The Darkest Hour (KGI #1)(25)

“There’s a lot I don’t remember,” she said hesitantly. Would it anger him that she could only remember bits and pieces of their life together? Not only that, but she could barely remember her.

As if sensing her turmoil, he pulled away. He stared down at her, his eyes suddenly troubled. Almost guilty. Her eyes narrowed in puzzlement. What would he have to feel guilty over?

“It’ll be okay, baby,” he soothed. “It’ll come back in time, and we’ll face it together. The important thing is that I have you back.”

“What did she give me? The doctor. I feel...”

“Are you in pain? Do you want me to get her?”

She shook her head. “No. I feel . . .” She mentally examined her physical state. “Quiet. My mind is quiet. My skin isn’t crawling and yet I know it’s there, waiting to come back.”

He gently touched her face, his fingertips sliding over her cheekbone and to her lips. “We’ll beat this.”

She closed her eyes as grief settled, thick and suffocating. “What did they do to me? Why?”

Ethan’s hands stilled on her face. “I don’t know why.” Anger tightened his voice. She opened her eyes to see fury reflected in his. “I won’t let it happen again. I protect what’s mine.”

A peculiar prickle shivered up her spine, leaving a warm glow in its wake. Her chest fluttered, and something inside her long dead awakened and unfurled.

She belonged to this man. He’d keep her safe.

“Tell me about us,” she whispered.

He smiled then, and it transformed his face. Gone was the serious, gruff man, replaced by boyish charm. It was a marvelous thing to behold.

“We were married three years ago.”

Her brow wrinkled. “Oh, not long then.”

His eyes lost some of their shine. “No, not long.”

If she concentrated hard, she could summon distant memories. It was odd. Though she could remember them, it was as if they belonged to someone else. The connection to her hadn’t been forged in her tattered mind.

“Did Garrett give me away at our wedding?”

Ethan stilled and then slowly nodded.

“I remember that. He told me I was the most beautiful bride in the world.”

“And you were.”

“I remember seeing you, waiting for me.”

Ethan hesitated for a moment. “What else do you remember?”

She sighed. “It’s sort of a mess. I mean I remember lots of random things, but I don’t have a clear chronological list of events. It’s like someone’s shooting out-of-order pictures at me.”

“Don’t rush it. You’ve been through a lot. When I get you home, and you feel safe again, you’ll remember.”

She cocked her head to the side for a moment. “How many brothers do you have? I only remember Garrett. Sam . . . he scares me. And there’s another here. Donovan?”

Ethan smiled. “Garrett is usually the one who scares people. Sam is the oldest, but you’d think Garrett was.”

“Garrett wouldn’t hurt me.”

“Neither would Sam,” he said gently. “To answer your question, there are six of us in all. Nathan and Joe are twins and they’re deployed to Afghanistan.”

“Do I have any family? It seems odd that I would remember Garrett but not my own family.”

He shook his head. “You were an only child, and your parents died in a car accident several years ago.”

“Oh.” She couldn’t help the disappointment that accompanied his statement.

“You were very close to my mom, though. She and Dad both loved you like a daughter. You were a part of the family long before I married you.”

She relaxed and smiled. Then her forehead furrowed as she remembered one detail. “They think I’m dead. Like you did.”

Ethan sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair.

“How did you know? I mean how did you find me?”

She trembled as she spoke, and already she could feel the slow crawl of need creep over her skin.

“It’s a long story, baby, and right now it isn’t important. What is important is that I found you. You’re a miracle to us all. Mom and Dad are going to be so thrilled. I don’t know yet how I’m going to tell them. They’ll think I’m crazy.”

“I’m hungry,” she blurted. She rubbed her hand over her arm, trying to make the itch go away. Hunger beat at her, but she wasn’t sure which was more prevalent: the hunger for food or the hunger for the needle.

She could feel the needle sinking into her flesh, welcomed it, wanted the horrible ache to go away.

Ethan’s hand closed warmly over hers. “I’ll be right back.”

He eased from the bed and left the room after a quick look back at Rachel. Whatever Maren had given her was wearing off, and she was becoming agitated again.

He stuck his head in the doorway of Cole’s room to see him passed out cold. From there he passed Steele’s room, only to find it empty, not that it surprised him. He nearly bumped into Maren as she came out of Dolphin’s room.

“Is there a place we can get some food?” Ethan asked. “Rachel’s hungry.”

“That’s good. She needs to eat. But take it easy. Don’t give her too much too quickly. I have a small kitchen in the back where we can nuke some soup.”