Corinne (Book One of The Red Diamond Saga)

by Jennifer Janne

  “Her father's with her.” The nurse answered, without actually answering her question.

  “Her father?” Daniel asked, puzzled by her words. When the nurse opened the door to Corinne's room, a man was standing beside her bed. He had one of Corinne's hands curled in his own. His hair was thinning on top and full at the base of his neck. He wore dress trousers and a plaid button down shirt that resembled another era of style. When he turned to glance over his shoulder at Daniel his expression was grave.

  Daniel recognized him immediately from the mug shot he had seen.

  “Conner Mitchell.” He said flatly. Before the nurse could sense the quick anger that rose through Daniel she was shoved out of the way and Daniel had his hands around Conner's shoulders. He shoved him hard against the hospital wall, wrenching Conner's hand away from Corinne's.

  “Did you do this to her, you bastard?” He demanded as he slammed the older, physically more fragile man against the wall. The nurse had alerted security, and despite the fact that Daniel was a police officer he knew that he would be held responsible for his actions and likely arrested if Conner decided to press charges.

  However, he did not care. The moment he laid eyes on the man who had claimed to be Corinne's father he wanted to tear him asunder. He wanted to break every bone in his body to make him pay for the terror he had put Daniel through in the past when he had taken Corinne, and now, he was certain that he had something to do with the illness that Corinne was suffering from.

  “Daniel.” The man managed to breathe out through gasps of pain. “You are making a mistake.” Daniel shook his head as he glared directly into the man's eyes.

  “No mistake old man, you are not Corinne's father. I know exactly who you are. Now tell me what you did to her, so we can fix it.”

  “Daniel?” Corinne's faint voice rose from the hospital bed as she finally found it again. Ever since arriving at the hospital and being hydrated, the pain had continued to subside. She felt remarkably different though, as if she was slightly detached from what was happening around her.

  “It's okay, I'm okay.” She insisted as Daniel turned to look at her.

  He was so startled by the color in her cheeks that he let go of Conner. He was kneeling beside Corinne when security arrived at the hospital room. Conner waved them away, and observed as Daniel looked deeply into Corinne's dark green gaze.

  “Are you sure?” He whispered as he reached up to trace the lines of her features, seeking within them some promise that he would never again have to be afraid of losing her.

  Corinne nodded, amazed that the movement did not cause her pain. “I am fine.” She said and lifted her hand so she could place the palm of it against Daniel's cheek. The warmth of her skin was reassuring. When Daniel turned back to face Conner, he found that the man had already left the room.

  As the nurse walked back into the room Daniel grabbed her firmly by the arm. “I don't want that man in here again.” He said sharply.

  The nurse glowered at Daniel as she twisted her arm out of his grasp. “Dr. Mitchell is the only reason Corinne is still alive.” Her tone was reproachful as she saw Daniel as just another hot headed police officer that was too quick with his hands and not very sharp in the mind.

  “We would not have been able to save her if Dr. Mitchell had not suggested the treatment.” She paused and looked past Daniel to Corinne.

  “It is none of my business, but your father saved your life, and this man,” She shot him a withering glare as if using the word very loosely to describe him. “Appears to have a temper problem.”

  Daniel shook his head firmly. “No, Corinne, he must have done something to you to make you so sick.”

  Corinne took a deep breath as if summoning all of her strength and sat up in the bed.

  “Daniel, whatever he did, it helped me.” She brushed her hand along the needle mark on her arm, which the doctors had overlooked. She had assumed that her recollection of someone else injecting her with something had been the confusion of oxygen deprivation.

  When she opened her eyes, she had seen Conner hovering over her, with a frazzled doctor standing beside him. Conner had smiled at her with such kindness that any fear she initially felt faded away.

  Already the pain had subsided to such a degree that she felt as if she were floating, but he had requested a treatment that also restored her bodily functions so that she could survive the sudden onslaught of sensations that the exposure her true genetic talents had subjected her to.

  “I am here to help.” He had said in a fatherly tone. “No strings attached.” He promised with a confident smile. She had smiled in return. Perhaps her first impression of him had been off base.

  Sure he was secretive, but how could he not be? If everything he said was true, the rest of the world would never be able to understand it. He had pretended to be her father, a man she had never met. If he wanted to be her father, why shouldn't she let him? She was certain she could use one.

  Daniel was not convinced. She could tell from the look of mistrust in his eyes. Still he did not want to upset Corinne. She needed to rest, and he needed her to recover fully so that she could realize the man she was defending was more dangerous than any criminal he had ever encountered.

  He was charismatic and intelligent. He was capable of seducing the mind of the most suspicious woman in the world, and because of that, she was now vulnerable in a way that he never expected she would be.

  “We'll talk about it when you're better.” He said with a gentle demeanor, though his tone was firm.

  He was not going to let her fall into the hands of a predator, not again.

  27

  Two days later Corinne was able to leave the hospital. She had asked for Conner a few times, but he had not shown up at the hospital again, and no one knew of a way to reach him. She allowed Daniel to lead her to his car, but once she was inside, she turned to face him before he even started the car.

