Page 67 of Protected By the Sinner

“No.” It’s true. She didn’t even know I’d found out about the betrayal. Or...did she? I can’t be sure. “Is there a chance she’s faking it?”

He gives me a strange look and instead of answering, asks a question of his own. “Would she have any reason to lie, Mr. LeBlanc? Any reason to believe she’s in danger?”

I instantly understand what he’s thinking. And I know that if I don’t get ahead of it, there’s no way he’ll allow her to be discharged under my supervision. “No. I just don’t know much about amnesia and wanted to understand how we can be sure it’s real.”

“This isn’t my first case with this diagnosis, so I brought in one of our staff psychiatrists to evaluate her. He confirmed it. So yes, her memory loss is very real. Your girlfriend doesn’t remember anything.”

“Should I ask her about her past?”

“The specialist will be able to guide you better, but in the cases I’ve seen, the best approach is to let the memories come back naturally. I believe within a few days or weeks—at most—her memory will return, since there’s no physical trauma but rather an emotional block. In any case, she’ll need care and must not be subjected to stress.”

“I can provide that.”

I’ll have to keep my distance from her—because with Amber, I can’t control my emotions. Together, we swing from zero to a hundred in seconds. We’re volatile and reckless, caught in the same chaos of desire that’s always consumed us.

“In terms of material needs, I have no doubt,” he says, clearly aware of who I am, “but what about giving Miss Amber a peaceful recovery so she can carry the pregnancy as she should?”

He just crossed a line.

I take a step toward him. “Let’s get one thing straight. You were chosen to care for her because I was told you’re the best at what you do. But before she’s your patient, Amber is my woman, and she’s carrying my child. I’ll protect her above all else.”

And it’s only after I say those words that I realize the fog inside me has cleared.

Amber won’t get a second chance to deceive me, but I’ll protect her—and our child.

Even if being with her goes against everything I believe in . . . she’s mine now.

Chapter 30

I get up with the nurse’s help and take a shower. I comb my hair and grab one of the outfits the bodyguards brought for me in a small suitcase. I knew he was a bodyguard because my private nurse, Celia, told me the hallway is full of them. The sweet lady said she thinks my boyfriend is a very powerful—and very rich—man.

I’ll have to take her word for it, since Beau hasn’t come to see me yet.

When I introduced myself to the bodyguard—accepting what the doctor told me, that my name is Amber Martin—he gave me a strange look but shook the hand I offered.

Still, he didn’t tell me his name, and I thought that was kind of rude, so I asked.

Roman. No last names.

Okay, maybe he was just in a bad mood.

Celia goes to lunch, and I walk around the room a dozen times trying to distract myself, but my mind keeps circling back to the man everyone says is my boyfriend.

Beau Carmouche-LeBlanc.

No matter how hard I try, I can’t even form a mental image of him.

Does he want our baby? Was he happy when he found out? Did we already know about the pregnancy before the accident?

So many unanswered questions—it’s enough to make me dizzy.

I hear a knock at the door, and somehow, I know it’s him.

The man everyone says is mine.

My heart starts racing, nerves filling every inch of me.

How am I supposed to act with someone I supposedly have enough intimacy with to make a baby but who, in my mind, is a complete stranger?