“Chloe.” Joel broke through her words. Now wasn’t the time to point out all of the security flaws at the place. Now was just the time for her to heal.
The doctor backed away from her. “Murdered?”
She swung her legs to the side of the bed. Because Joel was watching her so closely, he saw the flicker of her lashes and the way she sucked in a deep breath.
Still dizzy. He wondered just how many symptoms she was hiding from the doctor and why. When she pushed away from the bed and rose, Joel closed in. His hands reached out to steady her.
“I don’t need you,” Chloe informed him. Her words froze him as her gaze finally met his.
A chill swept over him because there was no emotion in her eyes. No anger. No fear. No love. Nothing.
“I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” she continued. Her gaze slid away. Focused on the other doctor. “But I will certainly take your medical recommendations under advisement.”
Before Joel could speak, the exam room curtain was hauled aside.
“Chloe!” Cedric shoved the curtain out of his way. “You could have been killed!” He hauled her into his arms and squeezed her in a tight hug.
Joel had wanted to hug her that way. He’d wanted to grab tight and never let go. But…a wall was between them. One he’d put there.
Chloe winced, and he knew that Cedric’s hug had made her head ache again. Or, hell, her head probably was just constantly aching. She was covering up her condition, and that act was not going to fly.
“She’s got a concussion,” he groused. “Easy on the hugs. Her head probably feels like it got hit by a sledgehammer. Because it pretty much did.”
“A board is not a sledgehammer,” Chloe noted in that dead-pan way of hers. “Completely different. If I’d been hit with a sledgehammer, I would most likely be dead. I would definitely have attained multiple skull fractures.”
“You’re not dying!” Joel snarled.
Carefully, Cedric eased away from her. “Yes, let’s make sure you stay in the land of the living. I like it when you’re here.” His jaw hardened. “Who was it, Chloe?”
“I didn’t see his face. He attacked me from behind.”
With the wounds she’d received, that story matched up with—
“At first…” Chloe added. Her brow crinkled. “When the board hit me, I stumbled forward.” Her hand dropped to her hip. “Hit the edge of a pew.”
He wanted to look at her hip. Everyone had been so focused on her head and shoulder that—
“Then he lunged down to me. I just lifted up my mace and fired. I only had the mace, you see. I can’t bring any other weapon into a hospital.”
“Uh, actually,” Dr. Allan cleared his throat. “You can’t have—”
“What happened after you fired the mace?” Cedric asked her. His gaze was sharp and intense.
“He ran for the old exit. By the time I could reach the door, he was gone. I saw the scrubs he’d ditched. Without the scrubs and mask, he would have blended with everyone else.”
“There weren’t any cameras over there. Not inside or outside.” The frustration was clear in Cedric’s voice. “Sure he knew that, though.”
“Yes,” Chloe agreed. “I’m sure he did.”
Cedric was silent a moment, then he squared his shoulders. “All right. Hit me with everything you learned from him in those few moments. You might not have seen his face, but I know you—you took in plenty of details and I want to hear them.”
Chloe’s body swayed.
Joel’s hand flew out and curved around her shoulder. “You need to get back on the exam bed.”
Her head turned slightly toward him. Again, no emotion showed in her eyes. “I need to get home. I am not staying here.”
“Staying here?” Cedric’s voice rose. “Her injuries are so bad that Chloe needs to stay?”
Before Dr. Allan could respond, Joel replied, “She saw two of me when I found her in the chapel. Her voice was slurred. She passed out in my arms. Yes, her injuries are bad. She needs monitoring, and there is no way I am just going to stand back and let her waltz out of here.”
“I wasn’t going to waltz anywhere,” Chloe murmured. “I was going to sit in a wheelchair and let some kind orderly push me outside where I would have a ride waiting.”
“Do not push me right now,” Joel warned her.
“Why not? You are physically pushing me. Your grip on my shoulder is getting tighter and you are trying to make me get back in bed. I don’t like it. Stop.”
He’d been trying to help her. “You’re weaving on your feet.” He eased his grip. He’d been careful not to apply too much pressure, but he also hadn’t wanted her falling. “I want to help you.”
Her lashes swept down to conceal her gaze. “Is that what you want?”
“Chloe—”
“He was tall. I-I saw the back of his head as he left the chapel. Based on the height of that door, I’d say he was over six feet. Maybe six-foot-one or two. Appeared to be in good shape. Broad shoulders.” Her nostrils flared. “He certainly had a good swing but…” Her words trailed away. “I think it could have been better.”
“Oh, so now you’re critiquing the guy’s hit?” Cedric’s eyes were still intense and watchful, but a lighter note had entered his voice. “Does that mean you are feeling better?”
“No. My head hurts so badly I want to vomit.”
“Chloe!” Joel was going to put her back into the—
“Why do you care?” Her head tilted. She winced.
She had not seriously just asked him that question. “Because it’s you.”
She blinked. Processed. Blinked. Slanted a glance at Cedric. “I’m critiquing his hit because I think if he’d wanted, he could have bashed my brains in right then and there.”
Joel’s heart seemed to stop.
“I didn’t hear him approach. His feet were covered with the booties that the doctors wear and that I use at crime scenes. He was good at staying silent. Before he hit…he let me know he was there.”
“How?” Cedric’s voice was now ice cold.
“He talked to me. Something vague about how I shouldn’t be there. He just said it to let me know he was there. His voice was muffled. Raspy.” Her focus seemed to turn inward. “I knew he would attack after that, so I was able to lunge forward a bit. If he’d put more power in that blow, he could have completely incapacitated me.”
Joel’s teeth ground together. For a moment, he was sure the entire room went dark. He could hear the thud of his heartbeat. The slow, hard drumbeat.
“Are you all right?” Chloe’s hand slid against his cheek.
His head turned. His mouth pressed to her palm. “Not even fucking close.”
She held his stare. He saw the faintest crack in her no-emotion shield. Saw the flash of worry. Of longing. Then…
Her hand fell away.
“Did he say anything else that was important?” Cedric grilled her. “Do anything else? What did he—”
Her lashes swept over her eyes. “Memory loss is common after a concussion.”