PROLOGUE
Violet
Violet could hear the television was on and a baseball game was coming from the speakers.
She turned the handle of the front door to her small cottage style house.
Her body tensed as the knob easily moved which told her it was unlocked.
This means her ex had found another way into her house.
She pushed open the door and walked inside.
She turned quietly around to shut the door, as she placed her purse and keys on the entryway table.
Violet didn’t want to see him but knew if she tried to call the cops again, it would just get worse.
With her phone in her hands, she sent a quick message to her best friend and prayed they got to her in time.
Violet deleted the message immediately as she saw it had gone through and shoved it into her back pocket of her jeans. She hesitated walking into the living room but she hadn’t eaten since early this morning before her shift at the hospital.
Just as she was turning the corner, a fist came out of nowhere and landed on her left cheek. Violet stumbled back, but never did she scream. Tears blurred her vision but she could see her ex was standing there in front of her.
“What have I told you about being out of this house!” her ex screamed out at her. He steps closer to her and his face is an inch in front of hers.
With the hit to her cheek, along with the smell of alcohol coming from him, Violet started to gag. He grabbed her by her hair, and yanked her around toward the kitchen.
Her scalp burned with the amount of force he used to drag her around to where he wanted her.
Once in the kitchen, he threw her toward the island hard.
Violet tried to stop her momentum but nothing she did prevented her from the inevitable.
Her midsection hit the island and she ended up on the floor curled in on herself.
Violet spat some blood out of her mouth onto the floor but some ended up on his shoes. He yelled at her while kicking her all over her body. Her head snapped up as he landed a kick to her head. Her vision became blurry and his voice sounded muffled.
Her ex squatted down in front of her so he could grab her by the throat and pick her up. Violet tried to claw at his hand as the little breath she had was leaving her lungs. Her vision was almost completely black as she felt his fist pummel her face.
Just before she lost complete consciousness, Violet thought she heard someone barge into her house, but she will never know as darkness overtook her.
Ledger
Ledger heard his cell phone going off next to him.
He turned towards the offensive sound and opened one of his eyes to take a look at the time.
He’d only been asleep for a few hours. He was on leave from the military as he had just gotten back from being deployed on a case.
Being a member of Delta Force was an honor and one he took very seriously.
He swung his arm out to grab his phone when the chimes died. He looked at the screen and saw it was an old friend from the service who had gotten out a few years ago. With the phone in his hand, it started to ring again.
He swiped the screen to connect the call. “Hey Carp, what’s going on?”
“I’m sorry to wake you but are you free for a little while? I have a friend who needs some protection and help moving when she can.”
Ledger scrunched his face. He’d taken a month off but knew he could be called in at a moment’s notice.
“Well, I started my leave at midnight for a month but you know that can change. Fill me in and maybe we can figure something out.”
“I’ve picked up a parttime job at the local hospital, and a nurse that I work with…
well, let’s just say her ex should be six feet under.
This time he beat her within an inch of her life.
She’s been in a coma for a few weeks now and she still looks awful.
I want to get her away from here so she can heal and live her life.
He’s locked up now but who knows if he’ll stay there.
I can’t stand to not do anything and I know you have people who could help her.
Please, bro. I wouldn’t ask if I knew where to send her to get the help she needs. ”
Ledger took in a calming breath and slowly released it. He knew Carp wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t serious. Plus, he needed a second to calm himself down. In the end he responded, “Sure. I’ll be there tomorrow.”
Before they got off the phone, Carp told him more of the situation involving the woman named Violet and her ex. The more he heard the more he wanted to put that man six feet under himself.
He got up from bed, dressed and went for a run to release the anger coursing through his body. Also, it was a good way for him to figure out a plan of action for what he was going to do with Violet.
It sounded like she would need medical assistance if she was still in a coma, which meant he’d have to call a few people once he had a plan laid all out to him. He ran for a few more miles before he reached his house.
Once inside, he headed for the shower to clean up but first he sent out a group text to some of his friends and asked them to meet at his place in twenty and bring food, it would be a long afternoon.
Ledger arrived at the airport in a medevac plane. He knew it would be the easiest way to transport the woman who is still in a coma. He met with Carp at the doors as a few others followed him off the plane.
“It’s good to see you guys, I just wish it was under better circumstances.”
