Page 100 of Hell Hath No Fury

“Just rattled. Speaking of CT scans, Matthias may be out there demanding one for me, too.”

“Matthias is here?”

“He came and got me.”

“All the way to Akron?”

Emma eyed her, worried about a potential head injury. “You don’t know where we are?”

“No one told me. What happened? I remember falling asleep. The next thing I knew, I felt like we were on one of those Tilt-A-Whirl amusement rides.”

Relieved, Emma told her about the drive and the crash.

“Was the guy drunk?” Nell asked.

“I don’t think so.”

“Then why did he hit us?”

“I think it may have been intentional.” Emma squeezed her hand. “You mentioned talking to Zeke’s brother in Cleveland.”

“Levi. Yeah.”

Levi.Emma filed the name away. “You said he threatened to kill you.”

Nell appeared puzzled. “If I ever come near his family again, yeah, but I have no plans to do that.”

“You said something else. About him wanting to see you pay.”

Nell scowled. Then her eyes widened as she comprehended Emma’s meaning. “Yeah. In a court of law.”

“But he threatened your life.”

“You can’t think the guy who hit us was—” Nell pushed herself up in the bed and winced. “You said we’re in East Liverpool, and the wreck happened near Calcutta. Zeke’s family, including Levi, are in Cleveland. Calcutta’s like, what, a hundred miles away from Cleveland?”

“About that, yeah.” Normally, Emma would agree it was a huge leap in logic except… She told Nell about the car that followed them from the convenience store.

Nell fell silent. Emma could tell she was mulling over the chances of Zeke’s brother being responsible for the collision. “I can’t imagine,” Nell said. “I mean, why would anyone tail us all that way? If it was Levi, it means first he followed me to the motel. He could have tried something before then. Or even run us off the road right outside of Akron.”

Emma didn’t have an answer. “You’re right, I’m sure.”

Footfalls approached, and the curtain parted to reveal a young woman in a white lab coat. “Miss Anderson?”

Both Nell and Emma responded with, “Yes.”

The doctor looked from the patient to Emma and smiled. “You must be the sister listed as her emergency contact.”

“Guilty as charged,” Emma said.

“Dr. Jefferson.” She extended a hand, which Emma shook.

To Nell, the doctor said, “X-rays confirm you have a fracture of the right tibia. The better news is that your CT scan looks good. No brain bleed. No concussion.”

“So you can put her in a cast and send her home?” Emma asked hopefully.

“Afraid it’s not that simple. We’d like her to be seen by an orthopedic surgeon.”

Nell gave Emma a worried look. “Surgery?”