Chapter 20
Remington
Icouldn’t believe it. My plan had genuinely worked, although I couldn’t deny my doubts were running wild after Noah and Menace had left me in that basement.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something would go terribly wrong, especially after seeing the state Thomas was in. I’d never seen a more dreadful sight.
That poor man looked like he’d been put through a damn meat grinder, and that smell … My God. Only a monster could’ve done such a thing to another human being, which made me wonder if I’d made a terrible mistake by coming here.
My level of doubt hit an all-time high when I heard a strange commotion upstairs.
I instantly started to panic, thinking that Detective Mathews would find me in that room and finish the job he’d started several weeks ago.
I wanted to run but knew there was nowhere for me to go.
Besides, I couldn’t have left Thomas—not after Noah had promised we’d get him out of there.
As I sat there and listened to the footsteps overhead, my heart started to race to the point I thought it’d beat right out of my chest. The drugs Doc had given me hadn’t helped matters either.
I felt weighed down as if a hundred-pound weight was anchored to me, but at the same time, aware of everything around me—especially the strange sounds that were getting closer and closer to the room.
I held my breath as I clenched my fingers into a fist, my nails digging into both palms as I prayed it wasn’t Detective Mathews who had just stopped in front of my door.
I’d almost worked myself into a full-blown panic when the door eased open and a police officer stepped into the room. “She’s in here!”
Seconds later, two other officers came rushing into the room. One of them walked over and knelt beside me. There was a kindness in his eyes that immediately set me at ease. “I’m Officer Reed. We’re here to help you.”
I nodded.
“Are you Remington Taylor?”
“Yes. I’m Remington.”
Relief washed over me when he said, “Don’t you worry. We’re taking you out of here.”
“Thank you.”
“Are you sure you aren’t hurt?”
“No, I’m just a little woozy. I think I might’ve been drugged or something.”
“Don’t worry. The doctors will check you out. You’re gonna be okay.”
Officer Reed slipped his hands underneath me, then carefully lifted me off the ground.
When he started out of the room, I put my arm around his neck and tried my best to hold on.
We stepped out of the small room and into absolute chaos.
At least ten police officers were scrambling around, and each of them looked utterly distraught—leaving no doubt they’d found Thomas.
With me cradled in his arms, the officer stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the medics rushing towards us with a gurney.
We both watched as they raced into the room where Thomas was being held. The entire room fell silent. There was a mixture of anger and heartache in the air as the officers watched the medics tend to one of their own.
I knew there were dirty cops in the world, Mathews had proven that, but these men were clearly not one of them. They were caring and compassionate, and it made my heart break to see the anguish in their eyes when the medics placed Thomas on the gurney and rushed him out of the room.
Once Officer Reed was sure that we were out of the medics’ way, he continued up the steps. “Do you think he’ll be okay?”
“I certainly hope so.” His voice trembled as he continued, “Just can’t believe this shit. Been working the law for ten years now and never saw anything this messed up. He might’ve been IA and all, but he was still one of our own. You gotta be sick in the head to do this kind of thing.”
“Yes, you do.” I had no idea what had gone on while I was in that room, so I asked, “Did you get him?”
“Yeah, we got him, and rest assured, he’s going to pay for this. I give you my word.”
As we made it upstairs, I could hear the sirens from the second ambulance pulling into the driveway.
We stepped out the front door. The officer waited for them to park and open the back doors of the ambulance, then carried me over to the back of the vehicle.
Being careful not to bump my head, he took me inside the ambulance and lowered me down on the gurney.
I immediately started searching through the crowd for some sign of Noah, but all I could see were police officers, news reporters, and nosy neighbors. Officer Reed peered down at me and asked, “Something wrong?”
“No, I’m okay. I was just looking for...um...” One of the medics started checking my vitals as I sighed. “It’s not important.”
“They’re around the corner.” He glanced back over his shoulder, eyeing the two black SUVs in the distance. “They’ve been here the whole time. I take it that one of them means something to you?”
“Yes, you could say that.”
“Good. Pleased to know you’ve got someone looking out for you.”
