Chapter Eleven
T he nurse put another staple in and I flinched even though I couldn’t feel anything after she’d given me the shot of Novocain.
“Almost done,” she murmured.
Brian stood by with his hands in his pockets, looking disapproving, and I couldn’t remember why I’d told Sawyer to call him. “Brian, you can leave.”
The scary-looking, impossibly tall bodyguard in all black with a Luna and Associates logo on his shirt smirked. “No, he can’t.”
Brian glanced at him with a frown.
“Following orders,” the bodyguard clipped, looking smug.
“You’re not in the military anymore,” Brian shot back. “You can relax with the whole orders thing.”
“What makes you think I was in the military?” the bodyguard asked.
The nurse put in another staple.
“Wild guess,” Brian answered dryly.
“You’re right.” The bodyguard leaned toward Brian and lowered his voice. “Know what that means?”
The nurse wiped the back of my neck with something cold and wet.
“Enlighten me,” Brian stated with zero interest, which was exactly how he spoke to me for most of our marriage.
The bodyguard smiled a smile that was more sneer. “I’ve got good aim.”
Sawyer burst through the doors of the emergency room. With his light blond hair, stark blue eyes and perfectly handsome face, he could’ve been an angel of mercy. But the anger contorting his features eclipsed his beauty, making me shiver.
The nurse’s hand landed on my shoulder. “You’re okay. I’m all done.”
Brian sighed as if put out.
Sawyer glanced at the bodyguard and tipped his chin toward the exit. A silent communication passed between them, and the bodyguard walked out.
Brian pulled his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms. “Your watchdog made me stay. She’s all stitched up. I have to be at work in a few hours, can I go now?” he asked, not without a little sarcasm.
His eyes on me, Sawyer issued a single word to Brian. “Leave.”
Wasting no time, Brian spared me half a glance, shook his head, then walked out.
Striding to the side of my bed, Sawyer addressed the nurse across from him. “What’s her status?”
The nurse flushed under his scrutiny. “Well, she has a grade two concussion, and I just finished stapling her wound. We’re waiting on the doctor for the CT scan results.”
Sawyer leveled the nurse with a look. “Her safety is in danger. She’s a witness to a gang-related crime, and I need to get her to a more secure location. I need to speak with the doctor immediately.”
The color drained from the nurse’s face, but she nodded. “I’ll speak to him right away.” She hustled out of the little curtained-off area surrounding my bed.
My mouth dry and my heart suddenly in my throat, I looked up at the man who was too handsome to be standing in a hospital over my bed. “Danger?”
His gaze cut across the emergency room, then landed on me. “You saw the carjacker.”
“I….” Oh God. The memory of the carjacking flashed through my head. “I pulled his mask off,” I blurted.
“Would you recognize him?”
“He’s coming after me?”
“Yes.”
I didn’t hesitate. “I don’t know what he looked like.”
The muscle in his jaw jumped, then he bit out a warning. “Lying won’t change the situation.”
Bits and pieces of the evening rained down on my memory like parade confetti. It took a moment, but then my brain slowly started piecing things together.
Oh God… oh God .
“You’re not talking about the carjacker.” He was mad that I didn’t tell him about Brian.
“I’m expressly speaking about that.”
“You’re lying.” He had to be. Why would he be mad if I said I didn’t remember what the carjacker looked like? That kept me safe.
“I don’t lie,” he snapped.
My mouth opened, and words vomited out. “Brian is divorcing me. We’re separated.”
“That’s of no concern to me,” he clipped, sounding like he meant the exact opposite of what he was saying.
“You asked me out.” I remembered it now. But truth be told, I was being generous in my description. He’d told me I was going to dinner with him.
“Do you remember the carjacker’s face?” he ground out, as if fighting for patience.
I honestly didn’t know if I could pick him out of a lineup. I didn’t trust my memory, my head was pounding in a way that made concentrating difficult, and all I wanted to do was sleep, but none of that mattered. I wasn’t going to risk my life to identify anyone. I’d seen those movies on cable. It never ended well.
“This is nuts,” I muttered.
