Page 3 of Fracture

“I’m fine,” she hissed.

She was being a bitch to everyone. She fucking hated feeling like she was incapable of doing something, and at the moment, she was incapable of doing everything. She couldn’t go to the bathroom alone. She couldn’t sit up. She could speak or think or remember anything.

All she wanted to do was cry and scream and remember who she was and what happened to her.

“Maybe we should do this another time,” Vinnie suggested firmly.

The woman sighed heavily. She glared at Vinnie, but he didn’t blink. She looked back at Lorelei and flipped her tablet closed. “Fine. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” Vinnie said in a tone that suggested he was less than grateful.

Lorelei watched the woman walk out of the room. She knew there was a reason she was there, but everything was so mixed up that she didn’t know what it was. “Who was that?”

Vinnie moved to the chair next to the bed. “That was Alexis Waterford. She’s an FBI Agent in your old office. She said you didn’t work together, so you only met a handful of times, but she is trying to find whoever attacked you.”

Lorelei nodded, trying to pretend she followed any of that. She’d been told over and over again that she was an FBI Agent, but she wasn’t even sure what that really meant. Since she woke up the day before with Vinnie hovering over her, she hadn’t recognized anyone or anything. It was all foreign to her, including the woman in the mirror.

The doctors said it was because of the assault. She’d been beaten so badly she didn’t recognize herself, but shouldn’t she recognize something? Her eyes, her hair? Something?

For all Lorelei knew, it was a stranger staring back at her.

The only thing she was sure of was that Vinnie was one of the good guys. She couldn’t explain how she knew that, but she did. He saved her. He protected her. He hadn’t left her side since she woke up.

A knock on the door made Vinnie tense. He moved around the bed to check whoever was at the door before opening it.

“Vinnie Morgan?” a man asked.

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry—Oof,” Vinnie said.

The machine Lorelei was connected to beeped quickly with her panic. Someone hit Vinnie or did something to knock the words out of him.

“Thank you,” the other man whispered.

What did that mean?

“Happy I made it in time, sir,” Vinnie said.

Who the hell?—?

The curtain separating Lorelei from the men slid to the side, and they both stepped back into view. Lorelei’s gaze slid down Vinnie, cataloging him to make sure he wasn’t harmed.

Satisfied her protector was okay, she looked at the other man. Blond hair, blue eyes. White. There was something… maybe… familiar about him, but Lorelei wasn’t sure what it was.

“Holy fuck. Are you okay?” He moved toward her quickly, crossing the space before Lorelei could say anything.

She recoiled when he reached out to touch her, and he pulled back.

“Sorry. I should have asked where your injuries are. I was just going to touch your hand,” the blond man said.

“Who…” She looked from him to Vinnie, then back to the blond man.

“This is Adam Johnson. He’s your partner. At the FBI,” Vinnie said.

Lorelei looked at the man.

He held her gaze for a moment, then turned to Vinnie. “Why are you telling her who I am?”

“She doesn’t remember anything from before yesterday. Who took her, from where, where she was held. And she doesn’t remember who she is. You’re the first one to show up that she should know, but clearly she doesn’t know you either.”