Diagnosis

by Lucy Clark

  ‘How considerate of you. Are you going to change it for me?’ His tone was disbelieving. ‘I’m not stupid, Charli. If I untie you from that chair, you’ll try to escape and then where would I be? Hmm?’

  ‘I wouldn’t escape, Chuck. You already have my mother and now Logan.’ Charli looked down at the floor, unable to believe Chuck and his goons were holding Logan hostage. They’d shown her a picture of a man, his face battered, bruised and splattered with blood, gagged and tied to a chair. It looked like Logan and her heart lurched.

  ‘If you don’t co-operate, we won’t be held responsible for our actions,’ Chuck had said.

  Charli slowly raised her head to glance contemptuously at the man before her. ‘You’ve promised not to hurt them if I co-operate and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.’

  ‘What a good girl you are. Nice to see you’re being so sensible about this.’ Chuck watched her closely. ‘I see you’re no longer wearing the necklace I gave you.’

  ‘Do you blame me?’

  ‘You really like this hick Australian, don’t you?’ Chuck continued as though she hadn’t spoken.

  Charli lifted her chin in defiance, her eyes sparkling with life. ‘I love him.’ She watched as Chuck’s gaze darkened with anger. ‘Regardless of what happens tonight at the conference banquet, regardless of what you do to me—or even to Logan for that matter—the truth is that I love him and I always will. I feel for him all the emotions you thought I’d felt for you—but I never did. I can see that now because my love for Logan is real.’

  ‘Oh, how touching. Who cares? You were never anything but an assignment to me and an ice-maiden at that.’

  Before her time in Halls Gap, to hear those words from Chuck would have cut her to the quick but now…she felt nothing. Nothing but pity.

  The door behind them opened and another man came in, also wearing a suit. He was the only other person she’d seen besides Chuck since the scene in Halls Gap, and it was then she realised that these people weren’t hardened criminals, just desperate men, trying to save their jobs and their company.

  The man called to him and Chuck went over, the two of them talking in muted tones. Then they turned and looked at her.

  ‘Only a few more hours before we need you to get up to give your speech, Dr Summerfield,’ the other man said. ‘You obviously can’t get up on the podium looking like that so I’ve arranged for you to have a shower and to change your clothes.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I trust you won’t do anything stupid. We have your friend and your mother. We won’t hesitate to hurt them.’

  ‘I believe you.’

  ‘Then we understand each other.’ He came to stand beside her chair and took a small key from his pocket.

  ‘Yes.’

  He leaned down and undid one side of the handcuffs which had kept her to the chair. He pulled his gun out. ‘Let’s get you cleaned up.’ The man led Charli into an adjoining room, where he removed the other handcuff. ‘Clothes are on the bed and there’s make-up in the bathroom. You’re fifteen storeys up and the windows don’t open. The phone’s been disconnected and we’re right outside the door.’

  ‘I understand.’ Once she was left alone, Charli walked on wooden legs to the bathroom and turned on the water. Slowly she undressed, taking off the clothes that had belonged to Trinity’s and Owen’s mother. As she stepped beneath the soothing spray, every muscle in her body aching from the tension of the past few days, she was thankful Chuck and his associates hadn’t linked her with Logan’s children. It was bad enough that she’d dragged Logan into it.

  She closed her eyes, unable to believe how she’d found herself in such a predicament. The flight back to America had been unbearable as she’d suffered chronic headaches and had eventually been quite sick. She’d read that this sort of reaction was common to amnesia sufferers when their memories returned, but she hadn’t expected it to be so violent.

  As soon as she’d seen Chuck, her memory had started to return. He had been the trigger for her hysterical amnesia and it had been him who had been needed to snap her out of it again. Yet on the flight visions had swam before her eyes and, combined with the bump to the head she’d received when Chuck had pushed her into the BMW convertible, she’d been unable to control the headache. Chuck had given her paracetamol and codeine and she’d slept for the rest of the journey back to LA.

