Page 27 of Black Bay Defender
Lark’s face turned thoughtful for a moment. “Arguing with the General.”
Kong chuckled. “Since that’s pretty much a daily occurrence could you be more specific?”
“Jace had gone to Ithaca, New York to follow up on the lead we had on Doctor Dietrich. He hadn’t checked in so I had to inform the General.”
Shit. That was like two months ago when Jace had gone to Bellock Medical Center. That was when the guy had first met Paige, and Grady, as The Commander, had been ordered to capture Jace and eliminate Paige. He’d almost done it too. If the part of him that was still Grady, still Paige’s big brother, hadn’t risen to the surface and fought the programming, he would have followed through. His sister would be dead, Jace detained, and Grady would still be in Resurrection’s clutches.
“Okay, okay,” Kong uttered, shooting Grady a look of sympathy before turning his full attention back to Lark. “You’ve lost some time. Several weeks.”
“How?”
Kong cringed at Lark’s question but didn’t pull his punches. “You were shot on a recent op. Two nine-millimeter rounds to the head.”
Lark blanched at the news, her fingers spasming on Kong’s shoulder. “What op?”
“We went to Ohio, just outside of Cleveland, to a place that was – is,” Kong corrected, “experimenting on soldiers. We were trying to get them out. We didn’t.”
She nodded thoughtfully, absorbing the information before her gaze returned to Grady, looking him over without even the barest flicker of recognition. “And him? What’s his story?”
The doctor arrived before Kong could answer that question, the middle-aged man huffing and puffing as he raced through the bedroom door. “I’m here.” His eyes went to Lark and he smiled. “Look at you. Sitting up already. How are you feeling?”
“Confused. Headache.” She raised her hand and rubbed her fingers near her temple.
The doctor nodded and moved a step further into the room. “That’s to be expected.” His eyes went to Grady and then Kong. “Give us a few minutes.”
Nodding, they all made their way back to the living room.
She didn’t remember him. Grady felt numb, but better that, he supposed, than the nearly overwhelming sense of hurt and disappointment that had first suffused his chest and made him feel sick to his stomach. Was that what his sister had felt like when Grady hadn’t recognized her? Christ. It was awful. And shit… his sister would have to go through that pain again with Lark. If Lark’s last memory was before Jace brought Paige to Black Bay, then Lark wouldn’t remember her either.
Kong’s big hand clamped down on Grady’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, man. I’d forgotten about the memory loss or I would have warned you that was a possibility.”
Lynx nodded, stepping forward to place her hand on Grady’s forearm. “None of us thought of that.” She swallowed hard. “Maybe we didn’t want to remember.”
Grady’s lips pinched in a grimace. “The one from your past, the one that was shot… Did they get their memory back?”
This could just be temporary. After all, Lark just woke up. Some confusion would be normal…
It was Perrin who shook her head, and for once, her expression was soft, even compassionate. “They didn’t.”
Okay. Grady nodded, though his heart felt like it was cracking open and bleeding in his chest. Okay. If she never got her memories back they’d just go forward from here. That was fine. She was awake. Alive. That was what was important.
Kong’s hand on his shoulder bore down as he shook him gently. “But you’re proof that it’s the powerful memories that make a difference and not much of anything changed day-to-day when we lived in the lab. There was nothing profound to draw from.”
Lynx added, “We weren’t making the sort of memories back then that anyone wanted to keep.”
So there was still a chance. He latched onto that tiny thread of hope like a lifeline. When he’d first arrived at Black Bay, Lark had offered to help him. It was time for him to return the favor.
The doctor emerged from the bedroom just then, his medical bag in hand, and he closed the door softly behind him. “She’s sleeping,” he informed the group. “That’s to be expected. She’ll probably tire easily for a while. The IV nutrition did its job while she was in the coma, but she’ll need food when she wakes. Things that are gentle and easy to digest.” He set his bag down on the arm of the couch and began to rummage through it. “I have a list here.”
When his hand emerged with a paper, it was Perrin who took it.
“I left something for the headaches on her nightstand, but if she feels they’re getting worse, call me.” He glanced around at everyone’s faces. “Someone should stay with her around the clock at least for the next few days. Watch for dizziness, nausea…” As he trailed off, he shook his head. “Honestly, just keep an eye on her and call me if anything seems off.”
Nods of agreement around the room and the doctor left but Grady didn’t watch him leave. He was watching Lark’s door as his mind began formulating a plan. He’d start with a page from Lark’s own playbook. The advice she’d given his sister after Paige had tried and failed to restore Grady’s memories. Lark had told Paige to give him a nut shot to the hippocampus. For him, it had been the reminder of his childhood best friend who’d died so tragically in his senior year of high school. Grady just needed to figure out what the nut-shot-worthy memory was for Lark when it came to him.
This time when Lark woke, it was to a familiar face. Perrin was sitting in a chair next to the bed, a tablet balanced on a raised knee, and by the way her eyes were moving, she was reading something that had her completely immersed. Most likely a book. Perrin had a thing for dark romance – the darker the better.
“Hey,” Lark croaked, and Perrin’s golden eyes flicked up from her read.
