Addy all but fled into the office, and Mack didn’t respond either. She heard his footsteps trail her into the small waiting area, but she put him and their recent encounter out of mind. She was here for one reason and one reason only. To remember everything she possibly could. She needed to focus on that.
The doctor stood at his inner door. Tall, maybe six-foot-three, his white dress shirt hanging on his slight frame, the collar with a navy-striped tie loose on his pencil-thin neck.
He gave her a genuine big-toothed smile and extended his bony hand. “Dr. Galt.”
“Addison Leigh.” Addy was surprised by his firm grasp as she shook his hand.
“Come in.” He stood back.
“I’ll be right out here,” Mack said.
She smiled at him and entered the small and tidy office with modern décor. She didn’t know what to expect, but the furnishings really didn’t matter. It was the doctor she had to evaluate and become comfortable with before she could relax enough to be hypnotized.
“Go ahead and have a seat.” He gestured at a smooth leather recliner. “Get comfortable.”
She sat in the plump chair, and her nerves jangled with unsettling emotions much the same as she’d experienced on her first date. Or the first time she spoke in public. Or the day she took her oath as a federal law-enforcement officer.
The doctor sat in a nearby low-slung chair. “There’s nothing to be nervous about. In fact, you’ll need to relax if this is going to work.”
“I’m trying,” she said. “I just keep wondering what made me lose my memory, and if I want to know what that thing is.”
“I understand your concerns, but you should know you will be in total control during our session. If the memory comes back and it’s too painful for you, you’ll likely let it go and move on.” He smiled at her, but it did nothing to ease her mind. “You should also know that you’ll be fully awake during the process. All we’re doing via hypnosis is slowing down time, freezing the memory so it can be explored in detail.”
“I’m not sure I follow,” she said.
He tapped his index finger on his desk for a moment. “You’re an agent. Imagine you’re interviewing a witness to a crime you’re investigating, and you can slow down the crime so the witness can view every detail as it unfolds. They would be far more able to give you details of what occurred than just having the flashing memory we often recall.”
She was glad he put the information in a way she could understand. “That makes sense.”
“You’ll be in an altered state and have that time distortion too. And the other big difference is that you’re thinking with feelings rather than thoughts. If you enjoy the feeling, you’ll likely continue the thought. If you feel uncomfortable, the hypnosis might cease.” He paused and met her gaze. “Because you will be recalling traumatic experiences, we might not succeed.”
She nodded, but deep down she hoped he was wrong. That she was an exception and would recall her life in D.C., Mack, the accident, and the investigation.
He settled back in his chair. “Now, tell me a bit about what you’re struggling to remember.”
She took a long breath and launched into her story, pointing out how important it was above all else to remember Zamora. “I can’t help but think these things are all linked together, and if I figure out this link, it’ll all come back.”
“Maybe,” he said but didn’t look convinced. “The best thingfor us to do right now is to begin the hypnosis. I will guide you back in time and into your memories. Are you ready?”
She nodded.
“You’re comfortable?”
She nodded and swallowed hard.
“Okay then. Let’s begin our session.”
Mack sucked on a mint as he paced the small waiting area. He’d been doing this for nearly an hour, and the receptionist with cat-eye glasses and purple hair eyed him. He didn’t want to make the woman uncomfortable, but how could he sit still when what was going on behind the adjoining door could dramatically change his life?
He wanted to be in the office with Addy. To hear the doctor take her back through the last few years of her life. Hear what she had to say about him, if she said anything at all. Would she remember him? Remember how very much he loved her and wanted to be with her, but couldn’t?
He didn’t know if he could bear it if she came out and looked at him with that hint of suspicion still in her eyes. That doubt. He’d rather have her anger or even hurt over their breakup. He just wanted her to know him so he could hope for a future together, even though that future seemed impossible.
Mack paused. His feet planted, he closed his eyes. Bowed his head, right there in the middle of the room. His mantra came to mind.“For theSpirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”Everything Mack needed to mentally succeed at a time like this. Everything! So why couldn’t he embrace it?
The hallway door opened behind him, and he spun, his hand whipping his jacket out of the way and landing on his sidearm. The silver-haired woman who entered startled and gasped.Great.Now he’d scared a little old lady. He released his jacketand cast her an apologetic look, but her hand remained clutched at her chest as she hurried over to the receptionist, who glared at him from behind her glasses.
He couldn’t keep making these women uncomfortable. He stepped into the hallway and took several long breaths. He faced the open end of the hallway where any threat might originate and planted his feet. No way he was letting Razo or Zamora get to Addy.
