Page 153 of Blush

I tap in my code.

“Hi, Mandy, it’s Ben Black. I’m wondering if you’ve heard from Jackson. He didn’t show up for work today, and he didn’t call, which isn’t like him. He’s not answering his cell phone or his landline at his place, and I got your number from his emergency contact form with personnel. Give me a call if you hear from him, please. Thanks.”

Jackson didn’t go to work yesterday?

That’s not like him.

My heart thuds in my stomach.

That’s not like him at all.

Chapter Fifty-Two

Jackson

Brain mush. Bits and pieces come back to me in fragments.

My name.

They keep asking me my name.

I think it begins with J.

You’ve had a bad concussion, sir. You’re in the ER.

You may need surgery, sir. We’re sending you up for an MRI.

Good news, sir. You don’t have any bleeding in your brain.

How did I get here?

Brain mush.

And then sleep. Blessed sleep.

Except they keep waking me up. Checking my vitals, looking into my eyes with that damned bright light.

Sir, do you know where you are? Do you know your name?

I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out.

Then sleep again.

Until they wake me again.

Sir, is there anyone we can call?

Call? I don’t know. What’s my name? I don’t know.

“Mandy,” I say.

“Mandy? Is that your wife?”

I say nothing more. I think my name begins with J.

“For now, he’s a John Doe,” someone says. “No ID on him.”

No ID. My wallet.