by MJ Rodgers
“What did the wise man do?”
“He told the men there was a way in which he could help them all. He instructed them to sit in a circle and take off one of their shoes. Then he told them to place the shoe in the center of the circle. When they had done that, he told them that he would clap three times, and whatever man’s shoe they reached for would be the new trouble they would assume. Their old trouble would be passed to the man who got their shoe.”
“What happened?”
“At the third clap the men lunged forward and feverishly grabbed—for their own shoe.”
Briana nodded. “I can believe it. What we know may be scary enough to make us quake in our shoes, but it’s still preferable to stepping into the unknown.”
Michael rested his hand on hers. “It’s easier to take that first step into the unknown when you have someone with you.”
She looked straight at him. There was a deep trust in her crystal eyes, and a steady light of warmth that he welcomed as a doctor and was doing his best to ignore as a man.
“I don’t want to go back to that house,” she said. “Not until I know what happened to me there.”
“I agree you shouldn’t—mustn’t—go there until you have prepared yourself to face it.”
He removed his hand from hers. He knew he should not be touching her in any way, for any reason. But he also knew that the times he touched her, she had needed to be touched. He was responding to her needs instinctively, with a gut feeling that went beyond professional ethics and logic—and every scrap of common sense he possessed.
The soft sound of an old-fashioned bell chime echoed through the room.
“What was that?” Briana asked.
“The institute’s doorbell. When there’s no guard on duty, the chime is transmitted into the offices, just in case we’re expecting someone.”
“Are you?”
“No. The institute is closed until after the New Year.”
“Fay knows we’re here. Could it be her?”
Michael swung to his feet. “She’s in Reno with her family. Besides, she’d use her key. As would Nathaniel Quinn, if it were he.”
“Maybe it’s an intrepid Girl Scout selling cookies.”
Briana’s attempt at light humor brought a smile to Michael’s lips. Despite everything, she could still joke. Where there was laughter, there was always hope. He walked over to the intercom and pushed the button to talk.
“Yes?”
“I’m looking for Dr. Michael Sands,” a woman’s voice said.
There was something familiar about that voice. “And you are?” Michael asked.
“Sergeant Elena Vierra, Las Vegas police.”
A warning shot up Michael’s spine.
“I’ll be there in a minute, Sergeant,” he said evenly, before shutting off the microphone and turning back to Briana.
Briana rose to face him. “Well, unless it’s all your outstanding speeding tickets, Michael, she’s here about me.”
He saw the worry clouding her eyes.
“I’ll see what it’s all about,” he promised.
“I’d best go with you.”
“It might be better if you stay out of sight until I hear what she has to say.”
“Sergeant Vierra is going to ask you if you know where I am, isn’t she?”
“More than likely.”
“What are you going to tell her?”
“Depends on what she tells me.”
“Michael, I need to hear what she has to say.”
“All right, Briana. I’ll bring Sergeant Vierra back here. Wait in the bathroom there and leave the door ajar. That way, you can hear what she says without her knowing you’re there.”
Briana nodded.
Michael left the office and headed for the rotunda and the entrance, where Sergeant Vierra waited. When he opened the institute’s door, he found a large man with glossy brown hair and wary eyes standing beside the sergeant.
The man wasn’t wearing the clothes or the look of a policeman. He exuded a different type of authority—the kind that came with birth and privilege and the new red Ferrari sitting beside the police car in the parking lot
Michael led the way into his office and beckoned them to chairs.
“So, Sergeant, what brings you out here?” he asked as he seated himself behind his desk.
“Dr. Sands, this is H. Sheldon Ayton the Third,” Vierra said.
Ayton. Michael’s nerves went on immediate alert. He exchanged a guarded glance with the man sitting across from him.
“Dr. Sands.”
There was a cold crispness to Ayton’s voice that Michael recognized. He’d rubbed shoulders often enough with the rich and famous to know when a man so favorably endowed had let it go to his head.
Michael could feel Sergeant Vierra’s eyes on his face. He knew she was looking for a sign that Michael had recognized the Ayton name. Michael gave her none.
When he redirected his glance to hers, he found more than the usual irritation in her eyes.
“Dr. Sands, Mr. Ayton is looking for his bride, who disappeared on Christmas Eve from the wedding reception at their home.”
If Sergeant Vierra had hoped to catch Michael off guard with that statement, she was going to be disappointed again. He had prepared himself to hear something like this. He stared at her blandly, as though waiting for a further explanation.
A very quiet, uncomfortable moment passed.
“Damn it, Sands, where is she?” Ayton demanded finally, coming forward in his chair, his impatience obviously getting the better of him.
“Where is who?” Michael asked as he calmly gazed into the man’s angry eyes.
“My wife, of course! We know she was with you on Christmas Eve. What have you done with her?”
“You’re mistaken. I do not know a Mrs. Ayton.”
“Her maiden name was Newcastle,” Sergeant Vierra supplied. “Natalie Newcastle.”
“I don’t know a Natalie Newcastle, either.”
Sergeant Vierra stood up and handed a photo to Michael.
“You know her, don’t you?” Vierra asked him challengingly.
