Page 17 of Warped

“Yeah, sure. Whatever looks good.”

My gaze darted for the restroom. It was through a set of doors, another two doors leading off a narrow corridor. A third door was at the end, with a ‘Fire Exit’ sign positioned above it. My heart pounded in my throat, and the nausea had returned, but I figured it was from the adrenaline. I knew I would get in some serious shit if I was spotted, but I couldn’t just let him go.

Not allowing myself any more time to think, I ran for the fire exit, praying it wouldn’t be alarmed. I used the handle and swung it open to reveal the small alleyway running adjacent to the main road. No alarm sounded. The place was probably breaking some kind of city law by not having it rigged. Not pausing, I ran, heading around the corner and back to the road where I had spotted X. I looked around for him wildly. He was no longer in the spot where I’d seen him arguing with the man, and my heart sank. If he’d caught a cab during the few minutes when I’d been in the restaurant, I’d have lost him. But then I spotted his broad shoulders pushing through the constant stream of pedestrians walking in the opposite direction.

I ran after him.

I bumped into people, trod on feet, shoved others out of the way. I didn’t care about all the exclamations of irritation from people, or if I was being rude. I only wanted to reach him, and was terrified I’d lose sight of him. I’d truly believed he was dead, and now I wanted to be able to touch him to believe he was real.

As I caught up to him, I reached out and grabbed his arm, yanking him back around.

I should have known that was a bad move to pull on someone like X.

He moved quickly, spinning around to first dislodge my hand with an upward swipe of his other arm, and then his fingers were around my throat. His blue eyes, eyes I had fallen so hard for, glared at me. “What the hell do you want?”

“X, please,” I managed to squeak. “Put me down.”

The guy he was with yanked at his arm. “Hey, put her down, man.”

His fingers loosened around my throat and he set my feet on the ground. “Who are you? What do you want?”

My mouth opened and closed. Of all the things I expected him to say, this wasn’t it.

“It’s me,” I said in confusion. “It’s Vee.”

The man stepped forward. “I don’t know how you know him, sweetheart, but he’s suffering from amnesia. He almost died.”

My heart clenched. “Oh, X. You don’t recognize me at all?” And he didn’t. I could see it in his eyes. A blankness, devoid of any emotion for me. It was completely different from how he had looked at me before, as though he was staring right down into my soul.

I reached out, just wanting to touch his face, but he jerked away. “X, I’m so sorry. This is my fault.”

His eyes narrowed. “What’s your fault? Who are you?”

“What happened to you is my fault. My name’s Verity. You were sent to kill me.” Dark shadows of confusion clouded his face. I wanted so badly to pull him into my arms and kiss away his mistrust. “I know you, X. I really know you.”

I glanced over to the man he was with, a silent plea for help.

But then I heard shouts come from behind me. “Hey!”

Damn it. Paulie and Warren had realized I had gone. I couldn’t let them see X. “I have to go.”

“Wait,” said the man in the suit. “Here, take this.” He shoved something into my hand, and, with one last longing glance at X, I forced myself to turn from him and hurried away. A lump choked my throat. X had lost his memory. He had no idea who I was.

Strong fingers suddenly clamped around my upper arm, and I spun to find Paulie staring down at me. “What the fuck do you think you’re playing at?” he snarled.

I blinked, trying to look innocent. “Nothing. I had a headache. I wanted some fresh air.”

“Halfway down the street?”

“I’m allowed to walk a little.”

“No, no you’re not. Especially not on your own. Do you have any idea how mad Tony would be if he knew we’d let you wander off down the street alone? He’d cut off our fucking balls, that’s how mad.”

“Jeesh. No need to be so dramatic.”

He gave me a little shake, as though I was an errant puppy, rather than a twenty-two year old woman. “You think I’m dramatic? Just wait and see what Tony would do if he found out.”

A ripple of unease ran through me. “You’re not going to tell him, are you?”

He gave a cold laugh. “No, funny enough, I’m quite attached to my balls.”

I still clutched the card the other man had given me, and was terrified they’d spot it. I needed to shield the view from them. “Fine,” I said. “Let’s just go back to the restaurant. I could eat that hotdog now.”

And it was true. I was suddenly ravenously hungry. I could have eaten two. I thought they might tell me I’d blown my chance and that we were heading back, but they obviously wanted their food, too.

The moment I turned my back to them, I slipped the card down the front of my shirt and into the side part of my bra. I didn’t think any of them would be looking down there any time soon.

My heart wrenched for X. I desperately wanted to be with him. I felt as though if I took his face in my hands and kissed his mouth, and made him look into my eyes, he would remember me.

But, more important than him remembering me was the fact he was still alive. For the first time in two weeks, a spark of hope lit inside me.

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