Fractured Memory by Jordyn Redwood Read Free Book Online

security bar was down.
    When she turned around, a man stood just feet away from her. Even recalling this much caused her heart to fire indiscriminately, and she checked her pulse to see if the rhythm was regular. Resting her head against the pillow, she closed her eyes.
    Why can’t I see you? Why are you just a fuzzed-out figure? I locked the front door. How did you get in? Has my mind made this whole thing up?
    What was new was seeing a figure at all. Was it something to be celebrated? Julia wasn’t convinced. After all, if it really couldn’t offer any new information, what good did it do her except cause her more anxiety?
    Then what replaced it was the sweet singsong of a male voice that whispered to her. Those are the brown eyes I’ve been waiting to see.
    The faint knock at the door caused the memory to vanish. Eli poked his head into her room, and she motioned him forward.
    The second thing that caused her anxiety? The gap in her memory claimed every moment she’d interacted with Eli. Considering the things he knew about her, it reasoned they’d spent a lot of time together.
    “You look a lot better,” he offered, pulling a chair closer to the bed. He set a thin plastic grocery bag at her side. “I brought you these. A change of clothes and your Bible.”
    She grasped the bag with the tip of her fingers and pulled it closer. “Thank you. I can’t wait to get out of here.”
    His eyes darted to the side. “That’s what we need to talk about.”
    “I don’t want to stay here.”
    “You’re safe here. I think it’s—”
    “No! Eli, please...” She pressed her thumb and forefinger at the corners of her eyes to stem the flow of threatening tears.
    He rested his hand over hers. “Julia, it’s okay. You’re a nurse. You practically live in a hospital.”
    How could she explain it to him? Was it the environment that was culling these memories? Was it being in the same position, forced to stay in a hospital bed that was connecting her brain cells again? Or was it Eli’s presence?
    She fisted her hand and rested it at her side. The truth of the matter was her psyche was unprepared to remember the attack.
    “Julia, I can only help if you tell me what’s going on. Like all men, I’m a really horrible mind reader.” He took her hand and gently uncurled her fingers, smoothing his palm against hers. “One night is all I’m asking. We want to be sure the next safe house doesn’t have any maintenance issues.” He gently squeezed her hand to add strength to his request.
    “You don’t think the elevated carbon monoxide levels were an attempt on my life?” Julia asked.
    A brisk knock at the door, and Dr. James Solan entered. His hazel eyes glimmered under the light nearly as much as his bald head. “I thought you said to me once you’d never step foot into an adult ER again.”
    Eli stood from his chair. “You two know each other?”
    “I worked here for about two years after I graduated from nursing school until I figured out adults were too crazy for me.”
    Solan stroked his white beard. “It was obvious she didn’t like to care for anyone twenty-one and over. She’d bargain with the other nurses to take care of their pediatric patients.” Looking at Julia, he stated, “You don’t know how much they miss that.”
    Julia laughed. “Sadly, it took me a couple of years to figure out there are hospitals that exist where adult patients aren’t allowed. Don’t know how smart that makes me in the long run.”
    Dr. Solan turned to Eli. “Don’t let her fool you. She was one of the best nurses we ever had. As much as she’d hate to admit it, her adult nursing skills were above par.” He turned back to Julia. “As I’m sure they still are if you’d ever like to come back.”
    “Not unless I can’t find any other job.”
    “I’ll never give up trying to win you back. Julia, is it okay if I discuss your medical information in front of this young man?”
    Eli held a hand up. “It’s okay,