Page 29 of Warped

Chapter Fifteen

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The moment her voice vanished from the end of the line, I jumped to my feet.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Harvey asked me. He was standing in nothing but his briefs, and it was a sight I could have done without at that time in the morning. Or any time, for that matter.

“What do you think I’m doing? I’m going to find her. We know where she is now, don’t we?”

“Yeah. Maybe not the exact address, but I’m pretty sure I could find out. We’re not doing it like this, though. You try waltzing onto Tony the Hound’s property uninvited, and you’re going to find yourself with another bullet hole in your shoulder. In fact, it might even be in your head this time.”

I growled. “I can’t just sit around here doing nothing.”

“You’re not going to help anyone by marching in and getting yourself shot.”

“She’s in trouble. You could hear it in her voice. She’s frightened, and she doesn’t seem to me like a woman who’d frighten easily.”

He looked at me curiously. “So you remember things about her?”

I frowned. “Actual memories I can recall? No, none other than the one where she stopped me in the street after leaving the hospital. But I know her. I know I do. And I won’t abandon her.”

“I’m not asking you to. I’m asking you to think.”

I nodded and rubbed my hand over my mouth. He was right, but I couldn’t just lie back down, roll over, and go back to sleep. I wished my goddamned brain would work right, so I could remember who I was. Surely then I’d have the skills needed to get Verity back.

Verity. Why didn’t that name sit quite right with me? Had I called her something else? A pet name, perhaps?

I hated feeling so fucking useless.

“What did you say is the name of the guy who took her?” I asked.

“Tony the Hound.”

“What sort of name is Tony the Hound?”

Harvey shrugged. “I don’t know. I think he used to like to bite people.”

“Jesus. That’s not making me feel any better.”

“I wasn’t trying to. I wanted to make you see what kind of man you’re dealing with.”

I nodded, my hand over my mouth, the bristles of my beard against my palm. “Okay, okay. I get your point. I’m still not going to do nothing, though.”

“We won’t,” said Harvey. “We’ll come up with a plan.”

“Can I ask you to put some damn clothes on first?”

Harvey glanced down at the small item of underwear he was wearing and laughed. “Yeah, I can do that.”

He turned and walked back out of the room, leaving me to dress as well. I wore a t-shirt and shorts, but dressed fully, including my shoes. I wanted to be prepared for what was to come next, and I knew I wasn’t going to be going back to sleep anytime soon. I walked out into the living room to find Harvey waiting for me—mercifully dressed this time.

“Hey, what did she say her name was?” he asked.

“Verity.”

“No, her surname.”

“Guerra, I think.”

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