20. Jeremiah
20
JEREMIAH
‘Miah’
Watching Lil Man, I know something is about to happen just by the emotions running across his face. He’s nodding like the person on the other end can see his actions.
“Give me an address.”
That is all he says, and I’m ready to strangle him when Nova grabs my shoulders, holding me back.
“Wait, Jeremiah.”
That’s all he says, but it brings me back from the dark side. It’s not Lil Man’s fault this shit is happening. I mean, for Christ’s sake, Stash is literally fighting for his life at the moment because he was trying to protect Styx. That thought and why I use her nickname when thinking about her and her firehouse family tells me that Styx is theirs and Lourdes is mine. So Engine 23 and Truck 315 is her work family, and me and the girls—fingers crossed—are her forever family.
“Yeah, okay, I hear you. I said I hear you, calm the fuck down. Feels like I’m in the middle of a damn heart attack. See you soon. Hey, I love you.”
Everyone’s heads jerk up in time to see Lil Man end the call but he says not a word, just stares at his phone. When he lifts his head, I hear the gasps around me as I see the wet rolling down his face. Oh my God, if the big guy is losing it then it can’t be good news. My legs give out and I hear Nova screaming for Mayhem. Between the two of them, they hold me up under my arms as I continue to watch every move Lil Man makes, including when he walks toward me and pulls me to him, wrapping those huge as fuck arms around me. I still can feel both Mayhem’s and Nova’s hands on my back. I can’t, please don’t tell me she’s dead. That will be the end of me for sure. People are running toward us and I can see Malachi, Vito, and Freddie, concern all over their faces. Most of Lourdes’s work family are making their way toward us also.
Lil Man leans down, I’m guessing to whisper in my ear, but I don’t want to hear his words. Well, until he holds on to me like a vise and tells me to settle in a voice filled with emotion. Time stands still and I can hear someone breathing hard, it takes a second or two to realize it’s me.
“That call, Jeremiah, was, damn, don’t know if I can get the words out. Give me a second, not kidding, might be having a fucking heart attack. Okay, man up, big man. That call was Styx.”
Everyone is looking at each other confused. Did Lil Man mean about Styx? Maybe he is having a coronary event. I look up at him and he nods. Then he shocks the ever-lovin’ shit out of me.
“No, I mean it. That was Styx calling, telling us to come get her.”
I can’t think because of all the yelling, screaming, and crying going on. Well, until Mayhem whistles, shutting everyone up.
“What the fuck does that mean, Lil Man?”
“Dude, I have no idea. All she told me was it’s over and she needs us to come and get her. So if we want answers, let’s go and pick your woman up.”
In less than a minute or two, I’m back in the vehicle with Malachi, Vito, and Freddie, while the remaining Engine 23 company are in their truck—lights and sirens blasting—and Nova with his team are behind us. Nova was going to call the detective on the case as the cops at the scene had to remain there. I can’t sit still; every limb is shaking. Well, at least she’s alive, that’s a start. Right here, sitting in the back seat with Malachi, I make a promise to myself that no matter what happens, it doesn’t matter because she’ll be okay. I’ll find the best doctors and therapists to get her back to herself. It takes us about twenty-five minutes to arrive. When I look around, the sight before me tells me this is a very rough side of town, judging by the abandoned buildings and cars on the grass and in the driveways, rusting and rotting away. A few houses look like someone lives in them, but my head tells me they probably shouldn’t, as every house on the block appears to be one hard wind away from collapsing on itself. As we go farther down the street, I can see three people sitting on the concrete steps of a pretty dilapidated house. When I get closer, I tell Vito to stop and let me out. When he slams on the brakes, turning to ask me why, I jump out and start running toward the person wrapped in a bedsheet. Because that person is Lourdes. When she sees me, immediately tears are in her eyes and she struggles to stand, but the two kids help her to her feet.
When I reach her, my hands go to her face. I can see one cheek is already starting to bruise and she looks a mess, but never has she looked so beautiful. I pull her close, feeling my emotions taking over. All I can get out is three words.
