Gabe still hadn’t been able to get the picture out of his head. His woman injured and completely helpless. Trapped inside her mangled car.
“He took my picture and then called someone. I remember him reciting our location and telling whoever it was to hurry. That I was hurt and needed help.”
“He called it in?”
“I think so.” Ellena blinked. “Yes. I remember hearing him on the phone. H-he called the police, reported the accident, and then…”
“Then what?”
“I don’t know. That must’ve been when I passed out. The next thing I remember after that was waking up in the hospital. I was so frustrated because I couldn’t remember anything from that day.” She frowned. “Now I kind of wish I hadn’t.”
Gabe understood what she meant. Sometimes ignorance really was bliss.
He rested his hands on her shoulders, his eyes peering deep into hers. “We’re going to figure this out, sweetheart. I promise.”
“How? Everything’s so messed up, and we’re no closer to finding any answers than we were a week ago.”
“That’s not true.”
“It’s not?”
Head shaking, he said, “You got your memory back.” When Ellena opened her mouth—no doubt to argue that her memories weren’t actually helpful—Gabe quickly added, “Plus, we know about Mark.”
“All we know is that I turned him away, and now he’s dead.”
“You’re wrong.” Gabe stared down at her pointedly. “He said someone was after you because of him. Makes perfect sense, given the timing.”
Elle’s so-called accidents, the wreck, the email she’d received…and now Mark Ellis’s death.
“But why would someone come after me because of Mark? It’s not like he revealed state’s secrets to me during our sessions.”
“What if he did?”
Her brows turned inward again. “I counsel my patients, Gabe. It’s not like they come into my office, lie down on a couch, and share top-secret information with me.”
Even as he considered what she’d just said, a familiar churning began to swirl around in Gabe’s gut. It was the same feeling he got when he was on the right track.
“What if they did?”
“Right.” Ellena scoffed, giving him an incredulous look.
“Just hear me out.” Gabe put up a hand to interrupt her attempt to argue. “What if one of your patients revealed top-secret intel without your realizing it.”
“You’re serious.”
“Think about it. What better way to let someone in on something without them actually knowing it. Maybe Mark Ellis wanted to let the cat out of the bag but was afraid of what would happen to him if he went to the authorities.”
“Okay…” Ellena began to follow his train of thought. “You think Mark had something he needed to get off his chest but was afraid of the consequences if he did?”
“Makes sense. He can’t go to the authorities himself because he either doesn’t trust them or is afraid whoever’s watching him will see. So he does the next best thing.”
“He tells me.”
“Exactly.”
She stepped out of his reach and began pacing the length of the living room. “Okay, but like I said…Mark never actually revealed anything to me about, well, anything. He spent most of our sessions either not talking or rambling about things that didn’t make much sense. I always got the feeling he was holding something back, but I get that a lot with my patients. Especially new ones, and especially the ones who suffer from paranoid delusions.” Ellena stopped by the edge of the couch and turned back toward him. “Those patients don’t trustanyone. Certainly not enough to share something major. Not even with me.”
“But the people watching Ellis wouldn’t know that.” Gabe walked over to her.
