“He doesn’t matter anymore, Ryan. He can’t get his hands on the insurance money now since I’ve changed the policy and we’re divorced.” She moved out of his embrace and walked around the other side of the bed. “I need to get on with my life. I can’t just forget everything in Los Angeles and live here with you two.”
“Why not?” Brett asked.
Her startled gaze shot to Brett. “I’m not staying here.”
“What are you running from, Whitney?”
She captured her lip between her teeth for a moment before she answered, “Nothing.”
Ryan moved to her side and pulled her to his chest, letting his hands skim down her back. “Don’t leave.”
“I wish I could stay.”
He took her lips, trying to convince her she belonged there with them.
Her hands wound around his neck as she moaned and fit their mouths together.
The next moment, Brett stepped behind her while his hands drifted over her shoulders and then down her sides.
“Stay, Whitney,” Brett whispered against the back of her neck, running his lips over the exposed skin.
She ripped her mouth away and pulled out of their arms, her eyes wide with glistening with unshed tears. “I can’t! You don’t understand. I want to, but I can’t.” She grabbed her backpack from the corner and walked out.
Ryan looked at Brett, and he knew the same astonished look on his cousin’s face probably graced his, too. Both of them followed her out, but she was quick. The front entrance slammed shut in the distance before they even reached the living room. They raced after her, but when they opened the door, they couldn’t believe what they saw. A white BMW sat in front of the house, and Whitney was struggling against the hold of a strange guy.
How the hell did he get through the gates?
“Let me go, Eric. Nothing you do now will gain you anything.”
Eric. Son-of-a-bitch! I’ll kill him.
“Not on your life. You’re still my wife, Whitney, and you’re coming with me,” the man yelled as he forced her closer to the car.
She laughed as she struggled to pull her arm out of his grasp. “No, I’m not. Our divorce was final yesterday, you ass.”
“You can’t divorce me without my signature.”
“Bullshit. I did. The papers are in my bag. Take a look if you want.”
Eric stopped, obviously startled by the revelation. It gave Ryan and Brett enough time to reach the guy and slam him against the hood of the car.
“I’m going to break you in half, buddy,” Ryan growled into Eric’s face.
“Ryan, stop.” Her terrified words penetrated the fog of anger that had encompassed his brain with the name Eric.
“He tried to hurt you. I’m going to kill him,” he said, his gaze never leaving the man he held.
“And you’ll go to jail, Ryan. He’s not worth it.”
Ryan pushed Eric and then stepped back. “Fine, but you aren’t going anywhere with him.”
“I won’t.”
“Oh yes you are,” Eric said, struggling to stand before moving toward her. He pulled his hand back and slapped her hard across the face. She spun around, flipped over the wall surrounding the driveway, and landed in a heap on the ground.
Brett dove on top of Eric, and they rolled across the pavement, each grappling to be on top. Finally, Brett got the upper hand, pulled back his fist and punched Eric several times, knocking him out.
Brett stumbled to his feet and said, “I’m calling an ambulance and the police.”
Ryan jumped over the fence and cradled her against his chest. “Whitney? Baby, talk to me.” He brushed the hair out of her face, growling low in his throat when he saw the bruise already starting to form on her face.
With cell in hand, Brett called nine-one-one and the police and paramedics were on their way.
“Let me see her, Ryan,” Brett said, coming to her side. He brushed the hair back from her forehead and then pulled her eyes open to check her pupils.
“Brett?”
His cousin didn’t look up while he continued to examine her. “Yeah.”
Ryan pulled his hand back from underneath her and started to shake when he saw the sticky, red blood on his hand.
* * * *
The sound of beeping brought Whitney out of her haze, and she squinted when the bright florescent lights hit her eyes. Sirens blared as she tried to focus. An ambulance. She tried to turn her head, but she was strapped to the board. Looking to her left, she almost expected to see someone she knew on the bench next to her, but she couldn’t think of who that might be. She didn’t know any paramedics.
“Ah. You’re awake. I really didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”
“Soon? Do I know you?”
The guy frowned. “Cale? I was with Ryan when we got you out of the canyon?”
She tried to shake her head. “Ryan? Canyon?”
“Do you know where you are?”
“Los Angeles?”
“What’s your name?”
“Whitney Scott.”
“What’s the date?”
Searching her mind, she tried to remember. “I don’t know.”
“We’ll be at the hospital in just a minute.”
“Hospital? Where am I?”
“Flagstaff.”
“Arizona?”
The guy chuckled, and she frowned. She really didn’t think it was very funny. “Last time I checked, yeah.”
A moment later, the back doors whipped open and two hands grabbed the gurney. They wheeled her through the glass doors, and the feeling of déjà vu washed over her. The face that bent over her and looked into her eyes wasn’t right. Something’s wrong here, but I can’t think of what.
“I’m Doctor Reese, Whitney.”
“Hi.”
“Do you know where you are?”
“The guy in the ambulance said I’m in Flagstaff. I’m assuming this is the hospital?”
“Yes, the emergency room, to be exact.”
“What am I doing in Arizona?”
