Max was barely able to stop the groan from escaping. He hated company functions. That meant he’d have to dress up in a tux and pretend to like a bunch of people he could care less about. He was pleased about Cadwell, though. He liked the old guy. They were in the process of partnering with him on a business deal. Normally, his brother, Trenton, would handle a new business partnership, but Cadwell owned a research facility in Cordova Alaska, a special place to Max, and he’d wanted to handle the transaction.
“Of course I’m free for Cadwell. Clear a couple hours this afternoon if you need to,” Max said as he started toward his office. The room was huge, but he still felt closed in when he stepped through the doors. He needed to take the boat out for a day of fishing and get some fresh air.
“I almost forgot to mention, Cassandra McIntyre called several more times and would like to speak with you,” Cynthia said as she trailed behind him.
Max looked at her quizzically for a moment and then placed the name. The woman had been trying to call him for the past couple of weeks. She was some reporter trying to dig up new information on him or his family. He had zero desire to be interviewed. He knew media could be helpful in his world but there were plenty of other members in his family more than willing to smile prettily for the cameras and play nice with the reporters.
“She’ll eventually get the hint that I don’t do interviews. Hopefully, sooner rather than later,” Max said, forgetting about the woman as soon as he was done with the conversation. He didn’t have time to deal with aggressive reporters.
He walked into his office and went through some much needed paperwork. He was done sitting at his desk after about an hour. He could feel the restlessness start to kick in, and decided it was a good time to go for a run. He quickly changed into his sweats and walked past Cynthia, who just smiled. She knew him well and would’ve been surprised if he stayed there much longer.
He made his way to his vehicle and headed toward his favorite park in Seattle. He pulled around a corner and looked down for only a second to adjust the volume on his news station. Suddenly, there was a loud thump, causing him to slam on his brakes. He didn’t move for a moment, too horrified of what the sound meant. He threw the car in park and jumped out the door.
“Cassandra, can you hear me? Can you open your eyes? Come on, Cassandra, that’s good, just a little bit more.”
Cassie could hear a softly spoken voice calling to her but she didn’t want to open her eyes. There was pounding in her temples and she was just so tired. If felt like weights were holding her eyelids down, but with great effort she was able to finally crack them a bit.
“She’s starting to wake up but she’s not fully alert. It’s not an easy process. She may not remember anything about the accident, which is normal in these circumstances. She may not even know who she is. Our minds tend to retreat, to protect us, when something traumatic happens.”
Cassie couldn’t understand what the woman was talking about. Why would she not know who she was? She tried to get past the fog in her head, tried to fully wake up. She lay there, wondering why she was in bed in the middle of the afternoon. The last thing she could remember was walking, and then things got a bit fuzzy. She was just so fatigued - it was hard to focus.
“Have you had any luck notifying her family?” This was a new voice, an incredibly deep, masculine voice, which seemed to purr. She was becoming more motivated to open her eyes, curious to see if the face matched the voice. She felt her head shake slightly as she tried to clear out the cobwebs.
“We’ve notified the authorities and they’ve assured us their working on it. Unfortunately, at this time, they haven’t found any information. They’re overworked and understaffed and I don’t think this is at the top of their priority list. It would be far less frightening for her if there was a familiar face when she finally comes to, though. One of the problems is that she didn’t have a lot of information on her, and with the bruising, it’s hard to see if she is indeed Cassandra McIntyre.”
“Her identification says her name. Isn’t that good enough?”
He sounded unhappy, like he was scolding the woman. She didn’t seem to get upset when she spoke again, though.
“We’ll get it all worked out. The police will give a proper id if she is unable to remember who she is.”
“You’re more optimistic than I am. I have a lot to get done and the sooner this is taken care of, the faster I can wash my hands of the entire mess.” Whoever the man was, he didn’t sound happy about being in the room with her. She wished she could figure out where she was. She almost smiled at his frustrated tone, then feeling relieved, unconsciousness slowly overtook her.
Cassie woke again, pulling herself out of the deep slumber. She lay there for several minutes, afraid to move, keeping her eyes closed. She was fearful to come fully awake in the alien environment. She first moved her legs and realized her entire body was aching. What could have happened to her? It hurt to even breathe in and out. She didn’t understand why she was in so much pain.
Slowly opening her eyes, she saw a dim light shining in the room, and even that small amount felt like laser beams pushing into her retinas. Her head was throbbing, and her body felt as if a two-ton truck had run her over.
She glanced around the small area. It looked like a hospital room, but how could she have gotten there? She looked over to find an older woman checking some papers. She was unsure if she should close her eyes and pretend to be asleep longer, but she’d never been a person to run away when she was scared. She noticed a needle in her arm, dripping some clear fluid into her bloodstream. She had to fight the panic that wanted to surface.
She turned her head to look around more, and it caused instant nausea, which made her groan out loud. The nurse looked up, quickly setting down the paperwork she’d been holding.
“You’re awake. I’m relieved to see that. How are you feeling, Cassandra? Do you know if that’s your name?” the woman asked. It was the same voice she’d heard when she’d woken up earlier. She didn’t know why, but it seemed to sooth some of the panic, helping her to calm down.
“Yes,” she simply answered. She was only addressing the name question, because as for how she was feeling, she couldn’t say. She’d never felt so uncomfortable in her life.
“Would you like something to drink? Your voice sounds a little dry.”