Page 11 of Brody
I hadn’t told Brody about the memory I’d regained. It wasn’t much. I still didn’t know my full name or anything about myself, but it was something. Maybe even enough to help them identify me.
Yet, during the rest of our trip after the shootout, I’d kept the secret of my returned memory locked tightly behind my lips and pretended it didn’t exist.
All the doctors and nurses had talked about the potential to regain my memory as a good thing, but there was no guarantee that my memories would be pleasant ones.
If the first memory I’d regained was any indication, it might be best if all the rest stayed forgotten.
Sighing to myself, I started getting dressed. Moping around in a borrowed bedroom, hesitating to put on borrowed clothes, wasn’t going to solve anything.
A few minutes later, I came back downstairs where Brody and the two other men were sitting on the house’s front porch. I could see them through the window, and stopped when I noticed the dogs lying at their feet. Two of their dogs were some sort of large breed. I couldn’t remember the exact name of either breed, but they were very muscular and even had a few scars like they’d been in a fight before. These two didn’t surprise me, as they seemed like typical guard dogs that someone like Brody would have.
What did surprise me was the comically small Chihuahua sitting in Brody’s lap. As the men talked, the little dog wouldoccasionally let out a high-pitched bark, like it was contributing to the conversation. Every time it did, the larger dogs would raise their heads like soldiers standing to attention on the order of their sergeant. Eventually, they would relax and put their heads back down, but a few minutes later the cycle would repeat. It was an odd, but endearing sight.
That seemed to sum up the entire home that Brody had built for himself.
Odd, but endearing.
I was about to open the front door and join them when I realized I could hear their voices through a crack in the partially open window. I heard my name and knew they were talking about me. Eavesdropping was wrong, I knew this, but I couldn’t help myself. Leaning my back against the wall so I remained out of sight, I listened in on them.
“Maybe bringing this Ellis guy here wasn’t a good idea,” Magnus said while leaning over the arm of his chair to scratch one of the larger dog’s heads.
“What was I supposed to do?” Brody immediately replied. “We dropped a tree on the man. I couldn’t just leave him at the hospital. He had nowhere to go.”
“I’m not criticizing your generous heart, Brody. But the moment you left the hospital, you were immediately accosted by a group of men with guns.”
The rocking chair creaked as Brody leaned back. “After everything that’s happened, it’s not really surprising. I’m just sorry about the bad timing. Ellis shouldn’t be dragged into all this.”
With my back against the wall, I could only see part of the view out the window. Magnus looked off to the side at something beyond my line of sight, which I assumed must have been Trent as the other man spoke up a moment later.
“Well, Brody, are you sure those men were afteryou? Like you said, the timing was bad. Everything’s been quiet for a while now. Then, as soon as this guy shows up, you get attacked. It’s still unclear why he was camping in a restricted area of the woods. For all we know, he could be involved with everything that’s happening.”
I didn’t need to see Brody to know what kind of expression he was making. His audible scoff spoke volumes.
“What? You think he’s responsible for the body we found?”
The other two men immediately disagreed, but I never heard what they said.
My lungs constricted and I couldn’t breathe. A sound like buzzing flies filled my mind, and the sharp metallic taste of panic coated my tongue.
It tasted suspiciously like blood.
Body?
Someone had found a body?
Immediately, my mind was filled with images of the shoot-out from earlier that day, and the memory of blood mixing with dirt.
White noise filled my mind, and I could think of only one thing.
Escape.
My limbs moved of their own accord, as if my body had switched over to autopilot. Brody’s house wasn’t particularly large. Even from my position by the front window, I could see straight through to the kitchen, including the door to the back yard. Beyond that door lay the rest of the property, and beyond the edge of the property lay a vast forest. If I was careful, no one would see me.
As quietly as I could, I moved away from the window and slipped out the backdoor into the shadows of dusk. Not a trace of my presence was left behind.
CHAPTER 3
Brody
