Chapter One
She woke up disoriented and lying in a hospital bed. She was covered in scrapes and bandages. Obviously, she was lucky to be alive. "Who - who am I?" she asked the nurse who came to her side.
"It said on your driver's license that you are Doctor Carly Manning," replied the nurse. "You had a head injury. You must be suffering from temporary memory loss. Let me go get the doctor."
When the doctor arrived, she asked, "What's going on? Where am I? And most importantly WHO am I? How can my memory be gone?"
"You were in a terrible car accident. You almost died," the doctor said gently as the nurse was taking her vitals. "You need to heal and rest. It's going to take some time to recover from your head injury. That is why your memories are so unclear."
"Unclear?!" she gasped. "I remember nothing of my life. NOTHING!"
"Try to remain calm. I'm afraid we'll have to give you a sedative."
And so they gave her something to quiet her down. She fell into a deep sleep. She had absolutely no idea what had caused the car wreck and who or what she may have been running from, but she had a nagging feeling that she had been chased by a sinister entity. She wasn't safe. She could feel it. She just knew in her heart that something was terribly amiss.
When she woke up again, she demanded to be released from the hospital. "Take the IV out," she insisted. "I am leaving."
Suddenly then a man stepped into the room with the doctor. He was tall and handsome with dark hair and piercing greenish hazel eyes. "Who are you?!" she asked him fearfully.
"Please remember me, my love," he said. "I am your husband."
"Husband?!" she cried out. "I don't have a husband."
"Yes, I am Lawrence Alamain," he replied. "Your husband."
"I'd like to take my wife home now," the man said to the doctor. "I will take care of her; make sure she gets everything she needs."
"I am not going anywhere with YOU!" Carly exclaimed.
"Stay calm, Katerina," he said in a soothing voice. "I promise everything will be alright."
"I- I thought you said my name was Carly," she said in a confused voice to the doctor.
"Your legal name IS Carly," explained the man who claimed to be her husband. "But your name at birth was Katerina Cristiana Von Leuschner. Eventually you changed it and now you're Doctor Carly Manning."
"Why would I change my name?" she asked suspiciously.
"It's a long story that I will not discuss at this time. I have brought the doctor proof that I AM in fact your husband and you're coming home with me," Lawrence stated. "Nicholas is eager to see you?"
"Nicholas? Who in the world is Nicholas?" she practically screamed from her hospital bed. The name seemed familiar somehow as if this Nicholas might be an important person in her life. How she wished she could remember!
Seeing that her agitation was rising, the doctor spoke quietly to Lawrence. "Try not to give her too much information at once. It will only upset her."
Lawrence nodded.
"I'm sorry, Katerina, to have upset you. I just want you to come home with me... so I can keep you safe. I promise; nothing and no one will harm you."
Carly took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. To her delight, the nurse was taking out the IV. She winced a little as the needle slid out of her vein. She looked down as the nurse applied a bandage to the large, purplish bruise.
The nurse said she'd help Carly get dressed so Lawrence and the doctor left the room. In the hallway, Lawrence questioned the doctor. "When will she get her memory back?"
"It's hard to say...a few days maybe...perhaps weeks..."
Lawrence didn't know what to think or feel. Once Carly regained her memories, she might run from him again. He might lose her completely. He could not take the chance of living his life without the woman he loved. He didn't care what he had to do to keep her, but he would.
He knew he was responsible for her car wreck and so much more. Would she hate him once her memories returned? Would she ever love him as she once had?
One memory he hoped she'd never regain was that of Bo Brady. That man had been a thorn in his side for far too long. Carly must never remember him or she'd surely leave him.
"Is my wife ready to come home with me now?" Lawrence asked as the nurse emerged, pushing Carly in a wheelchair. The woman he loved looked so bruised, battered, and forlorn.
"I am as ready as I'll ever be," she said. "And STOP calling me your wife. I will never be your wife - I don't even know you."
"She certainly has spirit, doesn't she?" Lawrence joked to the nurse. "I wouldn't love her any other way."
She left the hospital with "her husband" in his limo. "You must be loaded or something. Do you live in a mansion?" Carly asked.
"As a matter of fact, I do."
"The only reason I am going home with you is because I have nowhere else to go," she stated.
"All things will be right in time, Katerina," Lawrence said as he gently reached out and touched her hand.
Something remarkable happened the moment his flesh made contact with hers. Carly began to relax. Maybe she DID know him. His touch made her feel soothed and comforted. She found out she craved his touch... too much - maybe WAY too much.
Their eyes met and he could feel what she was feeling. "Your body remembers mine, Katerina. Deep inside, you know that you love me... that we belong together."
She glared at him and pulled away from him. "No, I hate you. The thought of you repulses me."
He didn't challenge her as he sat across from her in the limo, gazing into her remarkable, glittering blue eyes. She was alive and going home with him. In that moment, he could not ask for more.
~*~o~*~
Bo Brady's fiancee had been missing for several days. He was worried sick about her, but his search had only lead him to multiple dead endings. He ended up at the Cheat'n Heart and hurriedly gulped down a couple of drinks. Moments later, his best friend appeared, worried about him as he looked dishevelled and incredibly upset.
"You didn't find Carly?" Billie asked as she wrapped her arm around Bo.
"No, Billie. She's missing. She's been gone for days... and I don't know what happened to her," he said sadly.
"I'm so sorry, Bo," she said as she hugged him tighter, lending him her strength and her warmth.
She smelled so good as he pressed his face into her hair. He loved her hugs. In her arms, he always felt so secure.
"I went over to Larry Alamain's. He says he hasn't seen her either. He didn't look too upset. I know he's up to something. He's probably has her hidden somewhere... and I need her back, Billie. I need Carly."
"You love her so much, Bo, I know you do... but until we find some clues about her whereabouts, I think maybe you need to take your mind off it for just awhile. You have a little boy who needs you. Where's Shawn D.?"
"He's staying with my parents. I didn't want him to see me like this... and I didn't want him to know Carly is gone."
"Wherever she's is, I hope she is safe. But Bo, I hate to see you killing yourself like this... drowning your sorrows in a bottle. Why don't you come back to my place and I'll fix you something to eat? When you're feeling better, we can go get Shawn D. and spend some time with him. You need him now and he needs you."
"You're such a good friend," he said.
He kissed her cheek and her skin tingled. Why didn't he know it - why couldn't he see it? Billie was madly in love with him, but all he cared about was Carly, his missing girlfriend, the woman he said he was going to marry.
She took his hand in hers and lead him out of the bar. "We'll take my car," she said. "I think you should stay at my place tonight. Let me take care of you."
He agreed because he knew he was in a bad way and in need of a little TLC. "Lady, you're my best friend," he said as his lips pressed against hers for only a second.
Billie's heart stopped beating. She stared up into his luscious dark eyes...so lost. *Please notice me. I need you, Bo,* she whispered to him in her mind.
If only SHE had his heart the way that Carly did. If only he cared so deeply about HER. Being just his friend was heartbreaking at times. She needed him with every fiber of her being. She wished there was a way she could make him her own.