by Wilder, L.
“Hi, sweetheart. It’s so good to hear your voice.” My father stepped closer, and like my mother, it was obvious he’d been having a hard time as well. While his clothes weren’t disheveled or mismatched, his eyes were hollow from fatigue and his skin was pale. My mother slipped her arm around his slim waist as she told me, “We’ve been so worried about you, Remi. We were scared we’d lost you.”
My chest tightened with guilt as I watched the tears stream down her face. “I’m sorry I scared you, but I’m okay.”
“Are you sure? ’Cause there was an officer here earlier. He was asking us questions, and I have to say, they were very concerning.” Her voice trembled like she was about to cry. “He wanted to know if that man had hurt you...if he’d raped you.”
“He didn’t rape me, Mom. I’m okay. I promise.” I didn’t want to lie to my parents, so I tried to shut them down. “There’s no sense in rehashing it all.”
Being the overzealous mother that she was, she shook her head and pouted. “It’s not healthy to keep that sort of thing all bottled up inside, Remington. You need to talk about what happened, and so do we. We’ve been out of our minds with worry these past few weeks, and we still have no idea why.”
My parents were older, both in their mid-sixties, and since I was their only child, they were very protective.
“Fine. I’ll tell you what I can remember, but you can’t breathe a word of what I’m going to say.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Promise me, Mom.”
“Okay, fine. I promise. We both do.”
“You’re going to need to close the door.”
Once my father had done so, I spent the next half hour telling them both about my blind date with Thomas and how we were attacked on our way home. I didn’t go through all the gory details of being stabbed or almost dying, but I did tell them about Noah and how he and his brothers had saved me. When I was done explaining everything, my father asked, “You’re saying a detective was behind all this?”
“Honestly, I don’t know who all was involved. I just know he was the one who tried to have me killed.”
“Oh, Remington,” my mother cried. “This is far worse than I could’ve ever imagined. I can’t believe my precious daughter had to go through all this. It just breaks my heart.”
“It’s okay, Mom. Really. I’m fine.”
“You are for now, but what happens when that officer comes back and starts asking questions? These people, especially that detective’s lawyer, are going to hammer you, Remi. They’ll do whatever they can to rip apart your story.”
I hadn’t realized that Noah had stepped into the room until I heard him respond, “No one’s going to rip apart anything. I’m not going to give them that chance.”
“Noah!” He walked past my parents and over to the edge of the bed. The look he gave me, so fierce and full of love, had me consumed with emotion. Unable to resist, I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you.”
“Good to see you too, baby.” He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “How you doing?”
“I’m okay.” As I looked over to my parents, I smiled and said, “This is Noah, the man I was just telling you about.”
“I figured as much,” my father answered as he extended his hand. “I can’t tell you how much we appreciate you looking after our daughter. She means the world to us, and I don’t know what we would’ve done if you hadn’t been there to help her.”
“Just glad I was able to help.” Noah reached down and took my hand in his, holding it tightly. “It’s nice to meet you both. Remington has told me a lot about you.”
“It’s really nice to meet you too,” my mother answered. “It’s pretty evident that Remington thinks a lot about you.”
“And I her.” Concern flashed through his eyes as he looked down at me and asked, “What did the doctors have to say?”
Before I could answer, my dad replied, “They said her vitals were good, but they want to keep her overnight to do some more testing. They’ve already drawn blood and did an exam. That’s all we really know right now.”
“Okay, good.”
Mom looked over at Dad as she said, “We should give them a little privacy, dear. We could go downstairs and grab a cup of coffee.”
“Okay,” I could hear the hesitation in my father’s voice, “if you think so.”
“I’ll be okay, Dad. I’m in good hands.”
My father’s eyes skirted over Noah with uncertainty. He gave me a quick nod, then walked out of the room. As Mom followed him out into the hall, she announced, “We’ll be back soon.”
As soon as the door closed behind them, I gave Noah’s hand a quick tug, pulling him towards me as I pressed my lips against his. I kissed him deeply, then looked up at him and asked, “Did they get Mathews?”
“They did. He’ll be going away for a long time.”
“The police were here earlier. They asked my parents lots of questions. I’m sure they’ll be back any minute.”
“I’m sure they will, but I’ll be here. I won’t let them take things too far.” His eyes locked on mine as he sat down on the edge of the bed. “This will all be over soon, and then we can get on with our lives.”
“I can’t tell you how I’m looking forward to that.” I gave him a little nudge as I teased. “Maybe when I get out of here, you can take me out on a real date.”
“I’ll take you wherever you wanna go. As long as you’re with me, I don’t care what we do or where we go.”
“You’re so good to me. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”
It seemed so strange to me. If I hadn’t gone out with Thomas that night and hadn’t been attacked by those men and left for dead, I would’ve never met Noah. I would’ve never felt the love I have for him nor the love he feels for me. I would’ve never felt so utterly complete. Without that night, my entire fate would’ve been written in different ink, and that was something I simply couldn’t fathom. I loved Noah. He completed me in ways I never dreamed possible, and I would spend the rest of my life trying to make him as happy as he’d made me. I slipped my hand down to the nape of his neck and inched him closer, pulling him in for another kiss. His lips had barely touched mine when I heard someone clear their throat and say, “Excuse me, Ms. Taylor. I was hoping to ask you a few questions.”
