Undercover Attraction, page 11
The stupid bulletproof vest. There was a reason that he had her put one on, and the irony almost made him cringe. To think that with the vest she was shot, but without it, she may have been fine. Fate had a certain way of working around things, of making you question your own actions even though you know deep down disaster couldn't have been diverted.
But it was his fault. He should have just kept driving instead of trying to lose the bastards in the garage. Guilt was eating at him, making him restless. He had been the reason Jenna was hurt, the reason her skin would be marred from the deadly kiss of a bullet, the reason why she could very well be dying on a surgical bed.
He stopped against the wall and leaned his head on his arm against it. Be okay. Please be alright. He kept repeating the litany in his head, hoping the prayer would be answered.
The phone rang, a loud, pealing, irritating sound in the middle of his misery. The receptionist answered then held it out towards Amy.
She quickly jumped up and answered it, listening to the report of the surgeon on the other end. Jacob almost fell to his knees when he heard Amy's deep sigh of relief.
Amy hung up and turned to him, "They said she is fine. She had to have a blood transfusion because of the blood loss, but nothing was seriously injured. The neck wound was just a nick, but her shoulder was pretty bad. The bullet was lodged against her collarbone, but they removed it fairly easy. We can go in to see her in a few minutes, once they move her to recovery, and we should head down there to wait now."
He barely heard anything other than she was okay. He kept repeating it in his head and knew he had never felt the same urgent sense of relief as he had just then. He followed Amy out of the waiting room to another one, one floor down, and took a seat.
"She's okay, Jacob. You don't have to look like you are going to panic anymore. Take a breather. Everything is fine now. Besides, I should be the one freaking out- she's my sister," Amy told him as she sat next to him.
He did take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I know. But she wouldn't be in here if I had done my job in the first place."
Amy pat his shoulder. "You did what you were supposed to. Had you not been there, it wouldn't have been an almost, and she wouldn't be alright now. She would be dead. But you saved her. Trust me, this is nothing compared to the things she has been hospitalized for as a teenager."
"Yeah, but I bet she hadn't been shot before," he said guiltily.
Amy smiled. "No, but she was in a coma for two weeks when she was nineteen. And for various broken bones quite frequently. Jenna wasn't always so calm and collected. She used to be a demon. In fact, that's why she shies away from men now. A few bad choices that landed her in the ER, and she's sworn you off entirely."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Amy looked resigned. "I shouldn't be spilling her secrets, she'll kill me if she found out."
Jacob crossed his heart. "I won't tell, besides if she is going home with me, I need to know a little bit about her."
"Well, in that case… Number one, I don't think she'll like that idea. And as for the secret; her ex boyfriend beat her. Repeatedly."
A haze of anger washed over him. "Who?" he heard himself asking.
Amy shrugged. "Some guy from college. She had been dating him for a year, and they finally got engaged and moved in together. Next thing I knew, she called me while he was gone, and I picked her up. She was swollen from head to toe, but refused to go to the hospital. I let her stay in my dorm room, but the next day, he found her in the campus parking lot. He hit her with his car because she had left him a message saying she wasn't coming back. She spent two weeks in a coma, with several broken bones and head trauma. She dropped all of her wild habits and donned a stay away attitude after that."
"His name?" Jacob demanded.
"Tom Easley. He's already locked up, though, for quite a while. When she pressed charges, his exes came out of the woodwork to testify."
Tom Easley. He filed the name away to check into later. He wanted to make sure the bastard was suffering enough.
The doctor walked through the double doors and towards them. Considering they were the only ones in the waiting room, it was easy to know which patient they were there for.
He was an older man, with graying hair at his temples, bright blue eyes behind old bottle cap military glasses, and a kind smile that was sure to ease many hurts in this hospital.
He stuck his hand out at Jacob first, then Amy. "Hi, I am Dr. Wilson. I'm the primary surgeon over Mrs. Howell. She is a lucky young lady. The wound in her neck just nicked her, fortunately, because it grazed just over her carotid artery; any deeper and she wouldn't have been so lucky."
Jacob's stomach clenched at the thought.
The doctor continued, "As it was, I only had to give her seven sutures and bandage her up. Mrs. Howell's shoulder was a bit more extensive, though. The bullet was lodged against her collarbone, and had to be removed carefully. There were also a few small fragments of what I believe to be concrete that had to be removed. I had to stitch the entry site there, also, then bandaged her up pretty tight."
He looked back and forth between Amy and Jacob. "Which one of you will be staying with her?"
"I am," Jacob said.
Dr. Wilson continued, "The wounds have to stay dry for a week, she can take a shower after twenty-four hours, but make sure that she does not submerge the dressings, and change them regularly. Moisture can cause an infection and we do not want that. She needs to also keep her arm in a sling, and move it as little as possible. If the stitches break open, then the healing process will take much longer. She will need quite a bit of help showering and getting dressed over the next few days, and I am prescribing her an antibiotic that she will have to take twice a day, as well as a pain killer. I recommend her staying in bed, as the medications will make her sleep quite a bit."
