Rescuing Jenna - Anna Blakely Page 0,23
Wood. The important parts, anyway.
During the early hours of Jenna’s recovery—while she was still unconscious, and he thought he’d go nuts with worry—Adrian had been in desperate need of a distraction.
So, he’d contacted Gabe and told him what had happened.
After reassuring both him and a very worried Ellena that Jenna was going to be okay, he’d asked Gabe to find out all he could about Saje Staffing…and the woman in charge. It took Nathan Carter—Gabe’s tech genius teammate—less than ten minutes to email him a virtual file on the company and Taylore Wood.
On paper, Taylore was all that she seemed. A selfless, hard-working nurse whose entire life goal was to help others in need. However, Adrian knew better than most how easy it was to hide one’s true colors… and the truth.
“I did a little digging while you napped.” He gave Jenna a wink.
Actually, Gabe had enlisted the help of his team. They did the digging, then passed the information on to Adrian via text.
“Please tell me you’re kidding.”
“Interesting reading, actually.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I found out quite a bit about your boss.”
“You can’t just invade people’s private lives like that, Adrian. God, this is a nightmare.” Jenna closed her eyes, her head falling back against her pillow. “If she finds out…”
“You lost an entire night.” Adrian scowled. “You were almost kidnapped, and you’re worried about losing this shit job?”
“It’s not a shit job.” She glared back at him. “This hospital is severely understaffed, even with us here to help. The ER has been non-stop since I got here, and with Marie out of commission, they’ll need me more than ever. And yes, as selfish as it may seem right now, my professional reputation is important to me. It’s…it’s all I have.”
Those last four words broke his heart because, fuck. She actually believed that shit. It was there, in those spellbinding eyes of hers.
Not true, gorgeous. You’ve got me.
It was Adrian’s turn to blink. That line of thinking was damn dangerous. Especially for a guy like him.
Especially for her.
“I’m not like you, Adrian,” Jenna continued on. “I can’t just pick up and leave everything behind without any regard to anything or anyone else.”
“Yet here you are.”
It was an asshole thing to say, but he needed her to see what she was doing. He needed the spirited, ballsy woman he knew and lo—
Adrian sucked in a silent breath. Nope, he was not going there.
Not. Fucking. Doing. It.
It was one thing to like this woman. To want to spend time with her and get to know her better. But the path he’d just about let himself go down… Guys like him weren’t welcome on it.
You sure about that?
Jenna opened her pretty mouth but almost immediately closed it. He watched as the delicate muscles in her jaw worked as she thought about what to say. “Why are you here? Why did you come back to Gulfside Harbor?”
Confession time. “I never left.”
New wrinkles formed on her forehead. “What do you mean you never left?”
“Just what I said.” Adrian slid his hands into his pockets. “I was going to leave after you kicked me out of your room last week, but I decided to stick around for a while.”
He kept his gaze laser focused on her. Knew the exact moment it clicked for her.
“Ohmygod.” She put a hand to her mouth. “You’ve been watching me this whole time, haven’t you?”
The trepidation in her eyes bothered him. A. Lot.
“Yes.”
“Why?” Jenna’s voice rose, an appalled expression washing over her. “Is Gabe paying you to watch over me or something?”
“No, he’s not fucking paying me.”
Christ, is that what she thought? That money was his reason for being here?
What the hell else would she think, dumbass? Not like you’ve shown her you actually give a damn.
“If you’re not being paid, then why are you still here?”
Adrian stared back at her but remained silent. He didn’t have a quippy comeback. Wasn’t trying to smooth-talk her into submission like he normally would. Mainly because he had no idea what to say.
He’d steered clear of this very thing his entire adult life, and for good reason. Getting close to someone…allowing himself to care…Those were life luxuries Adrian could never afford.
It was always too damn risky. His job—his life—was too dangerous. Yet here he was, at a fork in the same damn road he’d done everything he could to avoid. And now that he was here, Adrian was confused as fuck with no clue what he should do.
Tell her