“I understand this is difficult for you. But you know, Talon, just because this person had the same tattoo on his forearm as the one you remember doesn’t mean he’s the same person who abducted and tortured you.”
I knew that. I knew with my objective brain that she spoke the truth. But something niggled at the back of my neck. This was related. I could feel it in the marrow of my bones. “Doc, it just all seems so eerie to me. That he would have the same tattoo that I remember on the same part of his body—his left forearm.”
“Yes, I can see that it’s very eerie,” she said. “But still, you have no evidence—”
“Damn it!” My fist came down on the leather of the c
hair. “I don’t know how to explain it. I just know. I know in the depths of my soul that this guy is the guy.”
“You say you met him?”
“Yeah, I did. Jade’s mom was in a car accident, and he was the driver. He walked away unscathed, but Jade’s mother’s airbag didn’t deploy, and she was badly injured.”
“My goodness, will she be okay?”
“They think so. She’s unconscious most of the time now, but the prognosis is good.”
“Well, that’s good at least. Let me ask you, Talon. Did you feel any hint of recognition when you met this man?”
I shook my head. “I wouldn’t recognize any of them if I saw them on the street. They were always masked. The only thing I remember about the worst one is that he had that tattoo on his left forearm and he had brown eyes.”
“And this Nico, did he have brown eyes?”
I closed my eyes. “I wasn’t looking that closely. But I think he did. And Jade thinks he has brown eyes. He has a Mediterranean look, you know, olive skin and black hair. So they were most likely brown.”
“Perhaps you should pursue this, Talon,” Dr. Carmichael said. “It could be a shot in the dark, but at least it’s a shot.”
“I have every intention of pursuing it. But the guy seems to have fallen off the face of the earth.” And so had Jade’s boss. Could there possibly be any relationship between the two?
“I wonder…”
“What?”
“You met him. You told him your name, right?”
“Either I did or Jade did. I can’t remember.”
“Hmm, I don’t know, Talon. It could be a coincidence that he disappeared after meeting you, or it could be that meeting you sent him into hiding.”
God. This was all too much for me right now. Was it truly possible that I had found one of my abductors? Only to have him disappear? My mind wasn’t ready to deal with this, so I did the only thing I could at the moment. I changed the subject.
“Jade asked me to stay the night with her last night.” I gripped those damned hunter-green chair arms.
“And?” Dr. Carmichael said.
“And I couldn’t. You know why.”
“Did you want to?”
“Of course. More than anything.” And that was definitely the truth. I wanted to be with her more than anything. I never wanted to let her out of my sight. I wanted to protect her with everything that I was. But I knew I wasn’t ready to do that yet. Before I could protect her, I had to heal myself.
“When do you think you’ll be able to spend the night with her?”
“I don’t know. What if I never can?”
Dr. Carmichael smiled. “Talon, you will be able to. We will work and get you through this, and one day, you will be able to spend the night with the woman you love.”
I hoped with all my heart she was right.