Noah quickly turned to look at the man. “You got a name?”
“Yes, sir.” The officer held up his badge as he replied, “I’m Officer Wade. I know you’ve been through quite an ordeal, so I won’t take up much of your time.”
“Oh, okay.”
Wade reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small notepad. With a click of his pen, he asked, “You and Detective Long had met for dinner on the night you were attacked, is that right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“He was walking you out to your car when several men appeared and threatened you.”
“Yes.”
“Can you describe these men who attacked you and Detective Long?”
“Not all that well. It was pretty dark, but I do remember that they had a lot of tattoos. One of them being a skull on their throats.”
“Very good. It was at that time when you both were kidnapped and taken to Detective Mathews’ home?”
“I’m not really sure where we were,” I lied. “To be honest, I’m not sure about much after that.”
“Yeah, Long mentioned that he thought you’d been drugged.”
“You’ve spoken with Thomas?”
Wade nodded as he answered, “Yeah, I was able to talk to him for a few minutes before they took him up to surgery.”
After seeing how bad he looked, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Hell, Mathews had beaten him something awful, but I’d hoped his wounds weren’t anything serious. “Why is he having surgery?”
“Got a shattered hand and a few wounds that are pretty infected. They’re hoping they can save his hand and keep
him from going septic.”
“Oh, that poor man.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty rough.”
Officer Wade asked me a few more questions, but nothing I couldn’t answer. Something told me that I wouldn’t have gotten off so easy if it hadn’t been for Thomas. As promised, he paved the way, making it clear to everyone concerned I’d already been through enough and was off-limits. I was surprised that they’d agreed to leave me alone, especially with a case as important as this, but I could only assume he had enough on Mathews to put him away for a very long time. The officer asked for my contact information, then after stating he’d be in touch, he said his goodbyes and left.
I thought Noah and I would finally have a chance to catch our breath, but no such luck. Officer Wade hadn’t been gone for more than five minutes when my parents returned. Mom was talking a mile a minute about all the news reporters that were circling the front door. Like a bunch of hungry vultures, they were hoping to find some bit of information they could snatch up and put in their morning papers. I knew it wouldn’t be long before they were off to their next big story. Until then, I’d just have to lay low and keep my mouth shut—and my parents would have to do the same.
Once visiting hours were over, my parents said their goodbyes, hugging me tightly before they left to go home. Noah, on the other hand, had no intention of leaving. He made that clear when the shift nurse came in. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and her makeup was dark, making her look older than she really was. The second she spotted him standing next to the bed, her eyes skirted over his body with disapproval. She placed her hand on her round hip, making her snug scrubs look even smaller as she grumbled, “Visiting hours were over ten minutes ago.”
“I’m aware.”
“Good. Then, you know it’s time for you to go, sir.”
“About that.” Noah took a step towards her and smiled, showing off those sexy dimples and dashing blue eyes. “I don’t know if you’ve read her reports, but my girl has been through a lot, and she’s a little nervous about being left alone.”
“She has nothing to be nervous about, sir.” Her forceful tone was unwavering as she continued, “We will keep a close eye on her.”
“What did you say your name was?”
“I’m Abigail Heart, the head nightshift nurse.”
“Well, Abigail. I’m sure you would take very good care of Remington. You’re clearly the best nurse in this joint. Bet you keep everyone on their toes.”
“I do what I can.”
“I don’t doubt that, and as much as I appreciate that, I’d feel a lot better if I could stay here with her.” A slight smile crept over her round face, and I knew then, he’d won her over. Just for good measure, he gave her a quick wink, then motioned his hand over to the chair. “I’ll be quiet. You won’t even know I’m here. I swear it.”
“It’s against regulations, but I don’t guess it would hurt anything.” She pointed her pen in his direction as she told him, “If anyone asks, you’re her husband. Got it?”
“Sure do.” Noah smiled as he said, “Thank you, Abigail. I owe you one.”
After Abigail checked my vitals and filled out some needed paperwork, she stepped out to grab some blankets and a pillow, then brought them back for Noah. Before leaving, she pointed her finger at us like a scolding mother and said, “You two behave yourselves.”
“We’ll do our best.”
As soon as she was gone, Noah stepped to the edge of the bed. “You doing okay?”
“I’d be doing better if you’d lay down here next to me.”
“There’s no room for me, babe.”
“Sure, there is.”
I scooted over a little and patted the empty spot. “See. There’s plenty of room.”
As Noah lay down on the bed next to me, he asked, “Did you see how I won over Nurse Ratchet?”
“Oh, yeah. You’re a real charmer when you want to be.” I placed the palm of my hand on his jaw as I looked up at him and said, “And I love you for it.”
