anything else, give that number a call.”
In other words, he was going to file her report with the hundreds of other ones he’s probably gotten this week, and that will be that. Not that she really expected any other outcome.
Although San Diego’s crime rate had been decreasing slightly over the past few years, there were still plenty of other cases for the police force to worry about. Cases that were much more important than the petty thieves she’d encountered tonight.
“Thanks.” Jenna shoved the card into her scrub top pocket. “I appreciate it.”
She’d appreciate it even more if the cops could find the bastards and let her beat the hell out of them both…with the purse they stole. After she filled it with rocks.
“Do you have a way home, or do I need to find you a ride?”
Pulling her keys from her pants’ pocket, Jenna held them up. “I’m good. But thanks.”
“Okay, then. Be safe and don’t forget to call if you think of anything else.” With a nod, the officer turned and left her alone in the hallway.
With a sigh, she made her way to one of the employee side-doors, opposite the E.R. waiting room. The last thing she wanted was to encounter more well-meaning co-workers anxious to hear the story of what happened.
Slipping out of the facility unnoticed, Jenna felt on-edge the entire way back to her car. She kept her head on a swivel, scanning her surroundings with a watchful eye.
Her heartrate increased while walking through the open parking lot. After being slammed with one patient after another for most of her shift, the place was relatively quiet, now.
Nearing her car, Jenna glanced at her keys. “At least they didn’t get these,” she mumbled the silver lining to herself as she unlocked the vehicle and got in.
By the time she got home, she wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and block out everyone and everything. Instead, she put on a pot of coffee and changed clothes before heading back out to deal with the bank and that whole mess.
Three and a half hours later, Jenna was back inside her apartment with a new debit card, a new driver’s license—something she’d thought of while she’d been waiting in line at the bank—and a headache the size of Texas. She’d just locked the door behind her and was heading to the kitchen for some ibuprofen when her phone dinged with an incoming text.
Taking it out of her pocket, she smiled when she saw the name on the screen. Speaking of Texas…
The message was from Ellena. After the whole kidnapping debacle—both hers and Ellena’s—the sweet military psychologist had recently reunited with her estranged husband and Ellena moved from San Diego to Texas to be with him.
Naturally, Jenna understood her friend’s need to be with the man she loved, and she couldn’t be happier for the two of them. Still, she missed Ellena like crazy.
The other woman was her person. Her confidant. Jenna told her almost everything, but right now, she was exhausted and more vulnerable than she cared to admit.
She shot Elle a quick text letting her know she’d had a really long day at work—not a lie—and was finally heading to bed. She ended the text with a promise to call her later this evening and hit ‘send’.
Tears pricked the corners of Jenna’s eyes, but she blinked them away. She wasn’t normally one to cry, but recent events—and thoughts of a certain man she wished she could forget—had her on the verge of breaking down into a pathetic, watery mess.
Her phone dinged, the thumbs up and heart emojis Ellena responded with making her smile. Switching the device over to silent mode, Jenna shuffled down the hallway to the bathroom.
After washing away the hectic night shift and an even crazier morning, she crawled into bed and closed her eyes, wanting nothing more than to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep. Instead, the image of a faceless man wearing a hoodie flashed through her mind.
Her eyes flew open, and Jenna sucked in a quick breath. She gritted her teeth as the anger she’d felt before returned with a vengeance.
Damn it, she was stronger than this. Strong enough some purse-stealing punks shouldn’t cause her to lose some much-needed sleep.
Throwing off the covers, she stormed out of bed and went in search of that drink she’d thought about earlier. Something to help her relax and forget this morning ever happened.
A glass of wine or two should do the trick.
A half a bottle