CHAPTER 10

 

When the wizened old doctor came toward him in her oversized white coat, Vincent’s heart leaped into his throat. He’d heard that phrase many times before, and of course he’d been nervous once or twice, but it was nothing like this. Suddenly, he found it hard to swallow over the lump that lodged itself in his esophagus. His palms began to sweat. If not for the comforting presence of Lara at his side, he might have broken down altogether. But he knew that whatever happened, she would be there for him. He wouldn’t be alone. And he would do whatever was needed to make sure that Jin was okay. She just had to be.

The doctor wrinkled her nose as she walked toward them, like what she had to say was distasteful.

“Are you Miss Wang’s son?” she asked skeptically.

“Not legally,” he answered. “Why?”

She frowned. “Miss Wang is conscious, and she wants to see you, but ICU rules are relatives only.”

“She’s conscious?!” Relief made his limbs strangely heavy, like stress was the only thing that had been holding him up for the past couple of hours. Then again, that might be true of his whole life—or the part he could remember, anyway. “Oh, thank god.”

Lara squeezed his shoulder gently, and he smiled at her. It was one thing to say repeatedly to one’s self that everything would be okay, and another thing entirely to get the news that everything would be okay.

The doctor smiled a little, her eyes keen behind her thick glasses. “Not a son, but like one, eh?”

“Beg pardon?” Vincent paused as the meaning of what she’d said caught up to him. “Oh, you mean Jin? Yeah. Neither of us really have family. I mean, she’s got a son, but he never comes to see her even though she tries. I was thinking I should call him, but I wasn’t sure what to say.”

“So whatever she says to you will be repeated to the son?” asked the doctor.

“Within reason. If she calls him a no good idiot, I probably shouldn’t repeat that.”

The doctor tittered daintily behind one hand. “Yes, I can see that. Okay, we’ll make an exception this one time, but if anyone asks, you’re her adopted son, and I didn’t know any different, yes? Stupid hospital policy, anyway. Chosen family is just as valid as blood family. Sometimes even more.”

Vincent smiled gratefully at her. “I completely agree.”

Lara stayed behind in the waiting room, although she did caution him that she might head down to the cafeteria for some snacks. Then she grilled him on his culinary likes and dislikes, promising to get him something too. It was such a small thing, but it felt huge to Vincent. Of course Jin did that kind of thing for him. Sometimes she even baked for him, and she claimed to hate baking. But she didn’t know what he was, or what he’d done. Lara did, and she didn’t care. Maybe he should stop hiding too. Because he could admit that he hid from the world out of guilt. All the time.

Maybe he’d tell her that. Something told him that Lara of all people would understand. She seemed better adjusted than he was, but she still moved from place to place for her job from what he understood. That had to make her feel like an outsider, kind of like he did. The knowledge that one could touch someone and end their life, or make them fall in love with a gesture, kind of set a person apart whether they liked it or not. He would have to talk about this with Lara. Maybe she felt lonely sometimes too, and it would be good for them both to have someone to share that with.

But in the meantime, he needed to see Jin, and he turned his attention to that as he walked through the doors into the cardiac ICU. The doctor led him into the unit, with all of its beeping monitors and sunken, bedridden figures covered in blankets and wires. Vincent dealt with death all the time, but he didn’t think he would have been able to stand day after day working in a place like this. His department was dealing with people who deserved to die, and he wasn’t sure anyone deserved to die like this.

The doctor gestured toward one of the curtained stalls, where the bed was propped up on one end. Jin sat in the bed, with a cannula in her nose and an IV on the back of one hand, but otherwise looking relatively unscathed from her ordeal. She smiled as she saw him, but as soon as he approached, her face rearranged itself into a scowl.

Before he could ask what was bothering her, she said, “Where is that police man? I’d like to shove my fist up his ass.”

He looked around, scandalized, to see if anyone was listening. “Jin, you can’t say that. You’ll give someone else a heart attack. It sounds…way sexier than you might have intended.”

