Christmas Amnesia. Laura Scott
convinced, to the upcoming trial of Alexander Pietro. And the thought of Maddy being in danger, not to mention having lost her memory, gave him a desperate sense of urgency.
Right now, he was the only one who could keep her safe.
“Are you okay?” The cop—she searched her memory; Noah?—helped her upright, brushing snow off her pants and coat.
“I don’t understand. What’s going on?” In the second she thought the car would hit her, she’d found herself praying for safety. Was that something she did on a regular basis? Must be, and for some reason, knowing that slight bit of information, that she believed in God and prayed often, helped calm her frayed nerves.
Thankfully Noah had reacted with lightning-fast reflexes, or she was sure she’d have ended up back in the ER with worse injuries. The hammering in her skull was bad enough, and it hadn’t lessened one iota.
“You’re in danger,” Noah said in a grim tone. He put his arm around her waist, urging her toward the squad car. “I need to get you someplace safe.”
“Why?” She braced herself with a hand on the squad car when he released her long enough to open the passenger-side door. “You think the mugging and this close call are somehow related?”
“Yes. I’ll explain once we’re somewhere safe,” he said, his voice clipped.
She gingerly slid into the passenger seat. Noah shut the door, then came around to climb in behind the wheel. She latched the seat belt, then rested her head back against the cushion and closed her eyes, swallowing hard against the increased pain.
Noah didn’t break the silence, and she felt the car moving down the street. It wasn’t until he took several turns, heading away from the hospital, that she opened her eyes and grabbed his arm, seized by a sense of panic. “Wait! I—I don’t know where I live.”
He flashed a reassuring smile, gently covering her hand with his for a long moment before letting go. “Don’t worry, I do. You share a condo with a woman by the name of Gretchen Herald; she’s a flight attendant for Airstream Airlines.”
It seemed so wrong that this cop, this man, knew more about her than she did. Ignoring the pain in her head, she continued pressing him for information. “Tell me more, specifically why I’m in danger.”
“Okay.” His smile faded, his expression turning serious. “Maddy, you’re an attorney, working in the DA’s office.”
His statement should have brought forth a flood of memories, but didn’t. She stared at him, feeling stupid and not at all like a lawyer. “I am?”
“Yes. You have a big trial starting next week. A man by the name of Alexander Pietro is facing serious felony charges related to drug trafficking and gun running. Thanks to your impressive track record of winning guilty verdicts, you’re the lead prosecutor on his case.”
She stared at Noah’s profile, straining to remember. Did the name Alexander Pietro sound familiar? Yes, it did, but she couldn’t picture what he looked like. Was she remembering him from the case? Or because of something she’d heard about in the news?
Why couldn’t she remember?
The deep sense of urgency returned with a vengeance. There was something important she needed to do. But what? The pain in her head intensified as she struggled to push past the haze in her mind.
“Don’t, Maddy,” Noah said in a low voice, reaching over to take her hand in his. “I don’t think you should try so hard. Dr. Hawkins mentioned you need to rest, and relax. She believes your memory will return on its own.”
“But when?” She couldn’t help feeling as if she were standing on the precipice of a cliff, where one strong breeze would blow her over. “If what you’re saying is right, that I’m working on a case, then I don’t have time to wait around to see if my memory returns. I need to get back to work. Or call my boss, whoever that is, so he or she can assign someone else to the case.” Then another thought hit her. “How do you know so much about this Alexander guy, anyway? Especially my involvement in the case?”
“I helped bring him down,” Noah said, his tone matter-of-fact. He pulled up in front of a large brick building, gesturing to it. “I don’t know if your roommate is home or not. Since your purse is gone, I’m assuming you don’t have your keys.”
Instinctively, she patted her coat pockets, surprised when she felt the distinct bulge. “I do have keys,” she said, pulling them out of her right-hand pocket with a frown. “That’s odd. I wonder why they weren’t in my purse. Isn’t that where I usually carry them?”
“I don’t know, but right now I’m glad they weren’t.” Noah took them from her fingers. “That makes things easier for us, especially if your roommate isn’t home.”
She stared at the building, searching for something, anything that looked familiar. There were a few Christmas decorations in some of the windows, but overall, the place looked impersonal, as if it could contain anything from offices to apartments, no different than any other building they’d passed along the way. Of course, it wasn’t easy to see clearly in the darkness. She couldn’t imagine living there, yet Noah had no reason to lie to her, either. Was she crazy to trust him, just because he knew her and her brother?
Who else could she trust?
“Are you ready?” he asked.
She ignored the sense of dread. “Of course.”
“Give me a minute,” Noah said. She couldn’t help but be impressed when he came around to open her door. Why was she so impressed with Noah? Was it possible the men she dated didn’t have these kinds of manners? “Here, take my hand.”
“Thank you.” His hand was warm and strong around hers, and she was struck again by how handsome he was. It was inappropriate to focus on something like that, considering she didn’t remember her own name, but still, she couldn’t deny she was grateful for his strong, reassuring presence.
The inside of the building was very modern and nicely decorated, but didn’t look at all familiar. Noah pushed the button on the elevator, and the doors instantly slid open. There were six floors and apparently she lived right in the middle on the third level.
She followed Noah down the hall to room 304. There weren’t many doors, indicating the dwellings were spacious in size rather than piled one on top of the other.
“Stay here,” he said, using her key to access the condo. He pushed open the door and flipped on the lights, looking around before gesturing for her to come inside.
She crossed the threshold, hoping, praying that the holes in her memory would begin to fill in enough to create a picture she could latch on to. But while the inside of the condo was nice and neat, it still didn’t seem familiar. And worse, it didn’t instill a sense of home.
There was a tiny Christmas tree in the corner, but it wasn’t lit up. A detail that also seemed wrong, somehow.
“You’re sure this is where I live?”
“You and Gretchen,” Noah said. “Although I’m assuming that since the doors to both bedrooms are open, Gretchen must be traveling. If I remember correctly when I helped you guys move in, you have the room on the right, Gretchen’s is on the left.”
Swallowing a pang of disappointment, she walked around the living room, searching for what? She had no idea. There was a laptop case on the counter, so she crossed over and peeked inside. The computer didn’t look familiar, but then again, why would it? Nothing personal about a machine. There was a paper file folder inside labeled Pietro. Hmm, that was interesting. Something to review in more detail later.
She turned away, searching for something personal. She headed toward the bedroom off to the right, thinking that she probably