by Reana Malori
Absolution
Reana Malori
Absolution © copyright 2019 Reana Malori
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
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CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
Thank You!
Dark Angel – Excerpt
Let’s Stay in Touch
About the Author
Also by Reana Malori
ABSOLUTION
Summary
Julian - Saving lives is his calling, or so he thought. When doing what he loves turns into his greatest fear, the lines between black and white turn gray. A little boy who needs to be saved, and a beautiful mother he can’t stay away from, bring him back from the darkness. Life and death are a part of his daily life, but Julian must find his own road to Absolution before he loses what he never realized he needed.
Kori – Raising her son was her only focus. When their lives are shattered by a devastating event, she knows they need a miracle. When he enters their lives, he seems to be the answer to her prayers. Now she wants nothing more than to grab on to him and never let go. Being a good mother was all that mattered, but that was before Julian entered their lives and made her desire something more. Is she willing to open her heart to someone who hasn’t forgiven himself for his past mistakes?
ONE
Julian
Pulling up to the accident scene, Julian took a deep breath. A child had been struck by a car while playing outside with a group of friends. He hated to hear these types of calls come across their radio. When kids were involved, emotions always ran high. The innocents were always the ones who caused the most hurt. Seeing their tiny bodies broken, or worse, made rage grow inside him. Then again, this was his life. The one he’d chosen for himself. Becoming an EMT was the right decision for him, especially as a cocky high-school graduate, and it was still the only choice he would make. Calls like this one ate him up inside. He had to put on his game face. This child needed him, and there was no time to be distracted by his own bullshit, rolling around inside his head. The ambulance rolled to a stop, and Julian quickly exited the vehicle while his partner responded to dispatch, announcing their arrival.
“Help my son. Please. Save my baby,” the wails were coming from a brown-skinned woman hovering over the prone form of a small child.
Julian felt her pain as if it were a physical thing. Needles prickled his skin as he took in the sight in front of him. Could he save this child? Was it already too late? These were the times he questioned just why in the hell he didn’t take his father’s offer to join the family business.
“Yo, Julian. You good?” His partner, Adam, asked.
Coming out of his trance, Julian took in the large crowd and got moving. “All right, everyone, please take a few steps back.” He heard the sirens from the local police approaching the scene. He hoped it wasn’t his brother responding to the call. Not that he didn’t want to see him, because he would always want to see his baby brother. It was just the scene he’d been pulling up to and seeing Julian there would cause his brother to worry about whether this would be too much for Julian to handle. All he needed was for Steven to call their parents and tell them what happened today. They’d be blowing up his phone for days asking if he were doing all right.
“Please? Can you help him?” The plea was more of a whisper this time. The woman leaned down, getting on her knees next to Julian, as close as she could possibly get to the child. “Please, Morgan. Wake up for Mommy. I need you to wake up, sweetie. Please,” she continued.
Julian didn’t know why her voice was impacting him the way it was, but the tone and vibration of her cries moved him. Don’t even think about it. Focus on the kid. Turning to his partner, he began to bark out orders. “All right. Let’s go. We need to get him to the hospital. His breathing is too shallow. Adam, grab the neck brace and flatbed, we need to be careful of a potential neck injury.” While Adam ran to the ambulance to grab the extra gear they would need, he continued monitoring the child’s vitals.
Once Adam returned, they made quick work of getting the child situated and into the back of their vehicle. As they climbed inside, the boy’s mother followed them.
“That’s my baby. I’m not leaving him.” Tears fell from her eyes, and Julian finally got a good look at her face.
Even with everything going on around them, he couldn’t help but notice just how beautiful she was. God, he was such an asshole. This was not the time to think with his dick. “Yes, Ma’am. But please don’t interfere. Just keep talking to him. Say his name. Let him know you’re here.”
Adam got the vehicle moving, and sirens blared loud in the suburban neighborhood. They made their way to the nearest trauma center, which was only 20 minutes away from the scene. The beep and hum of the equipment mingled with the mother’s prayers for her child. Unfortunately, the little boy wasn’t responding to any stimuli. His small chest rose and fell with each breath he took, but even that was shallow.
Julian thought there must be a head injury preventing him from waking up. He could see at least two broken bones, but there may be more that weren’t visible to him. He sent up a silent prayer that Morgan would be okay.
The ambulance pulled into the hospital ambulatory entrance screeching to a halt. From that moment, all activity was focused on caring for his patient. He would dream about the beauty sitting next to him another time. The doors flew open. Hospital staff made way for them to exit. Doctors and nurses ran down the hallway alongside Julian and Adam as they replayed the circumstances and shared his vitals and potential injuries.
