Chapter 19

19

T he constant beep, beep, beep of a nerve-grinding machine penetrated the fog of medicine keeping Jenna in a cocoon of comfort. But the louder the beeping grew, the more insistent some unknown force became, urging her to open her eyes and escape the darkness of her mind.

Pressure squeezed her hand. Gravity held down her eyelids. She fought to lift them. Harsh light attacked her retinas, but she resisted the urge to close her eyes again. She turned her head, and the muscles in her neck screamed.

Calvin inched forward onto the edge of his seat. "Hey, sleepy head. Stay calm. Don't move too much. Do you want some water?"

She nodded. Spikes of pain beat against her skull.

Calvin grabbed a cup from beside the hospital bed and placed a straw to her lips.

The room-temperature water slid down her dry throat. She coughed, burning her esophagus, and took another sip with her gaze glued to Calvin's worried eyes.

"Do you remember what happened?" he asked.

"I was hit by a car." She squirmed so she was sitting up in the partially reclined bed. "But it just grazed my side. Why am I in the hospital?"

Calvin snorted. "Seriously? You only woke briefly when the ambulance showed up on scene." He tightened his grip on her hand, and something softened in his eyes.

Oh God. She lowered her lashes. Not because of the artificial lights pounding against her eyes, but because she remembered the words she'd uttered to Calvin.

Please, don't leave me.

On a shallow breath, she opened her eyes and set her mouth in a thin line. This wasn't the time to work through the complex emotions she had for Calvin. "I'm awake now. I want to go home."

Calvin fell back into his hard chair. Exhaustion created fine lines at the corners of his eyes, and dried blood stained his gray shirt. "That's not up to me."

"What about the driver? Did they catch him?"

Calvin clenched his jaw.

Her stomach dropped. He'd always had a horrible poker face.

"No. Police in several counties are on the lookout, but no one got the plate number. It all happened so fast."

"Then he's still out there." Each sharp intake of breath was like a tiny knife wound to her lungs. Her heart rate accelerated and the annoying beep of the machine beside her sounded like a squawking bird.

"You're okay. You're safe." Calvin jumped to his feet and smoothed his palm over her forehead. His touch lowered her pulse but did nothing to squelch the growing fear in her heart.

"I need to get back to Oliver." She pushed the scratchy blanket off her lap and swung her legs over the bed. Nausea swam in her gut. Dizziness made her wobble, and she lowered herself back down.

Calvin frowned. "Your body will be sore for a few days, but things could have been a lot worse."

The pain in his voice squeezed her heart. She swallowed hard and fisted the fabric of the blanket now beside her. Her feelings for this man swelled inside her, demanding to come out.

A loud knock sounded near the curtained wall blocking them from the rest of the emergency room, and Cruz stepped through the door. "Sorry for the intrusion. Is now a good time to take your statement?"

Pain ran rampant inside her body, but she fought to keep her face passive. "I'm fine to give my statement. Though I'm not sure what good it will be. Everything's a little fuzzy."

"May I take a seat?" Cruz tipped his head toward the chair Calvin had vacated a few minutes ago.

"Sure." Every muscle in her body screamed to lay back in the bed, but she stayed upright.

Calvin hovered close, standing tall and firm beside her. His protectiveness warmed her to her toes.

"Start with what you were doing before you were hit by the car." Cruz took out his phone and worked his fingers over the screen.

Jenna pinched the bridge of her nose and let the earlier events play in her mind. "We'd just finished speaking with Dr. Kent at his office. I stepped outside and the car raced through a red light and came right at me."

Cruz glanced up from his phone. "Did you get a look at the person behind the wheel?"

She shook her head and immediately regretted the action. "I didn't see anything."

"And why were you speaking to Dr. Kent?"

Jenna sucked in a deep breath and glanced up at Calvin, not sure what all she should say.

Lacing his fingers with hers, Calvin cleared his throat. "It's obvious at this point that Jenna didn't kill Stella. I believe that whoever killed Stella has an axe to grind against Jenna. Dr. Kent was the only person she could think of who could hold a large grudge against her."

"That's an interesting angle." Cruz settled back in the chair and hooked an ankle over his knee. "One that I don't entirely disagree with."

"Really?" Jenna asked, squeezing Calvin's hand.

"Yeah, I think I'm on the right path, even if I had to take a few unexpected turns to get there."

The statement made Jenna smile and glance at Calvin. The last few days had been horrible and unexpected, but a magnetic force pulled her to him, memories of times long ago making her want to knock down every wall she'd ever built and discover if they could get on the right path again.

Cruz's phone chirped and he stared down at the screen. "It's late. I'll let you get some rest, Dr. Simon. If possible, I'd like to speak with you tomorrow."

Intuition tingled Jenna's spine. "What's going on?"

