“She’s been threatening him,” I explained, my headache increasing by the second, blurring my vision. I blinked again, then added, “Ask Jonathan’s lawyer.”
“Jacqueline wouldn’t do something so reckless,” he muttered, throwing a quick glance over his shoulder. “Her own family woulddisown her. They have strict rules on not attracting attention. It’s the only way they manage to stay under the radar.” I’d only met Jacqueline’s family once, during Kristoff’s wedding to her, which went to shit. Not that I remembered any of it well, since I was much younger than him.
My stomach twisted. If he only knew. She’d already crossed lines. He had no idea what she was capable of. Murder was inevitably the next step for her. “I heard the gunshots, Kristoff.” I tried to shift my body up but he forced me to lie back down. “I swear?—”
“I’ll look into it,” he assured in a soft voice. “Just rest now.”
I shook my head. There was no way I could rest while Jonathan was out there, injured. Possiblydying.
“What if he was taken?” I asked, but Kristoff simply shook his head, clearly thinking I was overreacting. “What if they came back and took his body. Jacqueline could have finally gone off the deep end.”
“Her family would never forgive her,” Kristoff murmured. “And money means more to her than Jonathan or her son, for that matter.”
“Maybe they helped her?”
Kristoff shook his head. “They wouldn’t risk their power and reputation for Jacqueline’s petty revenge.”
He might be right, but I wouldn’t put it past Jacqueline to find a way to use her connections to the Black Oil Syndicate. They were a powerful organization in Texas, run by her cousins who had ties to the most powerful people in the country: politicians, businessmen, and criminals. Neither Kristoff nor my aunt ever told me what kind of criminals, but they made it clear they didn’t want me around her or them.
I stared at the wall while I replayed what had happened: the rain, the headlights tailing us, the crash, the boots, the gunshots, the flat look in Jonathan’s eyes when he hit the pavement. Logically, I knew Jacqueline wouldn’t have had the strength to drag Jonathan through that window, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have something to do with the shooting.
“Someone was following us, Kristoff,” I rasped, panic rising in my chest. “Jonathan was shot.”
“Sophie—”
“I know what I saw.”
“I’m not doubting you, but you got a concussion and need to get better. That’s the priority right now.” Kristoff squeezed my hand before standing. “Try to rest.”
“But I?—”
“I’ll call in a few favors and see what I can do to find Jonathan and figure out what Jacqueline might be up to.”
Kristoff had some badass friends, and if he said he’d do it, he would.
The sedatives must have finally won because my eyelids dropped, although I kept fighting to stay awake.
“I’m going to go home to shower, but I’ll be back. Gemma has been worried sick about you.”
“I’m fine,” I responded automatically. “Tell her not to worry.”
He scoffed softly. “I’m not lying to my wife, Soph.”
I managed a weak smile. Gemma was the best thing that had ever happened to Kristoff. She changed him, gave him everything he never knew he needed. The two of them were a perfect match, and I couldn’t help but wish for the same.
“Will you let me know if—” I swallowed a lump in my throat because deep down I knew what had happened. “Whenthey find Jonathan.”
He nodded. “You’ll be the first to hear.”
I closed my eyes.
“Get some rest, and I’m going to do the same,” I told him. “And don’t come back until tomorrow,” I added, wanting some space. I knew rest wouldn’t find me even if sleep pulled me under.
The chair scraped against the hospital floor, and I opened my eyes again, watching him push the chair away before pressing a kiss on my forehead and leaving the room.
The door clicked shut, leaving me alone with my thoughts and the soft hum from the machines. As I lay there and replayed every second of the accident in my mind over and over again, I let the sound of distant footsteps somewhere down the hall ground me in the present.
It proved futile though, because despite the terror curling in my chest, my eyelids grew heavy and sleep pulled me under.