She snickered. “You’re probably right. He wasn’t my type. Then I guess I’d like to shove my fist up his nose. Is that better?”

“Much. And I don’t know where he is. He did CPR on you, though. Probably saved your life. I did too. We traded off.”

CPR, he’d found, was much more work than it seemed. Trading off with the detective had made it easier, but the five minutes before the ambulance had arrived seemed to take forever. Funny how some chest pushes and rhythmic breathing could make a person out of breath. He knew it wasn’t him. He worked out constantly. Maybe even too much, just out of boredom.

Jin made a face. “It’s probably not nice of me to complain, but if I’m going to be sucking face with someone, I’d rather have it not be that detective. He isn’t my type.”

“Well, neither am I,” he said dryly.

“No, but you’re like family. And he had the nerve to…what was he accusing you of? Poisoning some customer? Throttling him for the food money? I didn’t even understand what he was trying to say. I was too busy thinking about shoving my fist in his…face.”

Although she spoke lightly, the monitor at her side began to beep more rapidly as her heartbeat sped up. Vincent looked at it in concern.

“You need to stay calm, Jin. I’m sure that excitement isn’t good for you right now,” he said.

“Screw that.”

He huffed out an exasperated breath. “Fine, then. If you don’t calm down, they’ll kick me out. If that’s what you want, go right ahead.”

An approving smile grew on her lips. “Now, I can’t argue with that. You’re a smart boy, Vincent. I still don’t know why you’re working for me. Except for the part where you don’t legally exist.”

He blinked. He’d provided papers to her when she’d hired him, and she’d seemed to think nothing of it. But apparently, she was keener than he’d realized. It didn’t surprise him, although he was still willing to bet she knew nothing about the angel of death thing. No way would she be able to keep that kind of thing under wraps. She would have at least asked him about it by now, wouldn’t she?

She grinned. “Yes, I know you’re not who you claim to be. But I don’t care. You’re my Vincent, and that is enough for me.”

He felt strangely compelled to explain himself. Although maybe it wasn’t strange at all to admit that he cared what she thought.

“I don’t know who I am,” he said. “I have amnesia. No memory of my identity at all. I’m sorry I lied to you, but I didn’t know what else to say, and I needed the job.”

She considered this explanation quietly, and then nodded. “Yes, I can see that. And I knew you’d say something eventually. But if I’m going to die, I’d like to know before I go. I’ve been curious.”

“You’re not going to die,” he reassured her.

“Everyone does sometime,” she said. “Can you do something for me?”

“Anything,” he said readily. “What do you need? Stuff from home? Should I feed your cat?”

“Didn’t I tell you? That rat bastard took off on me!” Her heart rate sped up a little again. “I even started buying him the expensive cat food. He’s probably off chasing tail somewhere.”

“Well, I can pick up the mail and see if he’s back. Or if you have pictures, I could make missing cat posters for you.”

“You’ll have your hands full looking after the restaurant,” she said. “I hate to say this, but I think you need to call Lo.”

“Your son? I was already planning on it. He deserves to know that you’re sick. Maybe he’ll find the time to come see you. I know he’s busy, but…I’ll make sure he understands that it’s important.”

She shook her head. “I don’t care if he comes to see me or not. I’m not stupid. I know he makes excuses to avoid seeing me. Even for holidays! You’re more of a son to me than he is. I’m lucky to have you.”

He took her hand. “Me too. Especially since… you know. I don’t remember my family. If I even have one. You’d think if I did, they’d be looking for me, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course they would. Who wouldn’t want you as their son? But Lo on the other hand is a spoiled brat. I always told my husband that he needed reining in, but Lo was the first born son and could do no wrong. Never mind that we never had a second born.” She rolled her eyes. “Anyway. I don’t much care what the thinks anymore, but I do care about the restaurant. And he lived off the profits for plenty long. It’s time for him to pay it back. He needs to come help run things while I’m down. I’m sure his all-important job can spare him for just a couple of days until I can get out of the hospital.”

