and said she may or may not remember everything.”
That was a lot of information to be giving a stranger. Ben might know Kurt, but he had no true connection with her. She frowned at her brother, trying to let him know to stop telling his friend about her.
A knock sounded on the door. She sighed, wishing to be alone with her thoughts to sort out what she had learned. Kurt opened it. From her position on the bed she could make out a dark blue uniform and a gold badge. Finally. The police had arrived. Maybe she could get some answers. Kurt swung the door wider. “Hey, Keith. Do you have some news about my sister’s accident?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.” The officer entered the room.
Sadie sat up straighter. Kurt knew the officer, and the man hadn’t said anything when he’d named her as his sister. Which meant she was, indeed, Kurt’s stepsister. She noticed Kurt straightening his posture out of the corner of her eye as the officer approached her. She felt bad. To her, Kurt was someone she didn’t know, but to him, she was his sister. If only she could remember!
“Keith? What caused my sister’s accident?” Kurt’s question brought her back to the present.
“There was a small jagged hole in the brake line. You most likely tore the line by going over rocks or rough terrain too fast. The line could have been slowly dripping for weeks without your being aware. You might have noticed your brakes feeling mushy. Too many people wait too long before getting their brakes fixed.”
Kurt thanked the officer for his help. Sadie frowned. She had thought he would want to know what caused the accident, but she couldn’t help noticing that his expression was even grimmer than before. His friend, Ben, seemed to notice something was wrong, as well.
“Kurt, are you well?”
Ben’s voice was smooth and deep, unhurried with a slight accent. Not too noticeable, just somehow rounder than the speech she’d heard from others since she awoke.
Her brother glanced at her in a considering way. Then he apparently decided she needed to know what was going on.
“Sadie, you couldn’t have had a leak for a long time.” He drew in a deep breath. “You had the entire brake system, including the lines, replaced last week.”
She shivered, though his meaning wasn’t processing. “What are you trying to tell me?”
“This wasn’t an accident.”
“What do mean, it wasn’t an accident?” Her voice came out strained, like she had to squeeze each and every painful word out.
Kurt—she couldn’t think of him as her brother—gave her a look that was overflowing with sympathy. She was grateful he didn’t attempt to touch her again.
“Someone tried to hurt you. Someone deliberately made it so that your car would run out of brake fluid while you were driving.”
She shuddered. The fear and panic she had felt since awaking with no memory threatened to pull her under. Already she could feel the blackness dragging her down. She fought her way through it. The doctor had said that her memories might return.
The other man, Ben, shifted beside the bed. “If you feel your sister was in danger, shouldn’t you have told the police officer who just left? You knew him.”
That, she thought, was a valid question. Narrowing her eyes, she switched her eyes back to her stepbrother. He sighed, then he grabbed the chair and motioned for his friend to sit. While Ben cautiously settled himself, his eyes wary, Kurt strode to the other side of the room and pulled a second chair to the side of the bed. Sadie had the uncomfortable feeling that she was about to be interrogated.
“Okay, look, Sadie, I know you don’t remember me, but I need you trust me. Okay?”
She nodded. “I believe that you are who you say. I’m sorry. I just don’t remember anything!”
He sighed. “I know. I know. Look, the truth of the matter is that I think you are in danger, but I have no proof.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s possible that it might be my fault. I think you might be in trouble because of my job.”
Startled, Sadie forced herself to sit up straighter. She noticed that Ben sat forward, his gaze sharpening as he stared at her brother. The intensity of his glance made her momentarily lose focus on the conversation. When her brother began to speak again, she mentally shook herself and returned her attention to Kurt.
“Explain, please. How is it your fault that I may be in danger?” She stressed the word may, as she was still hoping it was all a bad nightmare and she would soon wake up with her memories intact.
“I can’t get used to you not knowing things.”
He wasn’t the only one. Irritation stirred that he would find her amnesia an inconvenience. How did he think she felt?
“Kurt,” Ben interrupted him, his deep voice rich with reprimand.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. That sounded really selfish. Sorry. I don’t mean to be insensitive.” He shoved a hand through his dark hair. “I’m a reporter. Nothing big. Smaller stories, mainly section B. I’ve slowly been getting more important stuff, though. Recently my boss put me on a new story. I can’t tell you much about it, confidentiality and all, but I think I might have found something serious. Unfortunately, it’s nothing I can take to the police. I have no actual evidence. Right now, I just have suspicions.”
“One of your suspicions is that someone knows you’re looking?” Ben asked.
“Yeah.”
Sadie glanced from one man to the other. “I still don’t understand how that affects me.”
Kurt sighed. “It affects you because I think someone is telling me that you’ll get hurt if I don’t stop digging.” Frustration rang in his voice. “I’m so close to finding something, so close, and I’m going to have to stop.”
“Are you sure you can’t go to the cops? That Keith seemed to like you well enough. Maybe he’d be able to find the information you are seeking.”
Kurt snorted. “The moment it’s learned I went to the police, any chance I have of uncovering the facts are gone. My boss will never trust me with another major project again.”
It wasn’t her fault. She knew it wasn’t her fault. But she couldn’t stop the trickle of doubt and guilt that wound its way through her. A new fear surfaced.
“Will they still come after me, do you think?”
He didn’t answer her, which was an answer in itself.
“Kurt, you have to protect your sister.” Ben shoved his chair back. The sound of the four legs scraping the floor made her cringe. Ben stood and paced away from the bed. “Your family must be a priority.”
She appreciated him stepping in to speak up for her, virtual stranger that she was.
“I know I have to protect her,” Kurt snapped. “I just don’t know how to do that. Even if I stop digging, they’re still there and will most likely come after me and probably her. I have to get more information so I can go to the police. Once