“And I love you too. Honestly didn’t know it was possible for me to love someone so much.” His eyes locked on mine as he said, “So, I’m really going to need you to stay out of trouble. At least for a little while.”
“Only if you promise to do the same.”
“You got yourself a deal.”
Shotgun
Remington had just finished signing her release papers and was waiting in her wheelchair for the nurse to take her downstairs. After an hour of back and forth with her folks, she’d convinced her parents she was fine and didn’t need to go home with them. Neither was happy about leaving her, and to be honest, I couldn’t blame them. They didn’t know shit about me, but I gave them my word I’d take good care of her and was relieved when they finally gave in. Once they were gone, we gathered up all of Remington’s things and were waiting on the nurse to take her downstairs when she looked over to me and asked, “Would you mind if we stopped by to visit Thomas before we leave? I’d really like to see how he’s doing.”
“You sure you’re feeling up to it?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t.” When his eyes narrowed, I knew he wasn’t exactly keen on the idea, so I pushed a little harder. “I just want to know that he’s going to be okay. Besides, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make sure we’re still on the same page as far as all this stuff with Mathews.”
“Okay, we’ll go see about him, but only for a few minutes.”
“Understood.”
I wheeled her out of the room and over to the nurses’ station to get Long’s room number. Once they’d looked it up, I let them know we’d be going to see him and wouldn’t need any further assistance. As soon as we were in the elevator, Remington stood and pushed the wheelchair aside. “I’ve had enough of this thing.”
“That’s too bad. I kinda liked the idea of wheeling you around.”
“Yeah, sure you did.” She stepped over to me and wound her arm around me, waiting patiently for us to reach Long’s floor. When the doors finally opened, she followed me down the hall and into Long’s room. I stood back and watched as she crept over to his bedside. While he looked better than he had the day before, he was still a fucking mess. His forehead was wrapped in gauze, his hand was in a cast, and there were various bruises and bandages all over his arms and legs. His face was still swollen beyond recognition and his eyes were closed, but that didn’t stop Remington from whispering, “Thomas? It’s Remington.”
“Hey.” He kept his eyes closed as he muttered, “Didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I couldn’t leave without checking in. I wanted to see how you were.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“Well, I’m here just the same.” Her eyes skirted over his broken body, and she winced when her eyes landed on the cast that extended from his knuckles to his elbow. “So, how are you doing?”
“Better than I look.” He chuckled, then eased his head to the side so he could look at Remington. “I’m really sorry about all this, Remington. I never would’ve asked you on that date if I had known what was going to happen.”
“None of this was your fault, Thomas.”
“Still feel bad about it.” He glanced over at me and said, “I owe you one for getting me out of there like you did.”
“You just hold up your end of the bargain, and we’ll consider ourselves even.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” he assured me. “I’ve already made it clear to the chief that Remington isn’t to be pulled into this any more than she already has.”
“I appreciate that.”
“You know, I’ve heard a lot about you Sinner boys. Always thought you were just like all the rest, but you proved me wrong yesterday.” He did his best to look me in the eye as he told me, “You’re one of the good ones.”
The words had barely left his mouth when the door flew open and a young woman with dark auburn hair came barreling into the room. She had at least t
wenty bracelets wrapped around her wrists, and she wore thick, dark eyeliner around her wide, green eyes. Without giving me a second glance, she walked right by me and straight over to Remington, who was still facing Thomas. The woman rushed up behind her and wrapped both arms around her waist, giving her a tight squeeze as she shouted, “Oh, my God, Remington! I can’t believe it! Is it really you?”
Even though her back was to the girl, Remington had no problem identifying the sound of her friend’s voice. “Yes, Madeline. It’s really me.”
“I thought for sure I’d lost you.” Madeline held on to her for several moments before finally releasing her. It wasn’t until then the feisty young woman noticed Thomas lying in the bed looking like he’d been hit by a fucking hand grenade. “Oh, Thomas! What did they do to you?”
Remington was quickly put on the side burner as Madeline turned all her attention to Thomas. The way they looked at one another, I would’ve thought they were more than just friends, which made me wonder why Madeline would’ve set Remington up on a date with him. They carried on for a good while before Madeline finally turned her attention back to Remington. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you both are okay. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I lost either of you.”
“There’s no reason to worry about that now. We’re both going to be fine.”
They hugged once more, and when they started yammering back and forth, I had a hard time keeping up. They were talking a mile a minute like they couldn’t get it all in fast enough. One minute they were gabbing about work, and then the next, they were going on about Remington’s folks and the reports. And in between all that, there were a few whispers about Thomas. Hell, I don’t know how they got a breath in, but it did me good to see Remington with that bright smile on her face. She was clearly happy about seeing her friend again. I don’t know how long they’d been talking when Madeline motioned her hand in my direction. “So, I’m guessing the hot guy in the corner is yours?”
“Oh, yeah, I guess you could say that.” Practically beaming, Remington walked over to me and slipped her arm around my waist, pulling me close. “This is Noah.”