Facade (Billionaire in Disguise 1)

“Nonsense. You look spectacular,” Jacob said.

I could feel Derek’s eyes on me as John grinned in the corner. I softened my features even more to try and get Jacob talking while I was in the room. Derek was perched on the edge of his bed, and my eyes were studying Jacob’s body. The stitches were on the back of his head, which meant whoever attacked him had to have snuck up behind him.

Shit.

“I don’t remember much,” Jacob said. “I heard someone running up behind me, and I went to turn to see who it was. Then, there was a searing pain in the back of my head.”

“Do you remember anything else?” Derek asked. “Did they say something to you? Did you happen to see them?”

“I put my hand up because I could hear a swoosh behind me. Something that sounded like another blow was coming. I heard a voice, the second strike happened, and I was out after that,” Jacob said.

“You were hit twice?” I asked. “Do you have any idea what they hit you with?”

“You heard a voice. Do you know what the voice said?” Derek asked.

“Didn’t realize your girlfriend was into this kind of thing,” Jacob said.

“She’s just worried about you. Like I am,” Derek said.

“No idea what they hit me with, beautiful. The pain was sharp and quick, despite the damage it did,” Jacob said. “As far as the voice, I’m not really sure. It’s all kind of fuzzy.”

“Do you know what the voice sounded like?” I asked. “A man or a woman? Light or heavy?”

“You’re one of those women who watches those cop shows, aren’t you?” Jacob asked with a grin.

“I enjoy my fair share of them, yes. And one thing I’ve learned from them is that anything you can remember will help whoever’s investigating narrow things down. Doesn’t the garage have cameras or something? Your story might help them pinpoint who’s on it.”

“She’s a strange one, I’ll give you that,” Jacob said. “But she’s smart, and I like that.”

I tried to smile through the sly comments as John stifled his laughter in the corner.

“She’s got a point, though,” Derek said. “Do you remember anything about the voice?”

“It sounded like someone said, ‘that’s what you get.’ I know the voice said ‘bastard.’ That was very clear in my ear by the time the person approached me. But as much as I want to, I couldn’t tell you anything about the voice. It’s like my brain just won’t go there.”

“It’s okay,” Derek said as he eyed me worriedly. “It’ll come to you. And as it does, you talk to me, okay?”

“You got it, boss,” Jacob said.

“I’m sorry you’re in this position. This happened to you because of me. Had I just given into the demands and done what they asked of me, you wouldn’t be here,” Derek said.

“Derek, this is some asshole psycho’s fault. Not yours. But you do need to be careful. They got the jump on me in our own parking garage. And I know you and this lovely woman are trying to keep things under wraps, but she needs to be careful, too. If this idiot finds out you two are dating, she’s a target,” Jacob said.

I’d like to see this jackoff try and take me on. They would get what was coming to them. A good, old-fashioned ass whooping. I looked up at John, and he rolled his eyes, trying to play off the awkward scenario we had all found ourselves in. I still needed to talk to him and figure out what he knew and how he came to be at the hospital. But I could talk to him at a later time. I had enough information I needed to unpack and camera feeds I needed to pull.

“Thank you for being so considerate of me,” I said as I patted Jacob’s arm. “I’m gonna go find some coffee. Do either of you want anything?”

“Beautiful and hospitable. Keep her around, Derek,” Jacob said.

“I plan on it,” Derek said as he grinned in my direction.

I shook my head and left the room to unpack everything that was said. I was more convinced than ever that we were looking at a woman. Approached from behind. Hit twice but no concussion. It screamed woman assailant, and Emma’s face kept popping up in the forefront of my mind.

I needed to get to that damn security footage.

“Sam,” Derek said.

“Yep?” I asked.