  Now, though, things had settled down…except for her heart which was in complete turmoil. There was no way she could give a false report at the conference banquet tonight but she knew if she didn’t do what they’d instructed, Logan would be hurt. Chuck had initially told her back in Australia that if she tried to call the authorities he’d hurt her mother. The fact that she hadn’t been able to get hold of her mother had alarmed her, and at the first opportunity she’d fled. She’d driven away from Chuck without a coherent thought in her head—until much later. Then, when she’d seen a sign for the Grampians, she’d remembered Logan.

  She closed her eyes. Logan. She prayed they didn’t hurt him but she was so torn. She honestly didn’t know what to do.

  ‘What would Logan do?’ she asked herself, but no answer came.

  Logan had said he admired her because she was open and honest. Her time in Halls Gap had been an opportunity for her to really listen to her heart and she knew he was right. She was an honest person and falsifying her results…no matter what the cost to her personally…She couldn’t do it.

  ‘Logan.’ She whispered his name—her heart, soul and mind aching for him as the tears flowed. And those gorgeous children. Trinity and Owen needed their father. They’d already lost one set of parents.

  Logan and the children had shown her a way of life she’d only ever dreamt about and now it was the life she coveted. She wanted to be with them all. She needed to be with them all. If only things had happened differently. If only she hadn’t agreed to do this research project. If only…

  Charli finally managed to pull herself together and finished getting ready. Soon it was time for her to make her appearance at the conference banquet. She walked down the hotel corridor, dressed in a stylish cut navy suit, sensible shoes on her feet and her hair pulled back into her usual chignon. Chuck’s arm was close to hers, his gun digging into her side.

  ‘I mean it, Charli. No funny stuff or lover-boy gets it. One phone call. That’s all it will take.’

  ‘Is my mother all right? Can you at least tell me that?’

  Chuck looked at his colleague, who nodded. ‘She’s fine.’

  Charli nodded, not sure if she should trust the information.

  ‘When did your men take him?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘When did your men take Logan hostage?’ They’d entered the ballroom now and Chuck tucked his gun away but kept a firm grip on her arm as they made their way towards the podium.

  ‘About ten minutes after I drove off with you. I couldn’t risk him following us so I had my men grab him when he raced back to his house for his car. I told you at the airport that I had him, remember.’

  Charli worked hard to keep the frown from her face. What he was saying didn’t make any sense. ‘I don’t remember much about the airport.’

  Chuck laughed. ‘That’s right. You had that bad headache.’

  ‘You shot the policeman, didn’t you?’

  Chuck’s grip intensified and his smile vanished from his face. ‘I had to. It was the only way out of there. It doesn’t matter. We have your lover-boy, honey, so remember, no funny stuff.’

  She was being announced by the other man in the suit, who turned out to be the public representative of the pharmaceutical company. As she mounted the stairs to the podium to a round of applause, Charli knew there was a flaw in Chuck’s explanation.

  There was no way Logan would have abandoned Wil—or anyone else for that matter—if they’d been critically hurt, just to chase after her. If the bullet had hit Wil, which, according to Chuck, it had, then Logan would have stayed with h
is friend until he was stable. Logan always did the right thing and it would have been a necessity for him to stay with Wil. Charli shook her head. There was no way they could have grabbed Logan in those circumstances.

  She remembered the photographs she’d been shown. The man’s face had been battered and bruised, with trickles of blood coming down over his face. The man’s colouring was similar to Logan’s but was it really him?

  She hung her head for a moment and took a deep breath. If she didn’t tell the truth tonight, the pharmaceutical company would go ahead, based on the falsified research, and people might die. Her course of action was clear and she raised her head to gaze at the room full of people.

  ‘Good evening,’ she said clearly into the microphone. ‘Tonight, as stated in your programmes, I’ll be presenting the results of my latest research project—’

  The doors at the back of the room burst open and a man yelled, ‘Stop!’

  Everyone turned, people began talking and in complete astonishment Charli watched as a perfectly fit and healthy Logan Hargraves began walking towards the podium, followed by at least a dozen FBI men, all with their guns drawn.