  “I do not want to hear anything about it, Daniel.” She let her head rest against the passenger window as she turned away from him.

  “Corinne I just want to be certain that you understand who this man really is.” Daniel insisted as he started the car. “I don't want to see you get hurt.”

  Corinne turned to him with exasperation. “He saved my life, Daniel.” She paused and studied the strong line of his jaw as it clenched beneath her words. “I thought you would be grateful to him for that.”

  Daniel abruptly hit the brakes just as he was about to exit the parking lot of the hospital. He threw the car into park and twisted in his seat until he could look directly at her.

  “Of course I am, Corinne.” When his eyes met hers they were full of anguish. “I thought I had lost you, I thought-”

  He grasped her hands in his own as if afraid she might still slip away.

  “If he really saved your life, then of course there is nothing I can do to repay him.”

  He drew her hands to his lips and kissed each one softly. “I just don't trust him.”

  Corinne offered a wry smile at those words. Now the shoe was on her other foot, and she could not overlook that. “You don't have to.” She squeezed his hands in hers. “I know how hard it is to believe all of this, I still can barely believe it.” She sighed as a car behind them blared its horn. “He was there when I needed him Daniel. That has to count for something.”

  Daniel did not say a word as he shifted the car back into drive and eased it out of the parking lot. She did not notice how her words were like blades slicing through him. Yet again, he had not been there when she needed him. Conner Mitchell had been.

  28

  After a few days of no contact with Conner, Corinne decided it was time she confronted her past. If she could not figure out how to reach Conner in the present, perhaps she could at least learn more about him in the past.

  On a day she was certain Daniel would be working, Corinne placed a call and set an appointment. Her stomach was still sensitive to the slightest shift in h
er emotions, but she ignored its queasiness and dressed. Ever since she left the hospital her senses had been more and keener.

  She was able to predict who was calling on the phone, and when Daniel would walk through the door.

  She could peek in on his activities when he was in another room, though she tried not to. She would not like someone doing that to her, so despite her curiosity, she did her best to restrain herself from invading his privacy.

  As she drove toward her destination, she could sense that something unpleasant was waiting for her. This did not surprise her, considering who she was planning to visit. She ignored her instinct and continued to drive. Her mind kept wandering to the memory of Aaron.

  She could not help but be curious what he was like. What his life had been like. Did they have similarities that went beyond their hair and eye color? She recalled he had quite a bit of an attitude; it made her question how he had been raised. Had his life been as difficult as hers? Had it been better?

  When she walked into the jail, she felt the pressure of the emotions of both the prisoners and the staff. It was a very oppressive place which actually made it difficult for her to breathe. Anxiety built within her as she began to feel like she might never be able to leave. She shook her head to dismiss the strange thoughts and emotions that were brewing within her.

  As she walked up to the front desk, the woman behind a glass divider met her eyes with a frown. She quickly covered it with a polite smile, but not before Corinne sensed that she was very worried about something.

  “Hello, I am here to visit a prisoner.” Corinne said shakily.

  The whole place was giving her a headache, and her stomach flipped with the knowledge of who she was about to come face to face with.

  “Name?” The woman asked as she scanned a list on a clipboard in front of her.

  “Corinne Sanders.” She said clearly. “And I am here to visit Samuel Hudson.”

  The woman surveyed the document in front of her twice before slowly lifting her gaze to Corinne.

  “I am sorry but there is no prisoner here by that name.”

  Corinne grimaced with irritation as she shifted the strap of her purse on her shoulder and leaned closer to the glass enclosure.

  “I called this morning to arrange a visit, I am certain he is here.”

  The woman scanned the paper in front of her but only ended up shaking her head.

  “There is no prisoner listed by that name.” She insisted.

  Corinne felt her heart begin to race, and her face grew hot with anger. She could not recall a time when she was so irritable.

  “Look again, I know he is here.” She was ready to thrust her hand through the tiny opening in the enclosure when she heard a familiar voice drift from a nearby hallway. It was muffled, but she would know it anywhere.

  “It is about time you got me out of here.” The man muttered.

  “Your actions are the reason you are in here.” Another vaguely familiar voice said.

  “Alright, alright, Doc, just get me out of here.”

  Corinne gasped as the knowledge settled over her of whom she was hearing speak.

  “Sam!” She shouted toward the hallway.

  In the same instant that her rage rose to such an intense boiling point that she felt as if she might explode, an alarm rang through the prison. It was blaring, and bright red lights began fluctuating at a pulsating rhythm.

  The woman behind the desk jumped up and reached for a lever that would lock down the front entrance of the jail, but not before Conner led Sam out of the hallway and out through the front door while the woman's back was turned.

  Corinne ran after them, but the door swung shut before she could reach them, and the sound of the lock sliding into place was final.

  She tugged at the handle of the door, but it would not open. She could only watch as Conner, with his hand on Sam's elbow, casually led him toward the parking lot. He glanced back once over his shoulder and caught sight of Corinne through the window of the door.

  His eyes lingered on hers for a long moment as he realized that he had not moved fast enough. He could not take the time to try to explain, because the SWAT team was already arriving. Inside the jail, the woman behind the glass was yelling for Corinne to take cover.

