28 Days: a romantic suspense (4 page)

6
:00pm

C
onfusion had wrapped
around Alex the moment he’d heard Saige ask her father, “Did I know Quinten Peterson before I disappeared?” He’d left the restaurant last night with the question rolling over and over in his mind. They needed to talk, that much was certain.

It had been quick thinking on his part when he’d placed his laptop bag in her way and she tripped over it. Why hadn’t she recognized him? He’d kept his back to her father, but Saige had looked him straight in the face, and there had been nothing. No spark…no smile…nothing that had hinted at recognition on her part.

Why the hell did she ask her father about Quinten? She shouldn’t have forgotten his brother as though he was inconsequential, not after the time Alex knew they spent together, away from prying eyes.

He thought finding Saige Lockwood would be difficult. In the end it had been easy, thanks to her father’s assistant. She’d told him where Richard Lockwood would be, so all Alex had done was wait…and then follow. He’d been led right to Saige Lockwood’s door.

He’d wanted to go up and confront both of them in the restaurant, but something held him back and he’d asked to be seated in an area close enough to hear them.

Saige not knowing who his brother was, had shocked him, and kept him awake for most of the night. Although he still hadn’t worked out what was really going on with her, he was slightly relieved that he wouldn’t have to talk her into anything if she was serious about reading everything she could get her hands on about his brother’s trial.

Alex wondered whether or not her father really believed her easy acceptance to leave the past alone? Even to his ears she had sounded insincere.

He’d had it all planned in his head, what he’d say to her, or even how to go about approaching her. Her not recognizing him presented a new challenge…or maybe an opportunity.

Originally he hadn’t planned on introducing himself. He was going to just stand in her way until she recognized him. From what he’d overheard and saw, that wouldn’t work now. He couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment though. He’d wanted her to be shocked and maybe even scared when he stood in front of her. He’d wanted to see fear filling her eyes as she realized he was there for the truth instead of all the lies she told about his brother.

He now had even more questions.

When Alex awoke that morning and made the decision to go straight to Saige for answers, he wondered how she would be with him once he admitted who he was and what he wanted. He was a lot different now, and so was she.

Gone was the long, blonde hair. It was now a rich, glowing auburn that fell softly around her strong chin and high cheekbones. She still had a delicacy about her that had been present before, it seemed fragile now…or maybe slightly hardened, as though she kept it hidden. He was glad she hadn’t lost the softness, it was one of the things that had attracted his brother. Nothing could change the azure blue of her eyes though, he’d know her from that alone.

Settling down in his truck outside of Saige’s apartment, he wondered what had happened to Little Miss-Not-So-Perfect. One minute she was in the hospital and the next she disappeared. He’d sweet-talked one of her nurses for information to pass on to his brother, who’d been going crazy wanting to know how his girl was. The nurse hadn’t been much use, but at least he was able to tell Quinten that Saige would live.

He hated her for the lies, but he didn’t think his brother could hate her even if she was the one giving him the lethal injection. For all intents and purposes, she would be.

She’d accused him.

It was her who selected his picture from a stack the DA had showed her. That one decision had been the start of the witch hunt against his brother.

Catching a flash of movement to his right, he sat up straight in his truck when he realized Saige was about to disappear behind the door to her apartment building.

Alex quickly opened his door and jumped down. “Saige,” he shouted, trying to grab her attention.

She paused and when her eyes landed on him, she frowned as though she tried to remember where she’d seen him before. “You’re the guy from the restaurant?”

He nodded as he walked closer, which seemed to set her on alert as her eyes darted between him, the entrance to the building behind her, and the coffee shop across the street.

“Have coffee with me.” He wanted her to feel safe so that she’d talk to him, although she’d probably run when she realized who he was.

Or would she?

“I don’t have coffee with strangers.” She edged toward the building where the doorman had appeared, wary of their exchange.

He wasn’t a stranger.

He figured that he didn’t have much left to lose. “Saige, please. My name is Alex. Alexander Peterson. My brother is Quinten Peterson.”

She froze at his words, all color drained from her face as her hand reached up and covered her mouth, muffling the gasp. “You look different than your photographs,” she stated, tilting her head slightly.

He nodded in agreement, and continued, “I’m not going to hurt you, but I really need to talk to you.” He edged closer. “Please, Saige. My brother didn’t hurt you, or those girls. Please just talk to me.” He glanced toward the coffee shop. “Let me buy you coffee. It’s busy so you won’t be alone with me, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Saige stood frozen in place as the minutes slid by and Alex began to wonder if she was in shock, then she slowly nodded. “Will you answer my questions?”

He wondered what was going through her head and what questions she could possibly have. His gut reaction was to tell her no, because of what she’d done to his family…to his brother…to his own life. He would have to compromise though because he had questions of his own. “I’ll answer them if I can,” he alluded.

She waved to the doorman to let him know she was fine before she slowly moved toward the coffee shop. Alex watched her walk past him and turned to follow. Once inside, the waitress led them to a table by the window.

He didn’t like the fact that the shop was so busy, but he was desperate and would take anything he could get at this point.

A young waitress strolled up to their table, took their orders and she was gone as fast as she appeared.

Saige rubbed her brow and frowned, her eyes searched his face. Tilting her head to the side, she asked, “Have we met before today?”

He stared at her wondering what to say because she genuinely seemed confused.

“You really don’t remember me, do you?” He searched her face, looking for the truth in her expression.

“No.” Tears sat thickly on her lashes, but they didn’t fall as she blinked them away. “I think I should...my head has started to ache.” She kept rubbing at her forehead. “When did we meet?”

He wouldn’t mention her time with Quinten, but he could give her something. “We first met the summer before you were taken.”

The waitress returned with two steaming cups of coffee and set them down before leaving them alone.

