[p

]  

Thirteen months! He relaxed heavily in the straight backed chair and stared at her dumbfoundedly. Over a year! Where had he been? What had he done? Why hadn’t he been located before now?

“Thirteen months,” he croaked, unable to say anything else.

She nodded. “Oh, Nick, every police agency in the country has been looking for you. I’ve had detectives out hunting. Nolan Brice has been doing everything he can to locate you. But they couldn’t. No one could. It was as though you had disappeared from the face of the earth.”

“Nolan Brice?” Nick asked.

“Your best friend...” When she realized that he knew nothing of the man, Nick could see her starting to cry. Her eyes began filling and he could almost see the hopelessness within her.

“Please, honey. Don’t start crying again.”

“I’m trying not to.”

He rose to his feet slowly, his head starting to thump and thunder again, and took her into his arms. It was kind of difficult, trying to comfort her the way a husband should, but he tried.

“Listen, Beth,” he whispered against her cheek. “It’ll all come back to me. It’ll all come back eventually and I’ll remember. But for now ... for now, you’ll have to bear with me. I don’t know where I’ve been, or what I’ve done, so don’t tell anyone I’m here. Please! Don’t tell a single soul! No one!”

“But why, Nick?”

“Because I could have killed someone. I could be a thief, a desperado or something. I don’t know. I could even have gotten married...”

[p35]“Oh, darling!” She collapsed on his shoulder and began crying violently again.

[p35]

[p

]

 Prev. P 19/96 next