Page 22 of Desire Me
Leah lowered the bed rail and leaned her hip on the mattress, facing Rae. She pushed the tissue into Rae’s hand. “It is. I know this has to be scary and overwhelming, but no matter how it feels, you’re not alone.”
Wasn’t she? Alone with no memories, a blank black slate of nothingness that erased any anchor she might have had.
Except that name. Rae with ane.
“Rae,” she said out loud.
Leah ducked her head to meet Rae’s lowered gaze. “How does it feel, the name?”
“It feels…right. Like it fits somehow.”
Remi circled the bed until he stood on her opposite side. “And the man? How does he feel?”
She lifted her chin, met Remi’s questioning gaze. “I don’t know.”
There was something there; she couldn’t deny that. But it didn’t feel like he was familiar. More like attraction, maybe? Which was ridiculous. She was sitting in a hospital bed, bruised and broken and anchorless. Attraction was the last thing a man would feel for her right now, or that she should be feeling for a man.
But those lips…
“We won’t let him stay,” Leah said firmly, seeming to come to a decision. “There’s no proof of his story. We can—”
“You said you’d met him before?”
Leah tightened her lips before nodding. “We have. He works for a security firm here in Atlanta.”
“A very good one,” Remi added. “They’ve got a solid reputation. His team helped us with a situation last month.”
Rae met the intelligent amber eyes that reminded her of an eagle’s. “You worked with him.”
“His team, yes.”
“What did you think of them?”
Remi seemed to give that careful consideration before he spoke. “They’re solid. I don’t know anything about them personally—the other man, King, is a teammate, along with Dain, their team lead, and a woman, Elliot—but as security specialists, they’re good.”
Rae nodded. Remi knew what he was doing when it came to safety. He’d carefully explained everything about her situation—multiple times, according to Leah, since Rae hadn’t been able to keep the details in her head until a couple of days ago—and he and his brothers had access to security and technology she had no hope of wrapping her brain around, but it was significant. If he’d asked for Saint’s team’s help, they must be more than good. “And…Saint personally?”
This time Remi shook his head. “That I don’t know. I need to do some digging.”
“But what does your gut tell you, right now?” Rae asked, needing desperately to know.
Remi didn’t look happy about answering, but he did anyway. “My gut says he’s on the level. But I won’t trust your safety to just my gut.”
Rae reached for his hand and squeezed it, a gentle thank-you, before drawing back. “I know you won’t. But”—she squared her shoulders, trying for as much dignity as she could get in a flimsy hospital gown with no bra—“I’m safe here, at least for the moment. As long as you have eyes on me,” and they did, she knew, “I think it’s okay to let him stay.”
“Rae,” Leah protested.
Remi seemed about to join her, but something in Rae told her she needed to do this. Maybe she actually had a gut instinct as well, even if she didn’t remember using it before.
“I think… I think I need to get to know him, Leah,” she said in a rush. If she had chosen this man, whether she could remember it or not, she needed to explore that. “How else will I ever get back to normal?” Her heartbeat picked up as a sliver of panic crept in. “I won’t be here in the hospital forever. If what he’s saying is true and I’m living with him, I don’t want to get to know him after I leave. I want to know now. And I want Remi, if he’s willing, to find out everything he can about him in the meantime.”
“That’s a given,” Remi said gruffly.
“I know.” She gave the big man a tired smile. “I know neither one of you had to do any of this for me. I can’t thank you enough. I’d be lost without you.” The last words cracked with emotion, but she cleared her throat and went on. “So…you research your way, and I’ll research mine, okay?”
“Will do.”
Chapter Twelve
