Amnesia

Chapter Four – Liam

CHAPTER FOUR

Liam

My hands shook as I broke the eggs into the pan.

I needed answers from the stranger upstairs, but at the same time, I knew I needed to go slow with her.

She had clearly been through something traumatic.

Her whimpers and cries during her sleep had told me that much.

Three times, she had cried out for someone to leave her alone.

To not touch her. It had made me sick to my stomach to hear the pain in her voice.

I’d hardly slept the last two days for fear she would need me.

I wasn’t sure what it was, but I felt instantly protective of her.

When I’d gotten her to my house and brought her up to the largest bedroom upstairs that was an en suite, I immediately started to get the soaked clothes off her. I’d noticed a necklace around her neck, but hadn’t initially paid much attention to it. Not until I started to take her bra off.

That was when my entire world stopped.

My fingers could barely grasp the locket because my hands shook so badly. When I opened it, I sucked in a shocked breath. I’d looked at the woman passed out in the bed and whispered, “Who are you?”

The sound of Piper running down the wood steps caused me to draw in a deep breath and focus on keeping calm and not bombarding her with questions. I had so many damn questions. Turning to greet her…it felt like the air had been pulled from my lungs.

I’d known Mallory was pretty; even in the state she was in when I’d found her, I could tell.

But seeing her freshly showered, and after what was clearly a lot of much-needed sleep, she was more than pretty—she was beautiful.

Her brown hair was damp from the shower and starting to curl as it dried, and her hazel eyes didn’t really reflect fear at the sight of me…

but they still said she was afraid of something. And that made me sick.

Had she been with Emily? Had Emily given her the locket? Was she on my land specifically because she’d been coming to get me…to help Emily?

“Thank you again for bringing me here. To your house,” she said, slipping onto a stool at the island. It was clear her mind was racing.

“Do you like eggs, Mallory?”

When she lifted her eyes, I got a better look at them—hazel with gold sunbursts. Even her eyes were stunning.

“I don’t know.”

Frowning, I asked, “You don’t know?” Was she pretending to not remember anything or was she truly suffering from amnesia? I couldn’t tell, but my instincts told me she wasn’t pretending.

Tears pooled in her eyes once again, and she reached back and touched a spot on her head. “I think I was hit over the head.”

Quickly turning off the stove, I made my way over to stand behind her. “Point to where it hurts.”

She did so and said, “There was a lot of blood in my hair, and I have a knot right here.”

I gently moved her hair and saw a small bump and an injury that was starting to heal. I felt it, and she sucked in a quick breath.

“I’m so sorry that hurt. It looks like you had a gash in your head. Did you fall?”

She slowly shook her head. “I don’t think so. I think he did it.”

My heart started to pound so loudly that I could hardly think.

I returned to the stove, grabbed the pan, and put the eggs on two plates. Grabbing some bacon, I didn’t even bother to ask her if she liked it. It was clear she couldn’t remember anything, and by the injury on her head, that was likely the reason why.

Adding a biscuit, I slid the plate across the large island. “Orange juice?”

“Um, sure. Thank you.”

I poured us each a glass. Moving slowly, Mallory buttered her biscuit but didn’t add jam. By her own admission she was starving, but I could tell she was trying to be polite.

“When did you last eat, Mallory?”

She put a large forkful of eggs into her mouth and shrugged. She chewed it and swallowed. “Maybe four days ago, if I was here for two.”

Frowning, I tried not to let my anger show. It was clear she was still afraid.

Then she suddenly blurted, “I hit him over the head with a brick and ran. I ran as fast as I could, for as long as I could.”

“Who?”

Shaking her head, she wiped a tear away.

“I don’t know. I don’t remember anything but that.

All I know is, I was in this basement, a dungeon of some kind, underneath a barn.

I’d been there for a few days, two…maybe three.

I could see the sunlight shining through one of the floorboards above me.

The floors creaked when he walked on them, so I figured it was old.

An old barn. I didn’t look back to see once I was outside, but when I was running through it, I saw old stalls. ”

My fork fell as I listened to her.

“The walls in the basement were brick. I worked for hours to get one of them free. Whenever he entered the room, I would crawl to the same corner. He would tell me all the things…”

A sob slipped free before she went on.

