Page 30 of Warped

“Like Michael Guerra?”

“I have no idea who that is.”

Harvey gave a quick shake of his head, as though he’d forgotten something. “No, of course you wouldn’t, sorry. He’s a pretty big deal, but he’s behind bars now. If I’m joining the dots correctly, I think Verity is his daughter. You think he knows his daughter is hanging out with the enemy?”

I slowly shook my head. Did he actually think I’d have any way of contributing to this conversation? Once again, my lack of memory caused anger and frustration to rise inside of me. I’d do anything to get my memory back.

“Okay, first of all,” he started, “we can’t go storming in there, just the two of us. This needs to be done one of two ways. We either do it sneakily, and try and get to her with no one else noticing, or we see if we can get some backup. I have to warn you, though, X, getting backup is going to be risky. People want you dead, and if we start asking questions, you’re going to get noticed.”

My jaw tightened and I nodded. I didn’t like the idea of bringing anyone else into this. Perhaps I’d feel differently if I could remember people and was able to remember if I knew someone or had a history with them. What if we approached one of the people who wanted me dead?

“No, we need to do this on our own. Or at least, I need to do this on my own. You don’t have to play any part in it.”

“Hey, I have my part. I stepped into it when I busted you out of the hospital. Besides, I’m kind of interested in how all of this is going to go down. Maybe I’m a romantic at heart, and I want the two of you to get together.”

I eyed him curiously. I still knew nothing about the man who’d come to my rescue. “And what about you, Harvey? What’s your story? You run businesses, that much I know, taking money off local places in return for protection, but what else? Family? Women in your life?”

He laughed. “Plenty of women in my life. I don’t plan on keeping any one in particular around for too long, though. I like variety. My understanding was that you were the same, until now, of course. I think that bump to your head has affected how your heart works.”

I shook my head. “No, we had something before I lost my memory, I’m sure of it.”

“Or maybe this broad just thought you had something, and you’re picking up on that and convincing yourself it’s true. It would be understandable for you to want to cling to something—especially a woman as hot as her.”

I had to admit he had a point. “That’s a possibility. But if we didn’t have anything meaningful, why didn’t I kill her like I was paid to do?”

Harvey shook his head. “I have no idea.”

He turned away from me and crossed the room to a desk in the corner. It was locked, but he reached behind a picture frame balanced on top and pulled out a small key. He used it to unlock the desk then reached inside. When he turned back to me, he held a gun in each hand.

I nodded appreciatively. “They’re good to see.”

He held the butt of one of the guns out to me. “I hope your memory loss doesn’t go as far as not being able to remember how to use one of these.”

I took the weapon from his hand. The weight felt both familiar and comforting, and my fingers automatically adjusted their grip. “Don’t worry. I remember.”

And I did. It was like remembering how to work a coffee machine, or knowing what to do with a credit card. Some part of my brain had instinctively retained that information.

“You’re going to need a cell phone, too,” said Harvey, “so we can stay in touch if we get separated.”

“We’ll go and buy a disposable at first light,” I said. “I still have my card.”

He shook his head. “No. Let me pay cash. I don’t want there to be any way to track it.”

Though I didn’t like the idea of Harvey paying for me—I felt like he’d done enough—I knew he was right. “Okay.”

“Good,” he replied. “Now all we have to do is find out exactly where Tony the Hound lives.”

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