  ‘Where is he, Logan?’ Agent Smith asked, and Logan pointed.

  ‘Over there.’ Logan pointed to where Chuck was standing at the bottom of the steps, looking frantically around the room for an escape, but Logan knew there wasn’t one. Not for him. The man was about to get everything he deserved.

  His gaze scanned the room for Charli and he watched as she scrambled in her prim little suit off the edge of the stage and raced towards him.

  Both of them darted around tables and people, desperate to reach each other. Just when Charli thought she’d never get there, Logan’s arms came around her and his mouth found hers with an urgency she matched.

  She’d been in limbo for so long, unsure where she really belonged, but now, being here in his arms, being held close, being cherished by the man she loved, Charli knew where she belonged.

  Logan pulled back, kissing her cheeks, her eyes, her forehead and finally her lips once more. ‘I love you, Charli. I love you so much.’

  ‘Oh, Logan, I love you, too.’

  That was all he needed to hear and he crushed her to him once more. The kiss was hot, hungry and highly possessive, and she loved every moment of it. His mouth fitted perfectly with hers, their bodies entwined as close as they could possibly get, and still Logan was nowhere near satisfied.

  ‘You need to marry me.’ His breathing was uneven, his tone husky, his eyes desperate and filled with desire.

  ‘Yes. We need to sort this out but, yes. I want nothing more than to be with you for ever.’ She touched his face, her fingers trembling. ‘They told me they had you. They told me they’d hurt you and they showed me pictures of someone like you who was tied up and beaten and, oh, Logan, I was so scared that I did what they said but then I knew if I didn’t tell the truth with my research that lots of people might die and I couldn’t do that and I was going to sacrifice you and my mother…’ She gasped, her eyes wide with fear. ‘My mother? Where is she?’

  ‘She’s fine. Fleming sent her on a vacation so you would think she was in danger.’

  ‘A…a vacation? You’re sure?’

  ‘I’ve spoken to her myself, Charli. She’s fine.’ He felt Charli’s body begin to go limp and he held her more tightly against him. He pressed his lips to hers once more to show her everything was going to be all right. ‘Let’s get out of here.’

  ‘Don’t I have to give a statement or something? And what about Chuck?’

  They both turned to see Chuck pressed onto the carpet, Agent Smith clamping handcuffs on him. The other man from the pharmaceutical company was also being cuffed.

  ‘The FBI have everything under control for now. I’ve told them about your research project and have given them the disk containing your real data so they could prove it in court.’

  ‘You went to my lab and broke into my safe? How?’

  ‘Well, first of all, I didn’t break in. You gave me the combination, remember?’

  ‘Believe in yourself.’

  ‘Yes, and that’s exactly what I did. Now, come on. We’re not going far.’ They made their way through the excited crowd, Logan keeping her firmly by his side. ‘Besides, we have other things to discuss first.’ He took her to a small room just opposite the ballroom and closed the door. He gathered her close again, unable to believe she was finally here, in his arms.

  ‘The last few days have been…’ He broke off, unable to put into words his feelings.

  ‘I know.’ She looked up at him. ‘Are the children all right?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And Wil? He was shot, wasn’t he?’

  ‘Yes. He’s doing just fine.’ Logan looked around the room and spotted a phone. ‘Which reminds me. My five hours is almost up since I last called him and if I don’t check in, he’s going to bust his stitches.’

  Logan took her with him, seating her on his lap and holding her within his embrace as he lifted the receiver and gave the hotel operator the Stawell Hospital phone number. Once Wil was satisfied, Logan called his mother and both he and Charli spoke to the children.

  ‘They love you,’ he told Charli once the phone had been put down. He kissed her again. ‘So do I.’

  ‘Logan?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘There’s just one thing I need to check. You’ve always done things out of necessity. Your children, your life in Halls Gap. They weren’t your choices and I just…well, I need to know that you’re not…you know, doing this out of necessity.’

