Seeing her go down like that…hearing her gasping for the air her lungs refused to accept…she hadn’t just scared him. She’d fuckingterrifiedhim.
“You did a helluva lot more than just scare me,” Jenna parroted his thoughts before diverting her anger onto him. “Tell me you killed the sonofabitch.”
“Jenna!” Elle admonished her.
Jenna threw her hands on her hips, her long red ponytail nearly hitting him in the chest as she shot Elle a look. “Don’t you ‘Jenna’ me. Someone literally tried to kill you tonight, Ellena. Please, for the love ofGod,tell me you don’t still think I’m being paranoid about all of this.”
“No.” Looking at Gabe from over Jenna’s shoulder, Elle whispered, “I believe you.”
“Good.” After exhaling a long puff of air, Jenna studied her friend with a nurse’s eye. “So what did the doctor say?”
“I got the wind knocked out of me, and I have a pretty good bruise.” Elle pulled at the hospital gown’s paper-thin neckline. “Other than that, I’m fine.”
Bile churned deep in Gabe’s gut as she exposed the darkening area below her right clavicle.
“Shit.” Jenna cringed. “That had to hurt.”
“Could’ve been a lot worse. Just ask my computer.”
Neither Jenna nor Gabe laughed at Elle’s attempted humor.
“Jesus, woman.” Jenna shook her head. “I’ve never seen anyone get as lucky as you have, lately. You should think about buying a freaking lottery ticket or playing the slots or something.”
Elle chuckled, then winced. “Damn, that’s sore.”
Jenna’s green eyes filled with concern. “Are they keeping you overnight, or do you get to go home?”
“Neither,” Gabe answered before Elle had the chance. His gruff tone had both women looking up at him. “She’s not going back to her house.”
“I’m not?”
He stared back at her. “The email was right. The people behind this know where to look for you. Hell, the pictures they sent were proof enough.”
“It’s my home, Gabe. If I run, they win.”
“They tried to kill you tonight, Elle.” His teeth clenched together. He took a step toward the bed. “Not in a way that could be blown off as an accident, but with a bullet to the fucking chest.”
“What email?” Jenna’s green eyes bounced back and forth between he and Elle. “Wait, someone sent you pictures?”
Ignoring the woman’s questions, Gabe kept his eyes locked with his wife’s. “Three attempts now, sweetheart. This last one was too fucking close.”
The image of her being thrown back from the bullet’s impact flashed through his mind for what felt like the millionth time.
His words must’ve sunk in, because rather than argue, Elle asked, “Where will we go?”
“Dallas.”
Her brows shot up. “Texas?Gabe, I can’t just drop everything and fly to another state. I have a job. Patients who—”
“Can see another doctor or maybe even set up virtual visits with you.”
“It’s not the same, and I can’t ask them to do that. They need me.”
“So do I.”Shit.He hadn’t meant to say it out loud.
Gabe took a deep breath and regrouped. Resting his hands on his hips, he softened his voice. “You’re no good to your patients if you’re dead, Ellena.”
“He’s right.”