“I love you.”
She literally collapses into me, softly crying. I glance at the two people standing on either side of her and don’t recognize either of them. They are both probably in their late teens or early twenties and both are covered in blood and whatever else. The girl’s face looks to be mangled, but her eyes are soft as she takes in the two of us. The young man grabs her hand and she lets him, turning to him with a stunning smile, her eyes shining at him. Everyone is running toward us so I gently move and sit down on the stairs, putting Lourdes on my lap. She burrows into me as close as she possibly can.
She lifts her head to see what all the commotion is about. When everyone is around us waiting, she looks around then glances down to see the two kids sitting below us together. She smiles at them softly then looks to me, hand on my face.
“I waited way too long to say it, but I love you too, Jeremiah.”
Sniffles come from below us and I see the girl wiping her face. Lourdes sees her doing it and reaches down, patting her on the head. Then she looks up again and tells it like it is.
“I’m only going to tell this story once, so let’s wait ’til the cops get here. In the meanwhile, I’d like to introduce all of you to my two new friends. This is Genie and Junior. And they not only saved my life but my sanity too.”
I’ve had my eyes on Lourdes since I jumped out of Malachi’s vehicle and ran to her. Never in my entire life have I met a stronger person, ever. With everything she’s been through, she’s more concerned about the two kids. And sitting here next to Lourdes in the largest conference room the hospital has available, I’m listening as she is telling the story of how she met Doug and what happened on that fire call a few years back. From what she’s saying, Danny, Paco, and Cap all remember it and agree with what she is relaying. They actually worked with the fire department and rules office to adjust their procedures when it came to people who couldn’t fit on the regular equipment. Lourdes explains the real reason Amber couldn’t be moved wasn’t just because of the beam, it was that Engine 23 didn’t have the equipment to get her out of there. Lourdes said it took five firefighters to literally drag her through the house to the only stretcher they had. When one of the probies went and asked Doug, his response was, “Why bother with her, she’s useless.” Then he proceeded to try and flirt with some woman who was standing in front of their home. As I listen to her talk, I can’t believe a man would let his wife burn to death and not lift a hand to try and help her regardless of looks, size or ability to have a child.
I compare poor Amber’s story to Lourdes. When everyone heard about her being taken, I can’t even comprehend how many people showed up from every walk of life to help find her. Even some of her rescues came out to help, bringing food or offering to do whatever in the background. That goes to show how much people appreciate her for what she does. I can tell this is taking a toll on her so I stop her, telling the cops she’s done for today, as are the two kids. When they start to argue, I bring up she did this without a lawyer and if they want her to continue helping them, then let Lourdes get some rest. The doctors said she has a grade 3 concussion and they are keeping her for the night, even though she wants to leave because as much as she can remember, she passed out for at least fifteen minutes to maybe a half hour. All three are warned by the detectives not to leave the state because, of course, there is a dead body and they have to investigate for it being either self-defense or a level of murder. Genie came forward and said she was the one to shoot Doug in his junk. Just thinking of it, I want to lean forward and protect my own shit between my legs. I’m thinking, damn, that had to hurt like a total bitch. And he felt that pain until the bullet to the face. I spoke to the detective and he told me with all that Genie did to protect the other children on that farm from Doug, the detective found no reason for his report not to document it as self-defense from sexual assault. Genie was probably a little on the insane spectrum at that moment. Listening to the detective, it dawns on me that it sounds like the poor girl, Genie, had the weight of the world on her shoulders. I will do whatever to help her through this and get her to the other side. When I stand to push the wheelchair Lourdes is in to her room, both Genie and Junior stand ready to follow us. Can’t believe I’m thinking this, but they are cute in one way, which is the way they want to be where Lourdes is. However, we need to keep an eye on them because it can scare someone when they realize they’re free, and then they might cling to her in an unhealthy way. I really worry about Genie because of what Doug has done to her. Both Nova and Mayhem told me they were reaching out to the Devil’s Handmaidens MC because they deal with this exact situation, and they will have much better resources than we can ever get here. When I asked if they thought Junior needed to go too, Mayhem shocked the shit out of me.
