Chapter 47
JOSHUA
The moment I hear the sirens start to wail in the distance and find out that the emergency services are on their way, I feel my pulse settle for the first time since I saw Sarah holding that gun on Molly.
Molly is pressed against my chest, her body trembling in my arms. I’ve never held anything so fragile and so precious, and I have never felt so close to losing everything in one instant.
I tighten my grip on her, burying my face in her hair, trying to convince myself that she’s really here, still breathing, fine except for being a bit shaken up.
If I’d been a second later…
I can’t think like that. I won’t think like that.
The sirens are closer now and several police cars and an ambulance pull into the parking lot.
Chaos floods in - flashing red and blue lights paint the wall of the building as police officers jump out of the vehicles, the doors left open and the engines still running.
Their voices bark instructions, shouting over the heavy sound of their clomping boots on the concrete.
Two uniformed officers rush towards Sarah and the security guards with their weapons drawn, scanning the scene before one of them radios in that the suspect is secured and they lower their guns.
Molly lifts her head slightly, her eyes wide and unfocused.
“They’re here,” she whispers, like she can’t quite believe it.
I brush my lips against her forehead.
“Yes, they’re here. You’re safe now. It’s over.”
She nods, but the expression on her face says otherwise. It’s not over. Not for her. Not for me.
A paramedic steps in and gently pulls Molly from my arms. He leads her to the back of the ambulance and sits her on the edge of it while he checks her over with calm efficiency.
He asks her questions about what happened, and she tells him in a steady voice.
I stay right by her side, never more than a foot away from her.
When he finishes examining her, he declares her physically fine, but he recommends she go to the hospital in case she’s in shock.
Naturally, she refuses and nothing I or the paramedic can say will convince her.
In the end, he gives up and gives us a list of things to watch out for and makes her promise she will go to the hospital if she experiences any of them.
She promises she will, but I know she won’t go without me dragging her there.
That’s ok because I will do that if I need to.
Another paramedic joins the first one and they go over to and help Sarah onto a stretcher. She’s conscious, groaning, clutching her side. I don’t even look at her. I can’t feel any sympathy for her. She pointed a gun at Molly. My Molly.
That alone is enough to erase any trace of guilt or hesitation about what I did. I’d hit her with the car a thousand times if it meant keeping Molly alive.
Once the ambulance has taken Sarah away, a police officer with her, the focus turns to Molly and me. The police want to separate us and talk to us about what happened. It’s just standard procedure, they say, that statements need to be taken individually. I don’t argue. I just look at Molly.
“I’ll be in my office. You take the copier room, and if anyone needs to use it, tell them it’ll have to wait,” I say softly to Molly and then I turn my attention to the police officers. “Come to my office when you’re ready to speak to me. It’s the seventh floor, the last door in the corridor.”
Molly nods again, silent, her hand brushing mine briefly as I watch the officers lead her back to the building.
I give them time to get up to the copier room and then I go back into the building and up to my office.
I pause to tell the receptionist that the police will be along soon and to let them in.
I go to my office and shut the door behind me.
I rub a hand over my jaw, pacing the floor as I wait for the officers to finish with Molly and come to talk to me.
I glance at the leather sofa against the wall, remembering the first time I kissed Molly there.
I remember how she smiled, how she teased me and made me laugh.
I’d give anything to go back to that moment. And this time, I wouldn’t fail Molly.
The knock on the door is sharp, businesslike.
“Come in,” I say.
Two police officers step in. The older one, a woman with silver at her temples and a badge clipped to her belt, gives me a nod.
“Mr. Redfern, I’m Detective Mendez. This is my partner, Detective Ross. We’re going to need your statement,” she says.
I nod, gesturing to the chairs in front of my desk as I go and take my own seat.
“Of course. Please, sit down,” I say.
They don’t waste any time. Detective Mendez pulls out a note pad while Detective Ross gets my permission to record the audio on a small device. I agree and the interview begins.
I walk them through everything that happened, starting with the phone call from a number I didn’t recognize. But the voice. Oh, I recognized that alright.
“I didn’t answer the call because I was driving,” I say.
“I was already on my way back to the office. But they left a voicemail, and who does that anymore? So, I was curious, and I pulled over to listen to it. When I listened to the voicemail…” I stop for a moment, taking a breath and clenching my fists as I remember hearing her voice.
“It was Sarah Dawson. She said something about finishing what she started. That she was going to make Molly pay.”
“Pay for what?” Detective Ross asks.
I tell him everything about the history between the women, how Sarah is delusional and blames Molly for everything that she doesn’t like in her life. Detective Mendez nods along as I talk, scribbling hurried notes.
Detective Ross leans forward, his hands on my desk.
“Were you aware that Sarah Dawson had access to a firearm?”
“No,” I say.
How on earth would I know that? I don’t ask the question. I don’t want to antagonize these people, the people who can lock Sarah away and make sure Molly is safe from her.
There’s another knock at my office door, and it opens before I can respond.
A uniformed officer pokes his head in and asks to have a word with Detective Mendez.
She rises, and excuses herself, stepping into the hall briefly.
Detective Ross stays in my office, but he doesn’t ask any questions while there is just the two of us present.
When Detective Mendez returns, her expression is unreadable.
