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“Fucking bitch deserved to die!” Jenner snarled.

“Jenner,” she said sadly.

“No! Who knows how many other times she did that? How many times she faked messages between us to split us apart?”

“There might have been a few,” she whispered. “And she tried to warn me away from you. She told me that I would . . . ruin your career. I was a nobody and that you needed to be single or to be with someone like Amaya.”

Jenner slammed the palm of his hand against the steering wheel as he pulled into the street with the hospital. “Wish she was fucking alive so I could murder her. And you are not nobody. You hear me? How could you ever believe you were nobody? You can’t be . . . when you’re the reason I wake up each morning, the reason I keep moving forward, you’re in my head all day and all night. Fucking air I breathe. It’s all you, Immy. All you.”

40

It’s all you, Immy. All you.

Immy stared up at the ceiling of the hospital room as those words ran through her head. She wasn’t even sure what to do with them.

She hadn’t had time to reply as they’d pulled into the hospital and Tobias, who’d been surprisingly calm, had carried her inside.

After that, everything had been a whirlwind. Tobias had quietly told her to tell the cops that she’d been the victim of a hit and run in the parking lot of the bar. And that he doubted there would be any cameras to show Lauren kidnapping her.

She was a bit unsure about that, hoping that none of her friends got angry at her for bringing the cops to the bar. But she did it because she didn’t know what else to say. She’d had an x-ray, a scan, and was now lying in a private room, hooked to an IV.

Amazingly, nothing was broken. But her hips and one thigh were badly bruised, she had some soft tissue damage, and her left wrist was sprained from where she’d landed on it.

She’d noticed several nurses and the doctor eyeing the red marks on her wrists. She wasn’t sure whether she had them on her ankles, but they weren’t that bad. And she didn’t think they could attribute them to her being tied up.

She hoped.

Anyway, she had other worries right now.

Like where the guys were.

And what Jenner’s declaration meant.

For her and Jenner.

For her and Tobias.

This was so messed up and she had circled back around to knowing that she couldn’t have either of them. It would hurt too much to only be with one.

Tobias had sort of faded into the background, then disappeared with Sampson. But where was Jenner? Why was she all alone?

“I’m just stepping into her room now. I have to be quiet in case she’s asleep. Yeah, I’ll call you when she’s awake. Bye, Cat.” Jenner walked fully into the room as he finished talking. He winced. “Aw, shit. Thought I was being quiet, but I wasn’t, huh? Baby, how are you doing?”

“Where . . . where have you been?” She immediately closed her eyes. “Shit. Sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

“Don’t apologize.” He moved closer, standing next to her and running his gaze over her. “Don’t apologize for anything.”

“I just . . . I don’t know what’s going on or where anyone is.” A sob escaped her, making her groan.

“Careful, shh. It’s all right. I’ll tell you everything I know if you just stay still, okay?” He worded it like a question, but his voice was firm. “Just stay relaxed. Promise me or I’m not going to tell you.”

“All right, I promise.” She thought she’d be more stressed by not knowing, frankly.

“Sampson and Tobias went back to check on Lauren. I don’t know what exactly they have planned, but I haven’t heard from them yet. I was supposed to stay with you, but the damn nurses wouldn’t let me near you while the doctor was checking you over. Then no one would tell me anything, because I’m not related to you.” He ran his fingers through his hair. Poor Jenner, he looked so tired. She hated that he was so stressed.

And she hadn’t even told them the full story yet.

“Your charm didn’t work?” she asked.