Page 34 of Blade
She is trembling, and I waste no time in standing, reaching for her shoulder, placing my hand on it for reassurance and whispering, “Remember, you’re safe here.”
“It’s not that.”
She peers up at me and appears fucking terrified.
“This office, well, it triggered a memory.”
“What memory?”
I share a look with Ryder, who leans slightly forward as Delilah sighs.
“I was in an office, sitting at a desk like this, and don’t ask me how I remember this, but the man opposite was my father.”
She reaches up, and her small hand finds mine as she whispers, “But I don’t know his name.”
“His name is Miles Costello.”
Ryder’s tone is soft, gentle, as if he is approaching a wounded animal.
“Miles Costello.”
Delilah gasps, “Of course. Costello. Miles and Nicole. My parents.”
I detect the displeasure in Snake’s expression and wonder what they discovered.
“Do you recall your name, darlin’?”
Ryder adds gently, and Delilah nods, as if she is waking up from a dream.
“My name is Aspen Costello.”
If I thought she’d be happy to regain some part of her memory, I’m wrong because she shivers.
“I’m not sure why, or how I know this because I don’t remember my parents other than their names. It triggered the memory of my name, but one thing I do know for sure–”
“What?”
There is silence in the room as I ask the question, and she gulps, “That I never want to see them again.”
Ryder nods, apparently not surprised by that, and he nods to Delilah. “If it helps, we can all move to the comfortable chairs. Go and sit with Blade. Snake, and I will drag our chairs over to join you.”
As we move, Ryder lifts his phone and orders some coffee.
We make ourselves comfortable, and he sits astride his chair, and Delilah, or is she Aspen now, shrinks close against my side. As my arm reaches around her shoulders, Snake raises his eyes, a hint of resignation in them as he assesses the situation.
I couldn’t give a damn what anyone thinks. All I care about is the opinion of one woman, and I’m holding onto her tight.
“We traced Gideon Fox and reviewed his history.”
Ryder wastes no time in getting to the matter at hand.
“You were married in a huge society wedding. Your parents pulled it out of the bag, and it wasn’t difficult to dig up every photograph and news bulletin from that day. Miles Costello is the Senator of California and tipped for the White House. Gideon Fox is a multi-billionaire who didn’t get his riches by playing nice.”
He peers at Delilah.
“Does that sound familiar?”
She nods miserably. “It sounds familiar, but it’s as if I read it somewhere. Not experienced it.”
