Sinister Shadows

by Brittany Cournoyer

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  Thank you!

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Brittany Cournoyer

  Copyright © 2019 by Brittany Cournoyer

  All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places or events are purely the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, actual events, establishments, businesses or locales is purely coincidental.

  The amazing book cover was done by:

  Designs by Morningstar

  https://www.facebook.com/DesignsbyMorningstar/

  Formatted by: Kate Hawthorne

  Edited by: Aly Hayden

  Proofread by: Kelly Miller

  This is a suspenseful book that depicts stalking, kidnapping, strong language, and adult situations.

  Chapter One

  Beep. Beep. Beep.

  The incessant tone penetrated his ears, rudely pulling him from his slumber.

  What is that noise? He tried to pry his eyes open, but they felt like they’d been sewn shut.

  No matter how hard he tried, they wouldn’t budge, and the noise continued to beep. Where was it coming from? What was it? He needed to find the source so he could shut it off and return to his sleep.

  He thought about lifting his hands to his face and prying his lids open, even if it meant ripping out the strings that’d sewn them shut, but he couldn’t get his limbs to move. A million thoughts flooded his mind. Was he seriously injured? Was he tied down? Had he been kidnapped? Was this a terrible dream and he was experiencing sleep paralysis?

  Before he allowed the ever-increasing anxiety to take over, he willed himself to calm down. He tried to take a deep breath, but it was hard, given the position he was in and because of how heavy his body felt. Not to mention, his mind was still in a fog. He waited a few seconds and then tried to open his eyes again. They finally opened a fraction of an inch.

  This is good, he thought. He tried once more, pushing through the exhaustion that threatened to overtake him again, and used all the strength he could muster to force his eyes open.

  Gritty. That was the only word to describe how his eyes felt. It was if someone had taken sandpaper to them, and the second the harsh light of the room hit his pupils, he had to blink rapidly a few times to stop them from burning.

  When his eyes finally adjusted, all he could see was the textured ceiling tiles directly above his bed.

  “Oh good, you’re awake,” a cheerful, female voice said.

  Turning his head on the uncomfortable pillow, he blinked again and looked at the woman standing beside his bed. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties, with dark brown hair pulled into a ponytail. Her smile was large, and her brown eyes were kind, even though she looked tired. She was wearing navy blue hospital scrubs.

  “Where am I?” he choked out. His throat burned from trying to use it, and his mouth was extremely dry.

  “You don’t remember?”

  He shook his head. “Remember what?”

  “You took a nasty spill and got quite the bump on your head.”

  “Oh.” Only then did he realize the dull ache in his head.

  “Yup,” she told him before walking closer to his bedside and checking the monitors on an IV pole.

  Tracking one of the tubes, he noticed it was attached to the needle that’d been inserted inside his inner elbow. “Am I in the hospital?”

  “You are. You’ve been here for a few days. I’m Ashley; I’ll be your nurse for the day.”

  “A few days? Have I been asleep the entire time?”

  Ashley nodded and typed something on the small tablet in her hand. “It’s normal for the type of head injury you sustained. I’ll let the doctor know you’re awake so he can talk to you and your husband.”

  “My husband?” he rasped, before letting out a dry cough.

  “I’ll go get you some water. Be back in a jiffy.”

  Ashley left before he could say anything else, and he took in his surroundings—the stark white walls, the flat-screen television mounted across from the bed. His bed had scratchy sheets and side rails. A painting of pastel flowers hung near the door, and off to the side was another door to what he assumed was a bathroom. A chair was positioned beside him, and he could see the imprint from where someone had been sitting on it.

  He tried to reposition his legs to get a little more comfortable, and his ankle protested in pain. He lifted the blankets and saw a bandage wrapped tightly around his right ankle.

  “Here you are. Make sure to take small sips so you don’t get sick,” Ashley said, walking back into the room. She handed him a cup with a straw before pressing a button on the side of his bed to raise him into an upright position.

  He put the straw to his lips and took a pull. Instantly, his mouth felt better, and the liquid soothed his parched throat as he swallowed. He took another small sip before putting the cup on the table beside him, mindful of his IV.

  “What happened to my ankle?” he asked.

  “It’s part of the injuries you sustained when you fell. The doctor will be in shortly to explain everything.”

  “Is anyone else here with me? My family?”

  “I saw your husband in the hallway, and he told me he was running down to grab a bite to eat,” Ashley explained. “But he should be back soon.”

  He frowned at her words. “My husband?” he asked again.

  Ashley eyed him curiously. “Yes.”

  He stared down at his left finger and saw it was bare of a wedding ring. “I’m not married.”

  Ashley’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Oh dear,” she said and worried her lip with her teeth.

