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.”

“Yes, please,” Cassie answered. She greedily took the cup the woman offered, and as the cool liquid touched her lips and slid down her parched throat, she sighed. Water never tasted so good. She could imagine how those people who got lost in the desert felt wandering with nothing to drink for as far as the eye could see. She would gladly give up food, so long as she didn’t have to give up liquid.

She gulped down the entire glass, then looked at the woman pleadingly for more. The woman’s kind face smiled at her. “I don’t want to overdo it, just yet. Let’s make sure you keep this down. If you don’t feel sick in twenty minutes then we’ll get more.” Cassie had to withhold the protest that wanted to instantly fly from her lips. She was thirsty and she wanted more. She didn’t want to be told no. She barely managed to keep it in.

“Do you remember anything that’s happened recently?” The woman, who Cassie figured was a nurse, asked. Cassie’s eyes squinted as she concentrated on remembering the last few days. They were a total blank.

“The last thing I remember is getting off work and then going for a walk. I don’t understand why my mind’s so fuzzy. What’s going on?” Cassie asked, trying to push down the panic wanting to erupt inside her. The longer she laid in the bed, the more afraid she became. To top that off, the loud jazz band rehearsing in her head didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. The pain was so intense it felt as if the skin was actually pushing away from her temples.

“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you’ve been in an auto accident. “I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but you’re actually very lucky. Your entire body probably hurts at the moment, but you could’ve been killed. You have a fractured rib, a few scrapes and bruises, and a concussion, but there are no life-threatening injuries.” She took Cassie’s hand as she said the last part.

Cassie wasn’t thinking she was too lucky at that moment. Her body hurt badly and she found herself wanting to fall back asleep. If she could pass out then maybe it would all turn out to be nothing but a bad nightmare.

“Where am I? How long have I been here? How much longer will I have to stay?” Cassie fired question after question at the nurse. She was fighting the panic, but maybe if she got some answers her fears would recede.

“You’ve been with us for eight days. Do you have any recollection of what happened?” the woman asked. She was moving around the room, tidying things up as she spoke in a nonchalant manner. Cassie felt like she’d been hit by lightning. How did someone tell you you’d lost a week as if it was no big deal?

She concentrated hard, trying to push her mind to open up and explain why she’d been unconscious for so long, why her body hurt so much. The harder she fought with her mind, the more it seemed to shut down. She couldn’t even manage to say anything.

“Do you have family we can contact?”

“No, there’s no one left except for me. I have a best friend, but she’s a nurse doing some work in Brazil right now,” Cassie sadly replied. “I just moved to Seattle from back East and I haven’t had time to make any other friends,” she finished. Another thought hit her as she lay there. “Oh my gosh, my job. I’m sure they’ve fired me by now. They must think that I walked out on them,” she moaned as she laid her head back and fought the nausea. She was beyond frustrated.

“I’m sorry, Cassie, for all of this. You aren’t going to be able to leave the hospital for at least another few days, and there will be no way for you to work for at least a month. You’ve had some bad injuries. In order to heal, you have to take care of yourself. You must think only of your health right now. Don’t worry about any of the medical expenses. They’re being covered by the Anderson Family.”

“What expenses? And why would the Anderson Family cover them?”

“You’re in a private hospital, the best one in the City of Seattle, if not the country,” the nurse said proudly, while seeming to stand up a bit straighter. She ignored the other question, entirely.

Cassie looked around the room with more awareness. She should have figured out she wasn’t in a regular hospital. For one thing, it was a large room with only one bed. There was a big flat-screen television, fresh flowers in a nice vase, curtains instead of blinds, and the same nurse didn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave. In a public hospital, the nurses had such a large list of clients they wouldn’t have time to visit for so long.

“Why are the Anderson’s paying for me? And, are we talking about the Andersons?”

“The Andersons are paying for your stay because I was the one who hit you with my car,” a man’s voice said, startling both her and the nurse. They turned in unison to see none other than Max Anderson filling out the doorway.

