Dead Man’s Hand by Giulia Lagomarsino
Antonio
Iwas a little shocked that she had come to my defense. Mostly, she seemed to handle everything pretty well, almost too well, which made me suspicious. She didn’t remember a thing, but she didn’t act like the innocent victim. She acted like a feral animal, ready to take out anyone.
“Sir, if you want to step outside with me, I can get the location of the vehicle and have it extricated out of there,” the officer said, glancing back at Ciara. “We’ll give them some privacy.”
I nodded, wondering what he was up to, but went along with it, because she was clearly a little unstable at the moment. We walked down the hall and grabbed some coffee from the nurse’s station. After waiting for a good five minutes, he finally opened his mouth.
“Folks around here say you’re a bit of a loner.”
I stared at him, not responding.
“But you’ve never caused any problems in the year that you’ve been here. I’d like to keep it that way.”
I just stared at him with a bored expression. If there was one thing I knew, it was never to offer up any information. I told him what he needed to know and that was it.
“So, this woman really doesn’t remember anything?”
I shrugged. “Not that I know of.”
“And you’ve never seen her before,” he stated.
“Officer, if I knew her, why would I lie about that?”
“Sometimes lovers have arguments. Things get out of hand.”
I nodded. “Well, when you find that car, you can let me know if you think this was a lover’s quarrel. And as far as she goes, once I’m done here, I’ll never see her again. I brought her in, but I’m going back home and moving on with my life.”
He looked like he was about to go into some speech or something, so I turned on my heel and walked away. I flung the door open just enough to step inside and assess the situation. She was being taken care of, the doctor was talking with her about getting a cast on her wrist, telling her about the antibiotics she needed to take.
The door opened again and the officer walked back in. I crossed my arms over my chest, prepared for an onslaught of more questions, but it wasn’t him who spoke.
“What happens now?” Ciara asked, her voice small.
“Well, do you have your driver’s license on you? I can run it through the database. If you’re in there, I can at least tell you something about yourself. If not, this is going to be a little harder.”
“I don’t have my purse on me. It’s still at his house.”
“You didn’t bring it?”
I glared at the officer. “She was passed out and running a high fever. Did you want me to stop and gather up all her things first?”
The cop looked back at Ciara. “What about a last name?”
“The driver’s license said Donnelly.”
“Date of birth?” the cop asked, writing it down.
She shook her head. “I don’t remember the date…just that it would make me twenty-eight years old.”
The cop nodded. “Alright, I’ll run the name and your general description, and see if anything comes up.”
He walked out of the room, but I knew he would come up with nothing. Without a driver’s license, that information wouldn’t give him much to go on. Not to mention, it was a fake driver’s license, which also meant a fake name.
“Alright,” the doctor grinned as a nurse walked in. “You get to go for X-Rays. It shouldn’t take too long, and then we’ll get you in a cast.”
I thought about leaving, but I found myself sitting down instead. I was interested to see what the cop found out. About an hour passed and Ciara finally returned. I rubbed at my eyes, just wanting to get the hell out of here, but my curiosity wouldn’t let me just leave.
When the cop returned, I got a bad feeling. “Well, we can’t find you in the database.”
Ciara frowned. “What does that mean?”
“Well, there’s no one in the system that matches the name Ciara Donnelly and your age. So, that means you don’t have a criminal record or you’ve never had a background check run on you. But I would need a driver’s license to be sure.”
“I can bring that in later. I have to head back for her suitcases anyway.”
Ciara blew out a long breath. “So, what do I do now?”
The cop looked at her sympathetically. “Well, there are some women’s shelters in Denver. I can take you there, put you in touch with some people that can help you get back on your feet.”
She pursed her lips and nodded slightly. “What about the hospital bill? I have no way to pay for it.”
“The hospital will work something out with you,” the doctor assured her. “Now, let’s get you in a cast.”
I stood, having nothing else to do now that I knew nothing more than before I brought her here. “Well, I’ll go get your things and bring them back.”
Ciara barely looked at me, her eyes downcast as she stared at the floor, probably wondering where she went from here. I knew that lost feeling, but it wasn’t my business. I didn’t need the hassle of a woman following me around. I had my own life to get sorted. When she didn’t say anything, I walked out of the hospital and headed for my truck.