“Jeremiah, that’s a definite yes. He’s showing definite signs of PTSD. The only thing holding him together is that young woman. If you separate them, you could destroy them both. Right now, I would do everything you can to keep them together, even if it will break Styx’s heart to send them to Montana or even to New Mexico. It’s for the best and, eventually, Styx will get it and they can always come back once they are healthy. Now not sure about you, but I need to get some much-needed sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a full day, trying to find that ranch the motherfucker has more kids at. Both Junior and Genie offered to try and help us find them. Even the detective told us to hold off ’til we have daylight. Give Styx a kiss, see you tomorrow.”
I watch him leave when it hits me how very lucky I am to have these people in my life. I’ll never take it for granted.
After we get back to Lourdes’s room, the nurse helps her get ready for bed. I pull the chair over closer to her and reach for her hand, but she throws the blankets back and pats the bed.
“I want to fall asleep in your arms, Miah. It was you who gave me the strength not to give up, especially when I finally found out who my stalker was and why. Where are Genie and Junior?”
“Danny took them back with him. They are going to be spending the night in Claire’s tiny home. No, don’t worry, Danny and Claire, along with the twins, are going to stay too. When Herb made it into a rental, they added on to it so it’s now a three-bedroom, two-bath cabin. Danny, Claire, and the twins will sleep in one room and both Genie and Junior will get their own room on separate floors. That was Danny’s decision. So don’t worry, they have a chaperone/big brother watching over them.”
First, I take off my shoes then my heavy sweatshirt, leaving on my T-shirt. I drop my jeans just as the door swings open and the night nurse walks in. She looks at Lourdes then me and the covers thrown back, then her head swings back to me.
“All I’m going to say is that sleeping in that bed with her is not permitted, but if at any time during the night I hear moaning, skin slapping, or cries of Oh God, Oh God with a follow-up of Yes!!!!! I will come into this room and drag you out by your ears, buck-ass naked, and throw you into the security room, and I’ll let them decide what to do with you. Now, I’m here to take this young lady’s vitals. And just want to throw out there, since my husband passed away, I’ve not been with anyone but, young man, you look like a tasty treat standing there in those boxer briefs, so I suggest you go sit on that love seat and cover up with your sweatshirt until I finish because I don’t want to embarrass myself or you.”
By the time the nurse is done talking, Lourdes is doubled up, laughing hysterically. I kind of glare at her, which has her snorting from laughing so hard. I glance at the nurse, who has her one eyebrow raised up at me and when I see her name tag, I can’t help but smile. Nurse Agnes is grinning at me when I look back up at her, which prompts me to go sit on the love seat and cover up with my sweatshirt. When’s she done and Lourdes has fresh water and a snack of cookies, Agnes walks to the door then turns, and flips me some cookies too before she rocks my world.
“Jeremiah, right? Let me tell you something, J, if I was just say—ten or fifteen years younger—you wouldn’t need to look at that one over there because I’d be rocking your world every single night. And that perfect derrière of yours would have my nail marks to prove it. Now, if you report me, I’ll deny everything and tell my supervisor you were trying to sneak into Lourdes’s bed. When I called you on it, you offered me some cash, which also said no to, so you’re trying to get me in trouble.”
My mouth drops open then I can’t help but chuckle. Then I think I shock good old Agnes.
“If you ever decide to switch jobs, reach out to me, Agnes, because I’d find you something immediately. Damn, you can think on your feet. Have a good evening, Nurse Agnes.”
She winks then walks out, pulling the door closed. I stand, make my way back to the bed, and lie gently next to Lourdes, who as soon as I’m settled turns to me, head on my chest, hand across my abdominals. Just the feel of her instantly calms me down. Neither of us says a word, there will be plenty of time for us to talk. Right now, we need to just be in each other’s presence. She falls asleep first and I’m not far behind her, but my last thought is I hope I can do this for the next fifty years or so.