Secret Identity (14 page)

“Hmm,” Carter said. “Yes, actually, she was a client to you before. You knew her as Samantha Rain, the pseudonym she used to hide from her family.”

Something flashed in Eve's mind. This time there was no pain, no blacking out. She saw with clarity Sandi, with longer hair, sitting across from her at a table, laughing. She was showing her a painting of red flowers with white circles behind them. Then the memory was gone.

Eve sat up and looked down at Carter. “I just had a memory.”

He sat up quickly, grabbing hold of her. “How's your head? Do you feel dizzy?” He started to hold her.

“No, I'm fine. No sharp pain, no blurry vision, nothing.” She smiled. “I remembered Sandi when you mentioned the name Samantha Rain.” She blinked a few times. “I remember meeting her at a cafe. I think it was called Hell’s Kitchen Cafe. Oh my God! I remember something else. A couple months ago I swore off eating meat.” She glared at him. “I told you this. I told you I was becoming a vegetarian and you’ve fed me meat this whole time.” She slapped his shoulder as he laughed and she thought about how she'd get back at him later.

“We never thought you'd stick to it. It did last a couple months, though.” He pulled her back into his arms. “I'm happy you're starting to remember. I think having your family near you is helping.”

She was still steaming about him breaking her diet, but his arms felt too wonderful to be mad for long. She melted back into his arms and enjoyed the rest of the night.

M
itch and Sandi’s stay helped keep Eve entertained, and small pieces of her memory were coming back without her blacking out. Each time she remembered more, Carter got nervous thinking she'd realize they hadn't been a couple like he'd hinted at.

So far he was still safe. Sandi and Eve had talked wedding while he and Mitch had finished working on painting all the rooms upstairs. Carter told Mitch about everything that had happened since they'd arrived—her parents visit, the break-in, how Eve had been passing out.

“I don't like it.” Mitch stopped painting and frowned. “We still don't know if she was attacked on purpose or it was a random thing. Carter, there could be someone after her.”

He stopped and looked at his friend. “Like a stalker?”

“Yeah, just like a stalker. Sandi has been helping out while Eve is gone. She was using her office and she noticed a pile of letters in Eve's desk. At first Sandi thought they were from Steve, but shortly after she started helping out, she received another one. Sandi opened the mail thinking it was from a client. Carter, there were threats and some scary shit in there.” Mitch looked towards the door, no doubt not wanting Sandi to hear him cussing or for Eve to hear about the threatening letters. Either way, Mitch's voice got lower and he walked closer to Carter. “Well, I found the stack of letters and after reading them, turned a copy of them over to the Chicago police. They assured me it had nothing to do with her attack. They claimed it was a bum that frequented that alleyway, stealing clothing so he could keep warm. They told me that he most likely wanted her coat. Anyway, after what you've just told me, I'm inclined to think that this creep knows she's here.”

“Who knows I'm here?” Eve stood just inside the door, her face a little pale.

Carter dropped his paintbrush in the bucket and walked over to her. “No one. Mitch and I were just chatting about a client.” She yanked her arm out of his. “You're lying.” She looked at Mitch. “It's written all over his face. I don't know how I know it, but I know you're lying to me.”

Carter glared at Mitch. “You never could lie to her, bro.”

“Sorry.” Mitch grumbled and set his paintbrush down. “Maybe we should tell her.”

“Why? What good would it do?”

Mitch shrugged his shoulders.

Eve stood, her arms crossed over her chest. He knew that look. She wasn't going to budge until she heard it all.

“Fine!” He threw up his hands and they proceeded to tell her what they knew.

After they were done, Eve walked from the room without a word. Carter tracked her down in their room. She was packing her clothes up.

“What do you think you're doing?” He started removing her clothes from her bag.

“
I'm going to return to the city with Mitch and Sandi. I think it's time I stopped hiding out. Besides, I'm having more memories and no fainting spells.” She stopped and glared at him as he tossed her clothes back into the drawers.

“You're not better. Just two days ago you could barely see.” He closed her empty suitcase.

She stood there with her arms crossed and glared at him. “Are you telling me I can't go back to the city?”

“Yes. No! I mean…” He knew he'd stuck his foot in it now. “You can do whatever you want. I'm not forcing you to stay. I'm just concerned, that's all.” He walked up to her and rubbed her arms with his hands, then watched her slowly relax under his touch. “Give it a few more days. Then we'll head back together.”

“Well, I guess a few more days here with you won't be so bad.” She smiled. He didn't know if it was the shock of actually winning his first argument with her, or the fact that Mitch was standing in the doorway laughing, but he was slow to react when she punched him in the gut. She'd never hit very hard; Mitch and he had always said she fought like a girl. He was thankful for it at the moment.

“What was that for?” He winced and rubbed his stomach.

