Page 60 of Montana Memory

“Makes sense.”

“And…you had a shared checking account with Alan Ard.”

“I guess that shouldn’t surprise me since I was willing to kidnap for him.” Jada’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“Back when you first started dating him, you opened a joint account.” Jace’s tone was careful, measured, like he was trying to soften the blow. “Alan drained it the day he got out of prison.”

Jada didn’t move.

I did. Pushed off the counter and took a step closer, watching her. She stood rigid, her arms crossed so tightly over her stomach it looked like she was bracing for a hit.

“How much?” she asked, voice hollow.

Jace hesitated again. “A lot. Five figures. It looks like you’d been putting into the account regularly from your paycheck. I’m sorry, Jada, but it’s gone. There’s no way to get it back.”

She blinked rapidly, her mouth pressing into a thin line. “Of course it’s gone.”

Her voice was empty. Flat.

I took another step forward, lowering my voice. “Hey…”

She shook her head quickly, staring at the floor. “He used me,” she said. “Again.” A bitter laugh scraped out of her throat. “God, I was sostupid.”

“You weren’t?—”

“I was,” she snapped, eyes flashing up to mine. “Don’t try to say I wasn’t, because I was. I gave him money. Itrustedhim.” She let out a sharp breath, hands gripping her arms tighter. “I was gullible. I don’t need memories to know that I blindly followed someone who used me.”

She needed to talk this out more. “Jace, do you think we can continue this tomorrow?” I asked. “We’ve got a lot to process here.”

“Absolutely, but there’s one more thing I think you’ll want to know about right away. I found a lead on the memory-loss drug.”

That got both our attention.

Jace continued. “Guy who developed it? Name’s Dr. Anthony Beckett. He used to be a big deal—one of the world’s top biochemists. Discovery after discovery. Then, a couple years ago, he just…vanished.”

“Vanished?” I repeated.

“Well, notcompletely,” Jace said. “He’s off the grid, but I managed to track him down. He’s living in a trailer park near Spokane. I’ll send you everything I have. I don’t know if he’ll be of any assistance, but it’s at least something. Maybe he’ll know about an antidote.”

Jada’s fingers twitched against her arms. I met her eyes. She was still pale, still shaken, but there was something else there now. Something sharp.

Determination. She was already making up her mind.

I turned back to the phone. “Appreciate it, Jace.”

“No problem. The Citadel Solutions team is on pop star babysitting duty right now. So I’ve got to pass the time somehow.”

“Pop star babysitting?” Jada echoed.

Jace snorted. “Bodyguard duty for Nova Rivers. She’s got a stalker of the quite inventive kind.”

Even I had heard of Nova Rivers. “Thanks for helping, Jace. It means a lot.”

“I’ll keep digging. Let me know if you need anything else. All I’ve got is time until Nova goes back on tour.”

“Will do.” I ended the call.

Silence settled between us before Jada exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through her hair. “I want to go talk to this Dr. Beckett. See if he knows anything about an antidote.”

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