by A. Gorman
“Call the clinic and let them know I need a truck and medics. He needs to be at the clinic stat.” The doctor rolls Chet over on his left side again, allowing any vomit to come out.
Ten minutes later, Dr. Monroe’s crew arrives, and after they get their orders from him, they slide a backboard under Chet’s still body, and fasten him onto the board for his protection. They lift him up and place him on a stretcher and repeat the process of securing him. The medics gather their kits and push Chet out the door.
I’m torn. Do I go with them or…
“Jesse, I’ll take you to Dr. Monroe’s in a few. Let me get things attended to here and we will go.” He squeezes my shoulder to let me know that he knows I’m worried, but too strong to show it.
***
My head lies on the edge of the bed, while my left had holds his rough hand. I’m not sure why I’m here holding his hand, but it feels right. With every breath he inhales and exhales, I will him to open his eyes. Why am I doing this myself? Where are his parents? They should be here by now.
“Chet, please wake up. I…I need to understand why you did all of this.” I close my eyes, hoping to catch a few moments of rest because I’m wearing down fast. There are so many questions left unanswered, so many things don’t make sense right now, and the lack of sleep isn’t helping.
The hate and anger consume me, but I look at Chet’s features and the thoughts of how much I loved him takes over. I need to be somewhat coherent, so I let myself sleep with this battle.
A gentle shake wakes me up. I look up and see Mr. and Mrs. Boston standing by the bed.
“Jesse…”
“Hi,” I mutter.
“We got here as soon as we could. Any changes?” Bree Boston sobs.
“No, I’m sorry. I wish I could give you more.”
“I’m glad we are here now. Why was he in Denver?”
“I don’t have all the details yet, but once we know he’s going to be okay, we’ll talk.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll leave you alone with him. If you need anything, just ask.”
“Thank you, Jesse.” Bree kisses me on the cheek before she takes the place where I was sitting.
Chris gives me a small hug before he releases me and pulls the other chair up beside Bree and the bed. I quickly dismiss myself and exit through the door and take the long way to our private room. I make my way to the restroom. Opening the door to the room, I head straight to the sink to wash my face and hands. I look into the mirror and I don’t recognize the face in the reflection.
Gone are the bright eyes and clear complexion. Blotchy skin and bloodshot eyes with black circles from stress look back at me. My once beautiful green chiffon dress is wrinkled beyond recognition. The only thing that I recognize in the mirror is the Trinity necklace Aedan gave me as a graduation gift.
I splash my face with cold water, hoping to tame some of the blotchiness of my skin, and I know there is nothing I can do for my bloodshot eyes. Drying my face and hands, I take a deep breath and try to release some of the tension in my body. I leave the restroom and roam around the halls for a bit. This isn’t a typical hospital. No cafeteria, no chapel, no vending machines, not even that weird hospital smell.
I find a chair I can sit in for a moment, think…and pray. I bend over, placing my head in my hands. Pain radiates through my body. Not from being physically hurt, but emotionally exhausted. Dealing with this drama and running the company is almost too much for me to handle. The hate and anger I feel inside makes me numb, and I don’t want to be this way. But it’s become a necessity to live, to survive.
As I pray, I realize this all-consuming anger isn’t for Chet, it’s for Chantelle. She is the one who brought us to where we are today…and Chet’s life is hanging in the balance for her actions. Tears spill from my eyes. I can’t hold in my anger anymore. I need to get a hold on my emotions, and this plan of Chantelle’s needs to end today. I pray that it ends today, and I pray I’ll be forgiven for the decisions I make if they are wrong. I wipe the tears from my face; as I say “Amen” as I raise my head. I hope God hears my prayers.
I almost fall before I get to the room, but I see Lyndsay standing guard outside of the suite. I take a deep breath, trying to regain my composure. Exhaustion is wearing on my body, but I need to be here in case anything changes. I can’t let Aedan know how tired I am.
“Ma’am. Hughes and your father have been looking for you.”
“Thanks. Are they inside?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Thanks.” I push on the door to go in and it feels like it weighs a thousand pounds, and two sets of worried eyes greet me.
“Any change?” my father asks.
