Page 12 of Hell of a Mess
“We were going to go enjoy some sunshine, although it’s a bit cool today. I need to take…her…” She paused, glancing at me briefly.
“Lace,” I supplied on instinct, and at my response, my eyes went wide, mimicking Jayda’s. “My name,” I said, sucking in a breath. “My name is Lace.”
“Lace?” Locke asked, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
I nodded with excitement. It was nice to find out something new about myself. I didn’t feel like such a complete loser.
“You remembered!” she squealed and clapped her hands together as she beamed. “This is fantastic. I need to call Linc. Wait, um, first, let’s get you some clothes. But do you remember anything else?”
The hopefulness in her eyes made me wish more than anything that I did. But I was still blank. The name Lace had just been there suddenly. Nothing more.
I shook my head. “I…don’t.”
“It’s okay. That’s great progress,” she assured me, linking her arm with mine. “We will get you out of this awful gown and into real clothes, then let Linc know that you have a name.”
I glanced from her to Locke. “What about Luther?”
Why Linc? He didn’t much care for me. I preferred that she tell Luther. Then maybe he’d come back from wherever he was.
“Uh, yeah, Luther isn’t the boss,” Locke replied.
“Boss?” I asked, wanting him to elaborate. I’d already pickedup on Linc possibly being in charge, but I wanted more information about that.
“He makes the final call on things. Not really a boss, just the head of this branch of the company they work for,” Jayda explained, shooting Locke an annoyed glance that she covered up quickly.
“What company do they work for?” I asked, hoping Locke would answer. He had told me the most I’d learned since arriving here.
“A boring one. Money lending, number crunching, some horse stuff,” Jayda said before Locke could tell me anything. “Come on. Let’s go get you dressed…” She paused and grinned, then added, “Lace.”
The familiar name made me feel relief, as if I needed to hear that name. I liked the sound of it. There was a warmth in someone saying it aloud. Maybe that was normal when you had forgotten your own name and remembered it.
Five
Luther
Linc glanced down at his phone while Bane played the extra footage he’d gotten his hands on from the bar across the street from Sovereign House. We didn’t have an exact view of the parking lot—at least not the corner Ocean Eyes had been found in—but if someone had come and left around that time, we could see that. It was unlikely they’d left the club, beaten the shit out of her, and gone back inside.
“She remembered her name,” Linc said, looking up at me.
My attention was no longer on the screen as I waited for him to finish. “What is it?” I asked when he didn’t continue.
“Lace.”
Lace. I wanted to grin because that fucking fit. Lace was delicate, just like she was. I didn’t smile though because they’d both get the wrong idea.
“Anything else?” I asked, hoping she could give us a lead.
He shook his head. “No. Jayda said when she was talking to Locke, she faltered on what to call her, and she just supplied it.”
Wait. “Locke?”
He nodded. “Yeah. He’s at the house too. She brought Lace upstairs to get some sunshine while everyone is gone. Seems she also likes dogs.”
Why was Locke at the goddamn house? He had his own house.
“You got a problem with something?” Linc asked me, narrowing his eyes.
“No,” I bit out.