Once their role in the process was done, he and Adam stepped back. It was time for their tiny patient to get the next step in his emergency care. Seeing that small body surrounded by so many white coats, machines, and loud voices, brought back memories he’d rather forget. Frozen in place, he wanted to wait and see if the little guy would make it.
“Yo, Julian. Time to go.” Adam called out to him, motioning over his shoulder. “I’m all done with the paperwork.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Just, um, give me a second.” Looking around, Julian noticed the little boy’s mother standing next to a nurse he was familiar with. Even from this distance, he could see her body shaking as she answered the questions the hospital needed to know. Insurance. Allergies. Next of kin. Previous injuries or other surgeries. He knew the routine like the back of his hand. He waited until the nurse left, then made his way over to the woman.
“Ma’am,” he called out, to announce his approach. When she turned to look
at him, he was struck again by her beauty. It was wrong of him to think this way, but the inappropriate thoughts didn’t seem to be going anywhere. Clearing his throat, he found his voice and tried speaking again. “He’s in good hands. Your son is with the best trauma team in the city. They’ll do everything they can to help him.
She nodded her head, acknowledging his words. “Thank you. I hope so. He means everything to me. He’s only five.” Her voice wavered as she spoke about her son. Wetness continued to fall down her face as she looked towards the double doors where he’d been taken. “How can this be happening to him?” Her hands reached up to cover her face, and her body shook from the intense crying. Not seeing any other choice—then again, even if there were another choice, he wouldn’t have taken it-- Julian approached her, arms slowly opening to welcome her. “It’s going to be okay. This is a good hospital. They’re going to help him.” Gently bringing his arms around her, he pulled her into his embrace.
He was so far out of standard protocol, it wasn’t even funny. All he knew about the sad but beautiful woman standing before him had been shared during the 15-minute ride to the hospital. There were rules against what he was doing, but he didn’t care. She needed comfort. He was the one here with her and willing to provide it. After a few moments, her body stopped shaking, and he heard her sniffles as her head was tucked into his chest. His uniform was fucked, but he didn’t mind. He had other shirts back at the station. Being here with her was more important.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be crying all over you. I’m just so worried about Morgan.” She stepped out of his arms and wiped at her eyes. “Thank you for everything. For taking care of him and getting us here so quickly.”
Yes, it was his job, but little Morgan had touched the part of him he thought was protected and hidden by a concrete wall. “I’m glad I was the one who was there to help. Um, do you have any family you need to call?”
“No.” She shook her head.
“No one?” He asked, somewhat shocked by her response.
“Oh, no. I called my family already. My parents should be here any moment.”
Julian knew that was his cue to leave. He’d overstayed his welcome, and his job was done. He had no business still lingering or being in the hospital. He and his partner should be headed back to the station by now, but Julian couldn’t seem to leave her side. “Well, that’s good. I — him — I’d better get going.” He motioned with his thumb over his shoulder towards the exit. “I hope Morgan will be okay.”
“Thank you,” she smiled. “I’m sorry. I don’t know your name. I’m sure you told me, but with everything happening with Morgan, I forgot.”
“Well, you have a lot on your mind right now. More important things than my name,” he said while taking a step back. He didn’t want to leave her but knew it was for the best.
“Wait! What’s your name? I want to know what to call the man who helped me save my son.”
Her still glistening eyes caused an unexpected reaction inside him. Julian wanted to protect her. To stop the hurt he knew she was feeling inside. “Julian. Julian MacMahon.”
The smile that came over her face lit up the room. It was like rays of sunshine were focused only on her. The woman was just that fucking beautiful. Her curly hair was pulled on top of her head in a casual style. Body forming jeans covered her shapely legs, plain black shoes covered her feet, and a red T-shirt showcasing her perfectly sized breasts and small waist. He could feel his dick hardening within his uniform and took another step back.
“Nice to meet you, Julian. I’m Kori Hughes, but you know that already.”
Just as he was about to say something else, a doctor came up to them with a nod in Kori’s direction.
“Ma’am? Your son is in serious, but stable condition.” As he continued speaking, Julian turned and began to walk away. It was time for him to leave. As he was exiting the main hospital area, he noticed a couple rushing inside, heading over to where Kori stood speaking with the doctor. The woman looked like an older, slightly rounded version of Kori, and the man’s face was filled with worry. They must be her parents, he surmised. Julian was glad she would have someone by her side, especially if it weren’t him. Having them here with her and Morgan would go a long way to prevent him from turning around and marching right back to her side.
Yeah, he was so fucked.
