Page 15 of Jana's Fierce Biker

The fact that the attraction happened so fast unnerved him. He needed to take a step back, take some time, and think about the situation. Maybe he’d even ask one of the brothers about women.

Chapter Nine

Jana pulled into her driveway and parked. She sat in a daze for a few minutes and gathered enough strength to open her car door and get out. She dragged herself into her house, trying to ignore the fact that the last time she’d done it, her cat had been in a box.

Although she was exhausted, her mind wouldn’t settle. The cops had told her it had not been a random act and was definitely personal. She thought about every person she’d come in contact with over the last year. She couldn’t think of anyone out in public she’d pissed off, so it had to be someone at the hospital. There had been instances where patients had been angry and taken it out on her, but they never threatened her.

She shut and locked the door behind her. Jana looked into the kitchen and thought about food, but she couldn’t get herself to eat because her stomach had been in a knot all day.

She only told her friend, Mick, at the hospital about what happened. She’d held her when she cried, and it felt a little better because it released some of the tension in her body.

Mick had asked her to go home with her because she mentioned the fact that she was anxious to walk into the house, but Jana had declined. Jana said it would be harder the next time if she didn’t take this step. Now, she thought she’d made a mistake because the house was lifeless and dull without Snookie.

Jana pulled off her clothing and walked into the shower. She washed her hair and body and then stood under the hot spray, letting it loosen some of the tight muscles in her shoulders.

She turned off the water when it started to cool and wrapped a towel around her midsection and hair. After brushing her teeth and blow-drying her hair, she pulled on a nightgown and slipped into bed.

She was afraid of the dark for the first time, so she kept the hallway light on and the door mostly open.

As exhausted as she was, she couldn’t get her mind to shut down. When she pushed the images of the box from her mind, pictures of Gunner popped in. She couldn’t believe she trusted him enough already to let him undress her and get her in the shower. And then later sleep beside her.

She knew her feelings for him were deeper than she felt for any man before, but he was a biker. He probably broke the law a bit and was the opposite type of man she usually dated. She didn’t even think any of the men she dated had a single tattoo, and certainly none were as big as Gunner. Hell, she had no idea why she was even thinking about him. She would probably never see him again, so she needed to get over it.

She finally was able to relax enough to sleep, but her dreams were either of Snookie or Gunner, so she was restless most of the night and didn’t feel rested in the morning. Fortunately, she had the next two days off to sleep all she wanted.

Later that day, she decided to drive somewhere and stay a few nights. She needed to get away from all the memories for a while. There were a few towns over with shops she always wanted to check out, and now was her chance. She packed a bag and headed out.

Forty-eight hours later, she pulled into her driveway feeling better than before she left. She also had gotten a lot of sleep. She’d also found a few pictures and a vase she loved in a few of the shops.

She answered her phone as she set everything down on the sofa.

“Hello.”

“Hey, girl, it’s me, Mick. Are you planning to come back tomorrow?”

“Yes. It will help keep my mind off things.”

“I get that. I’m working the first shift, so we’ll barely see each other, but I want to get together when we both have a day off. We haven’t gone to a movie or out to eat in ages.”

Jana nodded. “That sounds wonderful. Let’s meet at the ER desk before you head home, and we can go over our schedules.”

“Sounds like a plan. How are you holding up?” Mick asked.

“I think I’m doing as good as expected. I have bouts of crying, but I can usually put everything out of my mind if I’m busy.”

“I understand that. My offer to stay at my place still stands.”

Jana had thought about it a few times. “Thank you. I’m doing fine right now, but I might take you up on the offer later.”

“Anytime.”

The next day, the women got a date that worked for both. Jana was thrilled. It had been a long time since she and her besty girl spent time out of the ER together.

After a nice dinner, they went to a movie they had both wanted to see. Fortunately, it was a comedy and had no violence in it. The sex scenes were hot but not over the top. She couldn’t help but chuckle at some of the parts in the movie. Tom Hanks always made her laugh, which was exactly what she needed.

Jana pulled outside of her girlfriend’s apartment. “I had fun.”

Mick laughed. “We have to do this more. It’s great therapy.”

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