by Dale Mayer
“I won’t get in the way. But he’s my son. I need to know he’s okay.”
“He’s okay. As long as he stays where he is. This won’t be a fast process.”
She glanced around the small area, but there was no chair. She scrunched herself against the far corner, as much out of the way as she could possibly make herself, so they wouldn’t make her leave.
She waited and watched. As she glanced around, she saw Corey talking to the police standing in front of the open doorway. Finally he turned his attention to her and the doctor. He then slipped over, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up close. Against her ear he said, “Reginald is being held at the station. Warrick’s gone to talk to the arresting officers.”
She pulled her head back and looked up at him. “I thought you were going too.”
He shook his head. “No, I’m staying here with you.”
Tears came to her eyes, and it was beyond her to stop the flow. She dropped her head against his shoulder and just cuddled in close. “You’re a good man, Corey.”
He wrapped his arms tightly around her and said, “I am. But you’re also a good mom.”
She smiled and finally let herself relax.
*
Joshua lay on the small bed, sleeping soundly, an IV in his arm. Nurses kept a close eye on him. A steady stream of traffic was had in this emergency cubical. The whole time Corey stood in the corner with Angela in his arms.
What he had said had been correct. It was the truth for anyone who wanted to see it. Angela was a good mom. She’d do anything to give little Joshua what he needed, and he was a valiant little soldier. That he had called his mom before succumbing to the drug and had left the phone on … It had probably been an accident that he’d left the call open, but it had been what they needed to get to him fast.
Corey wanted to pound Reginald into the ground for his part in this but knew he’d never get close enough.
Maybe Reginald was happy to spend a few years in jail. When he came out, there’d probably be a nice little thank-you package from Greg waiting for him. If he got out. Jail wasn’t kind to anyone.
Warrick had sent Reginald’s mug shot to Corey in confirmation. Reginald looked a bit on the older side compared to the single photo they had seen him in earlier—the partying crowd with the man shooting another dead. The last few years had probably aged him. Nothing like losing a child to make one realize just how short life really was. So only the threat of a murder rap could probably convince Reginald to kidnap Corey. But why would Greg do this to Joshua, to his own son? Still the police would potentially solve that mystery as well.
Finally the doctor checked Joshua again, looked at the two of them, still in an embrace, and said, “He’s stable for the moment. You’re welcome to stay.” The doctor turned to his nurse and said, “I want to be informed as soon as there’s any change.” He tilted his head at Corey and Angela and rushed away.
The nurse smiled and said, “I can get you some chairs.”
Angela nodded and whispered, “Thank you.” Before the nurse left, she asked, “May I touch him?”
“Gently, and just on his hands only. You may kiss his cheek, but please do not move him or pick him up. I’ll be back in a minute.” The nurse disappeared through the curtains.
Corey dropped his arms from around Angela and approached the bedside. The little boy had a shock of brown curls—slightly long so the curls crossed his forehead. But he had such a baby face, big cheeks, big forehead and long lashes. He slept peacefully and didn’t look to be in pain. He watched as Angela picked up Joshua’s hand.
She didn’t lift it very high, just enough that she could slip her hand underneath. Corey watched the tears once again come into her eyes. She leaned down and placed her cheek against Joshua’s for a long moment. It was such a precious moment that Corey felt his heart break. She’d been through a lot.
Finally she kissed his cheek and whispered, “Mommy’s here. Mommy’s here, and you’ll be just fine.”
The nurse came back in with a pair of chairs. She gave one to Corey, who moved it to where Angela stood. “Sit down.”
She sat but didn’t let go of Joshua’s hand. Corey grabbed the second chair and sat on the other side of the bed. At least this way he could watch everything going on around him.
“Do you need to talk to the police?” Angela asked.
“The detective’s not here. He’s at the scene where they picked up Joshua—or maybe in his office by now. I spoke to the officer on duty here when I arrived, but I haven’t talked to anyone else.”
She nodded. “I feel like we should check in with Warrick, see if he’s found out anything.”
Corey pulled out his phone and sent Warrick a text. “He’ll get back to us when he can,” he said quietly. He looked at the little boy. “There doesn’t appear to be other injuries. The doctor did check him over, and there were no breaks he could find.”
She sniffled and beamed. “Thank heavens. I’ll feel better when he wakes up.”
That might not happen as fast as she wanted it to. But, now that the little boy was safe in the hospital, his father would have a fit. For whatever reason, he’d wanted Joshua taken away. Corey sent texts to Mason and Levi. Even though it was the middle of the night, people were waiting to find out something. He told them Joshua had reacted badly to the drugs his father had given him, but he was getting treatment in the hospital. He hadn’t woken up yet but had stabilized. The responses were almost instant. Like him, everybody was concerned.
He studied Joshua’s face for any resemblances to Angela. But it was hard. She was a blonde; the little boy had brown curls. Maybe he had her nose. But what Corey really needed was to see the boy awake, see his eyes and see that smile. Angela’s smile was unique. A little off center, a little to the left. It was very endearing. At least he’d always thought so.
