Page 44 of Jenna's Threatened Sanctuary

“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.

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