Remember Me (Men of Honor Series Book 1) Read Free

call it the CSI effect. People watch TV and think we can fingerprint someone on the spot and have intel in a minute. That’s just not how it works in the real world. Hopefully, we can find something out when the rental car place calls back.” He lifted his hands in surrender. “I really am sorry.” With a small nod, he moved around her and left.

 
     
     
Chapter 2
     
     
    Tess paced outside Ben’s room. What was she supposed to do now? She couldn’t just walk away and leave him homeless. She was set to marry the man just six months ago, for crying out loud. Of course, he left her without batting an eye.
    “Yeah, Tess, he left you a stinking note to tell you he couldn’t marry you,” she reminded herself as she continued pacing. She thumbed her bottom lip, her thoughts a raging battle. Sure, he’d left her, but he didn’t leave her alone in the world with no idea who she was or a place to live or anyone to help. She was pretty sure no one would file a missing persons report. Ben’s parents were dead. He was an only child. When he left, he said he was going to take a leave of absence from work and travel through Europe, try to figure out what he wanted from life. No one knew where he was going. All of their friends were so mad at him they’d sided with Tess and didn’t care to find him. Even his best friend, Dane, didn’t know where Ben was.
    It was one thing to picture him gallivanting all over Europe, happy to be free of her. But he wasn’t. He was here in the next room, lost and alone. Deep in her heart, she’d always questioned his reason for leaving. The two of them were connected in a way she could never explain. Now he was here. Not in Europe. None of it made any sense.
    She buried her face in her hands.
    “What am I gonna do?”
    As if on cue, her cell phone vibrated in her back pocket. She took it out to see Emma’s big smile on her iPhone screen.
    “Emma! I’m so glad it’s you.”
    “Okaay. Wow, you sound cranked. Too much caffeine for your shift?”
    “No. Well, yes. But no.” She tripped over her words. Getting her thoughts from her brain to her mouth was proving impossible.
    “What’s going on? You were supposed to call me when you got off work so we could go shopping for the wedding.”
    Tess’s gut clenched at the word “wedding.” Emma was her closest friend and engaged to her neighbor, Mike. But helping Emma plan the wedding was tougher than she’d thought it would be.
    “I got caught up here at work. Emma, you’re never going to believe this but…Ben is here.”
    Emma sucked in a breath. “He’s where?”
    “He’s here at the hospital.”
    “Did he just show up and ask you to come back to him or something? Did that guy really think you would just forget all the heartache and pain and he’d waltz right back into your arms or—”
    “Emma! Listen.” Tess cut her off before she really got going. “No. It’s nothing like that. He was in a car accident and has amnesia. He doesn’t even remember his own name, let alone that he left me at the altar.”
    Silence.
    “Emma? Are you still there?”
    “Um, yeah. I’m here,” she whispered.
    “I know. It’s a lot to wrap your head around. I’ve been trying for the past few hours.”
    “How are you?”
    Her friend’s comforting words floated through the phone and warmed Tess’s heart. “I’m okay, for the moment. I’m functioning on all adrenaline at this point. The fact that he has no clue who I am is actually helping the situation. However, I don’t know what to do. The police officer from the scene of the accident just came and asked him a bunch of questions and said that since they don’t have any idea who he is, there’s nothing they can do. They’re leaving him stranded!”
    “Wow.”
    “That’s all you’ve got? I need some serious help here!” She turned sharp and paced another direction.
    “Hey, this is a lot to grasp. I’m just now finding all of this out from you.”
    Tess rubbed her eyes.