Chapter 20

Kadeem

“What’s going on?” Mateo asked, studying Kadeem closely.

“A mother,” Kadeem said aloud that time, his head spinning as he tried to steady his thoughts. “A wife…”

His wife?

“What are you saying?” Mateo asked next.

“I don’t know…” Kadeem admitted, shaking his head. But then he looked toward the man. His lips pressed firmly together as determination slowly met his eyes.

“But maybe I’m close to figuring it out,” he stated.

Following his words, Mateo’s eyes began to widen in wonder, but Kadeem dismissed his forming questions as he placed a quick hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“Thank you, Mateo,” he said before rushing away. He left the man in a cloud of confusion as he stormed out the door.

From there, Kadeem couldn’t be stopped. He sped out of the office building, light on his feet as he went to his car. He then immediately slipped inside, starting the engine just as he called the fitness club.

“I need the address of Chelsea,” he stated once a wolf answered. “Quickly.”

He sat in his car, buzzing as he listened to the wolf turn through some pages, trying to locate Chelsea’s information. But then the wolf finally spoke again.

“There’s no official address listed,” he reported. “Only the community she lives in.”

“Give it to me,” Kadeem said harshly, already tearing out of the parking lot.

Once he had the name of the community, Kadeem hung up the phone and raced toward his destination. It didn’t take him long to reach the neighborhood where he pulled over and swiftly cut off the engine before he jumped out.

There, he stood on the sidewalk, studying the various houses that lined the street. He didn’t know which one was hers, but he planned on knocking on every single door until he figured it out.

Getting to it, Kadeem went door to door, having no luck as he was either greeted by other families before he apologized for his mistake. The sun was slowly going down, but he still didn’t allow that to deter him.

After half an hour, he’d already been through dozens of houses, but couldn’t shake the feeling that he was getting closer. That remained true even as he turned down another street, briefly pausing as he stared up at a sigh.

Huckleberry.

His heart stuttered as he recalled the little girl’s words from days ago, remembering how she’d begun to give him an address. She’d mentioned something about Huckleberry Street before her brother had stopped her.

Certain that he was onto something, Kadeem began to walk again as he took in the houses, only stopping when he noticed something peculiar about one specific villa.

6285 Huckleberry Street.

The same house number…

Stopping again, Kadeem’s eyes rose to the balcony, his breath hitching as he saw there were clothes hanging up to dry that looked exactly like the workout gear Chelsea had worn days before. And beside her clothes were five identical outfits blowing in the wind.

Children’s clothes.

But why were there five instead of three?

Just then, Kadeem groaned, gritting his teeth as he felt a pain shoot through his head. He gripped at his hair, closing his eyes tightly as images again flashed before him.

He could see the wedding hall, staring at the bride in front of him. Only this time, he could make out her features a little more - swearing they almost exactly matched Chelsea’s.

Huffing, the images stopped suddenly again, leaving him to open his eyes as the pounding in his head dulled. He placed a hand to his chest, trying to retain his breath as the world stilled around him. But once he was steady, he grunted before looking back to the villa.

With determination in his steps, Kadeem went to the door, ready to throw it open without knocking. Only, as his hand nearly reached the knob, the door was abruptly being pulled open.

“What are you doing here?” Chelsea demanded, somehow knowing he’d been coming. She pushed against his chest as she moved him away from the door, likely able to feel how hard his heart was pounding. She then closed the door behind her, making him incapable of seeing who or what sat inside.

“Didn’t I already tell you I wasn’t working overtime?” Chelsea said then, making his eyes focus on her as she frowned.

Holy Goddess - she really did look like the woman from his visions.

“I don’t want to meet with you,” she said next.

But Kadeem didn’t care about her foul mood as he was too busy addressing the questions flying through his mind.

“Why are there five pairs of children’s clothes hanging from your balcony?” Kadeem asked, ignoring her own questions. “Are you married? Do you have children? A family?”

“Slow down,” Chelsea called out impatiently, smacking a hand to his chest to silence him. “You're asking a million questions. And none of them have anything to do with you!”

Kadeem scoffed at her words, not deterred.

“Who is your husband?” He demanded, needing to know. He needed to know if he was right.

Chelsea scowled at him, shaking her head.

“I think you’ve had too much to drink,” she insisted. “If you don’t stop harassing me, then I’ll call the police and have you arrested.”

She then pushed him back, giving one final glare as she began to turn away. But Kadeem wasn’t finished.

Reaching out, he grabbed her arm, making her turn back to him.

“Tell me,” he ordered. “Tell me, or I won’t leave.”

Chelsea stared at him, shocked as she registered his touch. However, Kadeem watched as her surprise soon changed to annoyance. She quickly shook him off, folding her arms over her chest as she stared him down.

“I don’t have a husband. Or children,” she stated harshly. “I actually raised five little monkeys and I work part-time at the circus during the holidays. Happy?”

She was mocking him, laughing right in his face as she still refused to give him a straight answer. That only added to Kadeem’s masked desperation, causing him to try and speak again.

“Leave, Kadeem,” Chelsea said, stopping him. “Leave or I will call the police.”

Kadeem wanted to challenge her again, thinking to call her bluff. But he could tell from her severe stare that she wasn’t lying. The last thing he needed was to spend the night in a jail cell.

Finally giving up, Kadeem grunted before he forced himself to turn away. His shoulders were tense as he headed down the porch, feeling Chelsea’s eyes follow him as he went. She was likely trying to make sure he actually left.

But Kadeem followed her order, his mind still busy as thought of the clothes hanging from the balcony or the little girl’s voice. Chelsea was hiding something and he needed to think of some other way to learn the truth.

And that’s when he stopped, staring ahead at a house sitting on the other side of the street. But then he slowly turned, remembering something he’d seen when he’d been storming through the neighborhood.

Just through the trees…sat an artificial lake.

“Kadeem,” Chelsea began, indifferent as she noticed how he stood in the middle of the street. Only, he didn’t answer her.

He started walking.

His heart pounded as he didn’t go back toward his car, but instead aimed for the trees. With each step, he grew closer to the water, everything in him screaming to run away.

Six years ago he’d been in an accident and fallen into the sea.

Six years ago he’d lost his memories to the water.

But now he was going to face his fears to try and get them back.

He didn’t falter for a second, going right to the edge of the lake. Behind him, he could hear Chelsea still screaming his name, but he couldn’t stop.

He reached the edge, closed his eyes.

And dove straight into the water.