Stolen Memories: A Novella (4 page)

Michael lunged at Hunter, trying to wrap his hands around his neck. Hunter’s knee came up and caught Michael in the stomach, knocking him to the ground. I whimpered, and Hunter looked back at me long enough for Michael to knock him to the floor. He punched him hard several times before I could react. I threw myself at Michael, distracting him long enough for Hunter to get away.

Michael had pushed me down, and pinned me to the floor. His hands groped at my body, making me gag each time he touched me. Hunter lunged at Michael, sending them tumbling through the living room, breaking the coffee table and knocking over a lamp. I was terrified that Michael would gain the upper hand. After a few more seconds of them wrestling around, Hunter pinned his knee against Michael’s neck, making it impossible for him to move.

“Megan, get something for me to tie his hands up.”

I looked around, at a loss for what to grab. I ran to my closet and grabbed a belt. Hunter’s eyes widened and he barked out a laugh as I worked. The belt was black leather, studded with silver spikes. It was a fashion nightmare from the ’90s come back to haunt me.

The pounding on the door let us know that the police were here. Hunter held me tight against his chest as we watched them arrest Michael. I watched in horror as he yelled and demanded to be let go, saying this was all my fault. My pulse raced in my chest as he threatened me again. The officers gave me a concerned look, but didn’t say anything else before Michael was taken downstairs.

We answered every question the officers had and we were assured that he would be locked up for a while, especially after everything he’d said to me. They informed us off the record that he was already being investigated for another assault, along with a few other various charges. A shiver ran up my spine when I thought about the fact that my father had basically sold me to him.

Hunter pulled me in tighter against his chest. “Are you ready to go confront your dad or do you want to wait?”

“Let’s go,” I said and started towards the door.

“Aren’t you going to change first?”

“Hell no. I want him to see what that fucking monster he tried to marry me off to is capable of.”

“That’s my girl.” The grin on his face made it worth the black eye I’d be sporting for a few days. Now, if only I could get rid of my pounding headache.

I stormed into my father’s office and his secretary’s mouth dropped open in shock when she took in my appearance.

“Oh my God, Megan, are you okay?”

“No. Absolutely not okay.”

I started towards my father’s door, and she tried to stop me. “Meg, Mr. Douglas is in a shareholders meeting, you can’t go in there. Especially when you look like that.”

“With all due respect, go fuck yourself. I’m going in there.” I turned back. “Oh, and I always hated it when you called me Meg.”

She stepped back quickly like I’d physically slapped her, and I pushed past her easily, Hunter hot on my heels. My anger was palpable as I walked into the large office. The four men in front of me stared in disbelief at my disheveled condition. These men knew what my father had done, and they all approved of his methods.

“Welcome back, Megan.”

“Welcome back? Are you fucking kidding me? I’m covered in blood, have a black eye and you tell me, welcome back.”

“What else do you expect? You embarrassed the entire family with your antics.”

“My antics?” I asked in disbelief. “That stupid fucker you tried to marry me off to attacked me in my own apartment. You tried to fucking sell my virginity, and for what? A couple million dollars? What kind of monster are you?”

I looked around at the men sitting in the room. They seemed uncomfortable, but not shocked at my words. “How many of you other assholes have done this to your own daughters? If you don’t want me to make trouble for any of you, get the fuck out now. I need to have a few words with my
father.
”

The other men left the room quickly, leaving me alone with Hunter and the man that was supposed to be my father. Hunter said nothing, but I could feel his anger as palpable as mine filling the office. It gave me the strength I needed to keep going.

My father’s cold eyes met mine. “You did run away from your husband on your wedding day, what did you expect him to do? I think you got off easy. Your actions have lost my company over two billion dollars, not just a couple million as you put it.”

“Fuck you. I’m your daughter and you tried to use me to further your business. Did you know how he would treat me or was that just a bonus? How much did you sell Cassie for, you asshole?”

“She’s a good daughter, and she served her family like she should have.”

My mouth dropped open. “She’s an educated, beautiful woman. Her husband probably beats her into submission every night like Michael would have done to me. Did you know he was being investigated for embezzlement?” He raised an eyebrow, but didn’t respond. “Does mom know what you did to Cassie? What you tried to do to me?”

“Don’t be stupid. Of course she doesn’t.”

“Don’t call Megan stupid,” Hunter said with a sharp edge to his voice.

“Why are you even here, Hunter? This is a family matter.”

“Then I guess since I’m Megan’s husband, I have every right to be here.”

His narrowed eyes shot between me and Hunter. “What did you do you?” he hissed.

“Call it self-preservation, but I didn’t trust you not to attempt to blackmail me into marrying someone else. Oh, and by the way, I’m not a virgin anymore either so don’t bother selling me to the highest bidder again.”

