His Badge, Her Baby...Their Family?

Annoyed that Evan considered him too weak to handle the situation, Vince scowled at him. “She’s my ex. I’ll do this job. You just back me up.”

Evan studied him for a long moment, then nodded. “If that’s the way you want it. I’ll be right behind you.”

Trying not to let himself think too much, Vince opened the door and walked back to the bed with Evan following close on his heels. By now Geena had elevated the head of the bed so that she was in a half-sitting position.

Vince’s gaze was taking a furtive survey of her face when something else caught his attention. Although she was covered completely, it was very evident that her belly was far from normal size.

She was pregnant! And from the look of her, she couldn’t be far from her delivery date.

His mind racing in a thousand directions, he pulled a leather holder from the side of his belt and held it up so that she could view his badge.

“Sorry about the interruption,” he said. “Let me start this over. I’m Detective Vincent Parcell. And this is Detective Evan Calhoun. Do you feel like answering a few questions?”

Working as a detective for many years had taught Vince how to read the subtle expressions and reactions on a person’s face. Now as he carefully watched a mix of doubt and confusion flicker in Geena’s eyes, it was clear she didn’t recognize his name or the sight of him. She had no clue she was looking at her ex-husband, and the reality of that cut him like a knife.

“My head hurts,” she mumbled. “But I’ll try. Why are you here, anyway? I wrecked my car. That isn’t a crime, is it?”

The soft, raspy sound of her voice hadn’t changed, Vince thought. Neither had her lovely features. Her smoky green eyes were still veiled by thick brown lashes and her plush pink lips bracketed by a pair of faint dimples. The proud thrust of her delicate chin was just as he remembered, along with a perfect little turned-up nose. Oh, yes, this was his Geena all right, he thought grimly. At least on the outside.

He answered her question, “No. It’s not a crime. Not unless you were driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Or you were driving recklessly.”

Her gaze focused on his face, and Vince could see confusion swimming in the green depths of her eyes. But to his immense relief, she didn’t appear to be drunk.

“I told the highway patrolman I didn’t remember what happened. I only recall crawling away from the car. There was a small explosion and then the flames started. They were small at first, but then the fire grew so big I couldn’t see the car. By the time the firemen and paramedics got there, everything was burned. That’s all I know.”

Vince exchanged a grim look with Evan before turning his attention back to Geena. “So can you tell us your name and address?” he asked gently.

A deep frown furrowed her brow, and Vince could see she was struggling to think.

“I’ve been trying very hard to remember, but I don’t know who I am or where I came from.”

Fear and regret were laced through her words, and Vince could only imagine the terror that had to be consuming her thoughts. Right now she was in an unfamiliar place where every face was that of a stranger. Her baby was coming soon, and she clearly had no idea how to locate the father. At this point, the Geena he’d been married to would have been sobbing hysterically. Either she’d drastically changed, he decided, or the accident was playing havoc with her normal demeanor.

I can tell you exactly who you are. You were my wife for five years. You made love to me and slept in my arms.

Shaking away the voice in his head, Vince asked, “Has a doctor spoken to you about your injuries?”

Her eyes misted over, but she swallowed hard and quickly gathered her emotions. “Yes. He tells me I have a concussion and it’s caused me to have amnesia. He couldn’t find anything else wrong. My baby is okay. But I don’t remember anything about my pregnancy—when I’m due, or even the father! It’s maddening!”

The uneasy feeling that had come over Vince when he’d first walked up to the scene of Geena’s accident had suddenly grown to a menacing cloud hovering over his head. What was he going to do? He couldn’t simply blurt out that he knew who she was, or that she’d once been his wife. She’d gone through a traumatic accident. No telling what the shock might do to her. No, Vince decided, before he could even consider revealing that bit of truth to her, he needed to speak with her doctor.

“Do you have any idea why you were on the highway leading into Carson City?” he continued. “Where you were going?”

With a miserable shake of her head, she said, “No. And now everything I had—my ID, my vehicle—they’re gone!”

As her voice rose to a frantic note, Evan stepped up to Vince’s side, as though to say he believed she’d had enough questions for one night. But Vince had already come to that conclusion.

Trying to sound as positive as possible, Vince said, “Don’t worry. By tomorrow you’ll probably start remembering. And if you don’t, we have ways of figuring out all these things.”

The expression on her face was the same imploring look she’d given him years ago when she’d begged him to give up being a lawman. The look in her eyes had torn at him then, just as it was tearing at him now.

“I hope you’re right. Without my car or money I can’t go anywhere,” she said, then let out a miserable groan. “Dear God, what am I thinking? Money or transportation won’t solve my problems. I wouldn’t know where to go to find my home!”

Her home had once been with him, Vince thought. Now she was a lost little thing without a clue of her past or future. Nothing about this felt real.

Evan slanted her a reassuring smile, which was just what she needed at this very moment. But try as he might, Vince couldn’t follow his partner’s example. His face felt frozen.

Evan must have realized Vince had become dazed with it all, because he suddenly spoke up. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure out where you belong. Right now you need to rest. Vince and I will be back tomorrow.”

The words didn’t appear to give her much relief, as she touched fingertips to the bandage on her temple and closed her eyes.

“Thank you,” she said glumly.

“No thanks are needed, ma’am. We’re just doing our job,” Evan told her.

Vince couldn’t bring himself to say another word. He was too busy fighting the urge to pull her into his arms. What in hell was coming over him? This woman had been completely out of his life for six years. He shouldn’t be feeling anything except the need to find her family.

Turning on his heel, he strode out of the room and didn’t stop until he was several feet down the corridor. He was leaning a shoulder against the wall and wiping a hand over his face when Evan came up behind him.

“That woman isn’t putting on an act, Vince. She truly doesn’t remember.”

Vince squeezed his eyes shut and tried to shove away the raw emotions tearing through him. “Yeah. That much is obvious.”

“You didn’t know she was in the area?”

“Hell, no!” Vince muttered. “I would’ve already told you.”

“Sorry I asked. I know we don’t keep things from each other. But I thought—well, from everything you’ve told me about your marriage, I realize she’s a bit of a sore spot and you might not have wanted to bring it up.”

Vince let out a heavy breath before turning to face his partner. “I don’t have a clue what reason she might have for coming to Carson City,” he said, then let out a rueful groan. “Clearly she doesn’t, either.”

“So when are you going to tell her? I mean, who she is. That might be a start to easing her mind. And who knows, maybe she was on her way here to see you.”

Evan’s suggestion brought him up short. “That’s crazy! She couldn’t have been coming here to see me. After we divorced, all ties between us were dropped. For all she knew I could’ve been living in Alaska.”

“Hmm. You know as well as I that if she wanted to locate you, all she needed to do was make a quick computer search and she would’ve known exactly where you lived.”

Shaking his head, Vince started walking in the direction of the elevator. “That’s true. If she’d wanted to locate me. But I’d bet money she was driving into Carson City for some other reason. So let’s go see what our data tells us about Geena.”

Evan caught up to him. “You know she’s Geena, but what is her last name now? Yours? Her maiden name? A new husband’s name? This might not be simple.”

Vince didn’t expect anything about Geena’s case to be simple. In fact, he figured being shot again would be easier to handle than dealing with his ex-wife. But he’d never shirked his duty or asked to be taken off a case just because he found it to be uncomfortable. And he wasn’t about to start now.

“No. But let’s hope it will be.”

Without warning, Evan reached over and caught Vince by the arm.

Stopping in his tracks, Vince looked at him. “What now?”