  He opened his mouth to ask what that meant when someone else entered the room—a tall man with dark-brown hair and hazel eyes.

  “Are you the doctor?” he asked as the man walked over to the bed.

  The man glanced at the nurse and his eyes widened. “The doctor warned me this would happen, but I had hoped it wouldn’t.”

  His voice was deep, with slight gravelly undertones. Ashley reached out and touched his arm, and he wondered how familiar they were with each other.

  “No worries. Dr. King said it could also be temporary. You’ll just have to help jog his memory.”

  “How do I do that?”

  “Just talk to him about your life together. Remind him of times you spent together and things like that. Dr. King will also have suggestions.”

  The man cast a dubious look in his direction before turning back to Ashley. “Do you think it’ll work?”

  “All you can do is try,” she said, then left the room.

  It was weird that they were talking about him as if he weren’t in the room, he
had no idea what to say. The strange man moved closer to his bed. His steps were slow and hesitant, and he reached out to grab his hand. He shrank back in the bed, not wanting to let some stranger touch him. Not when he was in an unfamiliar place and unsure what’d happened to him.

  “Duncan, do you know who I am?” the man asked as he shoved his hands inside his pockets.

  “Who’s Duncan?” The name sounded foreign to him.

  The stranger’s eyes narrowed, and he could see the disappointment on his face. “Y-you are.”

  “My name is Duncan?”

  Why didn’t he know his own name? And why didn’t he know the man saying he was his husband?

  “Yes. Duncan Reynolds.”

  That name didn’t sound familiar to him. Hell, none of it did. He averted his eyes from the sad ones looking back at him, glancing down at the hospital bracelet attached to his wrist. He twisted his arm and saw the name printed on it—Duncan Reynolds.

  “And you are?”

  “I’m Pierce. I’m your husband.”

  Duncan sucked in a breath. “I’m not married.”

  Pierce stepped closer to the bed. “Yes, you are. We got married a little over a year ago.”

  Duncan looked down at his bare finger, before looking back at Pierce. “No ring?”

  “You lost it a few weeks ago when we were at the beach. We were in the process of getting you a new one when the…the accident happened.”

  Duncan opened his mouth to ask about the accident when a knock sounded on his door. He peered over Pierce’s shoulder as a man wearing scrubs walked in.

  “Good afternoon. I’m Dr. King. It’s good to see you finally awake, Mr. Reynolds.”

  “What happened?” Duncan asked.

  “You were out for a run and tripped over a crack in the sidewalk. The fall made you severely sprain your ankle and hit your head, which gave you a concussion.”

  “Dr. King, he doesn’t remember anything,” Pierce said quietly.

  “Ashley warned me. Unfortunately, head injuries are subjective. While one person might not have any problems, another person might have several—such as Duncan here. We have no timetable for when his memory will return. All you can do is show him things to help trigger his memory and hope it returns soon.”

  “When can I go home?” Duncan asked after taking in all the doctor told him.

  “I want to monitor you another night and do another MRI to check your head injury. If all looks well, your husband can take you home in a few days.”

  Duncan nodded as Pierce shook the doctor’s hand. After he left, Pierce looked at Duncan with a wide smile.

  “That’s great news. I’m sure going home will help with your memory,” Pierce said.

  Duncan gave Pierce a weak smile, but he didn’t feel reassured. Even though Pierce swore he was Duncan’s husband, and had a wedding band on his own finger, Duncan was still hesitant of the man. He had no idea who Pierce was or the supposed life they shared together. So how in the hell could he go home with the man and feel safe about it?

  “I know what you’re thinking, but trust me. It’ll be okay, honey. You’ll see when you’re back home and in your own bed. We have a great life, and hopefully you’ll start to remember it.”

  Duncan took a deep breath. “I hope so too,” he said.

  He still wasn’t so sure, but he had no other choice than to take Pierce’s word for it.

  Chapter Two

  “We live way out here?” Duncan asked after they’d been on the road for over an hour.

  “Yup. We just closed on the house a few months ago, and you were in the middle of decorating it. There isn’t much furniture since you were still deciding on the perfect pieces, but we have enough to keep us comfortable.”

  Duncan only nodded and stared out the window of the SUV as they continued down the tree-lined road.

  “When did I decide to move out of the city?” he finally asked.

  Duncan had been cleared to leave the hospital earlier that morning after spending a few more nights for observation. During that time, Pierce had sat quietly by Duncan’s bed, reading the paper and offering assistance any time he had needed it, leaving only when he needed to stretch his legs or wanted something to eat or drink. While he seemed nice enough, Duncan was still unsure of him. It had taken nearly two hours for the nurse to bring him his discharge papers and prescriptions for pain and an antibiotic, as well as instructions for follow-up appointments. Pierce waited patiently, seemingly the dutiful husband as he offered to help Duncan change into clean clothes, but Duncan refused and let the nurse do it, instead. When it was finally time to leave, Pierce insisted on pushing his wheelchair to the SUV that idled by the door. Duncan was apprehensive to leave the hospital and get in the car, but where else would he go?