“You dumb bitch! You’ve ruined everything!”

Hunter lunged, grabbing his neck and cutting off his airway as he pinned him against the wall. I gasped and stared at them in disbelief.

“I told you not to talk to her that way, Jack.” He was livid, but damn if I wasn’t turned on by his insane behavior. Anger Hunter was hot as hell. “I’m going to ruin you for what you’ve done to Megan. You know I can do it without blinking and eye. You’re going to watch everything you’ve ever worked for slip away. Don’t
ever
try to contact Megan, or her mother and sister, ever again. I’ll kill you if you do, you nasty son of a bitch.”

When Hunter released him, my father fell, catching himself on his desk and coughing as he sucked in air. I stared at him for a moment before walking out the door after my protector, sad that this was what my father had become. The one man that was supposed to protect me was the one trying to hurt me most.

I needed to call my mother and sister, but I was in shock and I couldn’t focus enough to actually do it. This was so much worse than I expected. Michael would have raped me, maybe even killed me if given the chance, and my father had tried to fucking sell me to him. That alone was going to take some major therapy to get through. Hunter sat next to me on his couch and wrapped a blanket around my shoulders. He pressed a kiss to my temple, and I sucked in a ragged breath.

“Are you okay, baby? What do you need me to do?”

I couldn’t answer him. It was like I was there, but I wasn’t. I willed my body to answer, but nothing came out of my mouth. Everything felt empty. My body still shook every few minutes.

“Megan, I need you to look at me.” He took my face in his hands and turned me so I was staring into his beautiful green eyes. “Talk to me or I’m going to take you to the hospital. You’re scaring me. I think you’re in shock”

“Can you call my mother?”

“Oh thank goodness. I called her as soon as we got here, honey. She’s on her way. I’ve also got people working to locate your sister.”

I nodded. She might not appreciate it, but I needed to know that Cassie was safe. Thinking back on everything that had happened since she had gotten married was startling. She had changed how she dressed, became reclusive and wasn’t willing to go out or let me come to her. We’d always been close and she had pulled away. Mom blamed it on her being a newlywed. Now I was positive that wasn’t the case. If she wasn’t being physically abused, she was at least being mentally abused, and I couldn’t let her go through that anymore.

Who knows how long I sat there quietly. Hunter finally came to take me to bed and instead of asking me to get up and walk, he scooped me up like a small child and carried me through the house. His touch was gentle as he undressed me and laid me down beneath the covers. My eyes closed and I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

I jerked awake, disoriented and confused. When I looked around I was surprised to find myself in Hunte
r’
s bedroom. My fingers touched my eyes to rub away the sleep, and I cried out at the excruciating pain. Hunter came running into the room at my sharp cry.

“What’s wrong, baby? Are you okay?”

I looked at him in confusion.
Baby?

“What the hell happened? Why do I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus?”

“Megan?” he asked looking as shaken as I felt. He turned ashen and I wanted to make him tell me what was going on.

“Hunter, what happened?” I asked urgently. “Why is your face scratched? Holy shit, why am I in your bed?” I finished on a panicked whisper.

“You don’t remember anything that happened yesterday?” Confusion etched his features and I felt the panic rising up inside me.

“No. Nothing.” My voice trembled and I choked back a sob.

“What about last week?”

I shook my head.

“What’s the last thing you can remember, honey?” He took my hand in his. “Try to remember.”

“I don’t know.” It was getting harder to take a breath.

I looked down at the ring on my hand and started to hyperventilate. Oh, God. I had gotten married. Surely I didn’t marry Michael after what I found out. Grabbing at Hunter’s hand, my mouth dropped open as I saw the wedding band on the same finger as mine. My finger ran over the filigree band.

“Do you remember that?”

I shook my head and tears streamed down my face. “Why can’t I remember anything?”

“I don’t know baby, but we’re going to figure it out.”

The doctor spoke in soft, hushed tones to Hunter in the corner of the room as I stared at my hands, more specifically, the ring on my finger. He still hadn’t told me what happened and why he was married, more importantly who he was married to. Who I was married to? My head ached and I wanted to sleep more, but without answers I knew I wouldn’t. When the door opened quietly, the last person I expected to see come through it was my mother. She had dark circles under her eyes and they were red rimmed and swollen like she had been crying. Eliza Douglas was not a weak woman, so to see her so upset was incredibly concerning.

What in the hell happened?

“Mom?”

To my surprise her arms wrapped around me and her eyes filled with tears again. “Oh, baby girl. It’s going to be okay. Everything will be okay. I promise.”

She rocked me back and forth like she had when I was a child. I embraced the warmth she offered. For one second, things actually felt like they might be okay.

“Megan?” Hunter said softly.

