Amnesia

Chapter Thirteen – Mallory

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Mallory

My head spun as I tried to absorb everything Randy told me. Chicago? Arcola, Illinois? How in the world had I ended up in Montana?

“Shh, it’s okay, love, I’ve got you,” Liam whispered as he held me tightly against him while I cried my eyes out once again.

When the tears finally stopped flowing, I drew in a breath and took a step back. Liam still held onto me as he bent his head to look into my eyes. “That was a lot to take in. Are you okay?”

“I’m not sure. I feel like I’m outside my body watching all this occur.

I don’t know if I’m more relieved or sad to find out who I am.

From the sounds of it, I didn’t have anyone in my life.

Maybe no one was looking for me, Liam! Did someone kidnap me from Chicago?

Did I leave Chicago and come to Montana on my own? If so, why?”

“Let’s sit down,” Liam said, guiding me to the chairs on the porch. “Take a deep breath and just let it out. Give yourself a few minutes to process.”

Nodding, I drew in one deep breath after another until I felt my heart slowing, along with my breathing.

“Do you want to go to Arcola?”

My head jerked up. “What?”

“We can go there today if you want. Figure out more about who you were—I mean, are—and where you came from.”

I wrapped my arms around my body and stared at him. “You can’t drop everything in your life to whisk me across the country on a wild goose chase.”

“I’m not dropping everything. I pay people to run this ranch. If I can’t trust them to do it without me for a few days, then I have bigger problems than I thought.”

I smiled wearily. “Why are you even doing this for me?”

He searched my face, and then lifted his hand to my cheek. I felt myself lean into its warmth, and my body relaxed even more at his touch.

“I want to help you, Mallory, because I care about you. I want to help you figure this out, and if it means getting one step closer to finding the person who did this, then I’ll go to Hell and back for you.”

I wanted to believe with all my heart that Liam was doing this just for me, but I knew part of him was doing it for Emily. There had to be at least a small hope that she could be alive. And a small part of me was jealous…and I knew that was insane. Still…

“You really think there is no chance Emily is alive?” I couldn’t help asking.

His eyes softened, and he slowly shook his head. “I know in my heart Emily isn’t alive. The only thing I can do for her now is find the person who took her from the people who loved her the most. We can’t even be sure it’s the same person who took you.”

Nodding, I looked down at my clasped hands. “I think it is. That necklace…”

He took my hands in his. “I do too. Mallory, I’m not going to lie to you.

When Randy said he had a hit, a part of me panicked…

because I didn’t want you to find out who you are.

That is so damn selfish of me, and it sounds even worse saying it out loud versus just thinking it.

And I know we haven’t known each other long, but I…

I feel something for you. When I’m not here with you, I can’t seem to stop thinking about you, and it’s not simply because I’m worried for your safety. I enjoy being with you.”

Butterflies swarmed in my stomach as I looked into his beautiful eyes.

“I thought at first my attraction to you was because you saved me. You literally saved my life. But these last few days, my feelings for you have grown stronger, and I’ve been so worried because if I had someone looking for me, waiting for me…

well…that would have sucked. Because I’ve really been wanting you to kiss me. ”

Liam laced his fingers in mine with one hand and brought my other hand to his mouth, placing a soft kiss on the back. It sent a bolt of electricity through my entire body, and I shivered in delight.

“That wasn’t exactly the kiss I was talking about.”

He laughed. “We’ll take things slow,” he said, kissing my hand again. “If you want to go to Illinois, we can, or we don’t have to. I’ll do whatever you want.”

I drew in a breath and slowly exhaled. “Well, I’d really, really like for you to kiss my lips, not my hand. Please…”

His eyes turned darker, and he stood, bringing me with him. He released my hands, cupped my face, and placed the softest kiss on my lips. Then he kissed me again, silently urging me to open for him.

When our tongues met, we both moaned, and I melted against his body. For that brief moment, everything faded away and it was the two of us.

The kiss wasn’t long, yet it wasn’t quick, either. It was just enough to leave me feeling dizzy when Liam drew back and placed his forehead on mine.

“Mallory.”

It was all he said, but that one single word spoke volumes.

“Thank you,” I whispered, looking into his eyes again. We both laughed, and Liam kissed the tip of my nose.

“You never have to ask me to kiss you, and you certainly do not need to thank me. I enjoyed that very much.”

I placed my hands on his solid chest and nearly gasped at the reaction my body had to touching him. “I enjoyed it as well.”