All the men gave each other bro hugs and gathered what they would need as they headed towards the parking lot. On the way to the hospital, Carp informed Ledger that her ex had been sentenced to a few years in jail.
“Unfortunately, he comes from money which was one reason, even though Violet broke it off and called the police a few times, in the end it didn’t matter,” Carp stated to them.
“It’s okay, we have a plan and hopefully it will work. As long as no one contacts her from here and the other way around we should be good. Let’s try to do this as quickly and quietly as possible.”
The men all agreed while getting into the truck and headed to the hospital.
They talked about how things were going to go and Carp told them that the doctors and nurses were all on board to help out with this plan.
They arrived at the hospital and Ledger saw at the back entrance of the hospital an unmarked van.
“That is how we will transport Violet to the airport,” Carp stated as he tilted his head toward the van.
“Good thinking, that was one of the problems I hadn’t been able to come up with a solution for.”
The men followed Carp into the hospital’s back entry. They stuck to the stairwell as they went up to the ICU wing. Once they reached the doors, Carp used his badge to gain entry. Once everyone was inside, Carp took them to a room for them to sit while Carp went to get her doctor.
Ledger was going over their plan once Violet was on the plane, and they were back at home base with the others as the doctor came in.
He went right in about Violet’s injuries and how long she had been in the hospital.
He told them she should be able to come off the meds keeping her in a coma in a few weeks, as long as her condition continued to improve.
In case her body got worse they would need a doctor on call all the time.
Luckily, Doc was there and sat next to the doctor going over her chart. Carp got his attention and he stood up and they left the room.
“Let’s go and check on Violet while they discuss the technical part of moving her.”
Ledger nodded his head and he followed Carp down the hallway heading for a room at the other end.
Once they reached the door, Carp looked straight into his eyes and whispered, “Please stay calm. It will be hard but you must stay calm for her. She is still covered in bruises, and tubes coming out of her body.”
He took a big breath in, held it for a minute before he exhaled slowly.
Ledger was listening to all the problems she had and his anger was starting to spike.
From other experiences, he knew that even in a coma, some people can feel when others are near and sense things we don’t realize, and it can have a backward spiral for the patient’s recovery.
He gave a slight nod to Carp to let him know he was good.
They walked into the room and the sight of Violet knocked the wind from his lungs.
Ledger couldn’t believe that she was still alive.
It looked as if bruising was all over her entire body.
There were different shades of purple and some were a slight green so it was an older bruise.
Ledger looked past the swelling and bruises to try and get a good look at the woman laying in bed, but until she healed more it was hard to say what she looked like.
A lone tear escaped his eye, and he quickly wiped it away.
Something pulled at his heart but he didn’t have time to dwell on it as he heard the other’s voices coming down the hall.
A nurse walked in before the guys did. She shifted the machines attached to Violet over to portable ones until they could get her onto the plane’s machines. Ledger stepped out into the hallway and Carp followed him. “Thank you, Ledger. I can’t explain it but I knew you’d be able to help her.”
“I will always help out if I can, you know that. Just make sure no one finds out where she went. Let’s go wait in the truck for the others while Doc gets things under control. I’d like to leave as soon as possible. Less time for people to wonder why we were here.”
Ledger and Carp tried to catch each other up on their lives since Carp left the service. With Ledger still being in, he couldn’t say a lot about what’s been going on with him but luckily, Carp understood.
They grabbed some food on the way to the airport.
Ledger took the bags and was the last one on the plane, before he gave Carp a bro hug and told him to take care of himself.
To also let him know if there is any news about her ex that they need to know.
With everyone set, Ledger sat in his seat near Violet’s head.
His eyes watched her while the plane took off for their destination.
Doc was on the phone making sure the things that were needed to treat Violet were waiting for him.
Doc handed him a file without his eyes leaving Violet’s face. He was still trying to figure out what she looked like. “You need to read that and make sure you want to keep her at the original place, if not then we need to change it now while we are still in the air.”
Ledger nodded his head and moved his eyes to the file in his hands. He opened it and once again the air left his lungs. Inside was a picture of Violet and she was stunning, but it was what was inside the file that had him clenching his jaw tight.
“We continue as planned. It will be fine as long as she is safe.”