I made my way back home, glad that sometime in the last eight hours, a plow had gone up the mountain and salted the roads. They weren’t much better, but at least it wasn’t quite as slick. I grabbed her stuff at the cabin, making sure nothing was left behind and headed for the truck. As I drove back into town, I thought about those hidden documents in her suitcase, wondering if I should tell her about them. It might help her. Then again, it might put her in more danger.
With her attitude, it wouldn’t surprise me if she had gotten involved with some bad people in Vegas. If she knew about what was in that envelope, she might go looking for answers, and then she’d end up dead. On the other hand, not knowing could also land her in hot water. It was better that she knew who might be coming after her.
But then I thought about the second fake ID I found in that envelope. Why would she have two fake IDs? I shook my head. Something wasn’t adding up, and I didn’t want to be part of it in any way. I had a feeling that the more I dug, the more I wouldn’t like what I found. And I’d had enough bad shit happen over the years. I didn’t need more.
I pulled into the hospital parking lot and walked in with her suitcases and purse. When I walked into her room, she smiled slightly.
“You just missed the cop. He thought he’d hang around just in case he could get some more information out of me.”
“Like what?” I narrowed my eyes, wondering if maybe she told him that I asked her who sent her as I held a gun on her.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I think he thought I was lying about the whole memory thing.”
“If you are, you’re doing it very well.”
“Thank you. I appreciate the compliment.” She glanced down at the bags and her smile fell slightly. “Thanks for bringing those for me.”
I nodded, not saying anything else. It annoyed me that I was even still here. I should be back at the cabin, getting shit done around the house, not sitting here talking with this woman.
“Well, you have your stuff. Good luck.”
I turned and walked away, but as the door shut, I glanced back through the window. I watched as sadness crept over her face, her tough exterior deteriorating slightly. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her cheek against them as she stared out the window.
I walked away. What happened to her was none of my business. She had options, people that could help her. I wasn’t responsible for her. Hell, she was lucky that I went after her that night and saved her ass. I should have just let her die. It wouldn’t have bothered me at all. I had enough blood on my hands that one more person wouldn’t affect me either way.
I walked out of the hospital and got back in my truck. As I sat down, I briefly thought about going back inside, just to make sure she was okay, but instead, I turned the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot. I turned on the radio to drown out my thoughts. Another snow storm was coming. Big fucking surprise. I had plenty of food, but I’d have to make sure that I had enough wood brought in and stacked up against the house. Winters out here were brutal.
Ciara’s face flashed in my mind. I imagined her walking into that women’s shelter, with her luggage and nothing else to her name. She’d sleep on one of those hard metal beds with a lumpy mattress, and eat whatever soup and bread they’d serve for the day. I’d been in a few shelters before, never to stay the night. It wasn’t comfortable or any way to start a new life. But it would get her by for the time being.
And what if she doesn’t remember who she is? Where does she go from there?
I chastised myself for even thinking about her. She didn’t matter to me. She was just a woman that happened to cross paths with me. And by what I found, she had gotten herself into trouble, and that was the last thing I needed. I took the road heading back up into the mountains and turned up the radio. I did my best to drown out any thoughts of her, of how pathetic she looked sitting on that bed, knowing she had nowhere to go. I pulled over where her car went off the road and stared at the wreckage her car caused as it tumbled down the hill. I remembered the look on her face as she realized I wasn’t going to be able to pull her out of the car.
I had done my part. I saved her life. I got her out of that car and to the hospital before she died. That was all that was required of me. I continued the drive home, but there wasn’t a single thing I could do around the cabin that kept me from thinking of her, from wondering who she really was and what she was up to. By the time I headed to bed, all I could see was her lying in that damn hospital bed. And when three o’clock in the morning rolled around and I still hadn’t fallen asleep, I knew it was pointless. I wouldn’t be able to just forget about her. I needed to know her secrets, and know why she was on the road so close to me. I had to know who she was running from, and if they would be back for her. The way she was going, she wouldn’t last five minutes on the streets.
“Goddamnit!” I swore, slamming my coffee cup in the sink. Resting my hands against the edge, it was clear that I wasn’t going to be able to walk away. I put my boots on and grabbed my coat as soon as the first light of dawn broke. Whether I wanted her in my house or not, she was coming back here. I had no idea what I would do with her or what I would do if she never regained her memory. But we were linked somehow, and the best way to figure that out was with her by my side.