Page 43 of Steel & Jenna
Jenna saw her mom open her mouth and quickly jumped in. “My mom is trying to keep my boyfriend and me apart. She had her bodyguards beat him up and is claiming I was assaulted, but I wasn’t!”
Mr. Zarin looked to the man, the Chief of Police, Jenna realized. “We keep going round and round with this. Is there any way we can do this at the hospital so Jack can get looked at?”
Chief Cunningham nodded. “Let’s go.” To the officer beside them, he ordered, “Release him. Boy barely looks like he can stand. I highly doubt he’s going to make a run for it.”
Jenna let out a long sigh of relief. The officer moved behind Jack to uncuff his wrists.
“Jenna, you come with me,” her mother demanded. Jenna ignored her.
Mr. Zarin moved to take Jack’s weight from Jenna. As much as she wanted to be able to support Jack, she was grateful for Mr. Zarin’s assistance.
Jenna followed Mr. Zarin and Chief Cunningham down the steps.
“Jenna!”
She continued walking with them, pausing only to get Jack’s and her coats from the stand by the door.
“Jenna!”
Mr. Zarin stopped when they were outside to help Jenna get Jack’s coat on him. He leaned down to say gently in her ear, “I don’t want to see you get into trouble, Jenna. Maybe it’s best if you go with your mom.”
Jenna put her coat on too. “She did this to Jack. I have no mom.”
CHAPTER 10
Well, this sucked. Jack felt like shit. As Mr. Zarin drove them to the hospital in his truck, Jack sat in the bench seat with his face on Jenna’s chest. Mr. Zarin gave Jenna a handkerchief from his pocket to help stem the bleeding, and it hurt like a bitch, but Jack gritted his teeth through the pain. Every pothole and turn felt like he had something sharp jabbing him in the side, making it even harder to breathe. His good eye picked up on the fact that Mr. Zarin was following a police cruiser to the hospital.
“I don’t have insurance,” Jack muttered. He didn’t know if Jenna or Mr. Zarin could hear him.
Jenna leaned her ear down to his mouth. “What?”
Jack repeated his statement, which Jenna repeated to Mr. Zarin.
“Don’t worry about it,” Mr. Zarin said shortly.
Jack couldn’t tell what it was Mr. Zarin was thinking or feeling. No doubt the man was reevaluating his offer to take in Lilly and Jack. If that was the case, Jack was going to swallow his pride and beg for them to at least keep Lilly.
He couldn’t even protect himself. He’d had his ass handed to him by two men without even laying a single blow on either of them. Hehad no business trying to protect Lilly or Jenna. What must she think of him, too?
While in handcuffs, Jack had been so concerned about the accusation that he’d hurt Jenna that it hadn’t occurred to him until Mr. Zarin had practically had to carry him out of the library how weak she must think he was. He tried to pick his head up off of her chest, to sit up on his own, but his head spun so violently that Jack gagged.
“He’s going to throw up!”
Mr. Zarin slammed on the brakes and pulled them over to the side of the road. Jack heaved. He tried to hold it in, but his breakfast from only a couple of hours before rose with a vengeance. At least he had the sense to try to shift himself away from Jenna.
Mr. Zarin threw the passenger door open just as Jack spewed vomit. He heard Mr. Zarin curse and then suddenly there was the feel of a leather jacket under Jack’s face. He heaved again. Soft hands rubbed up and down his back.
Jack’s remaining vision blurred as shudders wracked his entire body. Every bruise, wound, and sore felt like someone was pressing a hot poker to them.
“…wrong with him…”
“…bottle in the back…”
Jack could hear Mr. Zarin and Jenna talking but not entire sentences. The first solid breakfast he’d eaten in years and it was now all over Mr. Zarin’s truck and possibly Jenna. Christ, what a fuckup he was. No doubt neither of them would want anything to do with him after this. Not only was he going to have to figure out how to pay a hospital bill he couldn’t afford, but he was also going to have to pay to have Jenna’s outfit cleaned, probably get Mr. Zarin a new jacket, and clean out the truck.
“…going on? Oh shit!” That was a new voice. Older like Mr. Zarin’s, but deeper. He was pretty sure it belonged to Chief Cunningham.
“…let it out, son…let it out…” A hand, calloused and bigger than Jenna’s, touched his hair. In an odd way, it was more comforting. Like a guiding hand, a mentor.
