on?

She should have known the dispatcher would call if she didn’t. She texted back. Gabe was assaulted and his home broken into. Laptop and other personal items were stolen.

An instant later, her phone buzzed with an incoming call. “Cass? How is Gabe? Who assaulted him?” Rhy demanded.

“Sorry, I would have called, but I didn’t want to wake you and Devon,” she said. “I am concerned, though.” She quickly filled Rhy in on the sequence of events. “We’re at my place now, and I’m hoping his memory returns by morning.”

“Amnesia isn’t common.” Rhy spoke in a hushed tone. “Back when my brother Quinn’s wife, Sami, had amnesia, it took several days for her memory to return.”

Days? She winced. “Well, let’s hope it doesn’t take that long for Gabe.” She couldn’t think of a way to explain how different Gabe seemed now, so she didn’t mention it. “I’m encouraged by the fact that he remembered me and my number. I hate to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t been able to get in touch with one of us.”

“Yeah, that is troubling. Why was he all the way out near the Wildflower Motel in the first place?” Rhy asked.

“No idea. And his car is in the garage at his place, so he must have gotten a ride or taken a rideshare. His phone is missing, along with his wallet, but I was thinking it might be good to get his phone records to trace his actions prior to the assault.”

“Yeah, only Gabe is the one I’d usually ask to take care of that.” Rhy sighed. “We’ll work on that first thing in the morning.”

“Sounds like a plan.” It felt good to know there were actions they could take to get to the bottom of this. “And once Gabe’s memory returns, that will help us figure out what happened too.”

“I’ll pray for him,” Rhy said. “In the meantime, get some sleep. Oh, and you should probably check on Gabe throughout the night. I think that was what Quinn did for Sami when she was injured.”

“Good to know. I really wanted to take him to Trinity Medical Center, but he refused.”

“They would have done a CT scan of his head to make sure there was no internal bleeding,” Rhy said. “But as far as the amnesia side of things, there wasn’t much the doc did for Sami. If his condition doesn’t improve, we’ll make sure he goes in to be seen tomorrow.”

“I’ll need you to give him the order,” she said. “He emphatically told me his instincts were telling him to stay off the grid.”

“He said that?” Rhy sounded surprised. “That’s strange.”

“Tell me about it.” There were several aspects to the Gabe she’d picked up tonight that didn’t mesh with the man she knew. “He was right, though, based on the extent of damage found at his place. I was worried his laptop might be used to access the precinct.”

“It should be well protected,” Rhy said. “And again, Gabe is the one who would know that better than I would.”

There was a brief pause as that sank in. Was this part of the reason Gabe was targeted? Because someone wanted to eliminate him to get access to the inner workings of the Seventh Precinct?

It didn’t make sense, but they needed to keep all options open.

“Just because his memory is broken doesn’t mean he won’t know the computer side of things,” she finally said. “We’ll talk to him about this in more detail tomorrow.”

“Okay. Good night, Cass.”

“Good night.” She ended the call, plugged her phone into the charger, then set an alarm for three hours from now.

She closed her eyes and prayed Gabe’s condition would improve and that his memory would return.

When her alarm went off, she bolted upright, her heart thumping. Normally, she didn’t need an alarm, her internal clock was set for six a.m., and she always woke up on her own.

But it was three in the morning, not six. She tiptoed from her room and carefully opened Gabe’s door. He appeared to be asleep, his head on the pillow. He’d covered the pillow with a towel to protect the pillowcase from being stained with blood.

As if she cared about that when he was injured. Shaking her head, she moved silently across the room until she was near the bed. She hated to disturb him, but if Rhy thought he needed to be awoken frequently, then that’s what she’d do.

“Gabe?” she whispered as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

He reacted as if she’d stuck him with a hot poker, rearing up and spinning toward her with his hand lifted as if to strike out. Caught off guard, she reared back to avoid being hit.

“Who’s there?” Gabe asked.

“It’s me. Cassidy.” She put her hand out. “Take it easy, you’re safe.”

“Cassidy.” He let out a heavy sigh, then scrubbed his hands over his face. “Sorry about that. I—was confused for a moment.”

“It’s my fault.” She took a step closer so he could see her better. “I spoke to Rhy, and he mentioned that when his sister-in-law Sami had amnesia, the doctor advised waking her throughout the night.”

“I see. I didn’t realize Rhy had experience with this sort of thing.” He grimaced. “I don’t really remember him, but I get the sense I should.”

“Yes, you work very closely with Rhy.” She rested her hand on his shoulder. “How’s the headache?”

“A little better.” He managed a lopsided smile. “I’m sorry I almost hit you.”

