AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No, not really.” I consider accusing him of changing the subject, but I fear he hasn’t. “I’ve thought about it, and I remember a bit more about you taking me away from the boat, but that’s about it.”
“Do you remember seeing the creeper guy at all?”
“He was involved, wasn’t he?” The look on Deklan’s face confirms my suspicions. “Who hired him, Dek? You have to tell me, and don’t you dare say ‘later!’”
“I’m pretty sure he was,” Deklan says. “Exactly how, I haven’t figured out yet. I was hoping you might remember something else—something I could use against him—but I don’t want to push you.”
“Miss Jolly said she could help me remember if I wanted to.”
“That therapist?” Deklan wrinkles his nose at the idea. “I don’t want her in our business.”
“But she said if she hypnotized me, I might remember it.”
“Seriously?” Deklan shakes his head. “What a crock of shit.”
“It might work, Dek.” I sit up and place my hand on his leg. “I might remember him. I might remember all kinds of stuff.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Deklan mumbles. “You don’t want to remember. You’ve said that many times.”
“Maybe it’s different now.”
“What’s different? What could possibly make you want to remember it now when you have kept that shit out of your head for years?”
I think carefully before I answer.
“I kept it out because I didn’t want it to interfere with my life. I didn’t want to dwell on bad memories. Remembering doesn’t change anything that happened, and not knowing the details might save me some grief. But now…now it’s interfering with my life anyway. I’m getting escorted around by some goon; you’re worried, and I can’t even go to work. If I remembered, maybe I would know who else was involved, and you wouldn’t have to worry about me.”
I refrain from saying why Deklan wouldn’t need to worry. Pointing out that I know he’s going to kill anyone involved isn’t going to make me feel better about remembering.
“If you aren’t worried, maybe I can keep my job.” I look up at him pleadingly. “I like my job, Dek. I know it’s mundane and kind of silly, but I like it. I don’t want to quit.”
“Even if that means remembering the other shit?” he asks quietly. “Maybe shit you don’t want to know?”
I think about it for a long moment, but my mind is already made up. I just want him to know that I’m considering everything before I answer.
“I want to remember, Dek. I want to remember it all.”
Chapter 29
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but this isn’t the man you told me you were going to marry.”
Jennifer Jolly has been my therapist since I was released from the hospital after the kidnapping. Though she has heard much of my innermost secrets over the years, she doesn’t know about my family’s business, and I’ve never told Miss Jolly about the deal my father made with the Foleys. I had told her about my plans to marry Sean, and Deklan’s appearance at my therapy session has surprised her.
“He isn’t,” I say with a slightly embarrassed smile. “Deklan works for Sean. Sean”—I struggle for a moment to come up with the wording—“well, Sean dumped me, and Deklan and I just hit it off.”
Miss Jolly raises an eyebrow and purses her lips but chooses not to question my lame explanation.
“Well, however this came about, I’m glad to hear you finally want to try to recover your memories. It sounds like Deklan has helped you come to this decision.”
“He has.” I reach for Deklan’s hand. “He already helped me remember a little. You see, Deklan is the man who found me on that boat and took me to the hospital.”
He doesn’t say anything. We’d discussed the story we would relate to my therapist and had enough detail to keep her from asking further questions. I get the idea he’s not completely comfortable being in a room with a therapist, but he insisted on coming along.
“Really?” Miss Jolly tilts her head and looks at Dek more closely. “How did that happen?”
“I had a fishing boat on the dock.” Deklan’s voice is monotone. “I was about to go out on the boat when I heard two guys talking about a girl. I listened in, figured out they had someone tied up in the bottom of the boat, and chased them off. She was pretty out of it, so I took her to the hospital.”
“There was no report of who brought her in,” Miss Jolly says.