He didn’t respond. He just stared at me like he was waiting for me to rattle off the carjacker’s height, weight and astrological sign. None of which I knew. But there was one thing I was absolutely certain of, and I didn’t think it was enough to put me in danger, so I told him.
“He had a tattoo,” I stated. “A triangle on his inner wrist.”
Sawyer frowned, but he also did something else I hadn’t seen him do. He nodded in approval. “That’s the mark of a Tres Angulos gang member. They all have that tattoo.”
I felt like a kid showing her parents a straight-A report card. Except I’d never been that kid, with either the A’s or the parents. The closest I’d ever had to anyone who’d ever noticed my grades was a book-nerd kid with a superiority complex—and I’d stupidly married him. Then I put him through college with minimum wage jobs I hated while I worked on my own dream. When he became a financial planner, I quit all three of my jobs and started my own business. Everything in the marriage had gone downhill from there.
Shoving away old memories, I gripped the railing on the side of the bed and made to pull myself up. “If you think those jerks are going to come here, which I don’t know why you would think that when I didn’t even get a good look at his face, but whatever, we should go.” I didn’t want to make it easy for any carjacker or gang member to find me.
His hand landed on my shoulder, and without being forceful, but not at all gentle, he pushed me back down. “We’re waiting for the doctor to release you.”
As if on cue, the nurse drew the curtain aside and stepped in with an ice pack. “Here.” She gently placed it under my head. “This will help with the swelling.” She glanced at Sawyer. “The doctor is on his way, right after he finishes with his current patient.”
“Thank you,” he quietly replied, giving her a note of civility he hadn’t extended to me.
I was ashamed to admit, I hated her for it. But the pain in my head outweighing my want of having her gone, I asked for relief. “Can I take something for the headache? Advil? Tylenol?”
She smiled sympathetically at me. “The doctor will give you a prescription for when you’re released.”
The curtain pulled back again and an older doctor stepped in. “Mrs. Jenkins, I’m Dr. Michaels. How are you feeling?” He moved to the side of my bed and gently turned my head to look at the wound.
“Well, my head hurts,” I admitted.
“I’m giving you a prescription for a mild painkiller for that. An ice pack a few times a day will also help with the swelling.” The doctor stepped back to the end of the bed. “Your CT scan looked good. We didn’t see any bleeding on the brain or anything else to be concerned about, so I’m going to release you. Your staples will stay in for five to seven days. You can shower after twenty-four hours, but be careful of the wound. Do you have any questions?”
I started to shake my head, but even that hurt. “No, thank you.”
The doctor looked at Sawyer. “Monitor her for any decreases in her mental state, or seizures, or a secondary loss of consciousness. With a grade two concussion, you can expect some repetitive questioning, mild confusion, or lapse in memory surrounding the event that caused the injury. It should dissipate quickly. If it doesn’t, or if any of the other symptoms occur, bring her back to the emergency room immediately.”
Sawyer nodded. “Understood. Can you release her now?”
“Yes, the nurse will handle the paperwork and she has her prescription. Considering the situation, I’m sending her home with a couple pain pills until you have time to fill the prescription.” He held his hand out to Sawyer, then to me. “Take care of yourself, Mrs. Jenkins.”
“Thank you,” I said, wondering how I was going to watch myself for the things the doctor mentioned as he walked out.
“Okay.” The nurse smiled. “Here is the pain medication. As the doctor explained, it’s just a couple pills to hold you over until you can get your prescription filled, which I’ll give you with your paperwork.” She handed me a small bottle.
Without a word, Sawyer took the pills and pocketed them.
The nurse watched the interaction, then cleared her throat. “Okay, I got most of your information earlier before I put your staples in, but I just have some paperwork left to take care of, then we can get you out of here. Do you have your license and insurance information?”
It hit me all at once.
Oh my God.
Oh my God.
I looked up at Sawyer in a sheer panic. “My purse, my tablet, my wallet , they were all in the SUV when it was stolen.” I tried to swallow down the anxiety threatening to come up. “They stole everything.” I choked on a sob.
Sawyer already had his wallet out. Handing a credit card to the nurse, he kept his eyes on me, but spoke to her. “I need to get her out of here, now .”