A knock on the door pulls me from my thoughts.
Kent enters, wearing his signature denim jacket and worn boots.
He stops in front of my desk. “How’s she doing?”
“Physically, she’s fine.”
He flexes and curls his fingers like a boxer preparing for a fight. “Reino says she can’t remember what happened to her.”
Pushing back from my desk, I get to my feet. “Her memory is gone.”
He follows my actions with a sharp gaze as I stalk to the window to look out over the backyard where Emily is playing with Noah in the pool.
“How much time has she lost, Dante?”
Admitting it is the equivalent of pushing a blade into my stomach and gutting myself. “Four years.” I press the heels of my palm on my eyes. “She remembers nothing from the night before her parents died until now. Four years of her memory.”
“Will she get it back?”
Noah jumps into the shallow end of the pool, splashing a laughing Emily who catches him in the water.
I turn around and face Kent. “The psychiatrist is better equipped to answer that question than me.”
He’s quiet as he digests the statement.
We’re thinking the same thing. Tatiana’s memory loss means she won’t remember where the necklace is because she hid it after the death of her parents.
Right now, I don’t give a fuck about the necklace. All I want is for her to recover. The thoughtful expression on Kent’s face tells me he’s very much concerned about finding the necklace, which seems more improbable than ever.
“There are other ways,” I say. “We’ll just have to dig harder.”
He shrugs. “If she remembers anything, I want to know.” He dips his head, holding my gaze through hooded eyes. “She got away on my shift.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll find the men who attacked us. I’ll let you do the honors when we finish them.”
He gives a tight nod. “She ran, Dante. I don’t know what happened to her, but whatever that was, it must’ve went down after she escaped. I’ll never betray you. You know me.”
I do. Yet I can’t help the doubt that makes me question his honesty.
My promise is charged with a double-sided meaning. “You’ll be the first to know if I learn anything.”
And if I find out he was lying to me, he’ll regret the day he was born.
Chapter
Thirteen
Tatiana
* * *
I’m sitting next to Dante on the sofa in the consultation room with my hand clasped in his. After the doctor scraped out the gravel, fresh scabs formed on my knees and the heels of my palms. The stitches in my temple came out yesterday. All that’s left is to find out why a part of my memory is gone.
Dr. Chad stands behind her desk, bent over her computer with her hand poised on the mouse. We’ve declined the herbal tea her secretary has offered us. I can’t speak for Dante, but I’m too nervous to drink anything. My stomach is drawn into a tight ball as we wait for the doctor to share my test results with us. The only sound in the room is the sporadic clicking of her mouse and the hum of the printer as it spits out pages.
The space where she receives her patients has clearly been designed to emit calm and serenity. The neutral colors are warm and inviting. The modern taupe-colored sofa is both elegant and comfortable. Artful nature photographs with soft hues of green adorn the walls. Potted plants add to the biophilic style of the interior design.
Dressed in a red fitted skirt suit and black heels, the doctor stands out against the earthy tones of the backdrop. I suddenly feel very under-dressed in my casual blue sundress that I paired with ballerina flats.
