Page 85 of The Matchmaker

Is he skimming off the agency? Even contemplating this is too much to bear.

“Can I think about it?” I finally say.

“Of course.”

He heads toward the distant stairwell and disappears into the darkness.

I flick off the tracker’s blinking light. Tossing it to the ground, I crush it with the back of my heel. As I look around, hundreds of office buildings and hotel windows stare back at me. Logan said aloud what I’ve been too afraid to allow space for in my heart—but now it’s all I can think about: Whoever is after me, they aren’t somewhere out there in the world at large. It’s someone here. Someone local. Someone I know.

Twenty-five

The scenery rushes by in a blur as I speed toward the agency. Fiona’s black Lincoln is behind me, keeping pace. Hitting a red light, I reluctantly press the brakes. I anxiously tap my fingers against the steering wheel. Logan’s words won’t stop ringing in my ears:My money’s on the fact that it’s someone close to you.

He’s wrong. He has to be. It can’t be true. There’s no way it is.

But it doesn’t hurt to rule everything out, does it?

While the light shines red above, I grab my phone from the passenger seat and text Amara.

Any chance I can take you up on the contact information for an independent investigator?

Her response comes immediately:Check your inbox in five—will send you a PDF with our vetted options.

I push away the guilt curdling inside me. I’m only doing this to clear things up for myself. This way I can put Logan’s pushy presumptions out of my mind once and for all. I’ll have proof positive nothing is amiss.

My phone buzzes as the light turns green. It’s Nina:Can youcome over when you have time? Mom’s okay now. But swing by when you can.

My heart flutters. I make a sharp U-turn and head down the street toward Khala’s home. Nina said she’s okaynow. Which means she wasn’t okay before.

I check my smartwatch and push down the lump rising in my throat—this gadget is basically useless now that I don’t have my phone on me, but I still wear it every day, checking my steps each evening. I haven’t seen Khala since I was at the hospital. We’ve not had a real conversation in ages. I keep meaning to, but I haven’t been ready. I figured we’d unpack everything later when life was less fraught, except we don’t always get to choose our timing, do we? Sometimes life swoops in and makes our choices for us. Sometimes we can push things off for so long that the perfect moment doesn’t arrive, and it’s too late. The knot of resentment that I’ve been carrying loosens. Now all I feel are the pinpricks of tears behind my eyes.

Even if Khala is all right today, I’m going to get more and more messages like these as the years go by. Dr. Pang said that her memory won’t go out all at once, like a light turning off, but more like a flicker—bits at a time—until things eventually accelerate. What if the first memories that flicker for Khala are the ones of me?

I pull into the driveway. Fiona and I walk up the steps to Khala’s front door. All I have to do is turn my key into the lock and step inside, but I’m frozen at the prospect. Afraid of what awaits me on the other side.

Summoning up my nerve, I knock on the door. I hear small footsteps, and then the door swings open.

“Auntie!” Lilah exclaims. She gives me a hug.

“Hey, you!” I kneel down to give her a hug and push away the image of her on the front porch last time I was here.

“Who’s that?” She peers over my shoulder.

“That’s Fiona.” I point to her. “She’s helping me out.”

The security guard pulls off her sunglasses and gives Lilah a wave, her otherwise businesslike expression switching seamlessly to perky kindergarten teacher.

“Guess what? I got a stuffed Eevee! Want to see it? It’s as big as me!” Lilah tells me excitedly about the newest addition to her Pokémon collection. “Mama got it for me because I know all my sight words.”

“That’s great! I would’ve thought you’d pick Charmander.”

“They were all sold out.” Her expression falls. “Mama says we’ll check again next time.”

“Whereisyour mom?” I ask her.

“On the phone with the doctor.” Lilah points to the stairs leading to the second floor. “Nani’s in bed because she broke her leg.”

“She what?!”

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