“You don’t remember?”
“No. The last thing I can recall is being in Los Angeles at my house with my husband.”
“I’m coming in there, damn it!” a loud male voice yelled from the other side of the curtain. The doctor frowned before he moved away.
“You can’t come in here, Ryan. Neither can you, Brett. Neither of you are on duty and you know the rules,” the doctor said.
She tried to see, but couldn’t move her head at all. The voice was familiar, but she couldn’t seem to place it.
“I don’t give a flying fuck.”
“Keep your voice down, O’Rourke, or I’ll have you thrown out of here.”
“Easy, Ryan. They’ll let us in after they examine her. Right, Bill?” another familiar voice said.
Why can’t I remember?
“Maybe, but if you two don’t calm down, I’m not letting you anywhere near her. She’s obviously been beaten. Care to explain?”
The voices moved off, and she couldn’t hear what they said anymore.
“Nurse?”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Where’s my husband?”
A frown moved over the woman’s face. “I don’t know. He didn’t come in with you that I’m aware of.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Doctor Reese returned to her side. “Whitney. We need to do a CAT scan of your head to make sure there isn’t a bleed since you lost consciousness and don’t remember. Do you hurt anywhere else?”
“Yes. My stomach feels crampy.”
Doctor Reese pushed on her abdomen and asked her where it hurt. She couldn’t tell. It didn’t hurt when he pressed. “When was your last period?”
“Um…”
“It’s okay, Whitney. The nurse will put in a catheter in your bladder, and we’ll get some urine to do a pregnancy test, just to make sure.”
“All right.”
&nbs
p; Several moments later, the nurse went to insert the tube, but stopped when she asked, “Whitney, were you on your period when this happened?”
“I don’t think so.”
“I’ll be back in a minute,” the nurse told her, before she walked toward the curtain. After she returned, she put in the catheter, took some urine and left.
I hate this. I hate hospitals. I hate doctors. Where’s Eric?
“Whitney? Honey?”
Her gaze found a set of hazel eyes and another set of brown when they stopped next to the gurney. Her head began to pound, and she closed her eyes.
Warm fingers grasped hers on the both sides, bringing her gaze to their faces. “Do I know you?”
* * * *
Brett glanced at Ryan and then back to Whitney. She doesn’t know us? “I’m Brett. This is Ryan. Don’t you remember us?”
A frown creased the skin between her eyebrows. “No.”
Ah hell!
Ryan’s gaze met his before he tipped his head, indicating they needed to talk privately.
“We’ll be right back.”
“Okay. Can I ask you a question before you leave?”
“Sure,” Ryan said, and Brett had the same gut-wrenching feeling he could see on Ryan’s face.
“Where’s my husband?”
“Husband?”
“Yeah, Eric. He should be here.”
“I don’t know, but we’ll see if we can find him.” He pulled Ryan away from her side. “We’ll be back in a minute.”
When they were down the hall from her, Ryan yanked his arm out of Brett’s grasp. “She doesn’t remember? What the hell is up with that?”
“I’m guessing she has a bad concussion, Ryan. It can cause amnesia sometimes.”
“She thinks she’s still married to that asshole.”
“I know. We can’t push her.”
Ryan raked his fingers through his hair. “Push her, hell! All I want to do is take her in my arms and make her remember us.”
“She will in time, Ryan. We can’t force her. It could cause more damage if we do.”
Brett looked over Ryan’s shoulder and saw the technician wheel her out of her curtained off area toward x-ray with a heavy heart. What if she doesn’t remember? She had every intention of leaving us and going back home.
“What about the blood, Brett? She was bleeding pretty heavily.”
He shook his head. “Without examining her, I couldn’t tell you. Hopefully, Bill will have some answers soon.”
“Well, Eric certainly isn’t coming here, no matter what she wants. The fucker is in jail, and he’ll stay there until he rots, if I have anything to say about it.”
“Brett, you know the cops have to be involved since this is an assault,” Bill said as he stopped next to him and Ryan.
“It’s fine, Bill. They were at the house so they know what’s going on.”
“Care to fill me in?”
“Her ex-husband came by my house. From what I can tell, he planned to force her to leave with him, but when Ryan and I stepped in, he hit her.”
“I hope he was arrested?”
“He was,” Ryan growled.
“Good,” Bill answered.
“Doctor Reese, some of the test results are coming in on our lady in there,” the nurse said when she walked near.
“Great. I’ll be there in a second.” Bill shot him a penetrating look. “How involved are you two in this with her?”
“She’s been staying at my house.”
“And?”
“I’m not going into it, Bill. She’s special to both me and Ryan, and that’s all you need to know.”
“All right then.” Bill looked at him for a moment before he moved back toward the nurse’s station.
“What are we going to do if she doesn’t remember?”
“We’ll get through it. If she wants to go back to L.A., we can’t stop her, Ryan.”
Brett saw them wheel her back into the trauma bay, and Bill moved inside it before he shut the door. He and Ryan headed toward her room, but when her raised voice met their ears, they both stopped and stood with open mouths.
“What do you mean I’m pregnant?”
