Tearing my gaze away, I reach for the water glass on the tray beside my bed, only to wince as the IV tugs at my wrist.

“Here, let me.” Jake holds the straw to my lips and I take a sip. The cool water soothes my parched throat, but Jake’s tender gesture makes my stomach flutter.

When I’m done, he sits back in his chair. “Makayla is on her way. I called her last night to let her know what happened. If she hadn’t been on a double shift with the ambulance crew, she would have been here when you woke.”

Tears sting my eyes and my throat tightens. “Thanks. I lost my purse last night, and I was just about to call her from the hospital phone when my parents walked in. I reported my stolen purse to the police when they came this morning to take a statement…”

Jake pulls my purse from his pack and places it on the nightstand. “Fuzzy brought it to the station after he arrested those two goons. They were charged with assault and attempted theft.” He clasps my hand and runs his thumb back and forth over my knuckles. His seemingly absent caress electrifies my skin. But I can’t deal with the rush of remembered emotions that come from his gentle touch and I jerk my hand away.

“Hey,” he says softly. “Are you okay? Something hurt? Do you want me to call the nurse?”

“No. I’m just…I can manage.”

A pained expression crosses his face. “I wish we’d gotten there sooner. We wasted time sorting out who got to go and who had to stay.”

Relieved to switch to a neutral topic, I relax back on the bed. “I was surprised to see you. I thought you said you didn’t go to Redemption anymore.”

“I wouldn’t have been there if I hadn’t bumped into you. But after I saw you at the law firm, I started thinking about how big a part of my life it had been when we were together, and how much I’d enjoyed training and fighting and teaching classes. I decided to give it another try and see if I could fit it into my schedule after all.”

“I’m glad you did.”

Jake shifts uncomfortably in his seat and then reaches for his helmet. “I should really get going. I’m sure Makayla will be here soon and I’ve got a meeting in an hour. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. After all, it was because of me you lost your job and wound up where you did.”

Whoa, Nelly.

“It isn’t your fault, Jake. It would have happened anyway. And I didn’t lose my job. I quit. Over a totally different issue.”

But he isn’t listening. He scrubs his hands over his face and shakes his head. “Fucking things up is what I do best. My parents got that right about me.”

A screech startles us both. I glance up to see Makayla and Max in the doorway. Makayla’s thick auburn hair is tied up in a ponytail and her hazel eyes are dark with concern. Tall, dark, and chiseled, Max has an arm around her curvy body. They are the perfect picture of an overprotective alpha male and a daredevil woman hell-bent on keeping him on his toes.

Jake pushes himself out of his chair and gives Max and Makayla a nod as he heads out the door. “Take care of yourself, Amanda.”

My heart sinks. If that wasn’t a “good-bye forever,” I don’t know what is.

“So.” Makayla takes a seat beside me as Max follows Jake into the hall. “Jake called me last night and told me what happened. Why didn’t you phone me?” She gives me her best Makayla glare, which just makes me laugh. Anger isn’t Makayla’s style.

“Look what happened last time I asked you to accompany me on an ill-fated adventure to a dangerous place.”

Makayla pales. She doesn’t like to be reminded of the night we were kidnapped and she thought she’d lost Max forever.

“I was on the graveyard shift and couldn’t get off work, so I called Drake and ordered him to get down here pronto. Did he make it?”

“Don’t worry,” I say. “I was in good hands. After the police left, he was here for an hour checking me over like he knows all about head injuries, scolding me for not waiting for him to come to my place last night…”

She frowns. “I thought you were done with him months ago. Are you guys still—?”

“Not for a long time.” I lower my voice to a hushed whisper. “I kept meaning to tell him, but I never got the chance. The friends with benefits thing was fun for a bit, but it left me kinda empty inside.”

Makayla glances out the door where Max and Jake are engaged in a heated discussion in the hallway and leans toward me. “What about Jake? I thought you said he didn’t want to have anything to do with you after he saw you at the office last week. And yet, he was the one who called, and here he is now.”

My heart squeezes in my chest. “I guess he feels responsible for what happened, although it’s totally ridiculous. He’s here because he’s just…you know…a nice guy.” Too nice for someone like me.

“And you’re a nice girl.” Makayla pats my arm. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be my best friend. Nice girls and nice guys belong together. Maybe he’s forgiven you and wants to try again. People have a great capacity for forgiveness. Look at me and Max. After everything that happened, we worked things out.”

Tears well up in my eyes. “You guys were meant to be together. I knew that when I saw you—the girl who can’t stomach violence—sitting on the bleachers in Redemption, watching him fight the first day you met. It’s not the same with me and Jake. I hurt him, and in the worst possible way. He’ll never forgive me for that.”