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“Do you think she’ll still be there?” I asked to break the silence.
Zayn shrugged. “She better be, I’m sick of running around after her.”
“Mm-hmm, of course you are. Or you’re in love with her and as worried about her as the rest of us are.” I knew him well enough to know he didn’t mean it. He was worried about her, just like the rest of us. He was on the defensive, masking his true feelings, but I realised that had more to do with being here with me rather than what Tory was up to.
He dropped his eyes, turning to rummage in his bag for something, and said something quietly.
“What?”
“She thought it was me. Even after everything we’d been through, she thought I was the one betraying her.”
I reached out and put my hand on his arm, but he knocked it away roughly.
“Don’t touch me.”
I held my hands up and backed off. “So what?”
He turned on me, his mouth falling open in disbelief. “What do you mean, so what?”
“She was alone and afraid. She’d woken up, and there was no one there. Wesley had disappeared, no one else was answering their phones, and then suddenly you showed up, and she was scared. She’s only known you a few weeks because she doesn’t have all her memories back yet.”
He started to speak, but I cut him off.
“And even if she had, what use are memories anyway? You thought it was me, and you knew me.” The bitterness I’d kept in check since my memories had returned began to surface. “Fucking hell, Zayn. You knew me, we were... I loved you... and you thought I would betray her. Betray you.”
He looked straight into my eyes, and for a moment, his mask dropped and I saw the pain and uncertainty in his. “You weren’t there. You’re always there, and you weren’t there.”
“What are you talking about? I was there. I was there the whole time.” His anger was brewing inside him. I could see it in his eyes, and I reached out to lay my hand on his shoulder again. He tried to push it away, but I gripped him tightly. “I was there as soon as I remembered, as soon as I knew where I was meant to be. I was there for her.”
“But not for me.”
Pain and confusion echoed through my heart. “I couldn’t be there for you. I didn’t know who you were. I didn’t know who I was.”
“But you always have been. Every time. This is the first time I’ve woken up and you weren’t there. I know that wasn’t your fault, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. Now I’m angry and sick and twisted and... and...”
“Enough.” I slipped my hand up from his shoulder to the nape of his neck, gripping him hard and pulling him to me. Our mouths met in a violent clash of lips and teeth and tongues and tastes that I’d craved for so long. He struggled against me, pushing me back, but I held on. His hands fought to push me away, but his mouth responded to mine, and he returned my kiss just as fiercely.
Suddenly, a high-pitched ding had us both jumping apart as the lift doors slid open on the floor we were aiming for. We looked at each other, breathing heavily, and I let him go. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “We need to go find Tory. We need to make sure she’s safe first and then we can...”
I sighed. “Yeah, I know that. You’re right. We need to make sure she’s safe. Let’s go.”
We stood outside Hattie’s locked front door, and I glanced over at Zayn. “I’m hoping you remember some of the skills of your past, or we’re a bit stuck now. I hadn’t really thought this bit through.”
He flashed me one of his dazzling grins. “Of course,” he said. “Updated them too. It is the twenty-first century now.” He reached into his bag and dug around a bit before pulling out a black leather case. He opened it to reveal something that looked like a mobile phone. Zayn turned it on, tapped the screen a few times, and then held it up to the keypad lock. Scrolling numbers appeared on the screen until it clicked and the six-digit door lock code was displayed. He smiled and tapped the code in. The door clicked quietly as it unlocked, but I held it so it didn’t swing open. Another click from behind me, and I saw Zayn had put the case back in his bag and was readying two handguns. He passed me one, and I ran my finger along the sleek, dark barrel. It had been a long time since I held a gun in my hand, and it felt strange.
I stepped back and to the side, as did he, reaching out to flatten my arm against the door before pushing it open quickly. Nothing happened, and a second later, Zayn peered around the doorframe, gun at the ready. Nothing. No one came charging out into the hallway. No shots rang out. He slipped into the room, and I gave a quick glance up and down the hallway, then followed him as we stepped into Hattie’s entryway. I looked around the familiar place. Nothing really seemed out of place. Although I hadn’t been here for a while, I could see that she’d moved the furniture around a little bit. No sign of Tory though.
Zayn checked the kitchen and then ducked into the bathroom as I moved into the front room. “She’s definitely been here,” he called.
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“Shower tray is wet. Somebody took a shower in the last few hours.”
I quickly scanned the bedroom. Everything was meticulously tidy. Hattie didn’t like things being out of place. I was just about to leave when I saw a pile of clothes on the floor just by the dressing table. I walked over and rifled through it, finding a cotton jacket and a summer dress—the ones the girl on the camera had been wearing.
“Yeah, definitely her,” I called.
Zayn appeared in the doorway. “Did you find something?” I held up the clothing, and he nodded. “What’s that on the front?”