“All the things he was going to do to me. I knew it could be any day before he did everything he threatened, so I had to get out. He always kept the door open when he came in. I figured I just needed a few minutes to get away from him, out of that basement. Then I could run.”

“You were…kidnapped, Mallory?”

She nodded. “I think so. I woke up in the basement, and I had no memory of who I was or where I was. I was so scared.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat before I asked, “So you hit him and got free?”

“Yes. With every ounce of strength I had, I hit him with the brick, and I ran. I ran so fast, and I didn’t stop.

It stormed the first night, but I knew I had to keep going.

I didn’t have shoes, and my feet were cold, and I kept stepping on things and cutting my feet, but I had to get away.

” More tears fell as she continued. “I ran through some small creeks and across huge fields. I climbed under and over fences. I was exhausted…but so afraid if I stopped, he’d find me.

Some of the hills were steep and I was terrified I’d slip and tumble down. ”

Holy. Shit.

“I tried to pay attention to where the sun was, you know, so I knew which direction I was running. I didn’t want to run in circles.

But there were so many trees, and then then storms blew in, and ultimately…

I had no idea. I just ran until I couldn’t physically run anymore.

Then the second storm came, and I collapsed. I kind of remember you lifting me up.”

Scrubbing my hands down my face, I stared at her. I had to call the police.

“Mallory, I need to call the police and a doctor to take a look at you.”

She jumped off the stool. “No! Please, don’t! He’ll find me if you call the police! He told me the police wouldn’t help me! He told me he had friends everywhere and if I got out, he’d find me. Please. No police. No doctor either.”

I stood and gently grabbed her arm. “Hey, hey, calm down.”

Mallory melted into my body when I slowly drew her toward me.

“I just need to figure out who I am. Once I can remember, then I can go home. I’m sure I must have family looking for me. Please, please don’t call the police! I don’t know where else to go.”

When she started to cry once again, I ran my hand gently up and down her back. “Shhh. It’s okay. I won’t call the police. I’ll help you figure out who you are, I promise.”

Mallory drew back and looked at me with hopeful eyes. “Thank you so much for helping me.”

Taking a step back, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the locket. “I’m helping you because you asked me to, but I need to know where you got this locket, and why you were wearing it when I found you.”

“The locket,” she said softly as she ran her thumb gently over the name engraved on the outside.

Emily.

“I found it in the basement. When I crawled over and sat in the corner that first time, I felt it. It was buried in the dirt. With the little bit of light that came into the room, I saw the name, and I just knew it must have been one of the women who’d been in that room before me.”

My knees nearly gave out at her words. I turned abruptly and said, “Excuse me.”

I ran as fast as I could to my bathroom and threw up.

After running cold water over my face, I walked slowly back into the kitchen. Mallory had finished eating all her food, and it broke my heart to know she’d been so hungry.

With a deep sigh, I said, “I’m sorry.”

She gave me a small smile, then it faded, and sadness filled her eyes. “Did you know her? Emily?”

I nodded. “She was my fiancée. She vanished almost six years ago.”

Mallory’s hand covered her mouth and she turned away from me. I could tell she was crying.

“Mallory?” I touched her gently on the arm. “Were you alone in the room or with others?”

Slowly turning, she wiped her tears away. Her expression was conflicted, and I could see the battle in her eyes. She didn’t want to tell me. “I was alone, but there had definitely been others down there before me.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I asked her the next question. “How do you know?”

She closed her eyes and sighed. Then she softly said, “He told me there were others. He liked to toy with them, tell them what he planned on doing before he did it. He wanted to terrify me…and he did. Knowing what he planned to do, and what he’d done to others, made everything so much worse.

Not knowing when it might happen, just knowing it would. ”

My stomach clenched, and I thought I was going to throw up again.

Lifting her gaze to meet mine, she blinked, and another tear slipped free. “There was also…blood…on the mattress. At least, it looked like blood and smelled like it. It most likely was mine, but it looked like it was stained…older stains.

I slowly sat down on a stool.

She gently touched my arm. “There might be a chance she’s still alive.”

All I could do was nod. Mallory had escaped, and maybe Emily had too. What if she also couldn’t remember who she was?

“Do you think he would have let you live?” I asked.