Page 24 of Help Me Remember
Now that surprises me. “You asked Holden?”
“I mentioned what we were doing and asked him to please step in if he thought it was a bad idea,” he says as though it should be obvious. “He is a doctor.”
“Yes, but shouldn’t I have been the one to ask him?”
He raises one brow. “Did you have plans to?”
No, but . . . I could’ve.
“I’m not going to put you in harm’s way, blow the case, or fuck up your recovery.”
Oh. I guess that makes sense.
“Iamworried,” my mother offers. “I have to get back to California soon, and I feel as though I’m abandoning you. I just . . . I have to get back to the store and other things.”
I’ve been so wrapped up in everything else that I never thought to ask about her life over the last three years.
“You aren’t abandoning me, Mom. I promise,” I tell her. “Besides, I need to remember, which means taking a walk through the last three years of my life. I should be able to handle that, right? Unless, of course, you two would just like to tell me what I’ve been up to?”
Spencer speaks before my mother can. “It sucks, but it’s the only way. We’ll work through it and get you to remember when we can.”
“And if it’s too late?” I ask.
I understand that whatever is in my locked memory will allow the police to find a killer and that tampering with my memory would hinder that, but I don’t understand how telling me where I bank would affect that.
“Too late for what?” my mother questions.
“Everything. What if I never remember? What if Spencer isn’t Sherlock Holmes and can’t help me retrace anything? What if I never find Isaac’s killer and they come back to finish the job?”
Her eyes widen, but Spencer steps forward, points to the corner, and asks, “Do you see that car?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a friend of Emmett’s. He was a Green Beret who did four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He can probably kill us with a pencil from his vehicle.”
I gasp. “That’s not reassuring.”
“It is to me.”
I shake my head. “Someone isn’t going to be able to watch over me at all times.”
He raises one brow. “Want to make a bet? Emmett and I hired Cole Security Forces to maintain full security on both you and Addy until Isaac’s killer is caught and we know you’re not at risk. We have no idea if the person who attacked you and killed Isaac is a woman or a man, who they were actually after, or why they did it. Yeah, we are being a little overprotective, but we promised you that you’d be safe, and I don’t feel bad about it. In fact, I’m rather happy, and I think your brother would be too.”
The fierce protectiveness in his voice causes me to step back a little. I can see the stress in his eyes, and I would be lying if I said I don’t feel a little more comfortable.
My mother’s fingers settle around my forearm. “Knowing that does make me feel a lot better about leaving.”
He nods once. “No one is willing to lose you too, Brielle.”
“I know.”
He forces a smile and glances toward the building. “How about we go inside and get started?”
I exhale, nerves hitting me again. “Okay.”
I really hope I find out that I like the person behind the door.
ChapterSix