Indecision darkened the blue of Cruz's eyes. "A black sedan was found abandoned in a corn field. I need to check it out."

"Who's the car registered to?" Jenna asked, holding her breath.

Cruz bounced his gaze from Jenna to Calvin then back to Jenna. "Dr. Edward Church."

Horror dipped low in Jenna's stomach. "No way. He wouldn't do this. Any of this."

Hesitation warred on Cruz's face, and he scrubbed a palm along his jaw. "If it was him then this mess is over. Edward Church is dead."

Warm, chubby hands pressed against Jenna's cheeks the next morning, and a high-pitched giggle broke into her dream-like state. Slowly, she awakened and found herself staring into Oliver's brilliant blue eyes.

"Mama!" He pressed a slobbery kiss to her cheek.

Her heart swelled. Pressure filled her sinus cavities as grief poured in over her friend and mentor. She fought to not let the sadness show as she sat up and forced a big smile. "Good morning, little man. Are you hungry?"

Oliver scrunched his button nose and nodded then waddled toward the door of the room they occupied at the shelter.

Jenna wrapped a long white robe around her sleep tank and shorts before getting Oliver fresh and clean for breakfast. Once he was ready, she swung him up on her hip and trudged down the stairs toward the kitchen.

Calvin stood at the counter and poured coffee grounds in the machine. His hair was still tousled from sleep. Joggers hung low on his hips and a t-shirt showed off his biceps.

Lust clogged her throat. Nothing sexier than a handsome man making coffee.

Oliver struggled to climb down her and ran to Calvin with his arms stretched high. "Cal! Up!"

Calvin grinned and snatched up Oliver, keeping him away from the machine chugging out hot liquid. He winced and shifted Oliver to his other side. "Do you want breakfast?"

"Eggy."

"Eggs?" he asked, brow furrowed as if really trying to decipher Oliver's language.

Oliver gave one big nod.

Calvin glanced her way and his lips curled into a subtle smirk. "Is that okay"?

"Absolutely." Her heart gave an extra little pitter patter watching the two of them together.

"Okay little buddy. I've got to put you down while I cook." He set Oliver on the ground then rubbed his hands together and glanced around the kitchen.

She filled a mug with coffee and watched Calvin cross to the refrigerator. He rummaged through the shelves and grabbed a carton of eggs, milk, and shredded cheese. Joy filled her as Oliver stayed one step behind him, mimicking Calvin's every move as Calvin searched for pans and bowls to whip together the eggs.

Wrapping one hand around her warm mug, she reached the other for Oliver to grab. "Come on, buddy. Let's get you settled at the table so you can eat."

Oliver toddled over and let her strap him in his highchair, his eyes trained on Calvin the entire time.

Calvin ferried two plates filled with fluffy eggs to the table, one for her and one for Oliver. "I'm not much of a cook so I hope this tastes okay."

"Are you kidding me? This is a treat. No one ever makes me breakfast." Jenna took a bite and a burst of salt exploded on her tongue. "Delicious."

"Yum," Oliver said, smashing his breakfast into his mouth.

Calvin chuckled. "Manners are overrated."

Jenna cast a small smile at Oliver then moved her fork around the pile of eggs on her plate. Her head pounded a steady beat against her temple, stealing most of her appetite, but she needed to eat.

Calvin retrieved his plate of food and cup of coffee and returned to the table. Concern wrinkled his forehead. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Not wanting to say anything alarming in front of Oliver, she took a minute to weigh her words. "Like I'm living in some weird dream that I'm bound to wake from any minute. I'm devastated about Edward, but it just doesn't seem real."

"I'm sorry. For all of it. And I hate asking, but is there a chance he was involved in any of this?"

Her stomach turned. "I want to say no, but I'd never guessed any of this could happen."

Hesitation skittered across Calvin's face.

"Say what's on your mind," Jenna said.

Calvin chanced a quick glance at Oliver, who happily tossed eggs on the floor, then connected his gaze with her. "We know whoever we're after has access to the hospital. He's secured medical instruments, wore scrubs when attacking you, and knew how to flee the building while hiding his face from the camera." He ticked the offenses off his fingers.

"All things Edward would have knowledge of." Sighing, Jenna shoved her plate aside. "He wasn't just my boss. He was one of my closest friends. Hell, he even promised to pull files from human resources to see if there were any complaints against me that I wasn't aware of."

Calvin straightened. "Did he show you any of the files? Did he find anything?"

A lump wedged in her throat. "He never got a chance."

"Could those files be in his office?" Calvin asked.

She shrugged. "There's only one way to find out." As soon as Mrs. Collins woke, they'd head to the hospital. The truth might be in Edward's office, and if it was, she would find it. Not only to clear Edward's name, but to finally find a killer and put an end to this nightmare.