Chapter 25

Trevor tried notto stare at Sadie.

But she’d had a memory of some sort, hadn’t she?

Had she remembered him?

A lump formed in his throat.

At once, he wanted to explain. To tell her everything. To reassure her that she wasn’t losing her mind.

But he couldn’t do any of those things. He’d promised Larchmont he’d find out information on Sadie and keep his real identity—as well as their previous relationship—quiet. At what point should his loyalty switch from Larchmont to himself?

He’d vowed to be his own person, yet he felt a sense of duty to the Shadow Agency. It was all he’d known for so long—first loyalty to the military and then to Larchmont.

But there was more to life than his job. What would it take for him to make the change? He wasn’t sure, but he was tempted to give it a try.

He averted his gaze and clamped his mouth shut before he told Sadie something he shouldn’t.

Abruptly, Sadie stood and wiped the sand from her jeans. “I think we should go.”

Concern filled him as he jumped to his feet. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m suddenly not feeling well.” Her voice sounded pinched with tension.

“Do I need to take you back to the doctor?” He’d been afraid she might have a trauma response to being here.

Sadie shook her head. “It’s not like that. It’s just . . . I just need to be away from here.”

Or did she mean she needed to be away from him?

Before they could talk more, she hurried toward the truck.

Trevor lunged forward and grabbed her arm. As soon as he touched her, she swirled around, something flashing in her gaze.

Was that fear?

His chest tightened. The last thing he wanted was to frighten Sadie more.

He released her arm and raised his hands. “I need to go ahead of you in case trouble is waiting for us.”

Sadie’s shoulders seemed to relax with understanding. Trevor moved in front of her, surveying the parking lot for any signs of danger.

He wouldn’t let these guys get to her again. He would do everything in his power to protect her—like he should have protected her the first time.

When he saw nothing suspicious nearby, he released a long breath.

“Let’s go.” He led Sadie to his truck, and they climbed inside.

She still looked on edge, and he wished there was a way to reassure her.

As he snapped his seatbelt in place, he wondered what he could say. But without knowing what had rattled her, nothing came to mind.

Before he could force any awkward conversation, Sadie’s phone rang.

“It’s Detective Bennett,” she murmured.

Sadie answered and put the phone on speaker.

“I need you to come down to the office,” Detective Bennett said. “I have an update I’d rather not share on the phone.”

Sadie’s eyes widened. “O . . . okay. We’ll be right there.”

Based on the tone of the detective’s voice, he had bad news.

Trevor could only imagine what that might be.

* * *

Sadie was nearly certain she’d vomit as she stepped into the police station.

What if Bennett shared something she didn’t want to hear?

Why would she even think that? The detective might have good news.

Maybe she should be happy.

But instead, her nerves zinged around inside her like an electrical wire that had been cut and now zapped everything it touched.

Why did she have this sense of foreboding? Maybe it was her subconscious’s way of telling her she’d been doing something illegal before all this happened.

Was she a criminal? Sure, she hadn’t been arrested before, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t committed a crime. It might just mean she hadn’t been caught.

She had no idea what she’d done in the past. She could only guess.

The faint streaks of blood she’d found on her arm in the hospital flashed back in her mind. If it wasn’t her blood, whose was it?

Had the detective connected her to a violent crime?

Her thoughts continued to tumble around, making her feel sicker and sicker.

Detective Bennett met them at the front desk and motioned for them to follow him down a short hallway and into a small room.

An interrogation room.

Her throat went dry.

Trevor paused by the door. “Would you like for me to wait out here?”

That was a good question. If only Sadie knew she could trust him. If only anything made sense to her.

She should say no. That was the safest choice.

But the truth was, she did want Trevor here to help her sort out anything the detective might share. To be a listening ear. An objective companion.

After a moment of contemplation, she finally nodded toward the room. “If you wouldn’t mind joining me, that would be great.”

She knew one thing for certain. If she and Guy truly were dating, by the end of this, they most likely wouldn’t be. She’d basically shut the man out. Even though she thought she should feel bad about it, she didn’t.

She didn’t want Guy with her right now.

She wanted Trevor—a fact that left her feeling unbalanced.

Trevor stepped inside the interrogation room and sat next to her in a metal chair in front of a grungy wooden table.

“Thanks again for coming.” Detective Bennett propped his arms on the table and leaned toward her.

“Is this interrogation room really necessary?” Trevor asked.

“It’s just the easiest place to meet,” Bennett explained, his voice casual.

But was it? Sadie had a hard time believing that.

“We talked to some of your neighbors to see if they might know something,” Bennett continued. “The consensus was that you’re friendly but keep to yourself a lot of the time.”

“Okay . . .” She rubbed her palms against her jeans, wondering where he was going with this.

“There was one neighbor that said she saw you arguing with someone about a week ago.”

Surprise—and hope—rushed through her. Maybe this was something that could give her a clue about who had run her down.

“What else did she say?” Sadie rushed. “Could she hear what the argument was about?”

The corners of Bennett’s lips flickered down in a frown. “Unfortunately, no. But she said it was heated.”

“Who was I arguing with?”

“A man she’d never seen before.”

“Could it have been Guy?” Trevor suggested.

Bennett shrugged as if dismissing the idea. “Your neighbor said he was a short man with darker skin. He doesn’t fit Guy’s description, nor does he fit the description of anyone you work with.”

Disappointment bit at her. “Then who could it have been?”

“The man does fit one description,” Bennett announced.

“Who’s that?”

Bennett slid a picture across the table toward her. “Him.”

She glanced at the photo, flinching at the image there.

It was the same man Trevor had shown her. Only he’d been alive in the other picture.

In this photo he was . . . dead. Eyes closed. Skin pale. Body lifeless. Metal morgue slab behind him.

She pressed her eyes closed, nausea churning inside her.

“I know that’s hard to see, but it’s all we’ve got,” Bennett said. “Anything trigger a memory?”

She pulled her eyes open and glanced at the photo one more time before looking away and shaking her head.

No flashes of recognition had hit her.

Should she tell him about that other photo?

She didn’t know.

But her gut told her not to. She didn’t want to keep information from the police. But she needed more answers first. Otherwise, she could be sealing her own prison sentence.

“I’m sorry, but he’s not familiar to me.” The words were true.

Bennett nodded stoically but said nothing else. He simply put the photo back into a folder he had with him.

“Who is he?” Trevor asked.

“He’s the man who turned up dead around the same time as your accident.”

Sadie pressed her eyes shut. She’d known that was the truth. But hearing the detective say the words aloud drove home the reality of the situation.

And it was dire.