“But the first time, after you finished your assignment—you came home—you returned to her?”
“Of course I did. Why would you think otherwise? She left me, Emma. I didn’t leave her.” I snarled, then exhaled a long breath. I was beginning to lose my temper and I needed to stay in control. Emma had the answers I needed.
She exchanged glances with Alan, then bent forward, her voice patient. “When you left for your assignment, Alex was upset, and I came to town. After she spoke with you, and she thought you’d hung up on her, she was so despondent, and I suggested she come with me to Calgary. I had a meeting with a potential buyer of my designs.”
I frowned. “I hired a PI. He never found airline tickets issued in her name.”
She shook her head. “They flew me out in a private plane. Ally came as my guest.”
I’d never considered that possibility. I rubbed a hand over my eyes. “I know she was upset. We’d argued the day I left about my leaving, my work—she wasn’t herself. I was so worried about her.” I exhaled hard. “But I didn’t hang up. I accidently dropped the phone in the river. I was in the middle of nowhere and it was the only satellite phone we had. There was no Wi-Fi where we were—we lost all communication.”
Emma nodded. “I suggested that to her, that there was some sort of mishap—I told her that was probably what happened, since it made the most sense. I thought you’d call back as soon as you could.”
“I tried. I sent Tommy to get supplies and he left her messages, but she didn’t respond. Sean tried to get in touch with her, too. When I finally got my phone to turn on I saw a few earlier texts from her, but then nothing for ten days.” I swallowed the thickness in my throat. “Then the next text I got, she told me she never wanted to see me again.”
Emma and Alan exchanged a look. Emma leaned forward, clasping my hand. “I don’t think she got the messages. And she couldn’t have sent you those texts. At that time, Alex was in the hospital, recovering from a head injury—caused by an accident. She had no memory of you, or your relationship.”
I blinked. “What?”
“She suffered a partial memory loss. She can only recall bits and pieces of the past year, and a large chunk is gone completely. Starting before the time you were together. The last clear memory she has is when she was dating Bradley.”
I gaped at her, stunned by her words.
She stood. “I need that drink now.”
I felt numb, unable to even move. “The liquor’s in the cabinet.”
Alan stood, as well, and a few minutes later a glass was pressed into my hand. “I think you need this, Adam.”
I tossed back the shot, allowing the burn to settle through my chest before I spoke once more.
“When? What kind of accident?”
“Two days after your call got cut off, Ally flew to Calgary with me and the next day we were going to get coffee before my meeting. We were crossing the street and a car came around the corner—the driver never stopped. He was drunk, and he hit us both.”
My stomach lurched. “Oh God.”
“Alex was a few steps in front of me. She took the brunt of the hit—she went forward, I was knocked backward.”
“How bad were her injuries?”
“Her ankle was badly broken, and she was covered in bruises and cuts. She hit her head after she rolled across the car, and was in a coma for ten days. They operated on her foot, and she had to have a lot of therapy on it.”
That explained the limp I had seen. It also clarified Emma’s statement that Ally hadn’t sent me any texts. She couldn’t have if she’d been unconscious. I had to clench my hands into tight fists to stop from grabbing something.
“What happened to the driver?”
“It wasn’t his first offense. He went to jail.”
“I hope he rots.” I inhaled a calming breath. “Were you hurt?”
“I was lucky. Some bumps and bruises. A cracked rib,” she replied. “I was released from the hospital the next day.”
“Why didn’t anyone try and contact me? Or even Sean? He would have sent someone to me and let me know what was going on.”
Emma sighed. “Sarah told me she did contact you—right away. When I asked about your lost call to Ally, she said that your communication problem had been resolved. She certainly wasn’t pleased, but she said she spoke to you.”
“She lied. I never spoke to her. I had no missed calls or messages from her. The only thing I had were the texts from Ally’s number.” I growled in frustration. “If I knew—I would have come back right away! Chartered a plane to get to her, Emma!” I stood, unable to stay still any longer. “Fuck! I love her! You think I wouldn’t be here for her? Even if it was days later? I would have come home immediately!”
