Page 15 of Forget Me Not

“Surprised you’re not leaping into his arms, as usual, if you’re so worried. Oh, that’s right,” Wexler, a newer detective, piped up, “because you’re not—”

“You know,” Penn was bland as milk, “if I were you, and I wanted to piss off someone with a lot more years of service behind them, like me, or Ray here, I would keep talking. However, if I were worried about my career—among other things—I would shut the hell up.”

“First rule is not to get involved in someone else’s marriage,” Ballard offered helpfully. Ray scowled at him, at the younger detective, at Penn, until Benny’s voice abruptly cut through the room.

“Ray’s had a long day and probably wants to go home now.”

“Typical policy of noninterference whenever it suits them,” Callalily grumbled, not quietly. “What are they even doing here?” He turned his back on the lot of them without another word, then walked outside. Benny shot a glance to Penn but followed his friend.

It was probably a reasonable question. Ray would’ve asked it himself if he hadn’t been so tired. They were treating Ray’s memory issue like a minor injury, merely routine, and yet they were here, and so many of them.

“Need to get some food in him,” Penn explained to someone, on her phone but also looking around the room. She put her hand to Ray’s back and lightly shoved him toward the doors. “Then yes, they have him out for the next few days. Thank you guys so much for your concern. I’m sure the captain will keep you updated. I said to keep it together, Ray,” she murmured that last part the moment she and Ray were both on the steps leading out of the hospital.

Ray said nothing.

Outside, the sun had set, but the drop-off area and the sidewalk were well-lit. Callalily and Benny were at the top of the wheelchair ramp. Benny gave Ray and Penn a small wave. Callalily was staring over toward the entrance to the Emergency Room.

“How bad does your head hurt right now?” Penn prodded, undoubtedly noticing Ray’s wince at the sound of another ambulance siren.

Ray didn’t mean to be terse, but the wailing siren was painful. “It comes and goes.”

“How tired are you?” she pressed.

“Enough to growl at a room full of his esteemed colleagues,” Callalily remarked snippily. He turned to address Penn. “What did the doctors say?”

“That I don’t feel pain,” Ray answered, bringing all of their attention to him. He blinked, surprised that he’d said it.

“What?” Callalily asked, then was suddenly closer if not louder. “What?”

Ray hadn’t expected to see outrage on Callalily’s pretty face. “That they don’t know,” he explained. “It’s ‘probably mental.’ I’m supposed to rest.” He gritted his teeth at the far-off sound of yet another siren. At least the air smelled cleaner out here. It would smell even better once the fog rolled in and the sea air washed away some of the exhaust and gas fumes. Ray breathed in before focusing on Callalily. “Thank you for coming to see me,” he offered, and had no idea why Callalily would flinch. “What did they say to you in there before I showed up?”

“Later,” Penn tried to direct, glancing around to the police vehicles still parked in the loading zone.

“What they always say, Ray. Some of them, or most of them, with one or two visibly uncomfortable but silent. What they said about my mother, but sometimes worse, because I’m a man and so are you. I used a glamour on you, whatever.” Callalily flapped a hand as if careless, although he was watching Ray intently.

“That’s why you wouldn’t come up.” Ray nodded, unsurprised. “I don’t blame you.”

“Oh, shit,” Benny whispered, already reaching for Callalily but failing to grab him in time.

On his toes, wings aflutter, Callalily did his best to get in Ray’s face. “I didn’t go up there foryoursake, Raymond Branigan, not mine. Get that straight.”

“Cal,” Penn chided after Ray’s moment of stunned silence, “you know he’s not straight.”

Straightwas a term for humans. Ray turned toward Penn in exasperation just as Callalily flipped her off and stalked away. He stopped after a few feet.

“Ahem,” Benny said, literally pronouncing it that way, pointed and polite. “What else did the doctors say?”

“Nothing,” Ray grunted.

“I think they’re hoping he’ll sleep it off.” Penn wasn’t wrong.

Callalily’s wings slowed. “What if he wakes up and more of his memories are gone?”

Ray snarled silently.

“They’re guessing werewolf healing will take care of it, I imagine. Which is nicer for them than admitting they have no clue.” Penn scrubbed a hand over her face, then sighed. “The first nurse suggested we surround him with familiar things.”

That everything was already familiar to Ray except the one thing that should have been went unspoken by everyone.

---