“You didn’t.” Although she was still reeling over how fast Gabe had reacted. It was something she’d never seen him do before. He was normally an easygoing guy. His comfort zone was his office, functioning as their computer expert, a virtual whiz at decoding technology. He was always ready and able to assist their tactical team in every way, often working late into the evening when things were not going well.

It was disconcerting to see him as a victim. Especially one determined to protect himself.

“Go back to sleep,” she said. “I won’t wake you until six.”

“Okay.” He hesitated, then added, “Good night, Cass.”

It was the same low, husky voice he’d used earlier, and hearing it sent shivers down her spine.

“Good night.” She quickly turned away. What was wrong with her? Since when was she attracted to Gabe Melrose?

He was her friend. Not a potential date. End of story.

Maybe she needed a CT scan of her head too.

After resetting her alarm, she crawled back into bed. This time, sleep didn’t come easily, and she stared up at her ceiling for a full hour before drifting off. When her alarm blared, she groaned out loud.

Shaking off her fatigue, she decided to take a shower, change her clothes, and dry her hair before waking up Gabe. One thing she knew for certain was how much he liked to eat. His desk drawer was always stuffed with snacks.

“Gabe?” She made sure to stand a few feet away from the bed this time. “Gabe, it’s Cassidy. Time to wake up.”

Thankfully, he didn’t react as if she were his assailant this time. He groaned and rolled over, blinking at her. “Hey. You’re clear, not fuzzy.”

Her eyes widened with concern. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Are you okay? Is your headache worse?”

“No, I’m fine. I meant I can see you clearly.” He lifted his hands to his eyes. “I’m not wearing my glasses. I usually do, right?”

“Yes.” That made her relax. “I noticed that last night. You recently got contact lenses. Although I’m not sure why you decided to go down that path.”

His brow puckered, but he shrugged. “Maybe I wanted to see clearly when I woke up.”

“Makes sense to me.” Reassured his memory was returning, she turned away to give him some privacy. “I’ll start breakfast while you wash up.”

It was still dark outside at this hour, so she flicked on the kitchen light. She normally ate oatmeal with fruit but decided to make eggs and toast, adding the fruit as a side.

Despite her lack of sleep, she hummed under her breath as she worked, anticipating a productive day ahead of them. Once they knew who had attacked Gabe, she and her teammates would work quickly to find and arrest the person responsible.

Her coffee maker was set ahead of time to brew at exactly six o’clock, so the pot was already made. She sipped the steaming brew as she worked. She placed cut strawberries and blueberries in a large bowl, then set about making scrambled eggs. While they cooked, she dropped four slices of bread into the toaster.

When Gabe entered the kitchen, she was struck by how handsome he was. It was odd to notice his looks now when she saw him every day. “Something smells great.”

“Have a seat.” She poured him a cup of coffee. “Breakfast is just about ready.”

“Do you eat like this every morning?” Gabe asked, eyeing the fruit and the two plates of eggs and toast she set before him.

“No, but you deserve it.” She sat beside him. “I’m so glad you’re feeling better.”

“Me too.” He eyed her over the rim of his cup. “My headache isn’t as bad as it was. I just wish my memory would come back.”

She tried to mask her disappointment. “I thought your memory had returned.”

“Nope.” He set his coffee aside, then folded his hands in his lap and bowed his head. It took her a moment to realize he was waiting for her to say grace.

“Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for providing this food we are about to eat. We also thank You for keeping Gabe safe in Your care. We ask You to please heal his memory too. Amen.”

“Amen,” he echoed. Then he grinned. “Dig in.”

That was a phrase Roscoe had coined back when he’d joined the team, making them laugh when he said it after every prayer. Hearing Gabe repeat it gave her hope that his memory would return in full. Maybe the key was to keep him preoccupied with other things. It seemed his memory worked better when he wasn’t pushing himself to recall details about the assault.

They ate in silence for several minutes. She tried not to stare at him, even though she was acutely aware of seeing him in a different light.

“This is great, Cass,” he said.

“You’re welcome.” She cradled her coffee mug in her hands. “Rhy will want me to take you to Trinity Medical Center, so we’ll do that first. From there, I’ll take you to the precinct.”

He frowned. “I don’t need to go to the hospital. But heading to the precinct is a good idea. Maybe being there will spur my memory.”

That was a good point, but she had her orders. “Rhy’s the boss.”

Gabe looked annoyed. “I’ll talk to Rhy.” Before she could say anything more, he jumped to his feet, only to sway for a moment. “Too fast. Dizzy,” he murmured as he sank back down at the same moment a bullet shattered the window.

“Down, get down!” She yanked Gabe off the chair and shoved him under the table, realizing with sick certainty that she’d been wrong to bring Gabe to her place.

The assailant must have known enough about the team to have found them. And clearly this perp’s intent was to finish what he’d started.

Eliminating Gabe as a threat, permanently.