“Just a friendly reminder. Don't think for a moment that you can ever tell me what I can and can't do.” She smiled and patted his cheek as she turned to walk out. She stopped by Mitch then balled her fist and punched him in the shoulder.

“Ouch, what was that for?” Mitch asked as he rubbed his shoulder.

“That was for letting this jackass”—she pointed back towards Carter—“talk you into staying away so long.” Then she punched him again on the other shoulder.

“Stop it.” Mitch frowned and rubbed his other shoulder. “What was that one for?”

“That was for keeping secrets from me.” She leaned up and placed a kiss on his cheek. “That was for being my friend.” She turned and walked out of the room.

“Hey, I didn't get a kiss!” Carter raced after her as Mitch laughed.

That evening they all sat around the fireplace chatting about the good old days. Mitch had some funny stories about when they were kids. Sandi said something about wishing she could have seen it, when Eve thought of the picture album. Jumping up, she raced up to their room and looked around.

She hadn't seen the photo album since the first week they'd been there. Finally, she found it under Carter's travel bag. When she pulled the photo book out, his bag dumped out and she bent down to pick up everything that had fallen out. In the pile was a folder. There was yellow sticky note attached to it with her name on it, and there was a large amount of money inside.

She stopped what she was doing and started to read. Fifteen minutes later she walked downstairs. The photo book in her hands was almost forgotten. She handed the book to Sandi who immediately started looking through the old photos.

Carter stood and took her shoulders. She jerked back and walked into the kitchen, knowing he would follow her.

“What? What is it? Did you have another spell?”

She turned on him. “What's this?” She held up the paperwork.

He looked at it like it was a snake she was holding. “Nothing.” He tried to reach for it.

“No.” She pulled it out of his reach. “Too late. Tell me why I was buying into a company I thought I was already a partner of. Better yet, tell me why I'd have to buy into a company owned by people I deemed were my family, at all?” Her voice was slightly raised.

“Eve, listen. I can explain.” He started to walk towards her.

“Stop!” She tossed the paperwork towards him. “From where I'm standing, you're no better than my parents. You've lied to me. You made me believe you had my best interest at heart, that you cared.” Her voice hitched. “That I was more to you than numbers.” She glared at him.

“Eve, you've got it all wrong.” He was trying to walk towards her again.

“Really? From where I'm standing, I see a man who told me we were getting married, yet when I talked to Sandi, she knew nothing about our engagement. I brushed it off as maybe we hadn't told anyone yet. You told me I was partner in your business, now I find these”—she pointed to the paperwork on the floor—“that say I was paying my two best friends, whom I've been told were my family, to become partners. In my book, family doesn't do that. Family doesn't exploit family, Carter. So tell me why I was having to pay. Then maybe you can tell me why one amount, the lower of the two, was crossed out and a higher one was put in its place. Did you find out I had more money? Did you want to take every cent from me?” Her head was throbbing now and all she wanted to do was retreat to a quiet room and cry.

“Eve, I can explain,” he said for the third time. When she looked into his eyes, she knew he was about to lie to her. Tossing up her hands, she stormed from the room.

“Save it. I don't want to hear anything,” she said over her shoulder as she marched to her room to pack. She hadn't seen this coming. Her mind just refused to believe anything other than she was being used. Had Mitch known about this as well? She was at the base of the stairs and decided to find out, but when she walked to the doorway, Mitch and Sandi were in a warm embrace and she lost the heart. Instead, she went up the stairs to finish packing. Mitch and Sandi were leaving to drive back to New York after breakfast; she'd just make sure she was going with them.

Two days later, Mitch and Sandi walked her up to her apartment. When she opened the door, she was shocked. The sheer size of the place was something she wasn’t prepared for. The fact that it was extremely well decorated and that she immediately felt a warmth spread through her when she walked in made her realize she'd made the right choice in coming back to the city.

It wasn’t that she'd broken things off with Carter; she'd tried to talk to him the evening before she left and had explained that she needed some space. He'd just looked at her like she'd kicked him and nodded.

When Mitch and Sandi left, Eve walked around her apartment looking at everything. Here there were newer pictures of her with Carter and Mitch, some even with Sandi. She noticed there wasn't one picture of her parents.

The hardwood floors looked new throughout the place. The light-colored furniture was very appealing, but when she sat down on the leather couch, she instantly missed the big soft one in Maine.

The view out her large windows was breathtaking. The evening sky sparkled with a million lights as the snow gently fell. Her apartment was on the twenty-second floor and she knew that the view in daylight would be just as breathtaking.

Walking towards her bedroom, she stopped at a small office filled with fabric. Walking in, she realized they were clothes that she must have made. She took her time and assessed every item. She also had sketches of designs. She walked over to a large rack full of finished items. They were very good. Smiling, she realized she had a hidden talent that even Mitch and Carter hadn't known about. Then she started wondering if she still had the talent, or if it was lost with all her other memories.