He stayed and waited with her. He figured they’d be here most of the night. After shifting her chair a little closer, Angela curled up into a ball and closed her eyes and lay her head on the hospital bed. He didn’t feel he could do that. He was tired, but no way he would leave either of them unprotected. He wasn’t sure if Joshua was meant to die tonight, but Corey wouldn’t give anybody a second chance. Angela and Joshua had both become very special to Corey in a very short time. He stared down at the little boy he hadn’t even met.
How would Joshua react to his father’s actions? And was he ready for his mom to have a friend?
He wasn’t even sure Angela was ready for that yet.
He just knew inside that he was.
Chapter 13
“Mommy?”
Angela woke from her short nap. She’d been so afraid to nod off and to miss her son crying out in the night that she had pulled her head off the bed and forced herself to sit up in the chair, still only half alert. She moved closer to the bedside, and, in the dim light, she smiled down at her son.
He stared up at her, his eyes still not quite focused.
“Hi, sweetheart,” she whispered. “Am I ever glad to see you.”
His face lit up. “You came for me.”
She picked up his hand, brought it gently to her mouth and kissed his fingers. Every single little finger got its own kiss. When she figured she could speak without choking up, and when her tears were firmly held back, she said, “Of course I did. I told you that I would, didn’t I?”
He smiled as he nodded, but then he abruptly frowned. “Is Daddy here too?” he asked, fear sliding into his voice.
She squeezed his hand. “No, sweetie. Daddy’s not here. You’re in the hospital right now.”
“Am I hurt?”
“Not really. It’s just to check you over and make sure you’re all good. If you can go back to sleep, then do so. That’s what your body needs right now.”
He gave her a beautiful smile, rolled over and curled up. “You’re going to stay with me, Mommy?”
“Always, sweetheart. Mommy will always be here now.”
“G
ood. I don’t like being with Daddy all alone.” Then he yawned a great big yawn. And by the time he was done, he was back asleep again.
She sat there, tears coursing down her face.
“I need to tell the nurse he woke up,” Corey said from the other side of the bed.
She turned to look at him and nodded. “Thank you.”
He laid a gentle hand on her shoulder before he left.
She owed him and Warrick. They’d done so much—not just saving her son but her soul also. She didn’t want to think about life without her boy. All she’d ever wanted was to have a family. She’d been so delighted when Joshua was born. He’d been the light of her life.
Maybe it was her fault that her marriage had faltered. Once Joshua arrived, she’d been devoted to him, as he had filled a void in her life. A void she hadn’t even recognized before. When she fell in love with this little angel, she’d been his slave from the moment he took his first breath.
Her husband used to mock her for it, but she had ignored him. It didn’t cross her mind she was giving Greg the weapon that could hurt her the most. She wouldn’t focus on that now. She wasn’t alone anymore.
Although Greg might still have a lot of weapons at his disposal, she was no longer as terrified of her husband as she had been. That he would do something like this to a little boy, to their little boy, made him a monster. If he walked into this room right now, she’d likely kill him herself. She didn’t know if he’d ever killed anyone or had ever ordered anyone to be killed. She assumed he was somebody who didn’t get his hands dirty. But, for what he’d done to Joshua, she’d have no problem putting her hands around Greg’s throat and squeezing until the last breath ran out of his body.
Since it was best that she didn’t cross Greg’s path right now, she hoped he went to jail for a long, long time for what he did to those people in the photos.
Corey walked back into the room. She turned to look up at him. The nurse was with him. She walked over to Joshua and motioned for Angela to step back a little bit. She returned to her chair, watching as the nurse ran Joshua through several tests.
When she was done, she gave Angela a big smile and whispered, “He’s doing fine. I’ll let the doctor know he woke up for a few minutes, and he spoke. He appears to be in a deep sleep now. It’s the best thing for him.”
Angela cut back a sob in her throat. She wanted nothing more than to have her son wake up in the morning asking for cereal and milk. He’d always had a healthy appetite and had woken up hungry every morning. She wiped away her tears and wrapped her arms around Corey. She loved it when he drew her close.
She murmured, “I can never thank you enough.”
He squeezed her gently. “No thanks are required. I’m just glad we found him in time.”
She nodded. “I can’t even imagine what Greg was planning. And it’s that what that’ll bring me nightmares for the next twenty years.”
“Joshua’s doing fine. He’ll survive this. He’s a beautiful, bright, resilient little boy. He’ll have no trouble getting past this.”
“Only if he’s not forced to be with his father again. You heard him. He’s terrified of his father now.”
“Smart boy,” Corey said. “I hope you don’t mind, but I recorded that, so the judge can hear a six-year-old boy talk about his father in that tone.”
That Corey had had the presence of mind to do that made her even more aware of his training. She had been in a hundred percent mother mode. “Then maybe you should be here the next time he wakes up too,” she commented.
He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “I have no plans to go anywhere.”
It was all she could do to hold back the tears. “You’re being really wonderful.”
He chuckled, a warm sound that rippled up his chest and erupted out of him like gentle thunder. “I’m always really nice.”
She knew that. The problem in their relationship was never because of his personality. It was just that they’d been so young, and dealing with such a loss so fast had been difficult to recover from.