“None. Chet’s parents arrived finally.”
“Yes, I was notified when they arrived.”
“I figured you were.”
Aedan comes over and embraces me. His warmth radiates throughout my cold body. This is the man for me…the one who makes me feel safe…I hope I can be worthy of his love, his heart.
“I need to check on a few leads. I’ll be right back,” he says and kisses my cheek. Once he lets go of me, my body misses his touch.
“Sit down, Jesse. You need to rest.”
“Yeah, now that his parents are here, we don’t need to be here.”
“True, but I don’t know what Chantelle has planned. She’s responsible for Wade’s death…and tried to kill her own brother. Who knows if she will try again?” my dad says.
“Is she doing all of this for money?” I ask, trying to figure out if that could be the motivation behind her obsession.
“I’d hope not. I tried to give her the world…and I would have, but I also thought I was protecting you by keeping her close. You know, keep your enemies closer…maybe I kept her too close.”
“You didn’t know, Dad.”
“I should have, though. I knew who she was the day I married her, but I didn’t realize what she was capable of doing to our family…to her own family. She’s like a black widow spider.”
“I’m glad she didn’t cut your head off after she was finished with you,” I say with a smirk.
“Me too. Since Wade and Chet have failed to kill me, she might try next. Care to be serious a moment?”
“Not at all.”
“I knew the day you married Chet that he loved you, but I didn’t think he was the one for you. Maybe because of the foolish idea I had that you and Aedan would be a good couple. I guess I wasn’t too far off back then, huh?” He chuckles and goes back to being serious. “Chet had several life changing surprises that you had no control over. I believe they changed him for the worse instead of the better. You couldn’t control what happened and I think with losing the baby, and you, he couldn’t control his emotional state anymore. I hope you’re not blaming yourself for this situation.”
“No, not at all…well, maybe at first I was, but not now. I just can’t believe he would go through all of this. If I get my hands on her, she will not live.”
“Don’t worry about getting your hands dirty when it comes to Chantelle. I will make sure she will get what she deserves. That is a promise.”
I look at my father and wonder if he can see how I feel about her. “There wouldn’t be any dirt on my hands.”
A knock at the door stops our conversation and Lyndsay walks in. “Sorry to interrupt, but I can’t get hold of Hughes. Chet is awake and asking for you, Ms. McCoy.”
I get up and run through the door, making my way to Chet’s room. Bree and Chris are crying and look up when I enter the room.
“Chet, darlin’, we will be right outside. We are going to make some calls.”
“Okay, Mom,” he rasps.
His eyes meet mine, and my heart thuds in my chest hard against my ribs. The anger and hate I was feeling earlier is gone, along with the love that once had for him. Instead, sadness is in its place. My heart feels like it’s weighing me down, and I don’t know how I let myself get to this point.
I take a deep breath, and exhale slowly as his parents leave the room.
“Jesse…I never meant for any of this to happen. I love you. I’ve always have loved you.”
“But it did happen, Chet. You’ve tried to kill me and my family, not once, but at least twice that I know of. Why did you do this? If you loved me, why?”
“For Chantelle’s love.”
“I’m sorry, Chet…that’s ridiculous. Couldn’t you tell that she was using you and Wade? Hell, she even used me, but luckily you got me out of that situation.”
“I didn’t mean for us to end like that. It’s what she wanted. She was so mad at me when I fell for you, and when you ended up pregnant, she lost her mind.”
“And we lost the baby…” Tears threaten to fall down my face. “I lost myself. And you…”
“I know sorry isn’t enough, but if I could take back everything I’ve done to you and your family, I would.”
“Where is Chantelle?”
“I’m not sure.” He licks his dry lips, as he figures what to say next. I instantly know he’s hiding something. “I need to talk to Hughes.”
“Whatever it is, you can tell me.”
“No, this is for him. I need to tell him.”
“Okay.” I leave the room and go to our office to get Aedan, and I walk through the door and see him on the phone.
“Sounds good. Yes, thanks.” He hangs up and looks up at me.
“Chet is asking for you.”
“Me? Did he say what it’s about?”
“No. Just that he needs to talk to only you.”
