Serena endured the examination, all the poking and prodding. Betty Sue changed a few of her bandages, and Doctor Jennings studied the x-ray of her left wrist, before giving a final nod.
“Looks like it ain’t broken, but you’re going to have to keep it bandaged for stability and be in a sling for a while. It’s a nasty sprain. You were lucky. With a car accident, things could have been a lot worse. You do have a concussion. You lost consciousness, and didn’t come to until the EMTs got you here. We’re gonna keep you here another twenty-four hours.”
“But, I—”
“No buts, young lady. A concussion is nothing to play around with. No arguments, you’re staying.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good answer,” he grinned. “Now, I’ll send your fella back in, and give you a bit of privacy. Get some rest, maybe get some sleep, and tomorrow, if things look good, we’ll let you go home.”
“Thank you, Doctor Jennings.”
“Holler if you need anything.” Betty Sue headed for the door behind the doctor, and Antonio burst into the room the second it opened. Doctor Jennings shook his head and kept going. Betty Sue turned and gave her a thumb’s up behind Antonio’s back, and Serena bit back her laugh.
“You okay?”
“Yes, although they’re going to make me stay another twenty-four hours.”
He slid onto the seat he’d vacated earlier and reached for her right hand. “Not a bad idea. You were out for a long time.”
“That’s what Doctor Jennings said.”
“How much do you remember about the accident?”
She leaned back against the pillows and tried to piece together everything that had happened. “I got a call from a client.”
“Yeah, I read the note you left. What were you thinking, Serena? I thought you understood somebody had to be with you at all times if you left the Big House. Why do you think Ridge was there?”
She gave a long, drawn-out sigh, awash with guilt. “I know. I feel so stupid. When Mr. Olson called, I thought I’d only be gone for a little while. Show him a property and come right back. He’s been a client ever since I moved here, and he’s been trying to get a look at this property for a year at least, maybe longer. I didn’t want to disappoint him.”
“And you couldn’t take two minutes to call Ridge in from the barn?” Antonio’s voice held an edge to it, one he’d never directed at her before. She’d honestly disappointed him, and something inside her cringed at how horrible it made her feel.
“I didn’t think, okay?”
“We’ll get back to that. Tell me what you remember about the accident.”
She closed her eyes, picturing again the car speeding toward her, and swerving into her lane, feeling the jolt of the impact, and the airbag deploying. She detailed everything to him. “Everything happened so fast, it’s almost a blur. I couldn’t get out of the car on the driver’s side, and had to crawl across and get out on the passenger side.”
“We saw when we got to the scene.” Serena wondered what he felt when he’d seen her car at the side of the road. Had he worried about her? Right now, he seemed so detached, and she couldn’t tell if it was because he was in professional mode, wanting all the facts, or if he didn’t care. She’d thought they were getting closer, but maybe she’d read too much into things, and her feelings were all one-sided, and he really didn’t want anything more than to be friends.
“Anyway,” she continued, wanting to get through with this, “I went to the other car to see if they needed help. The driver was hunched over the steering wheel, and didn’t respond when I tapped on the passenger window.”
“Why didn’t you call for help?”
“I did—well, I mean, I started to, but he pulled a gun and told me to toss my phone on the ground.”
Antonio leaned in closer, his intent stare boring into her like a laser, focused and unreadable. “What happened next?”
“He got out of the car and stomped on my phone. Twice.”
“Did you recognize the driver, Serena?”
She nodded, her fingers picking at the satin edging of the blanket covering her. “Yes. I wasn’t sure at first, when he was slumped over the wheel, but once he turned toward me, there was no doubt.”
“Who?”
“Jonathan Drury, my uncle’s attorney.”
Antonio’s brow rose at the name, and he pulled out his cellphone and began typing, then laid the phone on the mattress. “Go on.”
“It was weird. He talked about my being his ticket out. Said my uncle was crazy, and he needed to get away from him. None of it made any sense.” She didn’t want to say the next part, but knew Antonio would get it out of her anyway. Might as well bite the bullet and say it. “He said my uncle knows where I am, and he’s put a hit out on me.”
Antonio leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling, and exhaled a deep breath. “We kinda saw it coming. I checked with Rafe earlier, and there weren’t any fingerprints in your townhouse, no fibers, nothing to show anybody was there.” When she started to speak, he held up his hand. “I believe you. Somebody was there, they’re just good at covering their tracks. A pro.”
Serena wanted to throw up. She’d been so careful, hiding in plain sight, and now everything had crumbled into a pile of ashes. Jonathan showing up hadn’t been a coincidence; her uncle knew she was in Shiloh Springs. Her hands gripped the edge of the blanket until her knuckles turned white.
“Antonio, I have to leave.”
“No, sweetheart, you’re not going anywhere. No more running or hiding. Rafe’s going to have somebody outside your door until the doctor releases you. I’m going to talk with Williamson today. He’s going to want to talk to you too.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to have to go through all this again. I wish…”
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