CHAPTER 26: CHAPTER TWENTY SIX: BLOOD AND JEALOUS

Chapter TWENTY SIX: Blood And

Jealous

CHRISTY’S POV

The man moved faster than I could think.

One second he was standing over Grandpa with the syringe, the next his hand was at my throat, shoving me hard into the wall.

Air instantly vanished from my lungs.

My fingers clawed at his wrist, nails digging into skin, but he was strong, too strong for my little attacks to affect him. His grip tightened, and black dots exploded across my vision.

Grandpa’s voice cut through the haze. "Christy!" His shout was shaky and panicked. I could hear the bed creak as he tried to move but groaned in pain.

The intruder’s eyes were wild, locked on mine as though strangling me was personal. I tried to kick at him, but my body was already weakening.

BANG!

"Let her go!" Curtis’ voice boomed as he kicked the door open.

He barreled into the room like a storm, his shoulder slamming into the man’s side.

The grip around my neck loosened enough for me to greedily suck in a ragged breath before both men crashed to the floor.

I stumbled to the side, coughing rapidly , my throat burning.

Curtis swung his fist and a hard punch landed on the intruder’s jaw. The man grunted, jerking back, but he didn’t let go.

They rolled on the floor , fists and elbows flying at each, the room filling with the sound of grunts from the sharp impacts.

"Curtis, the syringe!" I yelled, my voice hoarse as my throat was still burning .

It was still in the man’s hand, glinting under the fluorescent light. Curtis grabbed for it, but in the chaos, the needle jabbed into his side. I saw the intruder’s thumb press down on the plunger before Curtis shoved him away with a roar.

"Curtis!" I lunged forward, but the intruder kicked out, catching Curtis in the ribs, then bolted for the door.

I dropped to my knees beside him. "Oh my God... "

His skin was already pale, his breathing ragged. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his eyes unfocused. "Don’t.. worry... about me," he muttered, but his voice was faint.

The hallway erupted with shouting as nurses rushed in. "We need a gurney, now!"

They lifted Curtis onto it, his body limp except for the twitch in his fingers. My hand found his, clutching tight. "Stay with me. Please. Just.. don’t close your eyes."

But his eyelids fluttered anyway.

They wheeled him away, and I followed until a nurse stopped me at the ER doors. "Ma’am, you can’t come in here."

Tears blurred everything. "Is he going to die?"

"We’re doing everything we can."

I pressed my hand to my mouth, swallowing the scream building in my throat.

The sound of hurried footsteps pulled my attention to the corridor. Sameen and his sister, Raina, appeared, their expressions thunderous.

"What did you do?!" Raina’s voice was a whip crack.

I blinked at her, stunned. "I didn’t... "

"Curtis is in the ER because of you," she spat. "You’ve been nothing but trouble since you got here!"

Sameen stepped forward, his glare cutting into me. "We trusted you to look after the old man. Instead, you almost got him killed and dragged Curtis into it."

"That’s not fair!" My voice shook. "An intruder came in, I... "

"You should’ve called security," Raina snapped. "But no, you had to play the hero and now Curtis might not survive whatever that was."

The words hit like stones. My chest tightened, heat rising to my face, but I couldn’t form a defense that would matter to them. They’d already decided I was guilty.

Sameen shook his head in disgust. "Stay out of our way."

They swept past me toward the ER, leaving me rooted in place, my legs trembling.

*****

KENDRICK’S POV

The call came while I was in a meeting, mid-sentence.

Gary’s voice was low but urgent. "There’s been an incident at the hospital. Christy.. Curtis... "

The blood drained from my face. "What happened?"

"He was injured. Badly. They’re saying it was an intruder."

I didn’t hear the rest. My chair scraped back as I stood. "Clear my schedule," I barked at my assistant, already heading for the door.

The drive was a blur, just the pounding of my heart and the white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel.

When I stepped into Grandpa’s room, he was propped up in bed, pale but unharmed. Relief punched through me, but it was quickly swallowed by the cold dread still gnawing at my chest.

"You’re okay," I said, scanning him for injuries.

"I’m fine," he assured me. "But Curtis... he saved Christy. Took whatever was in that syringe for her."

My jaw tightened.

Grandpa’s eyes were sharp despite his frailty. "That young man’s willing to risk his life for her. If you don’t wake up, Kendrick, you’re going to lose her."

"That’s not... "

"It is," he cut in. "You think keeping your distance will protect you. But someone else will step in, someone braver with his heart. Curtis has already shown her more courage than you have."

The words landed like blows, each one hitting where I didn’t want to admit it hurt.

I found Christy outside the ER, her face pale, eyes rimmed red from crying. She was pacing, twisting her fingers together like she was holding herself together by threads.

Something inside me softened, then I saw the way she looked toward the ER doors every time they opened, like her world depended on the man inside.

Curtis.

The softness vanished, replaced by a sharp, ugly heat.

I closed the distance between us. "How bad is he?"

She startled, then met my eyes. "They don’t know yet. He.. he was injected with something. He could.. " Her voice broke.

"Why are you crying like that for him?" I demanded before I could stop myself.

Her brow furrowed. "What?"

"You’re this torn up over another man. What exactly is going on between you two, Christy?"

Anger flared in her eyes. "Are you serious right now? He almost died saving me!"

"That’s not an answer," I said, my voice low, dangerous. "Tell me.. does he mean something to you?"

She stared at me like she didn’t recognize me. "You haven’t spoken to me in a week, Kendrick. You’ve ignored me, avoided me, and now you want to interrogate me?"

"Yes," I bit out. "Because I can’t stand the thought of you crying for him like this."

Her lips parted in shock, and for a moment, neither of us spoke. The air between us was thick with tension, the beeping machines in the ER the only sound.

Somewhere down the hall, a doctor called out for more oxygen. The sound jolted her back, and she turned away, wiping at her cheeks.

I stood there, fists clenched, hating how much I cared, hating that another man had been the one to protect her when I wasn’t there.