Unchained Memories by Maria Imbalzano Read Free Book Online

one of our doctors.” The edge in Collins’ voice spoke volumes.
    Clay massaged his temples, feeling the beginning of a headache form. It didn’t make sense that Charlotte would turn on them. Collins had been so protective of her after the accident. He had gotten Clay and Matt to tutor her, as well as to talk to her about her parents’ death so she wouldn’t internalize the trauma. The three of them, and some of the nurses, had spent hours getting to know her, trying to lift her spirits. And after a time, it had worked. She’d become a familiar presence, prowling the hospital floors, asking questions, visiting other patients. And she’d been so interested in what Clay did. He even thought she might choose a career in medicine.
    “I’m shocked.” Even more shocked that she failed to mention any of this to him as he spent close to an hour with her touring the hospital. He studied Collins’ face for a similar reaction. “Aren’t you?”
    Collins rubbed his forehead, then nodded. “Yes. And disappointed. But I suppose someone has to represent injured parties, and she does have the heart and the brains to do it right.” He sighed. “I’m glad she overcame the trauma of the accident and her parents’ death and is doing well. That was a tough adjustment.”
    While Clay wasn’t willing to brush her career path under the rug so easily, he also didn’t want to condemn her without hearing her out. Setting aside his uneasiness at the prospect of her suing doctors for a living, Clay recalled the hours he’d spent talking to her after the accident. “She told me her parents were a real power couple who were tied into political as well as philanthropic circles. Charlotte could never say enough good things about them.” Clay shook his head, remembering the shell-shocked teenager who had lost her world when they’d died. “It doesn’t surprise me she wanted to follow in their footsteps by becoming a lawyer, but why malpractice?”
    Collins shrugged. “I took a look at the details of her case. They’ve listed Doctors John Doe as potential defendants so they could add others in the future. They’re obviously not limiting their lawsuit to Gallway and the hospital. I hope no other doctors are implicated during discovery.”
    Clay grimaced. They all knew a new defendant could always be added if the plaintiff’s attorney found someone else additionally responsible during the pendency of the lawsuit. Even if it was only Gallway, any malpractice suit against the hospital affected all of them. Not only did their insurance premiums go up, as if they weren’t already sky high, but the attack on their reputation didn’t help either.
    “Why does it have to be Charlotte pursuing this?” He hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but there it was.
    The woman who, just recently, had turned him inside out. Heat raced through his body as he remembered their dance. Her sensual body had molded into his, lighting his fire. Their time together today, when he couldn’t stop staring at her, drowning in those beautiful blue eyes and perfect smile, all aimed at him.
    Collins interrupted his daydream. “Why don’t you ask her?”
    “I invited her out to dinner the night I saw her at the gala, but she wouldn’t commit.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure why.”
    “Maybe she was already involved in the lawsuit against us.”
    Clay clenched his jaw. If true, she should have said something. That would have doused any fire she managed to ignite in him that night. It would have also kept his mind off her for the past two weeks. Including today.
    Collins brought Clay back to the conversation. “I remember how enamored Charlotte was with you during her time here.”
    “What are you talking about? She was a teenager.” Although she had kissed him, her attempt to bolster her argument she was a grown-up, not some naïve high schooler. Clay flushed at the memory of his awkward response, which he’d buried until now. “Well, maybe she had a