TWO
Kori
“When you’re all better, we're going on the trip. I don’t care if people think you might be too young, that’s what we’re doing. We’re going to celebrate how strong you are. That you made it through.” Sniffles filled the room, and water leaked from her eyes as she watched her baby boy lying still in the bed. Wiping her face with a napkin, Kori knew crying would not help Morgan wake up sooner. Even with that knowledge, she couldn’t stop the waterworks from happening multiple times a day.
She’d finally convinced her parents to go home and get some rest. They’d been with her for the last forty-eight hours, if not longer, holding vigil over Morgan along with her. Her father paced, her mother prayed, and her sister Janice railed against the drunk driver who’d been behind the wheel.
The police came by yesterday morning to tell her they’d finally caught the man who’d hit her son with his car. He was still drunk a day later, sitting behind the wheel of his car, another bottle of rot-gut whiskey in his hand. He didn’t even try to deny what he’d done. His excuse for hitting her son and driving away?
He didn’t have one.
Simply told them he was sorry. That he’d been fired and had a shitty day. Janice wanted to do something, call in a few favors from some less savory sort to handle him in jail. Although they’d never tell their parents, they knew these two guys who could get things done. Sometimes it was best not to ask how they handled their business. She didn’t want to put herself in a position of having prior knowledge of a crime and collaborating with known felons. Well, maybe they weren’t quite felons, but they were the kings of the underground in their neck of the woods. If she genuinely wanted something to happen to the man who hurt Morgan, all she had to do was make a phone call. In the years Kori had known Maxwell Bishop, Nico Mitchell, and Lavinia Ross, she had no doubt they would do whatever she asked. Especially when it came to Morgan. More than anything, she was positive Lavinia would always pick up if Kori dialed her number.
All she had to do was make one phone call. Even still, Kori wasn’t quite ready to go there just yet, but her patience was wearing thin the longer her child lay unconscious. However, out of the two of them, Janice was the more bloodthirsty sister.
As for Kori, she’d managed to take a shower that morning. Her sister had brought some clothes for her to change into yesterday. Since Kori was one of the top-selling realtors at her company, taking time off wasn’t a problem for her. They knew better than to give her any shit, especially with her son involved. If they pushed her, she’d take her selling skills and her client list and go somewhere else in a heartbeat. If her son needed her to be by his side, that’s what she would do.
A knock sounded on the door just before someone poked their head inside.
The paramedic. Julian.
Kori’s heart sped up, and her breathing became choppy. What was he doing here?
“Hi, Kori,” the walking sex on a stick said as he stepped further into the room. “I just dropped off a patient and wanted to see how Morgan was doing.”
Kori stood from the chair next to the bed, keeping one hand resting on Morgan’s arm. “How did you know we were still here?” She almost smiled at how his face began to turn a deep shade of red. The man had the nerve to look embarrassed. Tilting her head, she stared at him as he shifted from side to side. “Wait, isn’t there some law or something… You know what? I don’t want to know.” At her words, he seemed to visibly relax.
“So, how’s he doing?” Julian nodded his head towards the bed before stepping a few paces closer.
“Better, and the same. Th
ey’re hoping he’ll wake up soon. There’s no internal bleeding or brain swelling that’s preventing him from opening his eyes. The doctors believe his body is forcing itself to heal by staying asleep.” She glanced down at her child, and her heart filled with love. Morgan’s father was killed in the line of duty when he was just a baby. She and her family were all her little boy had left. His father had been a foster child, so Morgan was the only piece of him she had left.
“He seems like a strong kid.”
“Oh, he is. A few bruises, a broken wrist, and a broken leg are all the doctors can find. He’ll have something to tell his friends when he gets out of here.” Turning back to the man standing in front of her, she couldn’t help but appreciate the view.
She’d noticed him the day of the accident but had been too focused on her son to really give him any attention. Now that things had calmed down, she took a few moments to enjoy the sight in front of her. The man was a tall, cold glass of ice water. Blonde hair tapered on the side and longer in the front for her fingers to play in the strands. Her eyes traveled down his uniform-clad body. The short sleeves of his shirt put his arms on full display, showing off his full sleeve tattoos. Instantly, a visual of his hands roaming up and down her naked body popped into her head.
His deep voice shook her from her silent musings. “I’m glad to hear that.”
She smiled at his apparent nervousness. “Is everything okay?” When that ice-blue gaze landed on her, it took her breath away.
“Yeah,” he answered gruffly. “Do you mind if I stop by to check on him, and you, from time to time? Well, for as long as you’re here in the hospital at the very least.”
“Why?” She questioned bluntly. He didn’t know them or anything about their lives. Why would he want to visit?