“Sarah said you asked to be kept updated, but you refused to come back. She told me she spoke with you directly. I had no way to contact you to verify it, and I really had no reason to disbelieve her.”
“She fucking lied. I spoke with no one.”
I paced, a feeling of nausea coursing through my stomach. The whole time I was working on assignment, a stupid job, Ally had been in the hospital. Alone. Needing me. And I had no idea. I had left her with promises of coming back and starting our life together, when I should never have fucking left her in the first place.
Alan lifted his glass as he looked at Emma. “I think she lied about many things. You’d better tell Adam here the whole story.”
“Yes. Tell me everything, Emma.”
“Sarah and Ronald were contacted and they flew to Calgary, and Sarah basically took over. Ronald didn’t stay long. Once I was discharged, I was lucky if I was allowed to go into her room.” She paused and eyed me warily. “Even Bradley flew down.”
I couldn’t help the hiss that came out of my mouth. “But no one fucking called me.”
“I didn’t have your number. Looking back, I should have insisted she give it to me, but I wasn’t thinking clearly. I was too worried about Alex. Sarah had her cellphone and tablet—and she assured me she was keeping you updated when she could get hold of you.”
“You didn’t question the fact I wasn’t there?”
“No, I didn’t. I’m sorry, Adam. I didn’t know you very well, having only met you once. I knew Alex was in love with you, but she was pretty private about things.”
“We tried to stay private because of the hassles Sarah and Ronald gave her all the time. They didn’t like me.”
“They don’t like anyone. They’ve always been very controlling.”
“Continue, please.”
“Alex finally woke up and right away, it was obvious something was wrong. She was confused and agitated. She didn’t know the proper date or why my hair was longer. They did a lot of cognitive tests and realized a big chunk of her life was missing.”
“What happened next?”
Emma frowned. “You have to remember who was in charge. Sarah ran the show, with Ronald in the background pulling the strings, no doubt. Once they were involved, I was shoved aside. I was only allowed to see her for brief intervals and I was never alone with her. Sarah was given power of attorney for Alex for decision making—and that continued after she woke up with so much of her memory gone.”
They took over her life again, this time with full control. I shuddered at the thought. “How convenient.”
“When she woke up and we realized what had happened, Sarah came to me and said she would be staying with Alex through her recovery. She told me it was time to get back to my life now that the danger had passed. She would handle things from there.” Emma paused, fidgeting a little. “I asked her about you, Adam. She told me when she spoke with you and told you of Alex’s memory loss and condition, you informed her you didn’t have time to play nursemaid to someone who didn’t know you. She said”—Emma swallowed and cleared her throat—“she said you wished Alex a good life, but you weren’t going to be part of it anymore.”
Rage coursed through me at her words. “I. Never. F
ucking. Said. That.”
“I didn’t know you very well, but I questioned Sarah about it. It seemed so contradictory to the way Alex described you, or the feeling I got when I saw the two of you together.”
“I would never have deserted her.” I frowned at Emma. “When I came back, I looked for Ally. I hired a PI who got nowhere. I even went to see Sarah. I begged her to tell me where Ally was and she refused.” I looked down at my hands that were twisting and grasping my pant leg in agitation. “She threw it in my face that she had been unhappy with all the traveling I’d been doing. She knew about our fight and told me Ally decided I wasn’t worth the hassle and decided to move on. I was so shocked that she had confided in her, and the way she had broken up with me. It totally threw me.”
Emma’s cheeks colored and Alan reached over to take her hand. “That’s my fault.”
“What do you mean?”
