Page 56

I t’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.

“No. I got nowhere. Tried it all. Smiling, charming, sweet, even mad and stern. Nothing.” Frustration filled his voice and even though she knew it wasn’t funny, it was still a bit amusing since he was used to getting his own way. “What’s going on? Is anything broken?”

“Thankfully, no,” she said. “Soft tissue damage and bruising. A sprained wrist. They said I’ll be in pain for quite a while. They’re keeping me overnight and will reassess where I’m at in the morning. But I’m going to have to take it slow for a while.”

“Baby, shit. I hate that I brought that bitch into our lives. And that she hurt you because of me.”

“Did you know she was delusional and psychotic when you hired her?” Immy asked.

“No! Of course not! I would never have hired her if I had known.”

“Exactly! So how could this be your fault when you didn’t know?” she pointed out. “So stop beating yourself up. I’m beaten up enough for the both of us, don’t you think?”

His face grew tight. There was almost a dangerous look to him. Something cold and dark. She stared at him in shock. Jenner could be bossy and demanding. He could be stern and he did have a temper at times.

But she’d never seen him look dangerous.

“That bitch deserved to die,” he said.

She swallowed heavily. She wasn’t sure she agreed with that. But she was gone.

“What do you think they’re going to do with Lauren?” she asked. “Will they just leave her there?”

Could they get into trouble for that? What was happening? And who shot her?

“Hey, whatever happens I don’t want you to worry about it, understand?” he said, cupping her face between his hands gently. “Your time for worrying about any of this has finished. We’re taking over now.”

“You can’t just tell me that I have to stop worrying and expect me to do it,” she pointed out.

“I just did, didn’t I?”

She licked her lips, staring up at him. What was happening here? “Jenner, about what you?—”

The door opened suddenly, interrupting her. Turning her head slightly, she saw Sampson, Tobias, and Abe rush into the room. Abe moved immediately to her other side, running his gaze over her.

“Immy, oh my God.” His voice broke.

“I’m all right,” she told him.

Abe shook his head. “Don’t lie to me right now. I can’t take it.”

“Really,” she said. “It’s not as bad as it looks. Just a bit of bruising, some soft tissue damage and a sprained wrist. Apparently, I was very lucky.”

She wasn’t sure she felt all that lucky, but that’s what the doctor had told her.

“This doesn’t feel lucky. This feels like fucking shit!” Abe stood and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m so sorry my phone was off. I was dealing with some stuff. How long do you have to stay in the hospital?”

“Hopefully just the night.” She glanced over at Tobias, taking in the way his face was shut down.

What was going on?

Sampson looked much the same.

“What’s the matter? What is it?” she asked in alarm.

Jenner turned to face the other guys as well, but he placed a hand on her arm.

Sampson sighed. “When we went back to get Lauren, she was gone.”

“What?” she asked. “How could she be gone?”

“She really was dead, right?” Abe asked.

“Oh, yeah, she was fucking dead,” Sampson said. “There was no way she moved on her own. Everything was gone. Lauren and her car. There was no sign that she’d ever been there.

“But . . . but how?” she whispered. “How could that happen? A car and a dead woman can’t just disappear!”

“Well, a random man dressed in black doesn’t just appear out of the trees to shoot a woman, then leave, either,” Tobias said.

“He didn’t just leave,” she said. “And I don’t think he was random.”

“What?” Jenner asked, glancing down at her. “What do you mean?”

“I didn’t get a chance to tell you guys everything,” she said, shifting around to find a better position to sit in. “Lauren said she was taking me somewhere, to meet someone, but she wouldn’t tell me who.”

“You think it was that guy?” Tobias asked. “The one who shot her? He was an accomplice? That makes some sense. He killed her, then got rid of the body and car as evidence so she couldn’t be linked back to him.”

“But who the fuck is he?” Sampson asked.

“And why did he leave you alive?” Abe asked.

“I don’t know if he was going to,” she said. “I’m not sure. He was walking toward me as you guys drove up. I’m surprised you didn’t see him. I think your headlights hit him, just briefly. But in the next second, he was gone. But . . . surely he had time to shoot me?”

“Yeah, he still could have shot you and disappeared,” Tobias said. “Maybe he didn’t want to kill you. Perhaps he had something else planned.”

“Like kidnapping her?” Jenner said in a stark voice. “The same as Maeve and Cat?”

Sampson started to pace.

“What is going on?” Abe asked. “They caught the copycat, right? Is this something else? Something unrelated to the copycat Deity and those Sentinels that kidnapped Maeve and Cat? I mean, Lauren is a woman. The Deity would never make a woman a Sentinel.”

“And she was angry about losing her job. If I hadn’t fired her would she have done this?” Jenner asked.

“Whoever this person in black is . . . he was the one calling the shots. Maybe he was using Lauren to get to Immy. Then Immy’s friend thwarted that plan.

He was closeby or tracking them or something.

Saw his chance, shot Lauren to get rid of her and was going to take Immy when we came along,” Tobias said.

“We need to track down this Dev,” Sampson said.

She shook her head, wincing as it throbbed. “Dev had nothing to do with it. And I don’t think he’d take kindly to you trying to track him.”

“Still going to go to that bar and see if he appears,” Sampson said. “A bar you should never have been at.”

She sighed. “Isaiah knew about it. Where is he?”

They all shot looks at each other.

“Fuck!” Sampson said. “Where is Isaiah?”

Fear filled her. “What if someone took him? What if this wasn’t even about me and it was all a ruse to get to him?”

“I’m going to the house,” Abe said.

“I’ll go with you,” Sampson said to him. “I’ll leave the truck here for you guys?”

“Thanks,” Jenner said. “Go and let us know what you find.”

She didn’t like this. “I want to go too.”

“Well, you’re not,” Jenner growled as Sampson and Abe left.

She gave him a shocked look.

“Fuck. Baby, I didn’t mean to snap. Sorry. I just . . . I couldn’t stand it if anything else happened to you. I want to wrap you up in cotton balls and just keep you safe from everything. I can’t even stand the idea of you getting a papercut right now. So, just, please, stay in bed.”

Shocked at the pleading in his voice, she nodded.

“Don’t leave me. Please. Will both of you stay with me?” she asked, sucking in a breath as both men stared at each other.

“Yes,” Tobias said.

“Absolutely,” Jenner added. “We’re in agreement.’

“Yep,” Tobias said.

“Agreement? About what?” she asked.

Jenner grasped her hand. Tobias moved to her other side and lightly touched her shoulder, since that arm was sprained.

“We’re going to share you,” they said together.