He stood from where he’d been squatting in front of the sofa.
When he turned to leave, I asked, “Do you think I’ll get my memory back?”
His gaze softened. “I hope so. But don’t worry, Mallory. We’ll figure it out together.”
My heart fluttered a little as I smiled at him, then watched him turn on his heels and quickly leave.
Once the front door shut and I heard the lock, I stood. Piper, lying on the sofa beside me, jumped up and looked at me.
“What should we do, girl?”
She barked, started toward the kitchen, and sat at the fridge.
“Do you want a snack or something?” I asked as I opened the door. “I should have asked Liam what you can have.”
After looking around, I found carrot sticks. “These look yummy for both of us.”
Looking through Liam’s cabinets felt strange, so when I found the dishes after opening just the second cupboard, I did a little fist pump. Pouring some carrots into a bowl, I returned the bag in the refrigerator and made my way to the living room with Piper hot on my heels.
As I sat down, I couldn’t help but wonder if Liam was dating anyone. What would happen if his girlfriend showed up to find a strange woman in his house?
That thought naturally led me to think about Emily. I ran a hand over Piper’s back as I ate a carrot, then fed one to the dog.
“What are the odds that Emily would disappear, and her necklace was in the same place I was if shewasn’ttaken by that man?” I asked myself. “God, poor Liam. To lose his fiancée…he must have been devastated.”
Did I have someone waiting forme? Wouldn’t I feel it if I did?
How far had I run? Could the man be looking for me even now?
Looking down at Piper, I sighed. “Should I go to the police? What if heisthe police? Do I live around here? I just don’t know who to trust.”
I closed my eyes and groaned as a tear slipped free. I quickly wiped it away. “Why can’t I remember anything? I don’t even know if Mallory’s my real name. Maybe that monster just called me that.”
An idea struck, and I stood. “Does your daddy have a computer, Piper?”
The dog started running around the kitchen island, like she was looking for a toy or something. Then she went down a hall to a closed door.
Chewing on my thumbnail, I walked over to the door. “This is snooping, I’ll have you know.”
Piper barked.
“Fine, if he comes back and finds me in this room, I’m going to tell him you gave me permission.”
The crazy dog started to wag her tail. I rolled my eyes and reached for the doorknob. I turned it and slowly opened the door. It was an office.
Piper ran in, went to a dog bed and grabbed a toy before hauling it back out the door. I laughed and shook my head as I walked closer to the desk. On the surface sat an open laptop.
“I wish I had your phone number, Liam.”
I pushed the space bar, and the computer woke up. “He really should put a password on this,” I said as I unplugged the laptop and brought it into the kitchen. Piper dropped her toy at my feet, and I reached down to pick it up. I gave it a slight toss and the dog took off after it. She jumped and hopped, then she returned to me and dropped her toy again.
“Something tells me your dad wouldn’t like us playing fetch in his house. Let me try to look something up, and then we’ll play tug outside or something. Sound good?”
Piper sat down and barked. I was beginning to think the dog could understand what I was saying to her.
I opened Liam’s computer and hit the browser to search. Stopping abruptly, I looked down at Piper. “I can’t remember who I am, but I know how to work a computer. How weird is that?”
Once the search engine was pulled up, I typed in the only thing I could think to type.