“Do you want to stay here all night?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said firmly. “I can’t be sure Greg won’t send somebody else after my son again.”
“We do have a guard standing outside,” he said gently. He tilted her chin up and her head back slightly. “You also have to consider whether you’ll be of any use to Joshua tomorrow if you’re exhausted.”
She frowned. “But what if he wakes up again?”
The nurse stepped in, bringing Joshua’s chart with her. “He’ll sleeping solidly now. The best thing for you is to head off and get a few hours sleep yourself.”
She frowned, not wanting to leave her son. She shook her head and finally said, “No. I can’t.”
The nurse looked at her, then at Corey and said, “I can bring one cot in, but I can’t bring in two.”
Angela brightened. “I’d love a cot. I just want to sleep beside my son.” She hated the anxious feeling twisting her gut at the thought of leaving him.
Corey brushed the hair off her face and said, “That’s a good solution.”
She sighed with relief. “I was afraid you’d get angry.”
“Why would I get angry that you want to stay with your son?” His eyebrows rose. “I’m not Greg, remember?”
She smiled brilliantly up at him. “No, you aren’t. And for that I’m so darn grateful.” She lifted her arms around his neck and hugged him close. Then she let him go and cried out in a soft voice, “I can’t believe I have Joshua back again.”
“Now what we have to do is make sure he stays safe.”
Another lady walked in after a few minutes, pushing a cot. There wasn’t much room, so they moved out one of the chairs so it could lay flat.
As soon as the lady was done, Corey motioned at it and said, “Lie down. A spare blanket is at the end of Joshua’s bed. Let me cover you up, and you try to sleep.”
She lay down. “I feel bad if I sleep, and you can’t get any rest.”
“I wouldn’t sleep anyway. Somebody has to be here to watch over him.”
“You said a guard was outside.”
“Yes, and I’m the guard inside.” His tone was firm, direct and unbending.
With a happy sigh, she closed her eyes and let her mind drift. She thought she’d fall asleep immediately, but it was hard. So many thoughts and questions and fears intertwined there and went nuts inside her brain. If she could just catch a little sleep, surely that would be helpful. Even if she power-napped for twenty minutes, it would make her feel better.
But every time Joshua gave a breath that was slightly heavier than the previous one, she sat up to look at him. Finally Corey sat down on the little cot beside her. “Sleep,” he said firmly. “I promise I’ll sit here between the two of you and make sure you’re both safe.”
She stared at him in wonder. “You are a gift.”
Thunderstruck, he didn’t know what to say.
She gave him a loving smile. “I mean it.” She let her hand drift down his to wrap her fingers around his fist, and then she closed her eyes with a heavy sigh and drifted to sleep.
*
Corey stared down at her. She was correct in one way; a gift was here, but it was her, not him. She’d always had a big heart, capable of forgiving so much, capable of letting others off the hook for bad behavior. When most other people would have had something negative to say, that wasn’t part of who she was. She’d always been happy and bubbly. She was the classy girl who stood out. Like a moth to a flame, everybody else would come running to her.
There was just something about her personality that brought others to her. He’d been no different. He’d been attracted to her right from the beginning. Even as a young man, he’d understood solid gold when he saw it. And that was definitely what she was.
With a happy sigh—and, God, wasn’t he sappy—he settled in for a long wait.
Chapter 14
Angela woke up slowly. She
lay on the cot, sorting out her surroundings. And then she remembered Joshua. She bolted upright only to gasp as Corey gently stroked her shoulder, pressing her back into the bed.
“Easy. Joshua is still asleep. You’re in the hospital. Just take a few minutes to get your bearings.”
She blinked up at him in a wide-eyed-owl movement.
He smiled, leaned down and kissed her. That was as much of a surprise as anything. But it was a welcomed one. She glanced around the room. “Did he wake up at all?”
Corey shook his head. “No, he slept beautifully.
She sat up slowly and turned to look at her son. Tears came to her eyes. “It’s so good to see him,” she whispered. She stood, leaned over her boy and kissed him on the temple. It was just so wonderful to see him and to realize he really was okay. She gave a happy sigh, smiled at Corey and said, “I just need to use the washroom.”
She walked around him a little awkwardly because of the cot and made her way to the bathroom out in the main hall. The hospital was quiet. Nurses moved here and there. It appeared to be the start of early morning wake-up rounds.
When she returned, she sat down on the side of the cot. “I slept better than I thought I would,” she noted. “I was really tired.” She glanced at Corey and smiled. “Thank you so much for watching over us.”
“Don’t thank me. It was the least I could do.” He motioned at her phone. “It went off several times. You may want to check it.”
“Oh,” she said as she snatched it up. She smiled. “Your sister. She’s worried about me.” She caught Corey’s wince and grinned. “You did bring her up to date, didn’t you?”
He pulled out his phone and wiggled it in front of her. “We’ve been talking for the last half an hour.”
She read through Bridget’s many messages, realizing they were basically expressing concern for her and Joshua. And then Bridget’s tone changed, as she must have connected to Corey. As long as I know you’re okay, sleep on.