“Are you ready to go back in?”

Swallowing the sudden lump in my throat, I nodded. “Yes.”

By the time we returned to everyone in the kitchen, they’d all finished their sandwiches and were chatting quietly at the table.

“Are you okay?” MaryAnne asked, a worried expression on her face. “We didn’t clean up your plate.”

“I am. I needed a few minutes to absorb everything.”

Randy gave me a sympathetic smile. “I know it must be a lot for you. Honestly, I was surprised to even get a hit. Then when I called, to be able to have someone tell me so much about you…”

Clearing my throat, I said, “The woman said I moved to Chicago. Does she know anything else? I had to have friends if I grew up there.”

He shook his head. “She didn’t say anything else.”

“I told Mallory we could go to Arcola, try and find where she stored her things. Maybe we can find out more information about her life, or even where she went when she moved to Chicago.”

Randy looked surprised as he stared at his cousin for a beat too long. He then focused on me. “Do you think that’s something you want to do?”

“Honestly? I’m not sure what I want to do right now. Do you know my age?”

He gave me a soft smile. “Sorry, yes. You’re twenty-seven, and you’ll be twenty-eight on July fifteenth.”

Dropping back into the chair, I slowly shook my head. “Twenty-seven years’ worth of memories, gone.”

MaryAnne said, “You might get them back, Mallory.”

“She’s right,” Randy said. “I was talking to a colleague of mine about this, without letting her know it was an actual case I was working on. She said that amnesia can be a body’s way of protecting you from remembering the actual attack, when the person first took you.

Of course, it could also simply be the result of them hitting you over the head. ”

“And you’re sure you guys don’t want to take this to the police? No offense, Randy,” Billy said.

Randy lifted his hands. “None taken. It was the first thing I said as well. But now that we know who Mallory is, we can shift our focus to the person who took her. If they live here—which they most likely do—chances are, we know them. Then again, they could be a hermit living out in the middle of nowhere, and maybe Mallory was here visiting a friend. I’ve already been asking around the department a bit, to see if we’ve had any run-ins with anyone like that.

There doesn’t seem to be anyone I’ve found so far. ”

“Mallory, the choice is always yours. If you decide you want to go to the police, we can,” Liam stated.

I shook my head. “Something in my gut tells me not to involve the police. I think Liam’s right. I need to go back to Arcola. If I was kidnapped outside of Montana, the first place we need to look is where I was last known to be.”

“I agree. I’d go with you both, but I can’t leave. I’m working on a few other cases and doing all of this on the downlow.”

“We’ve got this, Randy. But thank you for offering,” Liam said. Turning to Billy, he added, “We need to get in touch with Josh and see what his availability is. The sooner we can leave for Chicago, the better.”

Confused, I asked, “Who’s Josh?”

All eyes went to me. It was MaryAnne who answered. “Josh is a pilot.”

“You know a pilot?’ I asked Liam.

He nodded—and suddenly seemed to get shy. “I have a private plane, and Josh flies it for me.”

My mouth fell open. “You have your own plane?”

Liam’s reply was a one-shoulder shrug.

Billy explained, “It’s easier for the business, when we need to fly anywhere, to just fly from here instead of driving to the closest airport, which is three hours away in Great Falls.”

I knew Liam had money, as evidenced by his large ranch and beautiful home, but a private plane?

“Where does it take off from?” I asked.

“The landing strip on the ranch,” Liam said, his cheeks turning pink.

Randy seemed oblivious to my reaction to Liam’s owning a private plane, because he started to make plans. “Once you get to Chicago, my advice would be to go directly to Arcola. Mallory must have had some friends that she shared her plans with, maybe even gave them a forwarding address.”

“But it’s been a few weeks now that we know of. Wouldn’t someone have reported me missing?”

Randy sighed. “You’d hope. Unless you were going on a trip to Montana and people weren’t expecting you back.”

“She would’ve had to be camping in the middle of nowhere for her not to at least call and check in with someone.”

“I don’t have all the answers, Liam. I think the only way to find them is to go to Illinois.”

“Randy’s right,” MaryAnne said. “And so are you, Mallory. You need to start in the last place you know you were.”

Billy stood. “I’ll call Josh now.”

“Are you okay with this?” Liam asked, nothing but concern in his eyes.

I nodded, then let out a chuckle. “Maybe I’ll find my clothes.”