  He frowned for a moment and raked a hand through his hair. ‘Necessity? Yes, of course. Charli, my life in Halls Gap with my children may have stemmed from necessity and always doing what was expected of me, but I love my life. I was rescued by Halls Gap, otherwise I would have ended up a bitter doctor whose only thought was the bottom line.’

  ‘Never.’

  ‘Don’t be too sure. Albeit, my change came at too high a cost. I’d give anything to have my brother and sister-in-law back but I’ve never regretted my move there. How could I? First, it brought me my children and then it brought me you. First my children rescued me and now you’re rescuing me by giving me the most precious gift in the world—your love. It was necessary for me to come to the States to find you and it was necessity that spurred me on because you are a necessity in my life, Charli. If I don’t have you there, I’m only half a person. I need you with me so I can breathe, focus and function properly, because without you…I’m merely a shell. That’s exactly how I’ve felt for the past few days and I don’t ever want to feel that way again.’ He pressed his mouth to hers, showing her how he felt, knowing his words would be completely inadequate to express the depth of his emotions for her. ‘Can’t you feel how much I need you?’

  ‘I feel the same.’

  He looked up at her and then frowned a little. ‘Your memory?’

  ‘All back. As soon as I saw Chuck most of it returned and I realised he was the one I was running from in the first place.’ She smiled at him and kissed him. ‘And I ran to you because I was attracted to you from the first moment we met and I hoped you were someone I could trust.’

  ‘I’m glad you came looking for me, even if you didn’t remember when you eventually found me…or when I found you. Either way, we ended up together.’ He kissed her again, unable to control his need. ‘I have no idea how we’re going to sort everything out—I mean, I can’t leave Halls Gap, Charli, and the kids need the stability and—’

  It was her turn to silence him with a kiss. ‘You talk too much and, besides, I have it all worked out.’

  ‘You do? What is Halls Gap supposed to do with a person as highly accomplished as you?’

  ‘Treat me like a normal person, which everyone there did.’

  He thought about that for a moment and nodded. ‘I’m sure the hospital would be glad of your services.’

  ‘I’m sure they would but, apart fr
om that, I have another plan.’

  ‘Are you going to tell me or keep me in suspense?’ He nibbled at her neck and she giggled, unable to believe she had a right to be this happy.

  ‘Of course I’ll tell you. Planet Electronics.’

  Logan pulled away and looked at her. ‘Planet Electronics! Of course. You said you’d been looking for a company to make a new prototype.’

  ‘Wow, a man who really listens when I talk.’ Charli kissed him. ‘I thought, when we get back into town, that I’d give your friends there a call and set up a meeting.’

  ‘I’m sure they’d be happy to work with you.’

  ‘I hope so, because if they’re serious about branching into the biomedical line in a big way, I’d be the perfect person to manage the project.’

  ‘You’re certainly qualified for it.’

  ‘That way, I’m mentally satisfied with work…’ She trailed her finger down his cheek and pressed a small, soft kiss to his lips. Logan groaned as burning passion flooded through him at her gentle touch. ‘And I’m emotionally satisfied in my home life as wife and mother…’ She deepened the kiss, slipped her tongue between his teeth. ‘And I’m physically satisfied, being your lover for ever.’

  Logan groaned and dragged her closer. ‘I’ve made it a policy never to argue with a woman who’s right! Marry me quickly, Charli Summerfield. Be my wife, be a mother to those children who love you so much, be my friend and my lover.’

  ‘Anything you say, Doctor.’ And she pressed her lips lovingly to his.

  Three months later, Charli walked to the Venus Baths, holding Trinity’s hand. Both wore white summer dresses—with twirly skirts, of course—and carried bouquets of native Australian wildflowers. Their hair was free, blowing in the very mild January breeze.

  The day was perfect.

  She looked perfect, Logan thought as he waited impatiently for her to reach his side. He ran a finger around the collar of his shirt and noticed Owen making exactly the same action. He chuckled and squeezed his son’s hand as they waited for Charli and Trin to arrive.

  ‘Hurry up,’ Owen called as the two women walked slowly and carefully towards them. ‘Don’t you know it’s hot out here?’