When pacing and staring didn’t work, I sat at my computer and began scanning the news articles. There was a chance it might have been reported on if it was significant enough. It was a long shot, but one I was willing to pursue. Nothing.
Twenty minutes had passed before I broke and went to pick up my desk phone to call Janeen. I jumped when it rang just as my hand touched the handset. I fumbled and almost dropped it as I answered.
“Talk to me,” I said gruffly.
“Ms. Shah is at TriStar Centennial Medical Center. It’s off Charlotte Avenue and 23rd Avenue N near the Centennial Sportsplex. I didn’t get the room number, but the main switchboard tried to connect me to her room. I hung up.”
“Perfect. Thank you, Janeen. I need you to reschedule all my appointments for today to sometime next week. I’ll let you know if I need tomorrow as well. I’m leaving,” I announced.
“Whatever you need, Reign. If there’s anything else I can do, just let me know.”
“I will. Thanks again.”
I knew she was curious. I heard it in her voice, but she wouldn’t ask. Shutting down my computer, I grabbed my briefcase and headed out. I nodded to Janeen as I passed her office. I didn’t stop to speak to anyone who spoke to me. I nodded or waved to acknowledge them and kept going.
In the parking garage, I was almost to my car when I was hailed. It was Rowan. He was just coming into work. It was nearly ten in the morning. The office opened at nine o’clock.
“Yo, Reign, where are you headed off to? We need to talk,” he half shouted across the distance between us.
He was parked in the regular employee parking lot, not the senior management section. Something he’d bitched about to me several times. Again, he felt entitled since he was my brother.
“It’ll have to wait,” I called back.
I pressed the button on my key fob to unlock my car door. The single beep and flash of headlights acknowledged it had happened. I arrived, opened the door, and got inside, only forRowan to grab it, preventing me from closing it. I glared up at him.
“Rowan, I said I don’t have time. We’ll talk later, but if it’s about what you’ve been asking for, my answer remains the same. I’m not making you VP or any other senior manager. I am not raising your salary, giving you a bonus, or anything like it. It’s ten, and you’re just now coming into work. Don’t lie and say you had a meeting. I know you didn’t. And I’m not leaving you my company,” I barked. My patience was at an end.
Astonishment entered his expression. It was as if he had never heard this before. As it settled, his expression changed to a tight, angry one.
“You can’t do this, Reign! I’m your brother. Family takes care of each other. You can’t leave your stuff to charity. It needs to stay within the family.”
Without missing a beat, I replied. “I am leaving it to my family. My future wife and kids will be getting it.”
“You don’t have a wife,” he pointed out.
“I will soon. Now, let go. I need to go see my future wife,” I snapped.
His hold slipped off. Astonishment filled his face. I shut the door, turned on the engine, and pulled out. I left him standing there, frozen. I didn’t bother to spare him another glance. My focus was on reaching Centennial and seeing Anastasia for myself. I had to know how seriously she was hurt and what had happened to her. The entire drive there, my heart pounded.
When I finally reached the hospital information desk, I asked for Anastasia’s room number. When asked if I was family, I fibbed. I told the woman that I was Anastasia’s fiancé, that I’d been out of town, and I’d come straight here when I heard. She’d been sympathetic and told me Anastasia was on the fourth floorin room 4102. Thanking the lady, I rushed to the elevator she’d pointed to.
Getting off on the fourth floor, I hunted for the signs and followed them. The door to her room was closed. I knocked loud enough to be heard, but not to disturb her if she was asleep.
I heard a faint, “Come in.”
Opening it slowly, I walked in and felt my breath catch. Anastasia was sitting half-raised in her bed. Her face was turned toward the door. Instantly, I noticed a black eye, a busted lip, and a white bandage on her forehead, just at her hairline. She appeared tired. I watched her eyes widen as she recognized who I was. I went straight to her bedside. Up close, I saw the IV in her arm, a machine monitoring her heart, and the bruises and cuts on her exposed arms.
“Reign, what are you doing here? How did you know I was here?” she asked shakily.
“I snooped. Morgana called to cancel my session. I knew something was wrong, so I asked. She tried not to tell me, but I kept at it. She didn’t tell me where you were, only that you were hurt last night. From that convo, I had my PA call all the hospitals to see if any of them had an Anastasia Shah. Bingo, Centennial did. When I got here, I asked which room you were in, and I was told.” I left out the part about fibbing that I was her fiancé.
“Why would you do all that?” she asked.
I lowered myself into the chair next to the bed.
“I couldn’t allow my favorite chiropractor to lie in a hospital, in pain, and not make sure she was going to be okay. And I know I can provide a diversion to help take your mind off everything. I could sing, but I don’t recommend it. I can’t carry a tune to save my life. I can dance, but it’s better with a partner, so that’s got to wait until you feel better. So that leaves talking. Mind if I ask what the hell happened?”
I tried for levity, but couldn’t keep it up. I needed to know she wasn’t seriously hurt, though what I saw was enough to make me stressed. Anastasia’s lips twitched before she sighed.