Billy had come back and informed Liam that Josh was available immediately. They made arrangements for us to fly out tomorrow morning, so we could arrive in Chicago with some daylight left. The hope was that I would see something familiar and spark some memories.

After everyone left, I went to my room to pack for the trip. Liam had been kind enough to let me use one of his smaller suitcases. I stood at the foot of the bed and stared at what I’d packed. I hadn’t even packed the majority of the clothes yet.

A light knock on the bedroom door caused me to glance over my shoulder.

“Hey,” Liam said as he walked into the room. “How are you processing all of this?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t know if I should be excited? Worried? Scared? I keep wondering if someone took me to Chicago and maybe sold me to a creeper here in Montana. Then again, I did watch a special on human trafficking when you were gone, so there’s that.”

Liam chuckled and took my hand in his. “I’m going to be with you every step of the way, okay?”

“I know,” I softly replied.

“I’ve got a bit of a surprise for you downstairs if you’re finished up here.”

Looking at the suitcase, I nodded. “I think I’ve got what I need.”

“Great,” he said, tugging me closer until I was pressed against him. “It’s nice to meet you, Mallory Lee Wilson. I’m Liam Michael Sanders. Would you like to go on a date with me tonight?”

My heart skipped a beat as I placed my free hand on his chest. “I would love that.”

Liam leaned in and gently brushed a kiss over my lips. “Piper’s waiting.”

“Oh. You’re bringing two girls out on this date, huh?”

He winked and said, “Technically, we’re not going out. We’re staying in.”

“Even better.”

Liam held my hand and led us back down to the living room. I gasped when I saw what was before me.

The lights were down, and a few candles were lit around the room, as well as in the kitchen.

A fire was going in the fireplace, and Piper was lying in her bed not far away, soaking in the warmth from the blaze.

Liam had moved the coffee table and made a cozy little spot for us to sit with stacks of pillows on the floor.

He pointed to the kitchen table. “Over here, you have your choice of snacks.”

I laughed when I saw all the bags of sweets, popcorn, a large bowl of ice with sodas, and some bottled water as well.

I reached for the bag of Reese’s Cups and a bowl of popcorn.

“To drink?”

“Mmm, I wonder if I like any of those.”

“Take your pick,” he said as he grabbed a Coke. He also took a bag of licorice, Milk Duds, and his own bowl of popcorn.

“You’re going to be sick, Liam,” I said with a grin.

He looked as if I’d offended him. “Please. This is child’s play.”

I decided to go for a Coke as well. We took our goodies, made our way to the middle of the living room, and sat down.

Piper was busy with a bone Liam must have given her before he’d come to get me. He reached under the sofa and pulled out a small table, setting it up in front of us. It was like the kind you used when you ate breakfast in bed.

We put our drinks down, and I started to eat my popcorn.

“You can’t eat until the movie starts.”

“Who made up that rule?” I asked, shoving more popcorn into my mouth.

“It’s just the rule. Everyone knows it.”

I shrugged. “I have amnesia, so I guess it doesn’t apply to me.”

He shook his head. “That’s cheating.”

With a wicked smile, I elbowed him in the side.

“Let’s see. Since you can’t remember what movies you like or what you’ve watched, do you want me to pick one?”

“That would be lovely,” I said, tossing more popcorn into my mouth.

“I would say we could watch 50 First Dates, but that might hit too close to home.”

“Why?” I asked. “What’s it about?”

“Every day when she wakes up, she can’t remember anything.”

I laughed. “Yeah, let’s pass on that one.”

“Do you like Disney movies? No, never mind, you don’t remember.”

“Wait,” I said as I grabbed his arm. “Is there one called Tangled?”

“Yes!” Liam searched on Disney and quickly found the movie. “Do you remember it?”

“I think so. The prince is Flynn Rider.”

“Yep!” Liam said. “You’re right. Although, I don’t remember him being the prince.”

And suddenly the movie came back to me. “He rescues her, so he is the prince. Just like you.”

Liam smiled at me. “I think you’re much prettier than Rapunzel, though.”

My cheeks heated as he leaned in and kissed me. The kiss would have turned into something more, had the movie not started and caused us both to jump apart in surprise. We laughed, and Liam leaned in once more, then Piper suddenly appeared between us and barked.

“I think she wants us to watch the movie,” I laughed.

Liam grinned, and I felt my breath catch in my lungs.

“Fine, but the moment she falls asleep, I’m kissing you.”

Giggling, I replied, “Deal.”