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With nothing else to go on, she called Jimmy. He recommended that she just go to Atlantic City and see for herself. “Maybe she’s using a different name,” he suggested.
Holly packed her bags and Jimmy drove her to Litton and she used her dwindling savings to purchase a bus ticket. The trip had been grueling and when she’d finally arrived at the hotel, she hadn’t expected to hit pay dirt so fast. She’d plan to loiter in the lobby for as long as it took. She’d never planned on finding Jana, dressed like a movie star – and completely unwilling to acknowledge her existence.
That man who’d thrown her out, resembled the man she’d seen on the security footage at the Double XX. Holly body still vibrated from the adrenaline of being bodily ejected out of that hotel. Holly’s concern for her friend skyrocketed. Who was that man? Why had the security thugs come when he snapped his finger? Clearly he was powerful. Was Jana mixed up with the mob?
She contemplated calling the police. What would she say? My friends gone missing and now that I’ve found her, she doesn’t want to talk to me?
She was going through her purse, trying to calculate if she had enough bus fare to get to Jimmy’s friend’s apartment, or if she should hop on the shuttle and go back and try again, when a cab pulled up in front of her and Jana Peters walked out.
Jana stopped only ten feet away and stared at her. Holly looked at her, her eyes tearing up, but she stayed in her spot. She couldn’t handle being rejected again.
Her heart thudded as she waited for Jana to make the first move. Maybe her friend wasn’t her friend anymore. Maybe that man had turned her into some kind of sex slave, or worse. Jana moved towards her and Holly saw the wetness in her eyes. Holly lot her resolve to stay put and rushed to her friend, who was already moving towards her, arms out.
“Jana! Oh, Jana,” Holly said bursting into tears as she embraced and a sobbing and shaking Jana.
After the hugging and the tears stopped, Holly took Jana by the shoulders and held her at arm’s length so she could have a better look at her. “Damn, girl, you look amazing,” Holly said. She reached for fabric of Jana’s dress. “Is this an Elsa Schiaparelli?
~~*~~
Jana relaxed a little and smiled. “Yes, it is,” she beamed, as Holly flipped over the tag on the back of her neck, to confirm. “You think that’s awesome, check out my shoes,” Jana said as she showed off her Jimmy Choo’s.
“Holy crap, Jana—what’s going on? One minute you’re getting shot at by your old boyfriend, and you’re missing, presumed dead and then you turn up as some rich gangster’s moll?”
“He’s not a gangster.”
“Well, what is he, then? He sure didn’t like the looks of me. He wouldn’t let me talk to you—he had his thugs throw me out. Why didn’t you stop him?”
“I’m sorry – I was just so shocked to see you, that’s all.”
They sat in silence for a while watching people lining up to buy tickets. “So, what do we do now?”
Jana stared at Holly. She didn’t know. At first, she was going to tell Holly not to tell Merrick who she was. She had a good thing going here and didn’t want it to end. But, now that she’d been reminded that it was all pretty much a lie, it didn’t seem possible to go back to how things were. Besides, wouldn’t he hate her if she kept pretending she didn’t know who she was, even after she’d remembered?
“I guess we go back and tell him the truth,” Jana said.
“I don’t know—I’m not too keen about getting kicked out again. Can’t you just call him, or something?”
Jana didn’t have her purse. She didn’t have a cell phone either. “I don’t have a phone.”
“You’re wearing five thousand dollars’ worth of clothing, and you don’t have a cell phone. Is the dude cheap, or just controlling?”
“I just got out of the hospital last night—there wasn’t time to get a cell phone.”
“What? Why were you in the hospital?”
“Can we talk about something else?” She wasn’t ready to go back and face Merrick yet. He’d be so upset with her for walking out. She needed some time to think things through. “Look, I could use some distraction. Let’s go in there.” She pointed to the park.
“I can’t afford it,” Holly said.
“I’m buying,” Jana said and pulled out the twenty that was meant for bus fare. They could wait for the free shuttle when they got out.
Holly could afford a snack, so she bought some drinks and a cotton candy to share. They walked around the park, and just ate the sticky confection, not saying much as they watched the carnival riders and the excited children and their parents. Behind them, the waves pounded a steady rhythm onto the shore. Seagulls flew overhead, crying occasionally.
“So, why didn’t you call me?” Holly asked at last. “I’ve been worried sick about you.”
“I had amnesia.”
“What?”