“I don’t remember.” Saige gritted her teeth and wrapped her hands around the cup. “I don’t remember the summer before at all.” She swiped at a lone tear as it trickled down her pale face. “I wish I did. My memory has a large black hole in it, and it drives me crazy. Surely, if anything, I should have only blocked out the five days I was...I was tortured. Instead I have two and a half years missing.”

“What?” He was stunned by her words.

No way!

“Are you sure?” he questioned, leaning forward.

Her hands shook as she raised her mug, sloshing droplets of coffee onto the table. She gave up and placed the cup back down. “Am I sure? Of course I’m sure.” She waved her hands around. “Don’t you think I want to remember? I’ve no desire to remember what
he
did to me, but I sure as hell want to remember the rest.” The anger she felt was evident in every sharp movement of her hands and body as she became agitated.

“I was found at the end of November. I know that simply because people told me that, but I don’t remember it. All of my memories end at the Easter party my stepmother had arranged for her friends. It was boring, but I was there and remember it. My next memory starts two and a half years later when I woke up in that horrible, private hospital. My father finally came and took me home. I want and need to remember, but every time I’ve tried over the years, I get one hell of a headache. Sometimes it’s a migraine that makes me physically sick.”

He sat back and let her words sink in because she certainly believed what she told him.

“I don’t know what to say about that, but if you don’t have any memory of what happened, how were you able to make a statement accusing my brother of taking you? How were you able to identify him from a selection of photographs given to you?”

He loved you and you betrayed him.

A barrage of emotion crossed Saige’s face—shock being the main one.

“I don’t know,” she whispered, and buried her face in her hands. “I really don’t know. How could I have done that if I don’t have any memory?”

Her tear stained eyes lifted to his and Alex found himself swallowing back the harsh words he’d had prepared for the last eight years.

“That’s a good question that I think you need to ask your father,” he hissed.

Saige dried her tears up with a napkin that he passed to her while staying silent. She stared out of the window and drank some of her coffee, her fingers only shaking slightly around the tall cup.

“I tried to ask my father about the trial.” She faced him. “He wanted me to leave it in the past.”

Alex clenched his jaw in anger. “I heard.”

Saige paused and then nodded. “I agreed, but had no intention of letting it go.”

“Why? Why would you lie to your father?” He knew she lied but needed to hear the reason from her, and he knew how close she was to her father. She always had been and he overheard enough of their conversation earlier to know that she still was.

“He’s protecting me.”

Alex wondered if there was something more to her father wanting her to leave it in the past. Did he have secrets too?

Saige’s attention went outside the coffee shop again, as though she was seeing something he couldn’t.

“If I tell you something, will you tell me if you think I’m crazy?” she asked so quietly.

He nodded, his curiosity piqued.

“When I saw your brother’s picture on television yesterday, that was the first time I recall seeing him. I know I can’t remember, but I didn’t feel anything like I thought I would if I ever saw the man who took me. I felt safe. I don’t understand why I didn’t fear him if he was the one responsible for what happened to me. That’s what set me off wanting to know what happened.” She leaned forward. “And now, are you telling me that it was my statement, and selecting him from a photographic lineup, that got him convicted?”

If she was lying, then she was a damn good actress. He wanted to believe she was lying, except his gut told him she wasn’t.

So he decided to be even more honest. “There was evidence at the scene of the crime to suggest that he was responsible. After your statement, they didn’t look for anyone else and went after Quinten. Eventually they charged him, not only with your abduction and torture, but also with five counts of first-degree murder of the college girls who disappeared before you. As far as they were concerned, they had their man so why look elsewhere.”

Saige paled and nodded her head with acceptance.

“I need to see my statement and I need to know what evidence they used to convict him.” Saige grabbed her purse and rummaged around before she brought out a small notepad and a pen. “We’ll make a list.”

“Why aren’t you afraid of me?” Alex asked, bemused that she now seemed comfortable with him. She even treated him like they were a team.

She tilted her head to the side. “Should I be?”

“I won’t hurt you, Saige. I just want to do everything I can for my brother.”

“If I knew you before, then I must have known Quinten too, right?”

He wasn’t sure how much to tell Saige because their relationship had been wrong in a lot of ways. Quinten had been married at the time, even though he started to seek a divorce from the bitch, Jocelyn. His brother still hadn’t been totally free to be with Saige.

“You knew the both of us. We did the wooden carving on the staircase in your family’s home the summer before...” he paused, trying to think of what to call everything before, he finally finished with, “hell happened.”

“So I’d talk to you both?”

“Yes.”

He could practically hear her thinking, see all of the questions running behind her eyes. He needed to cut them off for now. “I have an appointment with Daniel Sterling, Quinten’s defense attorney, tomorrow. You can come and talk to him with me. He’ll probably have a copy of your statement for you to read. That’s if you’re free?” he questioned, almost like it was a dare, taunting her. A way for him to know for sure that she was all in.

She offered a small smile. “That’s who I planned on talking to when I promised my father to leave it all in the past.” She shrugged. “I can’t do that. I have to know what happened.”

1
1
:55pm

Q
uinten lay
on the narrow bed and tried not to think about the end, instead he focused on Saige. He knew Alex thought he was crazy for still longing for the girl who stole his heart the summer before everything went to hell…before she betrayed him.

However, his heart still ached every time he thought about her. Their love had been doomed from the minute they had laid eyes on each other. She’d taken his breath away, and every minute they’d spent together had made his heart race with longing. He hadn’t been free to pursue a relationship. At first, he’d tried to ignore the pull that she’d had over him, but then one day he’d found her upset in the boathouse when she’d thought no one else was around. After that day, they’d managed to spend time together every day. They’d only talked, but she’d kept him going, and it had given him something to look forward to.