Page 6 of The Two Last Moments

His eyes. I remember his nice eyes.

And I remember bright lights coming toward me. But other than that, I don’t remember how I got here. Wherehereis, aside from West Oaks County Hospital.

West Oaks. Where is West Oaks? Am I still in California?

What is happening?

“Please untie me.”

Danny’s hand touches my arm. The contact is too brief before he lifts away.

Nurse Julie gives me a long look. “Maybe in a bit. You’re due for another dose of pain meds.”

“I don’t want any. I won’t go anywhere.Please? I don’t want to be tied down.”

Danny lifts his eyebrows, looking at Julie like he’s asking the same question. Pleading for it, even. He doesn’t like this either.

“Not yet,” she says. “Why don’t you close your eyes, Lark. Rest a bit longer, and then we’ll see?”

“I’m not…” I’m going to saytired, but the moment my eyelids close, I lose the remainder of that thought. But one thing follows me into the dark. Or should I say, two.

Danny Bradley’s ocean-blue eyes.

3

Nina answers my FaceTime call right away. “How is she?” my grandmother asks.

I lean against the wall of the hallway. “It’s mixed. No major injuries, so that’s good. Her name is Lark. But that’s all she remembers about herself.”

“That’s it? Really?”

“Yep. It’s like one of those TV shows where somebody forgets their entire identity.”

Nina’s lying in her bed, more animated than she usually is at this time of day. But today has been eventful to say the least. We’ve been messaging off and on since I arrived twelve hours ago.

Some people might ask why I’ve spent half a day at the hospital with a woman I don’t know. Helping people in emergencies is my job, when I’m not on leave anyway. I usually hand the injured off to other professionals when my part is done. Yet for some reason, Lark has latched onto me. I’d be an asshole if I just left her here alone. Though maybe it’s more than that. I can’t stop thinking of how small and delicate she felt in my arms. The desperate plea in her voice after the car hit her.

Please.

Damn, that’s going to haunt me.

“Is Matteo still there?” I ask. When I took off, Nina’s evening nurse Jess was at the house. But she doesn’t stay all night. I had to arrange for more people to fill in the gaps. “He’s sent a million texts and I haven’t caught up on them all.”

“Of course I’m here, asshole,” my friend’s voice chimes in, though I don’t see him in the video. “Where else would I be?”

I snort. “Hi to you, too.”

Nina’s eyebrow arches. “You heard the man. Matteo’s been here all day, and Starla is here too.” Starla is the daytime nurse. “Butupdates, Danny. I need updates.”

“Shouldn’t you be napping?”

“How could I sleep at a time like this?” She frowns at me, but she’s also pausing to take a few breaths. Nina’s tired. I can see it. Mentally, she’s as sharp as ever. It’s her body that’s slowing her down.

I glance around, making sure there’s no one within hearing distance. “Lark had no ID, so we’ve got no idea who to call for her. She acts like she knowsmethough. Well, she doesn’t know who I am exactly, but she seems to recognize me. She gets upset when I leave the room.”

“Are you with her now?”

“I’m just in the hall. She’s sleeping.”

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