“We just got word from the hospital,” she says, taking her seat again. “Sarah Dawson is going to be fine. There’s no internal bleeding, no damage done. She just has a couple of bruised ribs and a mild concussion.”
I exhale slowly with my jaw clenched. Of course, Sarah is ok. People like her somehow always are.
“You won’t be charged,” she continues. “The security footage corroborates your story. You were clearly acting in defense of another person. The vehicle strike was deemed a necessary use of force given the circumstances. She was aiming a loaded weapon at your fiancée who feared for her life.”
Relief crashes over me, quick and jagged. She goes on and it is even better news.
“The DA is escalating the charges against Sarah Dawson. She’s being held for attempted murder and her bail has been revoked.”
I don’t say anything for a second. I just nod. That’s what she deserves. But none of it feels like a win. Molly is still shaken. Autumn could’ve lost her mother. Getting justice is good, but it doesn’t undo what almost happened.
“I think that’s everything. We’ll be in touch if we need anything else,” Detective Ross says.
He reaches out and stops the audio recording and Detective Mendez puts her note pad and pen away in her pocket.
They stand up ready to leave. I stand too and I shake each of their hands.
I notice that they didn’t shake my hand when they thought I had plowed a woman over for no reason, but now, they get it. I kind of like these two.
“Can I see her?” I ask as the detectives start to leave. “Molly, I mean.”
Detective Mendez opens my office door and looks back at me.
“She’s already on her way along,” she says with a smile, nodding into the corridor.
I’m already halfway to the door when Molly appears and throws herself into my arms. I hold her until she pulls back and then I look over her. She looks pale, tired, but steady on her feet. I take one of her hands in mine and lead her over to the couch where we sit down, side by side.
“Are you okay?” I ask her.
She nods her head.
“Yes. They said you won’t be charged.”
“I’m fine. You’re the one I care about,” I tell her. I exhale and turn to face her. She mirrors my movement, and I press my forehead against hers. “Molly, I need you to leave work. Just for a little while. Please.”
Her eyes flicker.
“Joshua …” she starts. Her tone tells me she’s going to say no so I cut her off quickly before she can.
“I mean it.” My voice cracks a little as I speak. “I’ll take care of everything. You, Autumn. Whatever you need. Just don’t come back here. At least not now. Not after this.”
She’s silent for a moment. I feel her pull back slightly, searching my face.
“You think I’m scared,” she says quietly.
“I know you’re scared. I am too. You almost …” I stop myself, shaking my head. “I can’t go through that again. I can’t watch you walk into danger just because you think you have something to prove.”
Her eyes harden.
“It’s not about proving anything. I tried that today by sending you out to a meeting and look what happened.
I’m done with trying to prove a point to Sarah.
It’s not about her anymore. It’s about living my life .
Our life. She doesn’t get to take this from me.
My job. My identity. My normal. I won’t give her that. ”
I want to argue. I want to shout and beg and lock her in a room where no one can touch her. But I don’t. Because this is who she is. Strong. Fierce. Unshakable. And I love her for it. Even when it terrifies me.
“Ok,” I whisper. “Ok. You win.”
She smiles, soft but determined.
“I wasn’t trying to win. I just need you to trust me.”
“I do.” I pull her into my arms again, holding her tight.
“But here’s the deal. This was meant to be a surprise, but I gave up my apartment and bought a house.
I wanted to ask you and Autumn to come and live with me.
If you don’t want to, then please come, just until Sarah is safely locked away and … ”
She’s smiling. Her beaming smile that lights her face up.
“We’d love to move in with you,” she says.
We kiss then and for a moment, I’m lost in Molly, and I forget all the bad stuff that’s happening, but I can’t lose sight of what I was saying so I pull away gently.
“The deal is, I’m going to be upgrading the security system at the house. And you’re not walking anywhere alone. Ever.”
“Deal,” she murmurs into my shirt.
We hold each other for a moment and then Molly speaks again, her voice so quiet I have to strain to hear her.
“I don’t think I realized how close it was,” she whispers. “One more second …”
I take one of her hands in both of mine.
“You don’t have to think about it now.”
“I keep seeing her face. That look in her eyes. Like she really believed it was my fault. Like hurting me was going to fix her life.”
“It wouldn’t have. People like that …” I shake my head. “They’re already broken. You didn’t break her, Molly. You just reminded her of everything she’ll never be.”
She rests her forehead on my shoulder.
“I hate that she almost won.”
“She didn’t. And she never will.” I release her hand and slide my arms around her, my voice low and rough. “You’re here. You’re alive. And you’re still the strongest damn woman I know.”
We stay like that for a long time. Not talking. Not moving.
Just breathing.
Together.
Later that evening, I complete the surprise. I drive Molly to the new house. When we pull into the driveway, Autumn is waiting in the front window with my mom, who loves her and Molly almost as much as I do. Autumn’s face lights up when she sees Molly.
“Mama,” she squeals as we step inside, barrelling into her legs.
Molly crouches down, scooping her up and clutching her to her chest.
“Hi, baby,” she says and plants a soft kiss on Autumn’s head.
I watch them for a long moment, something catching in my throat. This is what almost slipped through my fingers. And I won’t ever take it for granted again.
“Ready for the tour?” I ask and Molly nods her head and takes my hand, and I show her our new home.