CHAPTER TWO: THE MAN WITH NO NAME

I couldn't sleep. I didn't know how to close my eyes when there was a wounded stranger in my house. So I just curled up in my threadbare armchair and extended my hoodie to reach my legs. With a warm cup of tea in my hand, I watched as the storm peeled away and it looked like it had finally given up. I stole a glance at the man that laid on my futon, he didn't seem to move much. 

Only his chest seemed to heave with a slow and steady rhythm. At least he was still alive, that was a good thing. Though, his face did not look like one carrying a man full of life. He had bruises all over them, his hands were scraped raw and he looked like a man who had been dragged through hell and then dumped on my doorstep. 

I had tried to find a way of contacting his people but there was no ID on this man. Just blood, smoke and a beautiful face. When dawn came, I made coffee and unknowingly burned the toast. Looking at the burnt toast, it screamed at me that I was definitely a failure. 

I cursed under my breath as I picked up a knife and began scraping the blackened crust. I scraped so hard desperately hoping that this action of mine would somehow fix everything that had gone wrong in the past twelve hours. 

First, it was my fight with Tamara, then the stupid wreck and now a half dead man laid in my apartment bleeding all over my tiny furniture. It all felt like life was playing a cruel joke with me and I hated it. Just then, I heard a low groan and I turned to look at this man. 

His eyes fluttered open and I could finally see him. He had blue, sharp and wild eyes, the type that one could definitely get lost in. 

"Hey," I said calmly as I moved closer to him. "You’re okay." 

He looked at me with intent and then blinked like what I had just said did not register in his head. I didn't say another word but just stood and watched as this man tried to sit up and then he let out a grunt, a painful one. He clutched his sides and I knew he was in pain. 

"Cracked ribs?" I asked

"Yeah, you dont say" he responded. I didn't care for his tone and I was eager to get rid of him. He had urged me to take him back to my place after the incident, and said he didn't want to meet the police. Now, I wish I didn't listen to him. 

"You should really be in a hospital," I said, eager to get rid of him. 

"No, no hospitals, please," he asked with rasped, dry voice

"Are you serious? You were in a burning car with no ID and no phone and the first thing you are saying is no hospitals? Why? Who are you and why are you running from the police?" 

"I don't know who I am and I don't want the police to tell me who I am," he answered. I could see that he was lost and frustrated.

"You have amnesia?" I asked

"All I remember is that there was a fire, tires were screeching and pain shot through my body. I can't even remember my name" he said as he touched his temple, wincing.

"Jace," I answered. The name did not feel right on my lips but I let him go. He looked at me without saying a word and I sighed. 

"Fine, you have three days to stay here and heal but after those three days, you are out." 

"Just three days?'" He asked. 

"You should consider yourself lucky that I am giving you that much. One rule, do not touch my laptop

"Got it," he said, trying to hide a laugh. 

Later That Morning – KuraTech Headquarters

I stared at her with no expressions in my eyes. I stared at Ava knowing very well that she doesn't worry, she just goes to war. Maybe if she wasn't calling every single contact in her black book, I may have felt less guilty. 

"He isn't picking up, why?" I saw her hissing at her assistant as she paced up and down and finally stormed to the elevator "He always picks, so why is this case different?" 

"Maybe he is..." the poor girl tried to speak but she was cut off before she could even say a word. 

"Do not even say sleeping. Liam Steele doesn't sleep in. He vanishes."

We all stood in the elevator and I watched as the steel doors closed and Ava began jabbing the button for the top floor as if it owed her money. 

"Maybe you should try calling Cass," I suggested knowing fully well that it would rile her up but I needed answers and I knew she needed it as well.

She sighed before she picked up her phone and dialed the second number, he picked immediately. 

"Cassian, he is missing. I can't reach him and I don't know why." 

"I know he is," Cass responded. 

"How?" 

"Cause I saw the fire." 

Immediately I saw her face lose all expression. "You were there?" 

"You are asking the wrong questions. What you should be asking now is what will he do to us now that he is off the radar and probably knows that we tried to kill him?" 

"Don't you dare drag me down with you. I told you this was a stupid idea. If Liam comes for me, I will personally do everything to make your life a living hell," Ava said before she ended the call. 

---

That Night – My Apartment Again

Amara

Jace had gotten a bit stronger now, at least he could walk perfectly without leaning on the wall to prevent him from falling down but he still did not remember who he was. I had planned to fold the laundry today and so I moved it to the kitchen table where he was sipping a cup of coffee.

Somehow, we had gotten close and as fate would have it, we seemed to have more in common with each other than I would have ever expected.  I didn't want that. He would be leaving in 3 days and I could not allow myself to fall for someone that would be gone before the weekend.

"Why don't you have any pictures?" His voice rang through my head, disrupting the thoughts I had. 

"What?" I asked as I glanced up. 

"Well, I have been looking round your apartment, I can't find pictures. No families, no friends, no nothing. Why?" He asked. 

"I don't appreciate you going through my stuff like that but if you must know, I don't believe in memories. They all lie, they make you think of and miss people who probably can't remember you and worse, they make you hope for things that you can never have again."

He looked at me for a while without saying a word and then he asked, "who did you lose?" 

"My parents," I didn't hesitate to answer his questions and I did not know why. "They died when I was fifteen,  cause of death, a freaking lab explosion. The government said it was an accident but I know it was murder." 

"And that's why you are alone."

"I prefer to be alone than to be betrayed." 

"Question, why did you save me?" 

The truth is, I didn't know. I just knew that I had to do something, I was already living with a lot of guilt. If I had walked away, then the scene of him dying may just send me to my early grave. 

"Because I saw myself in you. You were running from the kind of fire that was also chasing me." He didn't say another word, just went to sleep while I stayed awake, wondering what I would do with myself. 

When I noticed that he was fast asleep, I went to his half burned duffel bag. I need answers and when I opened it, I found the answers but they were far from what I was expecting. Inside his duffel bag, I found a metal, polished and half melted security tag. It was a SteeleTech Security Clearance for a L. Steele.

With shaking hands, I dropped the duffel bag. The man in my house was not Jace, he was Liam Steele. No, I muttered to myself as I shook my head. 

How did the biggest tech empire in the world get to my apartment and worse, he came with no memory, a fake name, and a flash drive that someone had tried to burn him with?

This was not an accident. Someone purposefully wanted this man dead and now that man was in my apartment.