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Chapter 26

The fog had thinned by the time they got to Edinburgh, though the skyline was still not visible. Sin didn't want to return to the Tower yet. Charlotte was too fragile, and he needed to make sure she was all right before facing Alex. He turned Phin's car down the close behind his flat and parked. He would call Alex to have someone pick it up. It would need to be searched for possible evidence. He got out and walked around to the passenger side, opening the door. Charlotte sat there, not moving. "Come, darling," he said, taking her hand. "Let's go inside."

"Why are we here?" she asked. "Aren't we safer at the Tower?"

"We'll go there tomorrow," he said, putting his arm around her and leading her to the back door. "And I promise. We're safe tonight. I'll keep you safe." He dropped the car keys off to the owner of the Italian restaurant on the first floor. The smell of fresh baked pizza made his stomach growl. "I appreciate this, Angela. Someone will be by to pick up the Audi shortly," he explained to the elderly woman.

"No worries," she said for the second time, handing him a pizza box and a bottle of red wine. "You look like you could use something to eat." She glanced at Charlie who stood silently at his side. "And so does la ragaza."

He kissed the woman on the forehead. "Thank you for always looking out for me."

She touched his cheek with a floury finger. "You're mi furfante, Sinclair, il bello."

Sin gave her a smile. They got on the lift to the fourth floor and he opened the door to his flat, turning on a light. He set down the food. "You're shivering. Go take a hot shower," he said. "I'll be there in a minute. I need to call Alex."

She looked at him in a daze. "Go on, darling," he repeated. "Go warm up."

* * *

Charlie turned the water on in the shower, but when she went to undress, she found that she couldn't. Instead, she crouched down in a ball in the corner. How could this have happened? Her hands clutched her head as she tried to make herself remember correctly. She knew it was Imogen in that room, not Phinneas. She touched her, felt her. She was so sure. Everything that happened was her fault. This whole thing had been a wild goose chase. Stealing the print from the National Gallery, Sin forging it, the death of Michael, it was all her fault.

"Hey," Sin said, coming into the room. He bent down next to her, taking her into his arms. "It's going to be all right."

"No, it's not," she said. He undressed quickly and helped her up, pulling the sweater over her head and removing her jeans. He took her into the shower, holding her under the warm water. She flinched, the water burning the area on her back where the knife had cut her.

"I spoke to Alex," Sin said softly, rubbing her shoulders. "Dougie was able to locate Imogen through the police database. She's in London, staying with her grandmother. The police advised her to leave after her flat was broken into and you went missing. She's safe."

Tears of relief flooded her eyes. Yet how could she have been so wrong?

"Shh," he whispered. "It's over now." He poured shower gel onto a sponge and began to wash her with such delicate care, as if she was made of fine china. His hand gently skimmed over her breasts, down her stomach and along her thighs. He turned her, and she felt him pause. "I'll need to clean it," he said, his voice wounded and thick.

"It's okay." She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "Go ahead." He was tender, taking his time as he cleaned around the edges. She stiffened when he got to the actual wound. Tears streamed down her face and she was thankful she had been unconscious when Dr. Forbes had disinfected her stomach. This was just one spot and it stung like hell. "Sorry," Sin said. "I'm almost done."

"What is it?" she asked, though she already knew, Sokolov's voice repeating in her mind.

"The letter W."

Whore. Maybe she was, maybe Sokolov was right. She left her fiancé at the altar, a man she never let touch her in that way and then slept with the first man she could. The shower and steam suddenly seemed suffocating. "I think I need to get out or I might pass out."

Sin rinsed her quickly, then turned off the water and wrapped her in a towel. He brought her into the bedroom and sat her on the bed. She began to shiver again. "Here," he said, rummaging through his closet. He pulled out a royal blue Ranger sweatshirt and helped her put it on. It was large and warm and smelled of Sin. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to find anything to use to anchor herself in reality. Sin put on a pair of sweatpants and combed her hair out, then he brought her into the living room. She sat on the couch while he poured them both a glass of wine and brought the box of pizza over, laying it on the coffee table.

"What happens now?" she asked, taking the glass from him. This was the first thing she'd had since breakfast and the rich cherry blends of the Chianti sat well on her tongue.

"We'll have to go to the Tower tomorrow. Alex will want to know what happened." He sat down next to her and grabbed a piece of pizza, biting into it.

"He'll be mad," she said. Sin handed her a slice of pizza, but she set it down. A lump had formed in her throat at the thought of facing Alex. He reminded her of her father, and she wouldn't be able to stand his disappointment.

Sin shook his head. "He won't be mad."

"I wasted your time. Look at everything that has transpired because I remembered wrong. Two men are dead."

"Charlotte, you didn't remember wrong, darling. Sokolov manipulated your memory. This is his fault, and those deaths had nothing to do with you. They're on him."

"I should have been stronger. I should have remembered right." She set her glass down, running her hands through her hair. "I feel like I'm going mad. How could I not remember the right thing? How will I ever be able to trust my memories?"

"Christ, lass, look what he did to you? No one could withstand that."

"No," she said. "I will never look. He's already taken my mind. If I look, then I have to acknowledge it and it will become a part of me. He will become a part of me forever. He'll become a part of my soul."