Like these walls were doing now.
Why had I decided to succumb? That wasn’t like me. My mind raced. I had to get out of here.
I stood.
Big mistake. My knees buckled beneath me, and I ended up on the floor. Whatever he had drugged me with was clearly still in my system.
I had to go to the bathroom, so I stood again, more carefully this time. A small door near the front of the room opened to a toilet and sink. And again I thought of Talon. He’d had only a bucket to use…
I quickly took care of my needs and then went back to the bed and sat, still dizzy, trying to figure things out. After a few minutes, I got up and walked around the room, holding on to the wall for support, looking for something, anything, to give me a clue of where I was and how I could get out of here.
I jerked when the doorknob moved.
The black-masked man opened the door and came in, shutting and locking it behind him. “Dr. Carmichael, I see you’re up.”
I turned and stared. I said nothing.
“I’m afraid you’ll be here for a little while. I hope you find these accommodations comfortable.”
“I’m sure you really don’t care about my comfort,” I said.
“Aren’t you going to ask me who I am? Why you’re here? I figure a shrink like you would be full of questions.”
“I don’t see the purpose of that. You won’t tell me the truth anyway.”
He guffawed. “You are a sharp one. I’ll give you that.”
“I’m hungry,” I said. It wasn’t true, but I figured if I could get him to leave to get food, I could continue my investigation, once my head was a little clearer.
“I’m sorry about that,” he said.
“Your tone doesn’t really indicate sorrow.”
“All right. I don’t give a shit if you’re hungry. There, does that make you feel better?”
“So your plan is to starve me to death?”
“No, you’ll be fine. But you can’t eat for a few more hours. If I gave you food now, you’d just upchuck. You know how these drugs work. You’re a doctor.”
I had no idea what he had given me, and I wasn’t hungry anyway. So I’d cooperate, wait this out, figure out what was going on.
Because I had changed my mind.
I would get out of this mess. I would get out of this mess, and I would apologize to Jonah for leaving him high and dry earlier today. Or was it yesterday? I had no idea.
Somehow, I would get back to him.
And I would tell him that I had fallen in love with him.
Chapter Thirty–Three
Jonah
Wendy Madigan opened her door. She had aged a few years, but she was still the nice-looking woman I remembered from long ago. Her hair was short now, but her blue eyes still sparkled.
She said nothing for a few moments.
“Wendy?” I said.
She shook her head as if to clear it. “I’m sorry. It’s just that…you both look so much like him. Especially you.” She nodded to me.
“Like who?” Talon asked. “Our father? I’m Talon, by the way.”
“Yes. I recognize you. Come on in.” She held the door open, led us to a living room, and gestured for us to sit on a silver brocade couch. “Can I get you anything? I made a pot of coffee.”
“How about a bourbon?” Talon said.
She laughed out loud. “That’s what your father would’ve said.”
Had our father been a bourbon drinker? He’d rarely drunk alcohol. I looked over at Talon. The inquisitive look on his face told me he hadn’t known that either.
“I’m not sure I ever saw my father take a drink,” I said to Wendy.
“Really? He did enjoy a good bourbon. I know it’s early, but if you want to drink, I do have some good stuff.”
“Yes, ma’am, if you don’t mind,” Talon said. “I know this is going to be a rough conversation.”
“What about you, Jonah? You’re Jonah, right?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“You are the spitting image of Brad. It’s almost scary.”
I cleared my throat. “People have told me that before.”
She looked to Talon. “Not that you don’t look like him as well. But wow.” She stared at me again.
I squirmed, getting uncomfortable. I had been told before that I bore a striking resemblance to my father, even more so than Talon and Ryan. Why it was making me uncomfortable, I couldn’t say. Maybe it was the way she was looking at me, kind of in a wistful yet lustful way. I didn’t like it.
“What can I get you, Jonah?” she said. “You want a drink too?”
I shook my head. “Coffee for me. For now, anyway.” I wanted to keep my head. I was a little worried about Melanie. She hadn’t answered my call last night or this morning.
Maybe that was her way of telling me to fuck off. Maybe that’s why she had left yesterday so abruptly. Maybe she just couldn’t deal with—well, whatever this was between us.
Fine. I would learn to get along without her. Hell, we’d only known each other a few weeks.
Wendy went to the kitchen and came back a few minutes later with a bourbon for Talon and a cup of coffee for me.