I looked up and he and the doctor were standing in front of us. My mother released me and took a step back, but she left a comforting hand on my shoulder. She was trying to pull herself together, but failed miserably. Hunter took my hand in his and looked over at the doctor.

“Mrs.—” Hunter cleared his throat and shook his head at him. The doctor sighed and began again. “Megan, after the stress from yesterday your body went into shock. Mr. Abbott explained to me that you don’t remember anything from the past five to seven days.”

I shot a look at Hunter that he deftly ignored. He was keeping secrets, and I didn’t like it. I refocused my attention at the doctor. “That’s right. I remember a few things, but only minor details. It’s like there is a blank space in my memory.”

“You hit your head yesterday in an altercation, correct?”

I nodded. “That’s what Hunt said.”

“Between the head injury and the shock that you endured last night, it seems your body has blocked out that portion of your memory.”

You have got to be kidding me; this is like a fucking movie.
When did my life become a lifetime special?

“You’re not serious?”

The doctor shared a look with Hunter that I didn’t care for before answering.

“We know that you sustained a more serious injury than originally thought and you didn’t seek medical attention. Not that we know if it would have helped, but it’s possible between the physical damage and the emotional stress your mind just simply closed down.”

“So will the memories come back?

He pursed his lips, clearly unhappy with my question.

“I’m not sure.”

Twenty minutes later we were back at Hunter’s house. I didn’t understand why he had brought me here, but I didn’t want to push him to answer my questions. Hunter would tell me everything when he was ready and if I tried to get it out of him sooner, he would just clam up and sulk. Everyone was treating me like I would break at any second, and it was starting to annoy me. All I wanted was for
someone
to tell me what was going on.

“You need to relax, Megan. Do you want me to make you a cup of tea?” my mom asked.

“Yes, please.”

Just leave so I can try to get some answers.

She walked out of the room, and I narrowed my gaze at Hunter. “When did you get married?”

He sighed and ran a hand down his face. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know, but I need a second okay. My head is spinning from everything the doctor said and I’m worried about you. Drink the tea your mom brings you, try to relax, and I’ll come talk to you in a little bit.”

“Promise?”

“I promise, Megan.” He stood up and kissed my forehead.

“Hunt?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you explain to me why you were calling me baby?”

“God you’re obstinate. Yes, I will explain everything, including that.”

The look in his eyes as he glanced back made me wonder what I was missing.

My mom placed the steaming mug of chamomile tea in my hands and I smiled at her gratefully.

“Thanks for coming to take care of me, Mom.”

She tried to smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. I knew something was terribly wrong. “I’ll always be here for you, sweetie. I’m sorry that you can’t remember what’s happened over the past week. I don’t know everything that happened, or I would fill you in, but I think it’s better that you hear it from Hunter. Just promise me that when he tells you what happened you remember how much that boy loves you. It’s important that you know that. I’ve watched you two grow up together, and I always hoped,” she trailed off. It almost made me giggle when she blushed and looked away.

“You wanted us together?” I asked softly.

She nodded. “I just wanted my girls to be happy. You’ve always been happy with Hunt.”

I rested my head on her shoulder and she kissed my forehead. Just having her with me made me forget the panic I felt earlier.

Hunter was the first thing I saw when I woke up from my nap. He looked awful. His shirt and dress pants were wrinkled, and it surprised me that he wasn’t falling over from exhaustion, but I was happy to see him. I was careful not to wipe my eyes this time as I sat up. His eyes raked over my body, and a shiver of pleasure ran up my spine.

What the damn hell?
 
What was that?

“How do you feel?” he asked in a husky sleep-filled voice. Holy shit that was sexy. I sat up and tucked the blanket someone, probably Hunter, had covered me up with around my waist.

“A little better. Did you sleep sitting up?”

“Yeah, but just for a little bit.”

“Hunt, you need to sleep in your bed. You look like you could use a week's worth of sleep.”

“I’ll be okay. I’m more worried about you.”

“Are you going to tell me what happened?”

He paused for a moment and looked at me before sighing.

“Always anxious for information, pull your ring off and look at the engraving on the inside of the band.”

I tugged it off my finger and peered down at the inscription. He handed me his.

“As you wish. They match.” I paused, then said, “Holy fuck, Hunt. We got married?”

His emerald eyes stared into mine, emotions swirling behind them that I couldn’t read. “Yeah, five days ago.”

“Oh my…” I trailed off. “I didn’t marry Michael? Thank goodness. I was so scared I’d actually gone through with it. Then you wouldn’t tell me anything.”

“You texted me while I was in New York, telling me you couldn’t marry him. I picked you up from the church right before the service. We flew out to Georgia and got married on the beach. Our rings are from the little jewelry store you love on the boardwalk. When we bought the rings they offered to engrave them. The owners remembered us from when we were kids and you went in there every day for the entire summer to look at—”