Page 20 of The Beast

‘It’s…” The tears roll down my face and the doctor looks to someone on my right and says quickly, “Tell her your name, it may trigger the memory.”

I look to my right and the face staring back at me scares me a little. It’s a man. A dark-haired man with the blackest eyes. He looks worried, angry, and powerful. He scares me a little.

“I’m Angelo, your brother. Your twin brother.”

He seems upset about that and I shake my head. “I’d remember if I had a brother. You must be mistaking me for somebody else.”

I try to ignore the pain in his eyes because I feel responsible for putting it there. He doesn’t deserve pain. I don’t either, but something is telling me I have a lot of pain in my life.

He looks to the person on my left and I swing my gaze to take a look and my heart skips a beat because this man is terrifying.

“I’m Alessandro, your…” He hesitates and then says slightly huskily, “Your friend.”

“My friend.”

I roll the word around my mind, hoping it connects with something. Do I have friends? I’m not sure, and the doctor says eagerly, “Do you remember anything at all?”

“No.” I hang my head because I don’t. A lone tear escapes, which somehow frightens me. I can’t cry, please don’t cry.

I can sense the disappointment in the room and close my eyes, waiting to be punished. Why am I waiting to be punished?

The doctor sighs and nods toward the door and the two men leave, even though I can tell it’s the last thing they want to do.

As the door closes behind them, the doctor sits on the bed and takes my hand in his.

“You were involved in an accident where you hit your head. Can you remember anything at all about that?”

“No.” I’m so stupid. I’ve let them all down. They will punish me.

The doctor sighs. “Your name is Winter Delauren, previously Sontauro. One of the men outside is your twin brother, Angelo.”

None of this makes sense and I say miserably, “I’m sorry. I don’t remember.”

He nods and smiles kindly. “It’s fine. Just get some rest and try not to think about it. Your memory will return, I’m sure. Blows to the head can trigger memory loss. It’s probable it’s short term and so enjoy the peace and quiet while you can.”

He winks and heads to the door and I say in a whisper, “Am I in trouble?”

He looks surprised. “No, why?”

“You mean you won’t punish me.”

Now he just looks uncomfortable. “Of course not. Like your friend said, you’re safe here.”

“My friend. Alessandro.”

He nods. I’m strangely comforted that I have a friend at least and I sigh and close my eyes, hearing the click of the door on his way out. I have a brother and a friend but why does it feel as if something important is missing?

CHAPTER11

ALESSANDRO

Angelo looks as if Winter just stabbed him in the heart and I’m feeling the same.

“That fucking bastard! What has he done to my sister?”

The anger sizzles around him like a lit trail of dynamite. “She’s lost her memory. It’s obvious the blow to her head caused it.”

“Are you certain of that?”

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