Redemption by Stephie Walls
Prologue
The beeping startled me awake. My lids fluttered open in fright, unexpectedly brought from sleep. Instantly alert, panic set in. I had no idea where I was, but from the looks of it, I was in a hospital—not a good place to find myself in. My hands were sore where the IVs entered my veins, but other than that, nothing felt off. I didn’t hurt, maybe a slight headache, but certainly no broken bones. There was no indication of why I was here, nor how long my stay had been.
Other than the machines methodically marking my heartbeat, the room was silent and dim. A light above the bed offered little illumination and only created more shadows. The antiseptic smell of the building filled my nostrils when I inhaled deeply and looked around. Night welcomed me to consciousness, and the sight of the moon through the window was deceptively peaceful.
Joshua.
Oh, God.
“Joshua.” The way his name crossed my lips brought dread coursing through me. Softly at first. He should be here with me. “Joshua,” I called a little louder as if he might emerge from a dark corner. The metronome indicating my pulse became more of a presto than an adagio. Each time his name fell from my mouth, the beat got faster, and my voice grew louder.
“Joshua,” I wailed into the darkness. Tossing the covers aside, I attempted to escape the confines of the bed and the monitors but was stopped when a nurse came bursting through the door halting the battle cry of his name from escaping my lips again.
“Sweetheart, are you all right? Let me help you back into bed and get you something for your nerves.”
In another time, another place, this woman would have been a welcome visitor, but right now she was standing between Joshua and me.
“Where’s Joshua? I need you to take me to him.” I pleaded for her to have mercy on me.
“Calm down. Lie back down. I’ll get you something for your nerves and try to answer your questions.”
She knew where Joshua was, but she wasn’t going to tell me unless I did as she instructed, that much was written in her cherub cheeks. “Sarah.” I glanced at her name badge pinned to her kitten scrubs. “Do you know where Joshua is?” I climbed back on the mattress and allowed her to placate me by tucking me in like a child.
She gave me a weak smile, but something flickered in her eyes, something I couldn’t decipher, before she patted my leg. “I’ll be right back.”
Everything in me wanted to scream, beg her to stay and answer my questions, but knew it would be in vain. She returned quickly with a syringe in her hand. When she spoke, she stuck the needle in the IV and filled the line with whatever potion she’d brought.
“Where is he?” Terrified of her response, I reached out to touch her elbow as she continued to push the plunger, slowly. The instant the drugs hit my vein, I felt the frigid sensation run up the length of my arm. My long, red hair cascaded over my hospital gown when I leaned in closer, tickling my skin just where I felt the narcotics most.
Sarah stood next to the bed, recapping the needle before she deposited it in the biohazard box on the wall. When she returned to my side, I realized sorrow was what I had seen flash in her eyes. “He didn’t make it. By the time the paramedics got there, he had passed away.” Her thick fingers held my shoulder in an effort to comfort me. “I’m sorry, Ms. Jackson. He was pronounced dead at the scene.”
The sedatives kept my fight at bay just before they lured me under.
1
Chapter One
The sound of the doorbell roused me from papers I’d been grading for the last three hours. Music theory was dull even to those of us who taught it. I set my coffee aside, slipped on my house shoes, and tossed my cat out of my lap before I meandered down the hall toward the door. Glancing at the clock on the wall, I wondered who would be stopping by at seven at night. Living in the country, the only visitors I ever had were the mailman and occasionally the UPS driver. I hadn’t made any friends since moving here and hadn’t ordered anything. Late in the spring in South Carolina, the days linger long past dinner. When I opened the door, the features of the man standing in my doorway were blacked out by the sun setting on the horizon.
I glanced behind him before shielding my eyes to meet his face. It was hard not to notice his height and broad shoulders, but when he spoke, my heart soared to the melody of his words.
“Remmy?” He was clearly unsure if I was indeed who he was looking for.
“No, I’m sorry. You have the wrong address.” I stepped back to close the door, careful not to let Cosmo out, but his hand pressed against the mahogany.
“Is this 1584 Yellowbird Lane?”
The guy was hot, amazingly beautiful. The light reflected off his back creating a halo around his shoulders. Offering their own symphony, the birds chirped, frogs croaked, and crickets sang in the distance. They drew me out like a siren’s song to meet the stranger on my porch.
I scanned the floor around my feet, making sure the feline wasn’t trying to make an escape. I closed the door behind me before talking to the mammoth on my stoop. “Yes. But no one by the name Remmy lives here. Are you sure you have the right address?”
The gentle giant pulled his phone from his pocket, showing me the screen. My address was right there in black and white, along with her salutation, assuring him how excited she was to meet him. The man who first appeared at my door could have been a linebacker for the NFL, but somehow in the realization he’d been stood up, he seemed smaller, less intimidating.