Jacob knew how to take care of wounds fairly well, mainly because of his own injuries on the force and being a daredevil teenager. But he almost smiled at the knowledge that he would have to get her dressed and bathed. Jenna really wouldn't like that very much, but he looked forward to it. He knew she wanted him, and having her naked for the next few days, he would take advantage of it, just to prove to her that he wasn't some random one night stand.
"Jake!" Amy's voice snapped him back from his thoughts, and he looked up to see the doctor staring at him.
"Sorry, what was that?" he asked.
Dr. Wilson cleared his throat, "I will release her tonight, after another transfusion to replace the vast amount of blood she lost. She is sleeping now but you can go in to see her briefly. Room 406, you have about twenty minutes before the nurses will chase you out of there."
Amy nodded and thanked the doctor, washed her hands, then proceeded through the double doors, Jacob following behind.
Chapter 9.
She was floating in a sea of illusion.
Jenna saw herself as a child, about six years old, playing hide and seek with her grandfather. But she knew it was wrong. He had died when she was a teen, and her grandmother before that, when she was eight.
The smell of fresh baked cookies wafted to her, just as it did each time she had went to visit her grandparents in Arkansas for summer vacation.
She squealed as her grandpa found her in the barn, and watched as she took off running towards the house, laughing as he jumped to grab her and missed.
Jenna's grandmother met her childish form on the porch, and dusted the hay off her knees, her smiling face tugging strings at her heart. She really missed those two.
Her dream changed, and she saw herself at thirteen, as her first crush finally kissed her. Amy was only about six, and snuck up behind them, giggling, and broke them apart. She chased Amy through the garage, both of them laughing as they ran, her crush slowly walking off down the street.
Then she was sixteen, and her brother was sitting next to her in his old beat up pickup, teaching her to drive. They were on a bumpy dirt road, in the middle of nowhere, Sam guiding her as she slowly edged along the road.
At eighteen, she was graduating from high school, honors of course, and the boy she had a crush on for the past 4 years walked up to her that night at her friend's grad party. She was wearing her new outfit that Mom had gotten her as a gift. She had thought the faded jeans had looked so good on, coupled with the green designer top that she knew had probably cost a fortune. She had taken special care doing her makeup and hair, and in the end, had thought herself better looking than any other day at school.
But all of it didn't hide the extra twenty pounds she had more than the popular kids. He had come up to her and leaned closer, just talking to her as a classmate about how happy he was that school was over. She had been thrilled. It was the longest conversation they had ever had. No matter that he had been drinking.
He told her she had pretty eyes and leaned in to kiss her. She closed her eyes and moved towards him. Then a drink had poured all over her hair. Jenna had run to her car as quickly as she could, threw herself behind the wheel, and drove home crying.
The next part was at a cemetery, as she sat next to her mother while her uncle was buried. She listened as a twenty-one gun salute went off, and watched as the flag was folded so carefully and placed into her mother's hands.
Then she was in college, headed back to her apartment one night after class. Her boyfriend was waiting for her at the door. Jenna greeted him and leaned in for a kiss, but he grabbed her by the throat and pulled her into the living room. He was angry- over something stupid, naturally- and thought she had been flirting with one of her neighbors in the hallway that morning.
Her boyfriend threw her to the couch then slapped her. She tried to stand up, but he kicked her and pushed her back down, throwing punches anywhere he could. He was yelling at her, calling her names, throwing the vases from the coffee table at her.
The day changed, and she once again saw her boyfriend, waiting for her in his car as she was released from class. He was flirting with some of the students as they passed by the spot where he was parked, and when he saw Jenna, he smiled. One of her classmates walked by her and handed her the notebook she had let him use to copy her notes. And her boyfriend's face changed, going from smiling and carefree to angry and scowling.
She knew not to get in the car, but she did anyway. He took her to a secluded spot by the lake, and made her get out. He again beat her, leaving bruises all over her aching body, her leg she suspected was broken, a bloody lip, and two black eyes. Then he raped her.
He had hurt her more then than he ever had before, and as soon as he dropped her off, and she had painfully limped back to her apartment, she had called Amy.
She was walking on campus again, after she had almost completely healed, her bruises faded, but the ache in her soul still there. She knew he would be angry, after she left him, but she had misjudged his tenacity.
It had just turned dark, her last class had been excused early for an away football game. She was walking across the parking lot towards her car, looking forward to a weekend of quiet reading when she heard the squealing tires. As she looked up, she saw her ex's car swerve towards her. Jenna didn't have time to jump.
She watched as if in slow motion as the car came closer, then changed into a BMW, a gun hanging out of one window. The report echoed, and the flash from the end of the barrel changed everything to red. She watched as the bullet slowly flew over the windshield, a second report right behind, as one bullet smashed into a concrete encased steel column and deflected, sending debris flying at her directly behind the bullet. The tink of her window glass as it was breached drew her attention and she looked up briefly in time to see the second bullet flying towards her, just as the first buried itself in her shoulder. Her scream sounded far away.
Then the pain that followed was like an atomic bomb throughout her system. No sooner than it started, the second bullet hit her in the neck, amplifying the pain a thousand times. She watched as she reached up, faintly traced her neck, and pulled her hand back to see the blood on her palm.
