but she couldn’t wrap her mind around the words long enough to answer before she lost consciousness again. The next time she came to, she was aware enough to realize she was in a hospital. A momentary swell of relief rushed through her. She’d made it. She was safe. On the heels of that emotion came the memory of what had happened. The tornado. Her family. Everyone gone.
Breath caught in the back of her throat. She would never hear their voices again. Never feel their arms around her. Never laugh with them. Never have her father walk her down the aisle. She might be a grown woman, but she’d just been orphaned.
Tears welled. A sob burned at the back of her throat. She covered her face with her hands, but the images from the storm were seared into her brain. What started out as a simple sigh of defeat turned into a scream. And once she started screaming, it didn’t feel like she could stop.
Amy Niehues came running, as did several of her coworkers. Cari’s room quickly filled as they began frantically trying to find the source of her discomfort. They kept asking her if she was in pain. They didn’t know, and Cari couldn’t tell them, that the pain wasn’t fixable. There were no pills or treatments that would make what she was feeling go away. She didn’t notice when Amy shot a sedative into her IV, but in a few minutes she closed her eyes and the room fell silent.
A doctor stood at the foot of her bed, studying her chart. He looked at her, then over to the nurse beside him.
“Amy…has anyone been able to locate her parents?”
“They’ve been dead for several years.”
“What about extended family?”
“We’re not sure,” Amy said. “Someone contacted her place of employment, and we’re just waiting for someone to get back to us.”
The doctor handed the chart back to the nurse, gave Cari one last glance, then left the room.
Mike Boudreaux was in his office, pacing between the windows and his desk as he spoke to his assistant on the other end of the line.
“It doesn’t matter, Kelly. You tell them they have the only offer they’re going to get. They can either accept it—and me—or lose it all. I’m not the one who ran that company into the ground, and I’m also not the one who embezzled the entire company retirement fund. I said they could keep all the employees on the present payroll, but…the CEO is out. He didn’t know how to keep his own company safe from the accountant who embezzled all their money and ran with it. What happens to him is the state of Ohio’s problem, but no way in hell am I putting his boss in charge of a company I own.”
“Yes, boss. I’ll make sure they understand that.”
“See that you do,” Mike said, then frowned when he heard his housekeeper’s footsteps coming down the hall. She was running, and Songee Wister never ran.
Songee burst into his office carrying the house phone. He could tell from the look on her face that something was wrong.
“There’s a nurse asking for you,” she cried, as she thrust it in his hands. “Something has happened to Miss Susan.”
Mike’s heart sank as he put the phone to his ear. Susan wasn’t just an employee, she was his personal assistant, as well as a very good friend.
“Hello. This is Mike Boudreaux.”
“My name is Loretta Sawyer. I’m the public liaison at Baton Rouge General Hospital. Do you have an employee by the name of Susan Blackwell?”
“Yes, she’s my personal assistant,” he said. “What’s happened to her? Is she all right?”
“We’re not sure,” Loretta said. “She’s injured, as if she’s been in some kind of accident, although the paramedics who brought her in said there was nothing wrong with her car. It’s possible she has been the victim of a crime, but at this point, we just don’t know. We’re calling you because she has you listed as her emergency contact.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll be right there,” Mike said, then realized he didn’t know which location. “Wait! Are you calling from Mid-City hospital, or the Bluebonnet location?”
“Bluebonnet, on Picardy Street,” she said.
“Okay, thanks,” Mike said, and disconnected. He was already running toward the hall to get his car keys when Songee met him at the door.
“Your keys,” she said, as he handed her the phone.
“Thank you, Songee. As always, you’re a step ahead of me.”
“Is Susan all right?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ll call when I know something. In the meantime, it wouldn’t hurt to send up one of your prayers.”
“Yes, sir,” Songee said. “I’ll make it a powerful one…just in case.”
She stood and watched until the taillights of his car disappeared down the driveway, then went back inside with praying on her mind.
Physical pain brought a rude awakening. Every heartbeat throbbed throughout her body. Her hands were stiff and bandaged, and for a moment she couldn’t remember why. Then the memories flooded back…ugly, mind-numbing memories. Struck again with overwhelming sorrow, tears were already brimming as she opened her eyes.
Then she gasped.
A stranger—a man with dark hair and angry green eyes—was leaning over her bed. His voice was soft, his words accusing.
“I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but you’re not Susan Blackwell. Talk now, or I’m calling the police.”
Cari’s stomach knotted as panic shot through her. She couldn’t be outed—not like this. Not—yet.
“You don’t understand,” she mumbled, and grabbed at his wrist. “Susan and I are cousins. I needed to—”
She heard a swiftly indrawn breath, then the man quickly stepped back. The anger on his face slowly shifted to understanding. He put a hand on her arm, as if to steady her.
“Carolina? Is your name Carolina?”
Cari shuddered on a sob as the tension eased.
“Yes, but how did you—”
“I’m Michael Boudreaux, Susan’s boss…and friend. The hospital called me when you were brought in. Susan always said you two looked alike, although it’s hard to tell beneath the bruises and bandages.”
“Oh, thank God,” Cari said. She’d heard Susan talk about him for so long that her panic shifted to hope. Maybe he could help.
Mike frowned.
“What happened, Carolina?”
“Cari…please.”
“Cari it is. Why the deceit? Why did you enter the hospital under Susan’s name?”
Cari’s eyes welled again, but this time, tears rolled. She hadn’t planned on telling
