Jillian didn’t stop to think. The instant they had Lacy on a gurney, she got started hooking her up to monitors.

They’d worry about what had happened to her later, right now they had to make sure Lacy was ok.

Multiple knocks to the head in a short span of time could be extremely dangerous. Secondary Impact Syndrome was very real and very dangerous.

She looked up at Holden-Deane. The knowledge of that was right there in his eyes.

For once, having him there didn’t tick her off. It almost reassured her.

It was certainly helping his brother.

Holden-Deane rushed Lacy to the front of the line in Radiology and what they found was reassuring. Minimal damage, at least. They brought her back to Trauma B, where the ER could monitor her until she was admitted upstairs. And where Travis could rejoin her. Jillian stayed with her the entire time.

Lacy had a concussion, but it was mild. Jillian doubted she’d even been knocked out for long, even though Travis insisted Lacy had. Travis had mentioned several classic symptoms of concussions, too.

He hadn’t taken his hands or his eyes off of her even once. Did Lacy realize just how much the man loved her?

First real chance she had, Jillian was going to ask. Lacy was just as lucky as Mel and Brynna.

Travis looked at Lacy the way Houghton looked at Mel. The way Chance looked at Brynna. The way Sebastian looked at Carrie.

He loved her. Flat out, to the bones loved Lacy.

Jillian wanted to cry at the beauty of that.

Now all they had to do was find the asshat who’d attacked Lacy and Travis.

Jillian wasn’t stupid. Someone had burned Lacy’s shed weeks ago, had vandalized Lacy’s car, had run them off the road, shot at them, and now attacked her in her own home. Lacy had carried her pistol everywhere since Albright had nearly killed them all, but her friend was still so vulnerable.

Jillian shivered.

Someone wanted to hurt Lacy, and they all knew it. Now.

“Did anyone call the TSP?” she asked Rafe.

He nodded, just as his younger brother came in. Travis went straight to Lacy’s side. Jillian moved out of his way.

Lacy practically wrapped herself around him. Jillian had never seen the other woman that into a guy before. Ever.

Lacy was far braver than she was. The last thing Jillian would want in her life was a relationship of that magnitude with any man. She wasn’t ready for their expectations.

She and Rafe stepped out of Trauma B to give Lacy and Travis a few moments of privacy. It had surprised her when the COM had told Lacy flat out that she was being admitted and not to argue. Even though the scans were clear and Lacy qualified for a treat and street, Rafe was being extra cautious.

Jillian actually agreed with him. She looked up at the Chief of Medicine. “Those two are just too cute for words.”

He frowned and looked over his shoulder at the trauma bay they’d just left. “He’s gone over her. He’s never been that serious about a woman before. He’s deeper than he looks.”

“Neither has she; she doesn’t trust men much. But that’s just between us.”

She followed him to the charge station where Wanda, Annie, and Izzie were still working. He gave a few orders to Dr. Netore, while Jillian spoke with Wanda. They’d have to adjust her schedule to make up for the hours she was now clocked in.

But she’d make the most of it. She was sticking until Lacy left, period. On the clock or off, it didn’t matter.

“Room 403 is open.” Wanda told her after checking with the fourth floor. “You know what happens in there, though. Think Lacy will mind?”

“Probably not.”

“What happens in Room 403?” Rafe asked. She was having a hard time thinking of him as the evil COM at the moment.

“Someone believes it’s cursed.” Jillian just smirked at the other nurses nearby.

“It’s all your fault,” Izzie said. “Your family’s.”

“Someone explain how a perfectly functional hospital room is cursed?” Rafe asked, almost mildly for him. Annie and Izzie looked at each other uneasily. Neither of them liked having to deal with him—they usually just let Jillian when it was necessary.

“Easily. Someone seems to think that if a single woman gets in that room, she gets married shortly after. I told them that was ridiculous.” Jillian looked at the culprit. Wanda just smiled mysteriously. Wanda loved messing with the younger nurses, especially the more gullible like the two working tonight. Jillian wasn’t quite as naive.

“Gabby Kendall, Brynna Beck, Melody Beck. A few others in the last few months,” Wanda said. “I say we put Lacy in there and see what happens.”

“She’s already been in there. And...” And the man who’d been with her was still with her. And loved her. It was just a matter of time, wasn’t it?

But that didn’t mean room 403 was cursed.

Rafe eyed them all like they were crazy. “We’ll put her in there next to the Marshalls, because it’s logical and convenient, and there is already an extra security guard there. Nothing more. Rooms are not cursed.”

If Brynna had been a regular patient she’d be in the third floor maternity ward, but because of her connection to Houghton, she was in the most private, most easily secured wing of the fourth floor. Houghton came with perks and draw-backs, after all.

Rafe stepped away for a moment. Jillian looked at Wanda. “He makes sense. I told you that room was not cursed. The women put in there were already involved when it happened. Even Lacy.”

“No? Just remember, sweetie. You’ve been in that room recently, too. And there’s a beautifully handsome man right there. Why don’t the two of you take the rest of the night off and go see if that room cursed you? Might improve his disposition if he was getting some regular nurse’s care.”

“Shut up, Wanda. Just shut up.” And that was so not going to happen.

Rooms were not cursed.

She looked up as a tall man stepped between her and Trauma B. As an orderly gasped and dropped a stack of files. Even Wanda cried out.

Logan Lanning was dressed in all black clothes that were far too warm for summer months in Texas. The almost disheveled appearance was completely at odds for the normally well-groomed man.

She and Wanda looked at one another. Izzie took a step toward Trauma C; she’d need to prep it for the next inevitable occupant. Annie was about to take off to check a patient’s IV.

But Dr. Lanning looked strange. Almost erratic. “Dr. Lanning—”

He ignored Jillian and yanked the curtain back to Trauma B. Where Lacy and Travis still sat holding one another while they waited for Lacy to be transferred upstairs.

Lanning was watching Lacy and Travis. Just staring.

Then he raised his arm and yelled. Izzie and Annie both screamed.

Jillian fought a scream herself when she saw the gun. When Lanning fired and Travis went down.

People scattered.

Rafe stepped in front of his brother and Lacy, physically blocking Lanning with his own body.

Jillian just froze.