“Why not?”
“I don’t know. I heard from Eryx that you’d been removed from the dormitory, but he didn’t know why.”
“How did he find out?”
Gallagher’s frown deepened. “Delilah, you see him all the time. He’s a favorite at parties. He’s a favorite at everything.”
“You don’t do parties?”
He nodded. “They won’t let me, if you’re serving. But they know better than to expect me to fight unless you’re there. To prove that you’re okay.”
“I’m so sorry—”
The cell door opened to reveal one handler carrying two food trays and another aiming his tranquilizer rifle at Gallagher. The man with the trays set them on the floor and slid them inside.
“Hey, can I get some clothes?” I stood to show them how badly Gallagher’s shirt fit me, but neither handler said a word. “Please. I’m just asking for a little dignity.”
The first handler closed the door, and their footsteps faded down the hall.
“Bastards.”
Gallagher chuckled. “You call them that every time.”
“How many times have we done this?”
“This?” he said as I handed him a tray loaded with a full rack of pork ribs without sauce, a baked potato with none of the fixings, a scoop of canned green beans and two pint cartons of milk. “We’ve only done this twice.”
“Twice before tonight, or including tonight?”
“Before tonight.”
I sank onto his sleep mat next to him with my tray.
“At least they’re feeding you better,” he said with a glance at my bowl of potato-and-ham soup, a whole wheat roll and two small plums.
“Yes, and I have no idea why. What am I missing, Gallagher?”
“I don’t know.” But he didn’t look at me when he said it. He was telling me the truth, but not the whole truth.
“What do you know?” I tucked my legs beneath me and set the tray on the mat.
“Nothing relevant to your memory loss, as far as I know. You have my word, and my word is my honor.”
“Then why won’t you tell me?”
“My reasons are personal. You saw me in undignified circumstances.” He looked up, and his gray-eyed gaze pleaded with me, even before his words did. “Please let that be enough, Delilah.”
“Of course.” If I could erase the memory of every undignified circumstance he’d seen me in, I would. I took a bite of soup and thought while I chewed. “What could have taken my memory? Anencantado?”
“No.” He hadn’t touched his food. “They can alter how you experience reality, which can create a false memory, but they can’t leave your memory blank. It might be simpler than that, Delilah. Vandekamp has highly trained medical personnel, both doctors and cryptid vets.”
My pulse swooshed harder. “What are you saying?”
“Large doses of electric shock can damage a person’s memory. This could all be because of your collar, if they use it too often. Like a side effect.”
“Are you missing any memories?” I dipped my bread in soup, then took another bite. I was hungry in spite of the circumstances. “Is anyone else, that you know of?”
“No.” Finally he pulled one rib from the rack.