Michael studied the photo. It was a good likeness, posed in a studio by someone who knew what he was doing. The lady’s personality shone through her lovely crystalline eyes.
“Yes, I know her,” Michael admitted.
“That woman is my wife,” Sheldon Ayton said, grabbing back the photo.
“Can you prove it?”
Sheldon shot to his feet. “This is ridiculous. Where is she? I demand to see her!”
Michael remained seated and relaxed as he gazed at the big man who towered menacingly over his desk.
“Your demand means nothing to me.”
“Do you know who I am?”
“Yes. You’re a man who is going to get thrown out of my office if you don’t start acting civilized.”
Ayton’s face darkened. “I don’t have to take this!”
“Calm down, Mr. Ayton,” Vierra said as she rose to lay a hand on his arm. “Let me handle this.”
She turned to Michael. “Dr. Sands, you and the woman in this picture were in the precinct on Christmas Eve, weren’t you?”
“Yes, and you ordered us to leave.”
Vierra’s cheeks ribboned red at the reminder. “Look, the woman was talking craz—She was obviously confused about her identity. Mr. Ayton has shown me his marriage license and I’ve checked out his story. I’m convinced the woman you were with is his wife.”
“Just as you were convinced she belonged in jail through Christmas?”
“What?” Sheldon demanded as his eyes flew to the sergeant’s face.
“A temporary misunderstanding,” the sergeant said quickly, not looking at Ayton. “Dr. Sands, this is the woman’s husband. He has the right to see her. Where is she?”
“If she wants to see him, she’ll no doubt get in touch “
Sheldon exploded. “Damn it, Sands! You know where she is! If you don�
��t tell me this instant, I’ll… I’ll…”
Michael rose slowly to face the dark-faced, sputtering man. Sheldon Ayton was big and broad and far too ego-inflated to have bothered learning self-control. If he didn’t rein himself in, and soon, he was going to regret it.
“You’ll what, Mr. Ayton?” Michael asked coolly.
Sergeant Vierra seemed to sense that she had a volatile situation on her hands. She stepped slightly in front of Sheldon Ayton as she leaned over the desk.
“Look, Dr. Sands, Mr. Ayton has been worried sick about his missing bride, looking everywhere for her. Surely, you can understand the kind of stress he’s been under, and make allowances for any emotional outbreaks.”
“How dare you apologize for me!” Sheldon roared. “She’s my wife, damn it! And he knows where she is! Hell, he’s probably drugged her and is hiding her in this place! I’m going to get a court order to have it torn apart!”
“You’d be wasting your time,” Briana said suddenly, as she stepped into the room.
Michael tensed, anticipating another outburst from Ayton.
It never came. Sheldon Ayton underwent an astounding metamorphosis the second he turned and saw Briana. The angry light switched off in his eyes. The tension visibly shook out of the shoulders of his suit jacket. It was like watching an attack hound lower its hackles and suddenly become a lapdog. He loped over to Briana, wrapped his arms around her, picked her up off her feet and showered her face with wet kisses.
And that was when Michael’s hackles began to rise.
“Wait, wait, no!” Briana cried.
Michael was out and around his desk in a heartbeat. He wasn’t sure what he would have done to Sheldon Ayton if the man hadn’t set Briana back on her feet, but he suspected it would have been something exceptionally physical and exceptionally painful.
“Natalie, darling, what’s wrong?” Sheldon asked, nothing but bewilderment pouring out of his tone.
Briana firmly extricated herself from his bear hug.
“Well, for one, my name isn’t Natalie. For two, I’m not your darling. Mr. Ayton, you appear to have me confused with someone else.”
“Confused you with—I don’t believe what I’m hearing! Nat, it’s Shel. Your husband. I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
“Not for me.”
Sheldon Ayton exhaled a heavy breath. “The sergeant said you were confused. But I didn’t realize—Darling, you must remember.”
“No, I don’t. I’m sorry.”
“So it’s really true.” Sheldon wrapped an arm around Briana’s shoulders and brought her close to his side. “You’ve lost your memory. No wonder I didn’t hear from you! I couldn’t believe you’d just disappear without a word. I thought some degenerate had taken you. When the sergeant told me you seemed okay, I didn’t believe it.”
“Mr. Ayton, please,” Briana said as she slipped out from his embrace once again.
“Natalie, how can you push me away? How can you be all right and still not know me? This is incredible! I can’t accept it. You hear about these things happening. But you never think it could happen to someone you love.”
“Mr. Ayton—” Briana began.
“Please, darling, it’s Shel. Call me Shel. We’ll get your memory back. Don’t worry. I’ll get you the best help that money can buy. You’ll be your old self again soon. I promise. Come. I’m taking you home.”
Sheldon wrapped his arm around Briana once again and started moving her toward the door. She halted and pushed herself out of his embrace.
“Look, Mr. Ayton, you seem most sincere. And I won’t deny that I haven’t exactly been myself for the last few days. But—”
“Darling, you have amnesia. It’s okay. I understand now.”
“No, Mr. Ayton, you do not understand. I do not have amnesia. I know exactly who I am. My name is Briana Berry. And until I can sort out what has been going on, I’m staying right here.”