“When Sarah told me what you had supposedly said, I, um, well, I called you a bunch of names and said I couldn’t believe you’d do this, just because the two of you had a fight.” She shook her head. “Sarah sort of played along as if she knew what I was talking about and I told her everything Alex had told me—about your fight and the phone call and how distressed she was she couldn’t get hold of you to apologize.” She sighed. “She was so upset with herself. All she wanted was to hear your voice and know you were all right.”
I sat back in shock.
Ally hadn’t told her mother.
I wasn’t an unfortunate error in judgment.
“She texted Ally while I was at her place,” I frowned. “She showed me her reply.”
Emma raised her eyebrow. “I don’t think it was Alex who replied. None of what happened was Alex.”
Sarah lied. It had all been lies.
When the accident happened, she still loved me. I should have stayed and pushed more—given the PI time and let him do his job. Instead I had let Sarah win, and left. I deserted Ally—again.
I drew in a deep breath.
“Tell me everything, Emma. Don’t leave out a single detail. Especially the part about how Bradley fucking Bennett ended up engaged to my fiancée. Then I can make a plan.”
Her eyes widened. “Your fiancée?”
I nodded emphatically before explaining. “I asked her to marry me before Elena died. She said yes. And I gave her a ring she loved, but we had to have it sized. With everything that happened, though…” I cleared my throat. “We hadn’t told many people. But Sarah knew. She fucking knew.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Fight for her. Get her back.”
“She doesn’t remember you, Adam!”
“Then I’ll get her to fall in love with me again until she does remember. Now start talking.”
I sat back, angry.
Sarah and Ronald had taken her away.
I was going to get her back.
—
I found out quickly when Emma was upset she tended to talk too much. Her hands waved and she was emotional. After about ten minutes of her ramblings I realized the best way to get information would be to ask her questions.
“Why was Sarah here when Ally was in the hospital? She was still in recovery then, wasn’t she?”
“Yes. Sarah went between here and Calgary a lot.” She blew out a big breath. “She had obligations here, as well, she informed me.”
I snarled. “Her only fucking obligation should have been her daughter.” I paused to collect my thoughts. “Why didn’t you return my messages?”
“I didn’t get them.” She sighed. “I wish I had.” She met my stare, her face earnest. “I did call the magazine, trying to find you. They told me you no longer worked there and were out of the country indefinitely. I came by here to check and I ran into one of the tenants. He told me you had moved. I thought Sarah was telling the truth and you had deserted Alex.”
I shook my head. “I thought she had gone because of me. I left so she could return to her life here. There seemed to be no point in staying, so I disappeared.” I swallowed the pain in my throat. “I couldn’t be here without her. It hurt too much.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “I made a huge mistake not keeping the PI on her parents. I let Sarah mess with my head. I should never have left. Or believed a word that came from that woman’s mouth.”
She nodded in sympathy. “We both believed the wrong thing.”
“Tell me about her recovery.”
Emma sighed. “I can’t tell you everything. Like I said, Sarah and Ronald took control of Alex and her life. I saw her only rarely—she remained in Calgary to do her therapy, so I was farther away. And I was blocked from much contact.”
My voice was quiet. “Was she in a lot of pain?”
“Yes—at times, she still is. Her headaches still trouble her. When she’s upset she gets confused and forgets things. They aren’t sure if that’s permanent or if it will go away. The accident left her with a small limp.”
I hated the thought of her in pain. “She hasn’t remembered anything?” It had been four months. “This whole time?”
“No.”
“Vivian told me she had an email with Ally’s resignation.”
“Sarah did that, I think. If she was responsible for the texts to you, I assume she did the emails. She told Alex the hospital felt she was too great a risk to have working there, so she’d been let go. She had Alex’s tablet and phone the whole time.”
“Why does nobody here know what happened? Why the secrecy?”
Emma and Alan exchanged a look. Alan spoke this time. “Emma and I were talking about that. This is conjecturing on my part, but I think they saw this as the perfect opportunity to get rid of you. If no one knew what happened to Alex and she simply moved, you couldn’t find her if you came looking. No one would ask many questions if they thought it was a decision made by Alex. She was such a private person, it wouldn’t seem out of character. They got control of her life again, and they could push her in the direction they wanted her to go.”