  Now they were in the car headed home, and Duncan was feeling more unsure of what was going on with each mile eaten with every revolution of the tires. But he shouldn’t be nervous, right? Pierce was his husband, even if Duncan couldn’t remember him.

  “It was something we discussed when we were engaged. You thought the country would be a great place to raise a family, so we started looking as soon as we were able. Our house was the first one we visited, and you fell in love with it immediately.”

  Duncan listened to Pierce’s softly spoken words as the trees whipped past the window. “That’s surprising.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  Duncan shrugged and faced forward. Sliding his eyes to Pierce, he took in the dark stubble that covered Pierce’s strong jaw and the thick black hair he’d combed away from his face.

  “I just feel like I loved the city and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.” Duncan couldn’t explain the feeling, but something deep inside of him was telling something was off.

  “Love has a way of making people change their minds and do something they never envisioned doing before.”

  Duncan glanced down at the hands he had clenched together on his lap. “I guess so.”

  “Trust me, Duncan. Being home will hopefully jog your memory.”

  “I hope.”

  Pierce reached over and covered Duncan’s hands with one of his own. The touch didn’t feel familiar, and Duncan couldn’t help but flinch and move his hand away.

  He instantly felt guilty when he saw the disappointment Pierce tried to mask. “I’m sorry. I’m not ready.”

  “No, honey. I’m the one who should be sorry. I acted on impulse when I need to be more mindful of your situation. I guess I just missed you when you were in the hospital.”

  “It’s okay,” Duncan said. “How much longer until we reach…home?”

  The word home sounded foreign and uncomfortable to him.

  “Another twenty minutes or so.”

  “Does anyone know I’ve been released? I didn’t have any visitors at the hospital when I woke up. What about my job? Does my boss know I’ll be able to go back to work soon?”

  Peirce shifted in his seat, and Duncan noted the tick in his jaw. “You, uh, you quit your job after we got married and moved here.”

  “What?” Duncan asked and furrowed his brow in confusion. “That…that doesn’t sound possible. I love to work.” Even though he had a hard time remembering even the smallest of details, he knew he preferred being independent and making his own money.

  Pierce shrugged and cast Duncan a look he couldn’t decipher before slowing down the SUV to turn left. “It was your idea. You thought you didn’t have enough time to get the house in order and work full-time. After deciding we could swing it on my pay alone, you gave your resignation.”

  “But…but what about,” he paused as he struggled to remember is boss’s name and wanted to cry when he couldn’t, “my boss?”

  Pierce looked a little shocked at Duncan’s question. “Quinten was okay with you leaving the firm. He reassured you that finding a new paralegal would be easy enough, and he wished you nothing but the best for building our family.”

  “My parents?”<
br />
  Silence settled over the car as Duncan took another turn and started to drive down a narrow, dirt path that seemed to lead them deeper into the woods. The unease Duncan had been feeling since they left the hospital grew heavier, and he tried to shake it off. There were a few houses nestled back in the woods, with only their rooftops visible amongst the thick branches, so they wouldn’t be in complete isolation. Knowing other houses were around had him breathing a bit easier.

  “You don’t remember?” Pierce finally asked quietly.

  “Remember what?”

  “Your parents are gone, Duncan.”

  The way Pierce solemnly spoke told Duncan one thing, but he refused to accept it, and instead, he asked, “Gone where?”

  “Honey, they passed away in a terrible car accident three years ago.”

  Duncan gasped and brought a shaky hand up to his mouth. His jaw quivered, and tears burned his eyes. As his heart beat heavily in his chest before crumbling into a thousand pieces, he closed his eyes and allowed the tears to fall.

  “I’m so sorry,” Pierce said softly.

  Duncan held up his other hand, silently asking Pierce to give him a second. With his eyes squeezed tightly closed, the tears coursed down his cheeks as he mourned the loss of his parents—again. How could he forget something so life changing? And if it was that painful hearing it a second time, how was he able to get through the first? Was Pierce by his side to help him?

  “We’re home,” Pierce murmured as he pulled the car to a stop.

  Duncan forced his eyes open and he lifted the hand from his mouth to swipe over them. Scrubbing down his face to brush the tears away, he took in the large, two-story log cabin nestled deep in the wooded area. The front of the cabin was adorned with a large porch where two wooden rockers were positioned to the left of the door, with a small table between them. It was beautiful, yet rustic and inviting.