“Finally, you pick up. Didn’t you see that you have a hundred missed calls from me?”
“Yes I did, but I had somewhere to be before I called you back. I had to find someone I’d lost in the mess that was the end of Hallow Hall. Someone important.” Not to mention that Paolo had been calling me nonstop to report on Katarina’s movements, including the fact that she’d decided to smash up the bedroom. I hurried back at that news.
Giada was quiet for a moment, and then I could hear the smile in her voice. “I told her you’d find her. I was so right.”
“You told her what? You’ve spoken to her?” I asked, confused. I came to a stop in the street.
“Mm-hmm, yes, I have. She called me... well, someone close to me called for her.”
“Tell me everything,” I demanded.
Once her story was over, I stood at the side of the road watchingcars pass, turning the road to gray slush. It was cold, but I couldn’t feel it. The inevitability of fate felt like it was closing in on all sides.
Katarina had run into Renato De Sanctis’s sister-in-law? It was almost enough to make a believer out of me.
“I told her you’d find her, and you did.”
“She knew me? I mean, she was looking for me? When was this?”
“Bright and early yesterday morning. Why? Is she not looking for you anymore?”
“No. She’s not. She doesn’t know me. They’ve done something to her.” I fought to keep my anger calm. They were dead. They got what they deserved.
“Shit, really? What are you going to do with her?” Giada asked.
“I married her.”
“What?” Giada’s voice exploded over the line. “Why? You married her, as in it’s already done? You just told me that she doesn’t know you...”
“She was asleep for the ceremony. I’ll tell her all about it when she’s feeling back to herself.”
“Why wouldn’t you just wait?” Giada said, exasperated.
“Because she’s mine, and it’s time everyone knew it. We won’t be parted again,” I told her resolutely.
She was quiet for a long moment and then whistled softly. “So, you’re like in love with her... or obsessed...”
“Both. She won’t be taken from me again.”
“Okay, okay, I’m not trying to take her anywhere, jeez. Lucy is panicking about where she went.”
“Tell her that everything is fine,” I commanded.
Giada chuckled. “Sure it is, she’s just married to some lunatic she doesn’t know. Absolutelyfine.”
I cast my eyes toward the sky, thinking of my angel in my room right now, worn out from breaking things, safe and sound in my house.
“She knows me. She knows me like no one ever has. Soon, she’ll remember that.”
“You hope,” Giada added.
“I know.”
She sighed. “Take it from someone who had a few memory problems a little while back. There’s nothing scarier than some big, terrifying guy telling you he’s your husband when you don’t recognize him. Take it easy with her. Make sure she’s better before you tell her.”
“I will. Don’t worry. Her well-being is my topmost priority. Also, I need you to find someone’s address for me. A doctor from Hallow Hall. He goes by Blackwood and seems to be the real deal as far as I can tell.”
“First name?”