The Cradle Conspiracy. Robin Perini
What do you remember?” he asked.
“My name is Raven.”
“Raven’s not your name.” The man’s expression held nothing but pity. “We made it up because you were panicked about not remembering yours.”
“That’s crazy.” She dug her fingernails into his palm. “That’s the only name I know. And I know you. You were holding me and telling me everything would be all right. We were in the cave together. You held me. I remember you.”
He squeezed her hand. “I was only holding you to calm you down. I’m sorry. We never met before today.”
“It doesn’t seem possible. You’re...you’re Daniel. I know you.” She grasped at the small straw of sanity remaining. “I was in your arms. How can you deny we know each other? Why are you lying?”
The curtain surrounding them was yanked back, the sound of the metal rings scraping like nails on a chalkboard.
A man in uniform entered the room. “Yeah, Adams, that’s something I’d like to know. You sure looked involved with her when I saw you.”
“I was trying to save her life. What was I supposed to do? Dump her and run?”
“No, but you informed the charge nurse you were together when you arrived. You were in the exam room the whole time. Didn’t look like a total stranger situation to me. So what gives?”
A deep-seated fear took hold in Raven’s chest when anger rose to Daniel’s face.
He slowly stood and faced the lawman. “My dog found her, and I tried to get her help. End of story.”
“I also warned you not to come back here alone with the Jane Doe. You make a habit of going against the law? You got a prison record somewhere I should check out?”
Daniel blanched, darkness in his eyes once more. “You go ahead and check.”
“I intend to,” the sheriff shot back. “Now, why don’t you wait outside, while I have a talk with this lady you claim not to know.”
Raven gripped Daniel’s hand. He was her only touchstone. “Please, don’t make him leave.”
“I’m Sheriff Galloway, ma’am.” His gaze sliced across Daniel. “It appears you’ve been the victim of a crime. I need to ascertain the threat. I said, step away from her, Mr. Adams.”
Daniel glanced at their intertwined fingers. “Why don’t you let the lady decide, Sheriff? She doesn’t look all that eager to be alone with you.”
“I said move away.” Galloway grabbed Daniel by the arm. “Don’t press me. You’re two seconds from a cell.”
Daniel yanked his arm from Galloway’s grasp and pushed aside the curtain.
“Don’t leave, Adams. I’m talking to you next.”
Not attempting to cloak his obvious fury, Daniel settled against the wall just outside the partition.
Raven couldn’t believe what was happening. None of this made sense.
“That man claims he doesn’t know you, ma’am,” the sheriff said, pulling a small notebook from his uniform pocket. “Yet you say you do know him. Which is it?”
Her gaze went back and forth between the two men. “I...I don’t know.”
“Did Adams hurt you?”
Did he? She was already injured when she came to in the mine. She pressed her hand against her head. That damned throbbing was getting worse, scrambling her thoughts. “I...I don’t think so.” She blinked hard against the blur Daniel’s face had become. “I think he just helped me. I can’t really remember what happened before the cave-in.”
“So he could have put you there?”
“No. He specifically told me he didn’t do that.”
“What?” Galloway strode out to Daniel. “Okay, Adams, that’s it. You’re coming with me until I sort this out.” The sheriff slapped a cuff on Daniel’s wrist.
Daniel stilled, his face stiff as he stared at the silver bracelet. “Great, just great. Good Samaritan bites the dust one more time. When will I learn?”
Raven stared at him in handcuffs, horrified. Her mind whirled in confusion. She didn’t think he had hurt her, but could she be wrong? Nothing made sense.
His gaze went flat, the light behind his eyes dimming. Expressionless, lifeless, soulless. Instinctively Raven reached out to him, needing something, anything to hold on to, but Daniel turned away from her. “I guess I know where I’m headed. Thanks, sweetheart.”
The sheriff snagged his prisoner’s free arm and snapped the second cuff closed, pinning his arms behind him. The loud click echoed in the room, and Daniel’s jaw throbbed, his neck muscles bunched together. He didn’t look back at her.
She wanted to call out to Daniel, but she didn’t know what to say. She just couldn’t remember. She had to be Raven. Didn’t she?
Then why had he lied about not knowing her?
“I...don’t...remember.” The words stuttered from her. Desperation clawed at her insides.
The sheriff gave her a sympathetic grimace. “If Adams is telling the truth, he’ll be out soon. If not...you have nothing to be sorry about. You’re safe now.”
Sheriff Galloway escorted Daniel out.
The nurse whipped the curtain closed, shutting her in. Alone. Abandoned. The cream-covered cloth fluttered still, a barrier to the world. She wrapped her arms around her body, trying to stop the aching loneliness. Her hands and heart felt empty.
She turned to her side in the bed, staring at the curtained wall. She didn’t blink. Her vision grew blurry. Why couldn’t she remember? Try as she might, just a few glimmers sifted through her. A fuzzy dog’s face, a toy box, and Daniel.
She sighed. Daniel. What had she done? Why hadn’t she defended him? Why hadn’t she fought to make the sheriff understand that she felt safe with Daniel? She reached out her hand, wishing his strong fingers were there for her to grasp.
Her belly clenched. She had the unsettling feeling she’d just made a terrible mistake in letting Daniel go. She curled into a ball. Her fingernails bit into her palm.
Oh, God, what had she done?
* * *
THE NIGHTMARE WOULDN’T end. Raven knew she was asleep, but she couldn’t escape. Wrapped in a carpet. The dust, the dirt, the blood.
She fought against the memory suffocating her, struggling to break free from the prison. Her hands clenched at her side. Not carpet. Sheets.
The clinic. And a presence watching over her. She could feel its malevolence.
She squeezed her eyes tighter, unable to battle the unexpected terror seizing her body and her mind. She swallowed and forced herself to open her eyes.
“Daniel?” she mumbled, praying he was there, despite her letting him down.
Her blurry vision focused. A man stood above her, his face half-hidden by a surgical mask. Not Daniel though and not the doctor who’d treated her before.
“Who—”
Before she could ask, he pressed his fingers around her throat, then clamped his other hand over her mouth and nose. He tightened his grip, cutting off all air.
Please, God. She couldn’t breathe. She twisted against him, each movement sending shafts of pain and light through her brain. He pressed harder, then braced himself and used his knee to hold her to the bed. He was crushing her windpipe.
Panicked, she grappled for the call button, but he yanked it from her hand. White spots filled her graying vision. She couldn’t die this way. She