“Staying here?” Sheldon’s eyes darted to Michael. Michael could see his fur rise and his teeth bare as the man became the attack hound again. “With him? No way, Nat. You’re coming home with me. You’re my wife!”
Briana retreated to the edge of Michael’s desk. “I am not your wife I don’t even know you. Please stop grabbing me.”
A muscle twitched in Ayton’s jaw. His voice became harsh and concentrated. “Nat, you’re ill. You belong at home with me, where I can take care of you.”
“I belong where I feel comfortable. Dr. Sands has very graciously agreed to take me on as his patient to help me sort things out. I’ve put myself in his hands, and I intend to stay there. I’m not going off with a stranger.”
“Stranger? You prefer this…this…quack to me, your own husband? I won’t have it!”
Sheldon started toward Briana again. Only this time he suddenly found Michael blocking his way. Like a brick wall.
Michael faced the man squarely. They were close to the same height and breadth. He was ready to use reason or a hard right to the jaw, whatever it took.
He could see that knowledge registering in Sheldon Ayton’s very unhappy eyes. Ayton looked over at the sergeant. “I’m taking my wife out of here, and I expect your support.”
“She has the right to make her own decisions, Mr. Ayton,” Sergeant Vierra said. “She’s your wife, not your property. You can’t coerce her into going with you.”
“But she’s not mentally competent! You heard her. She doesn’t even know who she is!”
“Mental competency is out of my bailiwick. Legally, she’s free to do as she pleases.”
“We’ll just see about that!” Sheldon Ayton swung around and stomped toward the door.
He stopped there and turned toward Briana, his eyes blazing. “You’ll come with me, Nat, one way or another!” he shouted before slamming the door behind him.
The reverberation shook the walls.
Sergeant Vierra pulled a folded piece of paper out of her breast pocket and handed it to Briana.
“This is the copy of the marriage license. I’ve seen a tape of the wedding. I’ve even talked to the minister who performed the ceremony. Word of advice, Mrs. Ayton Judges tend to listen to a man with mountains of money who wants his ‘confused’ wife transferred to the care of a doctor back at the old homestead. Comprende?”
Sergeant Vierra didn’t wait for an answer.
Briana turned to Michael the instant Vierra had closed the door behind her.
“Sergeant Vierra was warning me that Ayton’s going to get a court order to take me away.”
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Michael said, picking up the phone.
He punched in the home number of a very good friend who just happened to be the best attorney in Nevada.
“Keith, it’s Michael. I need a marriage annulled.”
“What are the grounds?”
“The bride was incapable of making a reasonable decision.”
“Hell, Michael, isn’t that the definition for being in love?”
“Funny, Keith. What are our chances?”
“If the lady was incapable of assenting due to a want of understanding, it should be a shoo-in.”
“How soon can you get this through?”
“I can file the petition for annulment today.”
“Good. Now I need a stay order from a judge keeping the husband from trying to exert legal control over his wife until the annulment goes through.”
“What kind of control?”
“If I don’t miss my guess, he’s going to try to have her examined by a court psychiatrist and declared legally insane.”
“All under his right as husband, huh? So he marries this lady who’s not of sound mind, and now he wants to commit her because her elevator doesn’t make it to the top floor. Oh, boy, this guy is playing with a loaded deck.”
“Can you deal him out of the game?”
“We’d best go to Judge Manuela Soares on this one. She really hates men who try to control women. I’ll get
the papers drawn up and call over to the courthouse for her schedule. Damn, I forgot it’s Christmas week. I hope Soares is in today.”
“What do you need from me?”
“You and the lady in my office in about an hour.”
“We’ll be landing on your rooftop, just like Santa Claus.”
“Good. For a present, I want a big check.”
“I’ll tie a bow around it,” Michael said as he hung up the phone. He turned to see the clouding of Briana’s eyes.
“It’s all right,” he assured. “I don’t care if he is your husband. I won’t let him take you against your will. I promise.”
“Sergeant Vierra says he’s rich, Michael. He could make trouble for you.”
“He’ll be sorry if he tries. Stop worrying. I’m not.”
She smiled. “But then, you never do. Thank you.”
Michael basked in the warmth that she put into that smile far longer than he knew he should.
He hadn’t known just how strong his feelings for Briana had become until that moment when Sheldon Ayton put his arms around her and showered her face with kisses.
The jealousy had been a sudden wind of white heat sweeping through Michael. He had wanted nothing more at that moment than to beat Sheldon Ayton into a bloody pulp.
He could barely believe the force of his feelings. This was not a good sign. No, not good at all
Briana had gotten to him, fast and deep. And he hadn’t even seen it coming.
“Michael, you’re shaking your head. Why?”
He looked over at her. “I would have sworn there wasn’t a woman alive who could present me with any more surprises.”
She laughed, took it lightly, just as she continued to struggle to take in this untenable situation.
“I didn’t mean to be this surprising, Michael, believe me. So what do we do next?”
“Did the name Natalie Newcastle sound familiar?” he asked.
“No.”
“Did Sheldon Ayton look familiar?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve seen him before?”
“He was the groom in the dream wedding.”