Cassie gawked wide-eyed at the man she’d been chasing for an interview for the last several weeks. She’d wanted to get his attention, but hadn’t wanted him to run her over in order to do it. She suddenly had to fight the giggle that wanted to escape.

“I’ve had many women fall at my feet, but never jump out in front of my moving vehicle,” he said with a cocky raise of his brows. The mixture of arrogance and horror in his expression was too much for her, and she couldn’t help the laughter from escaping. Both he and the nurse looked at her as if she needed to be transferred to the mental hospital. Heck, she thought, she may need to be.

“I’m so sorry,” she said between breaths of air. “I really don’t know why I’m laughing. This isn’t funny in the least. I…I just don’t know what else to do,” she gasped. The laughter started to die down as the pain in her body seemed to throb in pulsing rhythms from the shaking. She felt as if she may pass out.

She took a moment to really look at Max. She’d never actually met him in person. He was tall, much taller than she’d originally thought. He had to be at least six foot three, maybe four. His hair was dark, shining in the pale room, and expertly cut, not too short, nor too long. There was an endearing cowlick that caused his otherwise perfect hairstyle to seem a bit ruffled.

Her eyes traveled over his face, noticing the five o’clock shadow that only added to his rugged good looks. He was disturbingly attractive in a way that would easily make women throw themselves at him, or possibly his moving vehicle. She knew she wouldn’t have done it on purpose, though. An interview wasn’t that important to her. She continued her unabashed perusal of him, noting his strong cheekbones, pursed lips, and then lower, to his broad shoulders, contained in his midnight blue suit that was tailor made for him. If she had to come up with one word to describe him, it would be, delicious.

He started to cross the room as if he owned the place. For all she knew, he could own it. The Anderson Family owned half the city, and then some. They were an incredibly powerful family, but they were known for the good things they did in their community and around the world. He came up to her bed, his midnight blue eyes connecting with her own startled blue ones. His lips turned up in a lazy smile, as if he could see into her mind and knew exactly what she was thinking. It must be nice to be so confident, she thought.

“Max Anderson, but I’m assuming you already know that from your expression,” he said as he stuck out his hand for her to shake. She took it automatically and gasped as his strong fingers tightened around hers. She could practically feel a live pulse traveling from his hand, up her arm, and straight to her stomach. She had to fight the shiver as he held on far too long to be appropriate. He was playing with her, which she was more than aware of. She shook her head to clear it and lifted her head, as much as the bed would allow. She wasn’t a weakling and wouldn’t cower to him.

“Cassie McIntyre, but I’m sure you’re already aware of that,” she said with a confident smile plastered on her face. She tugged her hand, letting him know it was time to release her. His smile grew at her tone.

“Why does that name sound familiar?” he asked, as the smile started to fade. She could see that he was trying to figure out exactly who she was. She’d left at least a dozen messages with his secretary, and she was a bit offended he hadn’t picked up on her name right away. She guessed she had her answer as to how he felt about the interview she wanted to do with him.

“Probably because I’ve been trying to get an interview with you for a couple of weeks,” she said. She watched as he put it together, and then his smile disappeared as he looked at her with suspicion. She didn’t cower to him, but looked right back. She wasn’t going to say anything, but she knew he was thinking the accident wasn’t an accident after all.

“When did Ms. McIntyre come out of the coma?” Max suddenly turned his full attention to the nurse, who seemed apprehensive at the sudden change of mood in the room. She didn’t know exactly what was going on between the two of them, but she knew something had changed.

“Not too long ago, Mr. Anderson,” she said. She turned and fled the room. Traitor, thought Cassie.

“I’m going to let you get some rest, then we’ll discuss this matter further,” Max said. He’d managed to compose himself and gazed at her with a blank expression.

“Wait,” she said, stopping him before he reached the door. She waited until he reluctantly turned around. He didn’t say a word. “I don’t remember what happened. Can you please tell me?” she asked. She hoped if he told her it would jog her memory. He paused long enough that she was beginning to think he was going to ignore her question and simply walk from the room. Finally, he sighed and took a step closer.