Page 27 of Tracing Her Stolen Identity
“Oh.” That was all she said, because saying anything more would have ended in tears. Once she started crying, she wasn’t sure she could stop.
“He’s really worried about you. Roman and Cal had to talk him down off the ledge after he left you here.”
“He’s always been my defender,” she agreed, still not making eye contact. “He feels guilty for what happened to me, even though it wasn’t his fault.”
“There isn’t a person in this building who doesn’t understand that, too. We also understand pushing people away because we think it’s in their best interest.”
“It is,” she assured the woman. “Now he knows it, too. If there’s one thing this episode did, it taught him what my life is like and why he doesn’t want to be part of it.”
“But what if he does?”
Skylar shook her head wildly. “He doesn’t. Not after what he saw today. The accident hasn’t been kind.”
“You’re upset that he saw your stoma?”
“I’m upset that he saw it all,” she whispered. “My para-belly, the stoma, my body’s reaction to the situation.” Sheshook her head against the pillow. “It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter.”
“It feels kind of like it matters, Skylar. You’re a woman. Understandably, you don’t want your crush to see you like this.”
“He’s not my crush.” The words were vehement even if they weren’t true. “I didn’t want him to see it because he’d just feel worse about the accident. It’s bad enough I had to call him and ask for help. I knew he’d do it out of guilt, but I had nowhere else to turn.”
“He’s not helping you out of guilt, Skylar. He’s helping you because he cares about you, whether you like it or not. Honestly, that’s his right. You’re a beautiful woman, para-belly, stoma and all. You can’t blame him for being attracted to you.”
“He’s not. We’re old friends in a strange situation.”
“Okay, well, let’s just say your para-belly and stoma are the least important part of who you are and Reece knows that. I’m not a therapist or a psychiatrist, but I do recommend that you talk to him about what happened. Be honest with him about how you’re feeling so he can be honest about the same.”
Selina patted her hand and then released it to take her blood pressure again. Skylar closed her eyes, but all she could see was the look of concern on his face. That was when she realized he had never taken his eyes off hers. Maybe he hadn’t seen as much as she thought or didn’t register it if he had. Did it matter? No. He should see it all. Let him see her sagging belly and the tube doing what she no longer could. Maybe it was the reality check he needed after that kiss this morning. She would cherish it foreveras the one and only kiss she’d get from the only man she would ever love. That didn’t mean she wanted him to stay with her. It meant that she loved him enough to let him go.
Chapter Fourteen
Mina walked into the conference room with her lips in a thin line. Cal and Iris Knowles followed her into the room. Iris was a member of the Secure Watch team and was second to none in her work, but she struggled with social situations, so Reece was surprised to see her here. He had no doubt what she was about to tell them was anything but good news.
The only good news he’d gotten today was when Selina called him an hour ago to say that Sky was ready to leave the med bay. He’d dropped what he was doing and run down there to help. Once she was back in her chair and he’d taken the information Selina had given him about what to watch for should the autonomic dysreflexia flare, they’d returned to the command center to work through the videos on her Facebook page. He wanted her to rest, but she insisted she was fine and wanted to resolve this sooner rather than later. He didn’t blame her. He couldn’t imagine what it must be like to be in her shoes and not know if she would get her life back. He’d worked with many people in the same situation during his career, but it was different when it was someone you were close to. He hated using the past tense when it came to Sky and prayed that he nolonger had to when this was over. But the look on Mina’s face told him they might be a step closer to answers.
“I have news,” she said, setting the tablet down.
“It doesn’t seem like good news, judging by the look on your face,” Sky said from beside him. He smiled. She was never about mincing words.
“You could say that,” Cal agreed, glancing at Mina. “We’ll walk you through it.”
Mina handed a sheet of paper to Reece. “An arrest warrant?” he asked, skimming it. “Wait. I don’t understand. I thought the cops knew she didn’t do this.”
“That’s what we thought as well,” Cal said. “Then I heard from one of my contacts at the Duluth PD that they had no choice but to update the warrant and execute it.”
“I’m confused,” Skylar said. “How are they going to arrest someone who doesn’t exist?”
“That’s where things get interesting,” Mina said, and Reece could see the wheels spinning in her head. She had found a thread to pull and was giddily unwinding it. “Skylar Sullivan once again exists in the world. Everything has been restored except for your social media pages. Binate is still controlling those.”
“And your bank accounts have been restored but emptied,” Cal added. Skylar gasped, but Cal held up his hand so he could finish. “Your accounts are protected, so we’re gathering the proper information to send the bank so your balances can be restored once you’re clear of this.”
“And you think the sudden return to the living for Skylar Sullivan was for the purpose of the arrest warrant?” Reece asked Mina, who nodded.
“I believe that Binate finally forced their hand by causing damage to enough galleries that they didn’t have achoice. Since Skylar is now ‘missing—’” she added air quotes “—it looks like she ran.”
“Pun not intended,” Sky added, making his lips twitch.
“Rolled,” Mina said, with the tip of her fake hat.
