Page 47 of Chasing the Past

Eli took out his phone and typed a message.

“What are you doing?” she asked curiously.

“Asking Declan to see if there’s any record of you being at the hospital around that time.”

She shook her head. “There won’t be. After I was given some pain meds I passed out. When I woke up a short time later, I was in my apartment. Omar was there. He told me he’d hired a nurse to watch out for me and he would stop by and check on me often.”

“Wait, there was a nurse?” Eli asked.

Asal told him about the seizures. “They started shortly after I was back home in my apartment. Omar hired someone to watch over me. She was around my age, I believe, and she had red hair, which I thought was strange. I often wondered if it was a wig and perhaps something had happened to her hair. Anyway, she stayed with me until I was better.”

“Do you remember her name?”

Asal dug deep. “Yes, her name was Calla. I don’t think I ever heard her surname.”

“If we can locate Calla perhaps she can fill in more of the information,” Eli suggested.

It was something, but Asal couldn’t help but believe Omar had hired her to keep an eye on Asal and make sure she stayed in the dark. She told Eli as much. “I remember I was groggy most of the time for weeks after I supposedly left the hospital.”

“And you never saw the couple that supposedly saved you?”

She shook her head. “I have no memories of them. Only of the abandoned building where I was kept.”

Eli’s phone buzzed. “I’ll ask Declan to do some checking on the hospital. I’ll give him Calla’s name.”

Silence fell between them. Now that she was remembering bits from her past, she wanted to know what happened before she ended up in the building. One thing she knew for certain was everything Omar told her was a lie.

Asal rubbed her forehead. The pain there was excruciating.

“Are you okay?”

“Just a headache. I get them sometimes.”

“I’ll see if I can find some pain meds for you.” Eli rose and left the room. Asal sat back in her seat, the pain in her head intensifying with the movement.

She closed her eyes. The dark room returned. “No. I want to remember before.” But as hard as she tried, nothing came before that time.

“Here you go.”

She started as Eli appeared before her with two tablets and a bottle of water.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to spook you.”

“No, it’s okay. I guess I’m on edge.” She accepted the tablets from him and stared at the name on them. They were not a prominent brand used for headaches.

“Something wrong?” Eli was frowning.

“These have the same name of the meds I was given in the abandoned building.”

“They were all I could find. The brand isn’t made in the US.”

“They’re from Europe,” she said and wondered how she knew as much.

“That’s right. Maybe we could find out who they were sold to in Afghanistan, but that would be a tall order.” He sat down beside her. “I’m grasping for straws.”

Asal loved him for trying so hard. As he received a text and focused on his phone, she studied his profile. Strong chin. Wide forehead. Thick lashes swept down as he read the message. Her heart skipped a beat when he ran his hand through his hair in a familiar gesture . . .

How would she know he does this?

---