“Okay, let’s see what he needs to get off his chest. He’s lucky we are here, or I’d make sure he was in a body bag.”
I follow him out of the room, down the hallway, and stand outside of Chet’s room with the door cracked open so I can hear.
“Hughes, thanks for talking with me. I know I’m not your favorite person, but I’m going to try to make up for it.”
“You’re right. What’s up?”
“Chantelle is closer to Jesse than you know—” A hand comes from behind me, closing the door as something hard jabs me in the back.
“One word from you and I’ll impale your heart,” the familiar voice whispers into my ear. “Don’t turn around, just walk toward the exit like nothing is wrong.”
I follow her instructions and walk down the hallway at a slower than normal pace, I see the bright sunlight coming through the glass exit doors, and I take a deep breath, feeling the tip of the knife poking through my sweater. Fifty yards from the exit, I hear Aedan shouting my name, “Jesse!” I don’t stop, I don’t turn around, but my mind is telling me to. His heavy footsteps echo down the hallway as he races to catch up to us. In thirty-five yards, before we reach the double set of doors that lead to the outside, one of us won’t be making it through those doors, alive.
“Stella!” Aedan shouts a few yards behind us.
My body falls to the cold, concrete floor. My head bounces off the floor, and I hear a crack in my skull. I don’t fight the darkness. I let it devour me. It pulls me in. It overcomes me as my mind goes back to last night, forgetting about Chet, forgetting about Stella holding a knife to my back.
Aedan wants to marry me. He got down one knee and asked me in front of all of our family, friends, and close business associates. I never answered him. Why didn’t I answer him faster? I need to make sure he knows that I want to be his forever, if only I can get out of this darkness. My eyes need to open. I beg them to open. Why isn’t my body responding? A bright light shines in my eye, but my lid closes after the light is gone. I feel my body floating, like I’m being carried, but where?
My mind quiets and I feel cold…and I fall back into the blackness, not knowing where it will take me.
To be continued…
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Acknowledgements
Once there was kind, gentle soul named Adam. After a couple of months, I finally got him to take me on a date, and after that, we were inseparable. Almost two years later, he made me his wife. We had an amazing six years together as husband and wife…but God had other plans.
This book was a struggle to finish. Adam passed away as I was finishing the rough draft of Double Cross. He helped me plot the story, and he was beside me as I wrote down each word and emotion. Pieces of him are sprinkled throughout the pages. I hope he’s looking down and he’s proud of the finished product.
I have so many people to thank for this amazing career. First, the readers. Thank you so much for downloading and buying my work. I can’t say thank you enough!
To my family, especially Hunter Cheyenne, and Dane for giving up mama time when the story ideas consume me. My mom and dad, thank you for keeping me sane when I thought everything was falling apart.
My beta readers, Marnie Warren and Kelsey Fischer, thank you for your hours of reading and input. Y’all rock.
Delisa Lynn, I wouldn’t be on this ride if it weren’t for you. Thank you for being my partner in crime, my shoulder to cry on, my best friend. I love you.
I’m sure I’m leaving someone out…but thank you.
Life is short…hug your loved ones tight and make sure to tell them how much you love them.
About the Author
A. Gorman was born and raised in a small community in Central Indiana. She left the slow moving life of the country for the fast-paced city life. After spending twelve years in the city and becoming a mother to two wild and crazy kids, she chose to move back to the peace and quiet of the country after marrying the man of her dreams and gaining three more children.
As an avid reader, A. never set out to be an author since she’s a full-time editor for several incredible authors. However, after editing one day, a voice started talking to her and talking and talking. She decided to sit down and write what she had to say, and it turned out she had a lot to say. Then that one voice turned to two, and another story came to life. Not believing that anything she was writing was publishable, she asked a few friends to critique her manuscript…and now she’s the proud author of the Their Sins series, with several more series and standalones planned.
When she’s not corralling her and her husband’s five kids and two dogs or out in their garden, you can find her at her desk editing or writing her next novel with a cup of coffee and classical music cranked up on her iPad. While she loves reading, A. is addicted to all things British, coffee, and gummy bears—in no particular order.
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