Page 23 of Rekindling Desire

“They are both Mr. Sinclair. Brothers.”

“Oh,” she said. “I see. I debated mentioning something I observed to Mr. Sinclair…yours. I was concerned about the safety of his family. However, if that gentleman is his brother, I must have misunderstood.”

“What did you observe?”

She pressed her lips together. “You have to understand, it isn’t my place to tell tales.”

I pressed forward. “Whatever it is, it must be bothering you, or you wouldn’t have mentioned it.”

She took a deep breath. “I almost didn’t recognize him—as the man from your ceremony. His face was swollen and bruised. I was in the emergency room early this morning after your wedding. He was waiting to be seen, and I was drawn to him. When I introduced myself, he didn’t mention that we’d met earlier or even his name. We spoke about his injuries.”

“Did he tell you how he was injured?”

“A mugging outside the hospital.”

Interesting.

I nodded.

“You weren’t surprised to hear he was injured,” she said.

“Darius is a grown man. I’m sure he can take care of himself.”

“That’s the thing. Before the doctor arrived, a man entered Darius’s…? That’s his name?”

“Yes.”

The pastor went on. “This man who entered, I didn’t recognize from the hospital. He identified himself as security and demanded that Darius leave the hospital. I tried to intervene. He was obviously in need of care.”

“What happened?”

“They exchanged words. A security guard, one I did recognize, joined the discussion and told the patient to leave. The woman…she was with him earlier.”

I nodded.

“She came in during the discussion. Before they left, I heard something about getting what they deserve. I believe I heard them mention your husband’s name.” She inhaled. “A moment ago, I saw the bandage on your Mr. Sinclair’s hand. I can’t help believing the two incidents are connected and honestly, the other couple was very upset. In my line of work, it isn’t always weddings. I see many revengeful and dangerous people. It was a feeling. I wanted to warn you to be careful.”

“They are connected,” I admitted. “From what I know, Darius is more bark than bite.” However, I knew next to nothing about Amber. Could she be vengeful? I sat taller. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll definitely inform Damien.”

As if summoned by his name, the door from the hallway beeped and opened.

“Later,” I whispered.

There were too many current concerns for me to give Damien another. I willingly took on the role of his wife. If he could juggle all that he had going on and still manage to get me a dress for my marriage license signing, I could investigate what Darius and Amber had planned.

Entering the suite, Damien held up a piece of paper. “We are a signature away.”

I forced a smile, unwilling to let Darius or Amber ruin what little remained of our wedding.

Pastor Abrams took the paper and scanned the information. “It all seems to be in order. With the license dated Friday, we’ll put Saturday’s date for the ceremony. It will raise fewer questions.”

“As long as it’s legal,” I said.

“It is.” She pointed to the line above my name. “Sign here.”

Taking the pen in hand, I scrolled Gabriella Louise. I stopped. “What last name do I sign?”

“On the license, you sign your maiden name.”

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