She pressed her hand against her chest, trying to control the rising panic. She didn't want Jacob to know.
Jacob.
Jenna looked from herself to the driver's seat, at Jacob's perfectly chiseled face. He had determination and a glint of violence in his eyes. He was too commanding, too dominant for her, and even though Jenna wished the situation had been much different, she knew that Jacob was not the sort of man she could be happy with. He could break her heart and leave her to pick up the scattered pieces alone.
His intensity scared her. Jacob was the sort of man who didn't do anything halfway. It was all or nothing, and she was afraid that if she gave all, she would end up with nothing.
She knew he wanted a quick fling with her, but a man like Jacob only wanted that; a fling, nothing permanent.
She watched as he held her hand, his large rough fingers enfolding her smaller ones, and saw the fear cross his face as he realized they were slippery with blood.
Amy was talking to her from the back seat, and Jenna watched as Jacob maneuvered the Tahoe through traffic to the hospital. Slowly, her vision began to fade around the edges, and the darkness inched inwards, taking away her view of Jacob. She sank once again into the darkness.
#
"Jenna? Jenna, honey, wake up please."
Jenna felt a warm hand enfolding hers, stirring her from the darkness that enfolded her.
"C'mon, sis, it's time to wake up to show me you're okay." She recognized Amy's voice, and suddenly she recalled the events leading up to this uncomfortable bed. Her eyes popped open to see her sister's face looming above her.
Amy smiled softly. "Hey. How are you feeling?" She brushed a strand of hair from Jenna's forehead.
"Like I've been hit by a car. Again." Her throat was dry, and her voice came out sounding as bad as she felt.
Amy gave a humorless chuckle. "When are you going to stop being reckless? Ya know, I thought it the youngest sibling's job to scare the others, not the middle child's."
Jenna tried to sit up, letting Amy help her when her arm and neck wouldn't cooperate. "Yeah, well, I am saving you the trouble. And the hospital bills. Be thankful."
"You are more dangerous to your health than anything else. Abusive boyfriends, bullet wounds: this is starting to sound like a bad daytime drama TV show. Turn the channel already, sis. Let's find a romantic comedy or something."
Jenna giggled, wincing when her neck throbbed. "Tell me about it." She looked around, noticing the clock on the wall said they had spent all day and well into the night at the hospital. "Where's Jacob?" she asked, trying not to sound curious.
Amy jerked a thumb towards the door. "He had to call and check in on Mac since I wasn't leaving the room, and then he had his report to turn in. By the way, he has some serious hots for you."
Jenna snorted. "No he doesn't. He's just doing his job."
Amy planted her hands on her hips and stared down at her from the side of her bed. "You are in a serious state of denial. That man nearly went crazy while you were in surgery. You scared the daylights out of him."
Jenna shook her head. "I'm just an assignment to him."
"You can come up with all the logical explanations you want to, but I see what's going on here. He's infatuated and you're the Ice Queen. You can't build your walls against everybody, or the one who you need on the inside can't get in."
Oh, the irony. Her younger sister giving her relationship advice. The same sister who's longest relationship was with her college professors. And that was because she couldn't dump them and still pass.
Jenna said as much.
Amy crossed her arms against her chest. "I might be younger than you, but I know what love is. I also know what it feels like to lose it once you have it because of your own stupidity. And I don't wish that feeling on anyone, least of all my sister."
Jenna didn't know Amy felt like that, or even that she had been in love before. "That's what I am trying to prevent… Losing it. Not to mention, I can't handle falling for the wrong guy again. Did it once, and I refuse to go through crap like that again."
Amy reached for her hand. "But you have to let them in before you find out whether it's worth it or not. It isn't just a definite thing that happens all at once. People make mistakes, and you have to figure out whether or not it's worth forgiving them over. That's the test. Some people fail it and let who they love go. But those who pass… Well, I believe in happily ever after. I just want you to be happy, Jenna."
Jenna felt her heart hurting for her sister. Amy had never mentioned any of this to her before, had always kept up the pretense of just being a free-hearted college student. "Amy… I'm sorry." She didn't know what else to say.
Amy waved her hand. "Don't worry about it. It's over and done with. But Jacob could be yours. I see how he looks at you, and I know you have something for him too. It just reminds me of… Well. I just don't want you to have your heart torn to little shreds then stomped into tiny grains of sand."
Jenna sighed, "But he's a cop, Amy. A hot cop. There's no reason why he'll want me when he undoubtedly has no reason to. Cops are married to their jobs, and it usually only hurts their families. I can't see where a happy ending is in this situation. Besides, I already told him it was over."
Amy smiled secretively. "I think you are wrong. But promise me that if the situation arises, you won't back down."
Jenna nodded. "I promise. Even if it probably won't work out."
"That doesn't matter. What matters is that you learn that all men aren't the same. Yeah, you had one who left a bad taste in your mouth, but because of that, you have closed yourself off to all of them. Hell, I haven't even done that, even though I know I will probably never find what I lost ever again." Amy sat on the edge of her bed. "You have to learn to love before you can find it. So just let go every once in a while. Even if it isn't with your cop."