  “There's a riot happening!” She explained as she ducked down behind her desk after making sure that the entrance to the reception area was locked.

  “It's been brewing all day,” She said more to herself than to Corinne.

  Corinne sank down into one of the chairs in the waiting area. She could not imagine the riot spilling out into this area of the jail, but she was frustrated that she would not be able to chase after Sam.

  What was Conner doing with him? Did he know Sam? Was he the one that had hired him? If so, why would he help a rapist escape from prison?

  She had just begun to settle into the idea of trusting Conner, and now, as she watched the SWAT teams rush into the jail, she was beginning to think she had made a mistake.

  As she waited for the authorities to handle the situation, she grew more and more angry with every passing moment.

  Suddenly from beyond the doors the swat team had burst through, she heard the distinct sound of gunfire, and it was not too far off. Corinne began to take the situation very seriously as she jumped down from the chairs she had been sitting in and hid behind a small table. She heard one strong voice carry over the sound of the alarm.

  “I will put a bullet in the first person that flinches.” The voice said with pure certainty. When the swat officers began to back out of the hallway with their hands in the air Corinne tried to shrink even smaller. She could not understand how so many officers had not been able to gain control of the riot, until she saw the prisoner emerge from the hallway.

  He was huge, triple the size of an average man, and he had apparently been able to take a weapon from one of the guards or officers. The gun he held was pointed at the head of a young officer who did not look old enough to be in uniform. He was shivering in the man's grasp, who exuded a blood lust, as if he was begging for the opportunity to shoot someone.

  Corinne could feel his emotions, the power and the panic that was rushing through him. He felt invincible with the swat team cowering beneath his command, but he knew if he did not make it out the door, he would be spending the rest of his life in jail. He looked directly toward Corinne but just before he could notice her he swung his attention toward the reception area.

  “Open the doors.” He commanded through the glass. The woman who was huddled beneath her desk did not respond. “Open the doors now!”

  The man shouted and punctuated the volume of his words with a bullet against the glass that surrounded the reception area. It was bullet resistant, and so it only cracked, but the woman inside knew as did everyone else present, that bullet resistant only held up against a few bullets and eventually it would shatter. The woman inside screamed as the criminal fired another bullet into the same spot the first one had ricocheted off of.

  “Listen, just calm down.” One of the swat officers attempted. “Just tell us what you want, and no one has to get hurt.”

  The man laughed as he swung the gun on the officer who was speaking. “No one has to get hurt? How stupid do you think I am?” He jabbed his weapon toward the hallway. “There are three bodies back there, and they are all on my head. If she doesn't open the doors now, it's going to be six.”

  Corinne could tell from his emotions that he was serious. He would have no qualms pulling the trigger. Before she could understand what she was doing she slowly stood up.

  The man with the gun froze when he saw Corinne. She was a perfect hostage and he eagerly shook the gun in her direction.

  “Well well, what do we have here?” He muttered. “Come on and join the party.”

  Corinne carefully stepped forward. She held her hands up by her shoulders, with open palms. She could feel his desire to possess her, to use her as a pawn to escape.

  “You
don't really want to do this.” Corinne said firmly. She met his eyes without hesitation. She was startled by her confidence, and yet it felt natural. She was not afraid as she walked toward him. In fact she felt more comfortable being close to him than she had any other person in her life.

  “It was a mistake that got you put in here in the first place.” She said with understanding in her tone.

  The man with the gun stared at her with wide, furious eyes. Not only was she not showing any fear, as she should be, considering he was brandishing a weapon directly at her, she seemed to know an awful lot about him. It had been a mistake that landed him behind bars. He had not been the one to pull the trigger, so many years before. But it did not matter now. He had pulled the trigger today, and there was no turning back.

  “Open the doors or she dies.” He said boldly as he pointed the weapon directly at her forehead. Corinne stood before the gun, so close that she could smell the scent of it, without a hint of anxiety.

  “You cannot pull the trigger.” She said softly, as if out of pity. The man glared fiercely at her.

  “I can do anything I want.” He growled and suddenly he shoved the young man to the floor and pointed the gun at the back of his head. “Watch!” He shouted with a twisted grin. He pulled back as hard as he could on the trigger, but it would not give.

  But before he could try pulling the trigger again the SWAT officer who had tried to talk him down, had tackled him to the floor. He wrestled and screamed as the officers pinned him down and cuffed him. The young officer was shaking with fear as he picked up the discarded weapon.

  He emptied the ammunition from the gun, and then tried to pull the trigger. It moved with ease. The young officer looked up from the gun to Corinne, who was still standing perfectly calmly in the middle of all the chaos. His eyes possessed a certain knowing, as he studied Corinne, and then allowed a fellow officer to lead him away.

  “Open the doors.” Corinne said flatly to the woman in the reception area who was peeking out from beneath her desk.

  The woman did not wait for permission from the officers; she flipped the lever that released the locks on the front doors. Corinne turned and walked right out the doors, ignoring the calls of the officers behind her.