Nina woke to someone’s touch. Gentle, but unknown. She jerked awake, lifted her head… and froze.
It felt like she had fallen into her worst nightmare.
Not fully awake, she couldn’t quite understand where she was or what was happening—or whyJasper Garth’sterrible, familiar face and piercing eyes were right in front of her.
She couldn’t move.
Couldn’t breathe.
Her chest tightened, her ears rang, shards of the past exploded through her mind.
And he was looking at her—steadily, calmly, without a trace of recognition.
His hand still rested on her shoulder, hot against her skin.
His dark presence filled the space, made her want to fold in on herself, made her feel like that same helpless girl he had dragged into a dark room so long ago.
Panic was choking her, but he… he felt nothing. Not a trace of guilt. Not a trace of memory.
Only his even, calm voice:
“You’re the one who saved my daughter?”
She blinked, stared at him in silence, clenched her jaw so she wouldn’t scream. Then, in panic, she glanced around the room. There were only three of them—herself, him, and Lynn. Nina forced herself to breathe. There were people nearby. He wouldn’t dare hurt her here. And yet she was still terrified of him. Her whole body went cold.
“Thank you very much,”he continued.“They told me everything. If there’s any way I can repay you—”
She didn’t let him finish. She couldn’t bear to hear it. She sprang abruptly to her feet, stumbled back, nearly hitting the IV stand.
“I don’t need anything.”
Her voice sounded sharp, stretched thin, on the verge of snapping. Surprise flashed across his face. He clearly didn’t understand her reaction. Didn’t understand the fear and pain etched into her expression.
“You’re here now,” she said, forcing the words out.“So it’s time for me to go.”
She turned and ran.
She just ran, without looking back. She knew how it must have looked from the outside. Strange. Suspicious. Ridiculous. But she couldn’t do otherwise.
Nina raced down the hospital corridor, seeing nothing but flashing doors, pale walls, and her own distorted reflection in the glass windows.
He hadn’t recognized her.
Was that even possible?
He had destroyed her life—and didn’t even remember her face.
She ran out of the hospital, nearly crashing into people passing by. Some turned after her in irritation, someone shouted something from behind, someone stepped aside politely.
Nina stopped on the sidewalk and tried to catch her breath—then suddenly realized how people were staring at her.
Only now did it hit her that she was still wearing her bathrobe and slippers.
Damn it.
The wind cut straight through her. She looked insane. Like a woman who’d just escaped from a psych ward. Bitterly ironic.
But the worst part was—she had no idea what to do now.
