Page 74 of Arrogant and Merciless

It takes me a moment to grasp what she means, and when I do, I stare at her, horrified. “You think I was kept somewhere? That he . . .that . . .” I start crying again because that possibility never crossed my mind. I assumed I’d had an accident, lost my memory, and then Mrs. Marshall’s son found me—but I’m not sure how that “rescue” happened.

“It would make sense, wouldn’t it? Maybe you managed to escape, but there are still so many missing pieces to this puzzle. Either way, I have good news. ‘L’ contacted me and said he’s following a strong lead.”

“Regarding what?”

“Your disappearance. But he wouldn’t give me details.”

“Do you trust him?”

“Yes, I’d trust him with my life. He was my brother’s best friend, as I’ve told you.”

“Is he one of the good guys?” I ask, then immediately feel ashamed. “Forgive me, Jackie. I had no right to say something like that. Regardless of what he does for a living, ‘L’ is my hero.”

“I can’t talk about it, mostly because I don’t know much about what he does, but I can tell you that he’s my guardian angel. Yet, to most of the world, he’s a demon.”

I shudder and look at her to see if she’s joking. It takes me a fraction of a second to realize she’s not.

For the first time, it occurs to me that Jackie, aside from a vague mention of her brother, never talks about her family.

I’m curious and almost ask her about it, but then I decide to let it go. I don’t care where she comes from—what matters to me is that she’s a loyal, dedicated friend.

“If you trust him, then I trust him too.”

She hugs me. “You have no idea how much I missed you, Taylor.”

“Thank you for not giving up on me.”

“I never would have. I don’t have many people in my life, but the ones I love, I protect with everything I’ve got. And that’s why I want to say something—if things don’t work out between you and William, if you’re pregnant, the three of us can live here.”

“There’s nothing to ‘work out’ between us. The only ties we might have are the job and a possible pregnancy. In a few weeks, I’ll know the truth. Regardless, I don’t remember the past, so I think he’ll always doubt me.”

William

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

“Did I hear that right?You invited Taylor to work at the hospital?” L.J. asks.

“Yes.”

“And why would you do that? I thought you wanted to keep your distance from her.”

“She might be pregnant . . .as of yesterday.”

They both look at me as if I’ve grown a third eye, but before they can say anything, I gesture for them not to start.

“I’m not discussing this right now.”

“Alright,” L.J., the most sarcastic of the three of us, says—surprisingly.

“Last night, when I was driving her home, Taylor remembered something.”

I tell them about her supposed memory loss, and just like me, they are skeptical.

“You actually believe she doesn’t remember anything?” Athanasios asks.

“No, but her disappearance still doesn’t add up in my mind. And if she really does have amnesia, I’ll never be able to know for sure what happened.”

L.J. gets up to attend to an emergency, leaving just the two of us.

---