The medics started asking me a stream of questions regarding my age, the date of my last menstrual cycle, possible allergies, and what medications I was on. It was at that point I answered, “I can’t be sure, but I think I was given something. I’ve been pretty out of it since I got here.”
“Any idea what it might’ve been?”
“No, I don’t have a clue.”
“That’s okay. I’ll make a note that they need to do a drug screening when they admit you.” The medic turned her attention to Officer Reed. “We need to get her to the hospital so they can check her out.”
“Of course.” The officer gave me a quick smile as he said, “You take care of yourself and don’t get into any more trouble.”
“Thank you.” I grinned. “I’ll do my best.”
With that, the medics got me settled in the back of the ambulance, and I was on my way to the hospital. Between the lack of sleep the night before, the drugs, and the adrenaline crash, I was struggling to stay awake.
With the medics still checking my vitals and talking back and forth, I closed my eyes and gave into my exhaustion. When I finally woke up, I was in a hospital room with my parents hovering over me with a worried expression in their eyes.
It seemed like my mother had aged ten years in the short time I’d been missing. Her gray roots were longer than I’d ever seen them, making it clear they hadn’t been colored since I was attacked. She had deep, dark circles under her eyes and hadn’t even tried to conceal them with makeup.
On top of that, her clothes were not only wrinkled, but hanging off her slender frame as well. It was evident she hadn’t been herself since I was gone. It broke my heart to see her like that—especially since I was the one who’d caused her such distress.
The second she realized I was awake, she motioned over to my father and gasped. “George! George! She’s awake!”
“Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad.”
“Hi, sweetheart. It’s so good to hear your voice.
” My father stepped closer, and like my mother, it was obvious he’d been having a hard time as well.
While his clothes weren’t disheveled or mismatched, his eyes were hollow from fatigue and his skin was pale.
My mother slipped her arm around his slim waist as she told me, “We’ve been so worried about you, Remi. We were scared we’d lost you.”
My chest tightened with guilt as I watched the tears stream down her face. “I’m sorry I scared you, but I’m okay.”
“Are you sure? ’Cause there was an officer here earlier. He was asking us questions, and I have to say, they were very concerning.” Her voice trembled like she was about to cry. “He wanted to know if that man had hurt you...if he’d raped you.”
“He didn’t rape me, Mom. I’m okay. I promise.” I didn’t want to lie to my parents, so I tried to shut them down. “There’s no sense in rehashing it all.”
Being the overzealous mother that she was, she shook her head and pouted. “It’s not healthy to keep that sort of thing all bottled up inside, Remington. You need to talk about what happened, and so do we. We’ve been out of our minds with worry these past few weeks, and we still have no idea why.”
My parents were older, both in their mid-sixties, and since I was their only child, they were very protective.
“Fine. I’ll tell you what I can remember, but you can’t breathe a word of what I’m going to say.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Promise me, Mom.”
“Okay, fine. I promise. We both do.”
“You’re going to need to close the door.”
Once my father had done so, I spent the next half hour telling them both about my blind date with Thomas and how we were attacked on our way home.
I didn’t go through all the gory details of being stabbed or almost dying, but I did tell them about Noah and how he and his brothers had saved me.
When I was done explaining everything, my father asked, “You’re saying a detective was behind all this? ”
“Honestly, I don’t know who all was involved. I just know he was the one who tried to have me killed.”
“Oh, Remington,” my mother cried. “This is far worse than I could’ve ever imagined. I can’t believe my precious daughter had to go through all this. It just breaks my heart.”
“It’s okay, Mom. Really. I’m fine.”
“You are for now, but what happens when that officer comes back and starts asking questions? These people, especially that detective’s lawyer, are going to hammer you, Remi. They’ll do whatever they can to rip apart your story.”
I hadn’t realized that Noah had stepped into the room until I heard him respond, “No one’s going to rip apart anything. I’m not going to give them that chance.”
“Noah!” He walked past my parents and over to the edge of the bed. The look he gave me, so fierce and full of love, had me consumed with emotion. Unable to resist, I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you.”
“Good to see you too, baby.” He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “How you doing?”
“I’m okay.” As I looked over to my parents, I smiled and said, “This is Noah, the man I was just telling you about.”