Chapter 42

Sadie was an FBI agent?Trevor’s lungs tightened as he tried to discern the truth.

That couldn’t be right . . . but what if it was?

After all, so much about her past didn’t add up. Maybe that was because it had all either been wiped or fabricated. The FBI had the means of doing that.

And the fact she’d only lived here for six months? That could also match, especially if she was deep undercover. Plus, she had a serious lack of personal items in her apartment. That also fit.

His thoughts continued to race.

“Does this mean anything?” Trevor reached into his pocket and pulled out that set of numbers he had found in Sadie’s beach bag.

Richard took the paper from him and scanned it before shaking his head. “Not to me.”

“Where did you get that?” Sadie asked, an edge to her voice.

“It was on the ground after your accident, but I didn’t think much of it. But now that I know what I know, then maybe this is significant.”

She stared at the numbers also but shook her head, her eyes squeezing shut in frustration. “I wish I could remember . . . I mean, what if it’s important?”

“Based on the number of digits, the numbers could be bank accounts.” Richard continued to study the sheet. “I can check into it.”

Sadie looked back up at Trevor again. “Why didn’t you mention this earlier?”

“I didn’t want to overwhelm you with all the details. What I told you was already a lot.”

She opened her mouth as if to argue, but then shut it again and nodded. “Is there anything else that you didn’t want to overwhelm me with?”

Trevor’s jaw suddenly ached, and he realized he was gritting his teeth. “There was . . . there was blood on your hands when I found you. And I didn’t know what that meant so I cleaned your hands and dried them with a towel before paramedics got there.”

Her eyes widened. “Is that why I found some blood on my arm?”

He shrugged. “I must not have seen that. You were wearing a coverup—which was surprisingly clean—and I was trying to work quickly before EMTs arrived.”

“What did you do with the towel you used to wipe the blood off?” Richard asked.

“My guys have it, just in case we need to test the blood.”

“If I didn’t kill that man found in the woods and I wasn’t bleeding, then why did I have blood on my hands and my arm?” Her face turned paler as she asked the question.

She glanced back and forth from Trevor to Richard, but they both shook their heads and shrugged.

“We’ll get to the bottom of it,” Trevor reassured her.

Based on the look in her eyes, she didn’t believe him.

Trevor couldn’t blame her. He was harboring some doubts himself.

* * *

“How can we figure out some answers?” Sadie asked.

Richard shook his head, his expression no-nonsense. “You’re off the case. There’s no way we can let you continue, not with your head injury and your memory issues. Just wouldn’t be wise on many different levels.”

“I have to agree with him,” Trevor said.

Traitor. But Sadie kept that thought to herself.

“I’m going to be a target until we figure this out.” She knew they couldn’t deny her words. Someone was already after her, and they weren’t going to stop until she was silenced—for good.

“We’ll assign agents to protect you,” Richard said. “But for now, we need to get you out of this area to somewhere safe until this ordeal blows over.”

Leaving was the last thing Sadie wanted to do. She knew she’d be a liability here. She didn’t deny that fact. But still . . . this was her life. This had been her case. Even if she couldn’t remember the details, she wanted to be here.

She glanced at Trevor, curious as to his reaction.

His shoulders swelled at Richard’s words. “I am protecting her.”

“You seem to be doing a fine job, all things considered.” He paused. “Although, I’ve looked into you. Former military. But there’s not much about you post military. Only that you work for that security group.”

“Not much else to know. I try to keep my nose clean.”

Richard continued to eye him. “I can’t help but wonder if there’s more to you than that.”

Trevor shrugged. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

Richard stared at Trevor another moment before looking back at Sadie, seeming to let the conversation drop. “The best way to figure this out is to get our asset out of here and go to a Plan B.”

“There has to be another way . . .” Sadie muttered.

Something crossed Richard’s gaze, but he kept his mouth shut. He had a thought. An idea. Sadie was certain of it.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

He pressed his lips together and shook his head as if unwilling to say it.

“Richard . . . please.” She stared at the man. “I’m not fragile. Just because I lost my memory doesn’t mean I’m an idiot.”

“That’s not what I’m trying to get at. It’s just that . . .”

“Then let me help.”

He let out a long breath. “Tonight there’s a company party. At Frank’s place.”

“What about it?”

“The last time we spoke, you thought something was going to go down at the event. Maybe if we can get an agent in there . . .”

“How are you going to get a stranger into an office party? It doesn’t even make sense.” Sadie had to somehow get through to him.

“Maybe they can be disguised as a server.”

“Kind of cliché, don’t you think?” She let her head fall to the side as she stared at him. “Let me go.”

“That’s a bad idea,” Richard muttered. “A very bad idea.”

She somehow needed to convince him that that was a great idea. But she knew this would be an uphill battle.