eyes misted over, but she swallowed hard and quickly gathered her emotions. “Yes. He tells me I have a concussion and it’s caused me to have amnesia. He couldn’t find anything else wrong. My baby is okay. But I don’t remember anything about my pregnancy—when I’m due, or even the father! It’s maddening!”
The uneasy feeling that had come over Vince when he’d first walked up to the scene of Geena’s accident had suddenly grown to a menacing cloud hovering over his head. What was he going to do? He couldn’t simply blurt out that he knew who she was, or that she’d once been his wife. She’d gone through a traumatic accident. No telling what the shock might do to her. No, Vince decided, before he could even consider revealing that bit of truth to her, he needed to speak with her doctor.
“Do you have any idea why you were on the highway leading into Carson City?” he continued. “Where you were going?”
With a miserable shake of her head, she said, “No. And now everything I had—my ID, my vehicle—they’re gone!”
As her voice rose to a frantic note, Evan stepped up to Vince’s side, as though to say he believed she’d had enough questions for one night. But Vince had already come to that conclusion.
Trying to sound as positive as possible, Vince said, “Don’t worry. By tomorrow you’ll probably start remembering. And if you don’t, we have ways of figuring out all these things.”
The expression on her face was the same imploring look she’d given him years ago when she’d begged him to give up being a lawman. The look in her eyes had torn at him then, just as it was tearing at him now.
“I hope you’re right. Without my car or money I can’t go anywhere,” she said, then let out a miserable groan. “Dear God, what am I thinking? Money or transportation won’t solve my problems. I wouldn’t know where to go to find my home!”
Her home had once been with him, Vince thought. Now she was a lost little thing without a clue of her past or future. Nothing about this felt real.
Evan slanted her a reassuring smile, which was just what she needed at this very moment. But try as he might, Vince couldn’t follow his partner’s example. His face felt frozen.
Evan must have realized Vince had become dazed with it all, because he suddenly spoke up. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure out where you belong. Right now you need to rest. Vince and I will be back tomorrow.”
The words didn’t appear to give her much relief, as she touched fingertips to the bandage on her temple and closed her eyes.
“Thank you,” she said glumly.
“No thanks are needed, ma’am. We’re just doing our job,” Evan told her.
Vince couldn’t bring himself to say another word. He was too busy fighting the urge to pull her into his arms. What in hell was coming over him? This woman had been completely out of his life for six years. He shouldn’t be feeling anything except the need to find her family.
Turning on his heel, he strode out of the room and didn’t stop until he was several feet down the corridor. He was leaning a shoulder against the wall and wiping a hand over his face when Evan came up behind him.
“That woman isn’t putting on an act, Vince. She truly doesn’t remember.”
Vince squeezed his eyes shut and tried to shove away the raw emotions tearing through him. “Yeah. That much is obvious.”
“You didn’t know she was in the area?”
“Hell, no!” Vince muttered. “I would’ve already told you.”
“Sorry I asked. I know we don’t keep things from each other. But I thought—well, from everything you’ve told me about your marriage, I realize she’s a bit of a sore spot and you might not have wanted to bring it up.”
Vince let out a heavy breath before turning to face his partner. “I don’t have a clue what reason she might have for coming to Carson City,” he said, then let out a rueful groan. “Clearly she doesn’t, either.”
“So when are you going to tell her? I mean, who she is. That might be a start to easing her mind. And who knows, maybe she was on her way here to see you.”
Evan’s suggestion brought him up short. “That’s crazy! She couldn’t have been coming here to see me. After we divorced, all ties between us were dropped. For all she knew I could’ve been living in Alaska.”
“Hmm. You know as well as I that if she wanted to locate you, all she needed to do was make a quick computer search and she would’ve known exactly where you lived.”
Shaking his head, Vince started walking in the direction of the elevator. “That’s true. If she’d wanted to locate me. But I’d bet money she was driving into Carson City for some other reason. So let’s go see what our data tells us about Geena.”
Evan caught up to him. “You know she’s Geena, but what is her last name now? Yours? Her maiden name? A new husband’s name? This might not be simple.”
Vince didn’t expect anything about Geena’s case to be simple. In fact, he figured being shot again would be easier to handle than dealing with his ex-wife. But he’d never shirked his duty or asked to be taken off a case just because he found it to be uncomfortable. And he wasn’t about to start now.
“No. But let’s hope it will be.”
Without warning, Evan reached over and caught Vince by the arm.
Stopping in his tracks, Vince looked at him. “What now?”
A sheepish expression crossed Evan’s face. “I hate to bring this up, Vince, but do you think Geena might have been drinking? Alcohol would explain the accident.”
Vince let out a long breath. He’d told Evan more than once that Geena’s drinking had been a huge part of the reason he’d called it quits on their marriage. Vince could easily understand why Evan was questioning her sobriety now.
“Believe me, Evan, when I saw that it was Geena lying in that bed, the thought of alcohol definitely ran through my mind. She was clearly confused. But that could’ve been a result of the concussion. Anyway, I certainly hate to think she’d be drinking in her pregnant condition. But we won’t know for sure until a detailed toxicology report comes back.”
“And that will probably take two weeks,” Evan replied.
Not wanting to think what might happen between now and then, Vince nudged his partner toward the elevator. “Come on. We have work to do.”
* * *
Inside the hospital room, the young woman waited until she was certain the two detectives weren’t going to return, then slowly climbed out of bed. In spite of a swimmy head and a sore back, she managed to make it to a private bathroom located in one corner of the room.
To her relief there was a small mirror hanging over the lavatory. Clinging to the cold sink, she leaned forward and studied her image in the mirror.
Wavy blond hair touched a slender neck and shoulders. Slanted green eyes, full pink lips and pale ivory skin. This was the image she’d seen every day of
