Yeah, that sounded like the winner she knew. Closing her eyes, she set the phone on the fluffy comforter next to her and massaged her temple. There had to be a way out of this mess. A way that no one she loved got hurt.
To figure that out, she needed to talk to Jay. Because he was right to put this on her. She needed to work with him to figure out this mess then go from there. He deserved someone who trusted him enough not to run the way she had. She might not ever work through her issues or truly deserve a man like Jay but she had to try. He was the best thing that had ever happened to her and she didn’t want to go through life without him.
She would talk to him…in just a couple minutes. Exhaustion swept over her as the comfortable bed molded to her body. She was safe, in the home she shared with the man she loved and all she wanted to do was sleep. Just for ten minutes. Then she’d deal with the big mess she’d gotten herself into.
* * * * *
Ellie popped up from the waiting room chair as the doctor strode in, his expression the same flat one it always seemed to be. She’d been suffocating in here as they waited for news on Jay. After that terrible explosion at Wyatt’s Miami mansion he’d been knocked unconscious. Or maybe he was in a coma. They simply didn’t know what was going on and the stupid doctors weren’t giving them updates fast enough.
Dr. Warren cleared his throat. “Mr. Wentworth is going to be okay. He has a concussion, a few stitches on his head and some broken ribs but he’s going to pull through. He’s awake now and asking to see Ellie. Normally I wouldn’t allow visitors—”
Ellie elbowed Wyatt out of the way as she hurried to stand directly in front of the doctor. She couldn’t believe Jay was asking to see her, especially since they weren’t a couple, but she was desperate to see him. “I’m Ellie.”
Dr. Warren fingered his stethoscope for a moment, then sighed. “He’s not very coherent and—”
“I don’t care. If he’s awake enough to ask for me I want to see him.” She didn’t care how desperate she sounded or that anyone knew about her feelings for Jay.
The doctor sighed again and motioned that she should follow him. She barely remembered the walk to his room, could only focus on the clicking sound of her heels until finally the older man stopped in front of a partially open door and indicated she could enter.
Steeling herself for the sight of Jay injured, she pushed open the door. The room was dimly lit as she stepped inside. Her heart jumped into her throat as she moved past the bathroom door and saw him lying on the stark white sheets of the hospital bed.
“Hey,” he rasped out, those devilish green eyes of his looking electric against his paler than normal skin.
“Jay. How are you feeling?” Rushing to his side, she hovered at the edge of the bed next to him. He was so big he took up practically the whole thing, his long legs looking cramped at the end. She didn’t want to sit and accidentally hurt him.
“Better now that you’re here.” Before she could move to grab a chair, he snagged her around the waist and pulled her down next to him.
He groaned in discomfort as he half turned on his side so she had room. “What are you doing?” She didn’t move because she didn’t want to jostle him further.
“Need you close,” he murmured, patting her knee.
“Oh, Jay.” She reached out and gently traced the area on his forehead above the long line of stitches. “You are so lucky.” Her throat tightened as she thought about how fortunate he truly was. Broken ribs, stitches and a concussion sucked, but he would heal. The ribs would be the worst, but she planned to be there for him while he got back on his feet.
“I’m fine,” he muttered, his words thick and a little slurred. “I could leave tonight.”
Unable to stop herself, she snorted. “All right superman, I guess you’ll just have to humor the doctors and me and stay put for a few more days, okay?”
“If it makes you happy I’ll stay here.” He gave her a lopsided smile that made him look so boyish.
She wondered what drugs they had him on, if any. He was hooked up to an IV, but that could just be fluids. “It makes me very happy to know you’re being so well taken care of. I was so worried about you.” That being an understatement. She’d been ready to take off her boss’s head in an attempt to get to Jay after the explosion.
“Worried enough that you’ll finally go on that first date with me?” His gaze narrowed, some of the sleepiness falling away.
“Yes.”
He blinked in surprise. “Yes? Just like that?”
She nodded, her throat tightening again. God, she could have lost him before they’d ever had a chance to start. She’d been attracted to him from the moment she’d met him, but they worked together so that had made him off limits. Lately he’d been pushing harder and her resolve had been weakening to the point she’d almost kissed him earlier today. “Just like that.”
“I would’ve blown myself up a long time ago if I’d known that’s all it would take to get you to go out with me.”
Laughing, she reached out and stroked the side of his face, cupping his cheek gently. “Don’t even joke about that.”
He covered her hand with his big one, that boyish grin playing across his face making him seem a decade younger as he leaned his face into her hold.
He opened his mouth to speak and an explosion rumbled beneath them…
Ellie’s eyes flew open and she jerked upright in bed. Breathing hard, she looked around her and Jay’s bedroom feeling lost and diso
riented. What the hell? She’d been dreaming about Jay… How long had she been out? Glancing at her cell phone she realized it hadn’t been very long. Her hair was still damp too.
She rubbed a hand over her face and slid her legs off the bed. She needed to get up and—the bedroom door flew open and she nearly jumped out of her skin.
Jay stood there in jeans, no shirt and a gun held tightly in his hand. Her eyes widened, not because of the gun, but because he was clearly agitated. “Pack a bag. Someone just blew up your car.”
“What?” No way she’d heard him correctly.
Mouth pulled into a grim line, he nodded. “Pack enough for a couple weeks. I’ve called the cops and Wyatt, but you and I are getting the hell out of here and somewhere safer until this mess is sorted out.”
Feeling numb, she moved toward the closet. Her car had been parked in the driveway. Someone had come to their home and done this. She or Jay could have been badly injured, or worse. “Was anyone hurt? Did you see who did it?”
He shook his head. “No to both counts.”
At least no one had been injured, but if someone had blown up her car—and she had no doubt who had done it—things had just gotten a lot more deadly. “It had to be Kevin, right?”
Jay nodded. “That’s my guess.”
She paused by the closet door and clutched onto it, thankful for the support. She knew she needed to pack and that they had to get the hell out of there, but she felt almost frozen, her limbs numb. “What are we going to do?”
“Get some place safe, regroup with a team, and take this bastard down.” The razor’s edge to his voice sent a chill down her spine.
Ellie had seen Jay intense at work before, especially with the various threatening situations they dealt with, but she’d never seen him like this. So…deadly.
It completely melted her that he’d do anything to protect her, but her nightmare was coming to life. Jay was now involved and in real danger.
Because of her.