I arched my eyebrow. “Big risk considering her memory could come back.”
Alan nodded. “I think they thought it was a risk worth taking.”
Emma broke in. “She hasn’t remembered anything, and now I wonder if that’s why they kept her in Calgary. No memories of you or her life here with you. Although…”
“What?” I prompted.
“Alex showed me her tattoo and asked me when she got it. I told her I didn’t know, since I’d never seen it before. I knew the camera had to do with you and I tried to ask her a few things, wondering if maybe it would jog her memory.” She frowned. “Did you give her a leather band she wore around her ankle?”
A memory of the day I gave it to her flashed through my mind. “Yes.”
“It was in her things from the hospital. She put it on—Sarah hated it, but Alex refused to take it off her ankle. She said it belonged there. She didn’t know how, but it did. I brought it up, too, hoping to stir something in her head.”
“It didn’t, obviously.”
“I think it did. She became upset and agitated. She got a terrible headache and Sarah was furious with me. She pulled me out of the room and told me if I tried to talk about you again, she wouldn’t let me see her anymore.”
My heart sped up. Somewhere, lost inside her head, there had to be memories of me. Of us.
“I’m sorry,” she began, but I held up my hand.
“I don’t blame you in any of this, Emma. The fault is mine. Please know that.”
“Looking back, I know I should have pushed more.”
I huffed a deep sigh. “Looking back, I should have done so many things differently. I shouldn’t have gone on assignment, and I should never have left again until I found her. Let’s not do the whole blame thing and just figure this out, okay?” I asked.
She smiled at me, her eyes damp. “Okay.”
My fingers tapped out an uneven rhythm on the arm of my chair. I drew in a deep breath and ask
ed the question that was burning in my brain. “How did Bradley Bennett get involved in all this?”
“Alex could remember him. In her mind, they were dating. He was in Calgary all the time visiting her. I assume he managed to convince her they were more than they actually ever were.” Emma shook her head. “He’s been in love with her from the start. Alex never saw it.”
“Hardly news.” I ran my finger over my chin. “So when he saw his chance to get her back, he moved in, I’m guessing.”
Emma and Alan nodded.
“I imagine,” I mused, “between them all, they filled her head with lies and stories and made her think she and Bradley were deeply involved. And knowing Ally’s need to make people happy, she went with it, thinking she must have been in love with him. She’s never been able to stand up to them.” I barked out a laugh. “Once she was married to him, they had her. She’s so easily manipulated by them.”
“I think Bradley is safe for her. He’s been there this whole time, and he’s something solid she can hold on to. She’s so lost, she needs that. But I don’t think she’s in love with him.”
“You didn’t question their engagement?”
“I asked her if this was what she wanted and she said yes, but she had to think about it before she answered me. Given our limited contact these days, I had to take her at her word. I didn’t want to drive her further away, or confuse her even more.”
I thought about what she had said to me one time about if she was married and gone she would no longer be their responsibility. “This worked out so well for them, didn’t it? They marry her off to the man they chose, he gets the girl he wants, and fuck the rest of the world. Fuck the man who would give up his life for her,” I snarled. “They don’t give a shit if she’s happy, as long as they get what they want.” I stood. “Well, they aren’t going to get it. Neither them nor that bastard.”
I paced the room, trying to figure out my next move. “Is she happy, Emma?”
“I don’t know if she knows what she is, Adam. She’s been told she’s happy.” She sighed and gave me a small smile. “But she doesn’t glow the way she did when she was with you. She seems confused most of the time. It’s almost as if, like you say, she is just doing this because she feels she has no choice.” She closed her eyes for a moment, a sad expression on her face. “She’s also trying to come to terms with Elena’s death. It hit her hard all over again.”
My Image of You Page 21