“Gosh, I can’t believe I didn’t even ask. The doc says you’re okay? You’ll be okay?” he demanded. “I’m an ass.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll have to take blood pressure medication, and watch my salt intake. I sense a lot of bland steamed vegetables in my future.” She sighed.

“All things considered, it could be a lot worse. And I can maybe…take care of the restaurant myself.”

But the words came out haltingly. As much as he wanted to keep the restaurant open on his own, for Jin, could he really promise to do that? He didn’t think so. He had to hunt down Ignazio before things went sideways. And he wanted to sit down and talk with Lara. He was hoping that she might be willing to help him make some contacts who might be able to tell him more about the voice and why he could kill with a touch. Maybe he could live a normal life, or at least rest easy understanding who and what he was. He couldn’t be at the restaurant eight hours a day and do those things.

“Okay,” he said, making up his mind. “I’ll get in touch with Lo, and I’ll call him out. You’re right. I remember you supported him for like six months when he was between jobs, and he never even came to say thank you. So I’ll do my best to get him to pull his share. He can cook, can’t he?”

She nodded. “I taught him myself. When he was younger, he used to work in our restaurant after school. But then he graduated and decided it was beneath him.”

“Good. We can split chef duties, and I’ll call in some of the temp delivery guys and see if we can’t cover the rest of the schedule that way. But if he won’t come…I’ll do what needs doing.”

He wasn’t sure how that was going to work out. A few hours of unexpected closure wouldn’t break the business, but he knew the rent on the building was high. And who knew how much of Jin’s hospitalization would be covered by her insurance. If she even had any. He wasn’t about to bring that up now and potentially worry her. She had enough strain on her heart already.

“Maybe your new girlfriend could help out. Can she cook?” asked Jin delightedly.

Vincent shrugged. “She’s in the waiting room if you want me to ask her.”

Jin blinked. “She’s here?”

He nodded. “She came to support me.”

The teasing look faded from her face, replaced by a thoughtful one. “I look forward to meeting her. Now, please, go call Lo? It’ll be a weight off my mind to know that the restaurant is taken care of.”

“Sure thing.”

He stepped out of the room and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, but before he could dial, one of the many “no phones!” signs caught his attention. He wasn’t sure what phone use would do to all of the delicate machinery—maybe nothing—but he didn’t want to find out. He walked out to the waiting room and scanned it, but Lara wasn’t there. If he hurried, maybe he could be done with the call and report back to Jin before she returned from the cafeteria.

He had Lo’s number saved in his phone, because one time he was sick, and Jin had given him a list of potential fill ins to call. Lo hadn’t even answered. They’d only talked once, when Lo had called into the restaurant to ask for money. Vincent had been really tempted to call him out on his selfish behavior then, but he hadn’t known how Jin would take that. So he’d said nothing and regretted it ever since.

He dialed the phone, trying to figure out what he was going to say. Under most circumstances, he’d want to deliver news like this delicately. But Lo was such a self-centered jerk that he wasn’t sure delicate was the right way to go. If he downplayed Jin’s condition, then Lo could just say, “Oh, I’m sure she’ll be fine,” and then hang up. So he had to make sure that Lo understood.

Someone picked up.

“Yes?” they said.

The voice wasn’t familiar. It was female, for starters.

“I’m looking for Lo Wang,” he said politely.

“Me too. I’m his landlord. Who are you?” she asked.

“I’m his mother’s friend. She’s in the hospital. I’m trying to find Lo. Do you know where he is?”

“No, and he hasn’t paid his rent this month. I came in to see if he’d moved out without notice, but his stuff’s still here. If you find him, will you tell him he’s got a week to pay up, and that’s only because I’m nice.”

“Uh… sure,” he said, but it was no use, because she’d already hung up.

If it had been anyone else, he might have been worried. But it seemed just like Lo Wang to skirt his responsibilities, so he didn’t bother. He’d just have to hunt the irresponsible bastard down at work.