You're safe here, Miss Connor. I need you to try to calm down. It's not good for the baby for you to be this upset.
Holy Moses on the mountain, was she freaking pregnant?
The shock of that possibility immobilized her. Dia didn't know what to think or what to say. Wait, who was she going to say something to, anyway? Her baby? It wasn't like she knew anyone else right now. Hell, the only reason she knew her name was because the doctor had told her what it was. That made the shock of a pregnancy all the more unsettling because she had no idea who the father was.
Looking down at her waist, she was really concerned not to see an obvious baby belly bulge there. She had a slightly rounded tummy, but that was more of her body shape than a baby bump, she thought. It was obvious from looking down at her ample chest and hips that she had a curvy figure. So if she was pregnant, she must not be very far along, right?
Just then, a woman in a blue uniform came through her door. She was pushing a cart with a food tray on it. "Oh, good, you're awake in time for lunch."
Dia stared at the cheerful woman, not knowing what to say. Not that the nurse seemed to mind. The woman just pushed her cart up next to Dia's bed, then used the remote control for the bed to prop Dia up into a sitting position. Once she had that done, she slid a table over Dia's lap then put a tray of food right in front of her. It was at that moment that her stomach decided to let out a loud groan of hunger, causing the nurse to laugh and her cheeks to warm in embarrassment.
The nurse was chattering away as she got Dia set up with food, utensils, and a drink. Talking about the beautiful weather, she said something that Dia's brain latched on to, as if it should be important.
"It's a shame they had to cut your hair off, honey. I got to see it as they were wheeling you back to the ER, and it was gorgeous."
Dia reached up with both hands and found short, prickly strands covering her head.
Buzz cut, her mind whispered to her.
Why in the world would she know what sort of haircut this was? Why would that be so important to her for Dia to actually remember it?
Looking at the nurse, she asked, "How long was my hair?"
The nurse gave her a sad look. "Oh, honey, your hair was glorious. Nice and long, past your shoulders. Good natural wave to it. I was downright jealous over that head of hair. But it couldn't be helped. You hit your head, and there was swelling on the brain. They had to shave it all off to run their tests and see if you needed surgery. You had electrodes attached to your poor little head for over two weeks. At least your hair is starting to grow back now. Well, you eat up now, sugar. Need you to feed that baby growing inside of you."
A strangled noise came from the doorway, making Dia and the nurse both look in that direction, but they didn't see anyone there.
Shrugging her shoulders, the nurse wished Dia good-bye and pushed her cart out of the room, leaving Dia alone again with nothing but her lunch, her scrambled thoughts, and her pitifully short hair.
She picked at the food on her tray, not feeling very hungry. A small grumble in her stomach called her a liar and reminded Dia that she was eating for more than herself now, so she forced herself to take a bite of the meatloaf on her plate. She had just finished that portion of her lunch when there was a knock on her hospital room door.
Dr. Bennett was back.
"Hello, Dia, how are you feeling today?"
Dia shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Still very confused about what's going on more than anything."
The doctor gave her a sad smile. "I would say that's perfectly normal in your circumstance, but that's also why I'm here today-to answer any questions you might have."
Dia chewed on her bottom lip nervously, wondering what she should ask first. There were some things she didn't want to talk about too much, like the loss of the parents she couldn't even remember.
"I remember overhearing that my parents are dead. Is that true?"
Dr. Bennett gave her a small nod. "Yes, unfortunately there was a gas leak at their house and it ignited. You were outside the house, and that's why you're still alive today."
Fresh grief tore through her soul, but it was a necessary pain. Dia had to know what was going on if she was going to somehow take control back of her life.
With a choked voice, Dia asked, "What exactly happened to me?"
The doctor flipped a chart open in front of her and started to read. "The blast from the explosion sent you flying for several feet, and when you landed, you hit your head on the curb of the road. The hit to the head was significant enough to cause a small brain bleed that luckily stopped on its own, but also caused a substantial amount of swelling. We put you in a medically-induced coma while treating the swelling, and it took us two months to get it under control because of the pregnancy."
"So, I am pregnant?" Dia asked with a breathless hitch in her voice.
The doctor nodded again. "Indeed, you are. From the ultrasound we gave you, we have you at approximately two and a half months along. Now it's my turn for a question: do you happen to remember anything?"
Dia shook her head. If she tried hard to look into the recesses of her brain, all she saw was a black blank slate of nothingness.
"Nothing. Will my memories ever come back?"
The doctor gave her an encouraging grin. "I think they will. You see, when your swelling brain tissue pressed against your skull, it caused some impairment, such as memory loss. It can also cause mood swings or erratic behavior. Even though you're awake now, the memory loss and confusion is still there. However, I think you will get at least some of your memory back with time. It's going to come down to having a whole lot of faith and patience."
It wasn't the best news, but it was at least something to look forward to. Dia wished with every fiber of her being that she would get her memory back.
Dr. Bennett seemed ready to leave, though Dia still had one last question for her.
"Doctor, before you go, has no one come to see me? I understand my parents are dead, but do I have no other family? Or perhaps the father of the baby? Maybe I came into the ER with a wedding ring on?"
Dr. Bennett's face lost all of her sparkle and a sad look crossed her face. "I'm sorry, my dear. You had no jewelry on you when you were brought in. We're searching to see if you have any extended family, but so far, we've found none. And no one has been by to see you."
The aura in the room became sad and awkward. More than anything, Dia just wanted to be left alone now.
As if the doctor could read her mind, she told Dia good-bye and said she would be back to check on her again before her rounds were done that day.
There she was, left alone again, with nothing but mashed potatoes and a strawberry jello that she no longer had any desire to eat. Looking at the blue sky out of her hospital room window, Dia wondered sadly if there was anyone left in the world who cared for her at all.
Chapter Eight
"We need a trap."
Caleb's words rang through the silence of Stone's house.
It was hard to think about what needed to be done when he was waiting to hear back from the men he had stationed in Nashville to guard Dia. Instead of hearing about his mate, though, Stone was sitting here with his beta, trying to come up with a plan to catch the people responsible for almost killing Dia.
"What are you thinking?" he asked Caleb.
His beta clenched his hands together where they rested on the tops of his legs. "You're not going to like this, but I think the fastest way to lure them out is to use Dia as bait."
"Not happening," Stone shut his beta down right away.
Holding his hands up in a surrender gesture, Caleb kept trying. "Just hear me out. We announce to the pack that Dia is okay and coming home. Then we keep her surrounded at all times on the way home. We put wolves we trust hidden out of sight around your house, and when we get her here to your place, we make a big pretense of leaving her alone for a little while so you can get some pack business done. I bet whoever it is will try to get to her then. We can take them out here."
"What if they don't come right away? We put her in danger until they do make an attempt? And how do we keep her protected for that long? I think your plan has more holes than swiss cheese. It's been two months since I've seen my mate, and I sure as fuck don't want to put her in danger the moment I finally get her back."
Saying out loud how long he had been away from his mate was hard. Thinking of how frightened she must be was even harder. What worried him the most was that she had not tried to call him in the past two months. Was it because she was unconscious and couldn't? This was why his men needed to hurry up and give him a fucking update.