Page 20 of Warped

My head snapped toward him. “What are you talking about?”

“I managed to slip her my business card on the street.”

I nodded, trying not to let myself get too excited by the information. Could she call at any moment? The possibility felt too easy.

I remembered how she’d turned and run from me on the street, how someone had shouted at her. She’d seemed frightened and nervous, and at first I’d thought that had been because of me, but now I wondered. What if picking up the phone wasn’t an easy thing for her to do? After all, someone had paid me to kill her, and just because I’d lost my memory didn’t mean that she was safe now. What if that same person was still after her?

My exhaustion condensed into a muffled thumping in my temples, and I put my head in my hands. My legs and arms began to tremble, and Harvey’s apartment began to recede from vision.

I was barely aware of his voice. “Hey, man. Let’s get you to bed. This is too much. You’re still not back to yourself. You need to rest.”

I felt him beside me, wedging his shoulder under my armpit to help lift me. I wasn’t a big guy, and the time in a hospital bed had left me slight. I didn’t like the feeling. I preferred to be strong and supple. I felt like I’d literally lost who I was, and not just because of my memory.

But despite this, I remained resolute. Even as Harvey helped me into the bedroom, placed me on the bed, and lifted my feet to help me lie down, I opened my mouth and said, “I need to find her.”

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