“The urine test shows you’re pregnant, but I’m pretty sure you’re miscarrying, Whitney,” Bill said. “You’re bleeding pretty heavily, but the only way for me to tell for sure is to do an ultrasound.”
“Pregnant?” Ryan’s question brought their gaze colliding again.
Is that why she wanted to leave? She’s carrying her ex-husband’s child?
* * * *
“I…”
“I take it you didn’t know?”
Her gaze bounced around the exam cubicle. Pregnant? Eric’s child? We’ve been having so many problems, fighting all the time. I’m not sure how I feel about being pregnant. “I don’t know. I can’t seem to remember much of anything. What day is today?”
“August eleventh.”
“It can’t be August. It’s June. I know it is.” Her voice started to rise as panic set in. Two months? I’ve lost two months of my life?
The two men who’d come in before moved to her side and took her hands, one in each of theirs.
“Whitney,” the hazel-eyed one said. “It is August. You’ve been here in Flagstaff for two months now.”
“How can that be?”
“You fell earlier today and hit your head. You probably have a case of amnesia,” the brown-eyed one added.
“Who are you two?”
“I told you. I’m Brett, and this is Ryan.”
“But who are you? How do you know me?” She started to shake, and the doctor moved next to her. “I don’t know these two. I want them out of my room, now!”
“Calm down, Whitney,” Doctor Reese said, touching her hand. He looked at the two strangers. “I think you both need to leave.”
“No!” Ryan yelled, grasping her hand and leaning so his lips were close to hers while he brushed the hair back off her forehead. The scent of his cologne tickled the back of her mind, calming her and making her feel safe but at the same time, confusing her further. “We aren’t leaving. You’ll remember, Whitney. You have to.”
Fear and something else sparkled in his eyes. She shook her head. “No. Leave, please,” she pleaded, tears choking her throat.
“Come on, Ryan,” Brett murmured, grabbing the other man’s arm and pulling him toward the curtain. Angry words drifted to her as they walked away.
“What if she never remembers, Brett? What if the memories of the three of us never come back?”
When she couldn’t hear them anymore, she closed her eyes as a tear slipped into her hair.
The three of them? What the hell have I done?
“I’m going to give you something to calm you,” the nurse said, attaching a syringe to the tube in her arm.
“Will it make me sleep?”
“Probably.”
“Good. Maybe when I wake up, this whole nightmare will be over,” she whispered.
“It’ll be okay, Whitney. You’re one lucky girl to have Brett and Ryan in your corner.”
A sob escaped her lips.
How can they be in my corner? I don’t even know them.
Two hours later, she was wheeled into a hospital room.
“My name is Kelly. I’ll be your nurse until tomorrow morning. This will be your room for tonight. The call light is there on the bed. If you need anything, you let me know. Please, don’t try to get up by yourself.”
“I won’t. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll come by and check on you in a little while,” Kelly told her and then moved toward the door.
The phone on the bedside table rang, and she frowned. Who even knew where she was?
“Hello?”
“Whitney?”
“Daddy? Oh, Dad,” she sobbed.
“What’s happened now, sweetie?”
“How did you know where to find me?”
“Brett called me.”
“He said you don’t remember the last couple of months.”
“I guess not. Are you sure it’s not June and this is a cruel joke or something?”
“Sorry, sweetie, but no.”
“Dad, where’s Eric?”
“My understanding is he’s in jail.”
“Jail?”
“He tried to hurt you. He’s been arrested for assault, but I’m working on getting some other charges to stick.”
“God, Daddy! I don’t remember anything! This is so frustrating.”
“Honey, I’m fueling the jet now. I’ll be there in a couple of hours.”
“Okay.”
“Are you all right?”
A sob left her lips. “No, I’m not. The doctor downstairs told me I was pregnant, but I’m miscarrying the baby.”
“Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry.”
“It’s probably best anyway. Eric and I weren’t getting along. I think he was having an affair.”
Silence.
“Dad?”
“I’m still here.”
“Why do I get the feeling you know all about this?”
“You said that before you left to go up there with him.”
“Oh.”
“Hang tough, sweetheart. I’ll be there soon, and I’ll bring you home.”
The thought of leaving Flagstaff left a hole in her soul that confused her. Why wouldn’t I want to leave here? Does it have to do with Brett and Ryan?
“All right. I’ll see you soon.”
“I love you, Whitney.”
“I love you, too, Dad.”
* * * *
The commanding presence of Aaron Morris swept into her room the next morning, and she smiled.
“Oh, baby,” he said, scooping her up in his arms and hugging her tight.
“Daddy, I’m glad you’re here.”
“I’ve already talked to the doctor, and he’s doing your discharge papers now. We’ll be back home by this afternoon.”
She frowned as her heart clenched.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know, Dad. I feel like if I leave here, something will be wrong. Like I’ll be walking away from something that means a lot to me.”
“Have you seen Brett or Ryan?”
“Not since yesterday in the emergency room. But how do you know them?”
Sullivan, Sandy - Unexpected Lovers [Between the Sheets 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 8