Redemption (Colorado Crimes Book 4)

Chapter 13

Asher pulled his car next to the curb in front of Raelyn's home and threw it into park. Thankfully she lived close by since she had recently moved to Colorado Springs so she could be closer to Damon until they got married. Right now, her duplex was suspiciously quiet. He slammed his car door shut, breaking the silence. 

Asher ran up the front steps and found the front door unlocked and open. He barged into the house. "Damon!"

"In here!" Came the strained call.

Asher ran into the kitchen where he heard Damon's voice and almost passed out at the sight. Raelyn was lying on the ground, blood pooling from all sides around her. Damon was kneeling in the blood, one hand holding tight to Raelyn's hand and the other trying to stem the flow of blood coming from her abdomen. Asher tried to ignore the gruesome sight. He looked around the kitchen for any evidence. Raelyn's microwave was open and what smelled like leftover Chinese food was sitting inside it. Her back sliding door along the kitchen wall was half open. There were also splatters of blood on her white marble countertops. "Where are the paramedics?"

"Not here yet. I don't know what's taking so long."

Raelyn made a moaning sound and squeezed her eyes shut. "It hurts..." Silent tears poured from her eyes. 

Damon tried to reassure her but it wasn't doing any good. "Hang tight, love. You'll be okay." But when Damon looked up and met Asher's eyes, it was clear that Damon was struggling to believe she would be okay.

Sirens screaming in the distance met Asher's ears and he had never felt such relief. "Hang in there Raelyn."

Raelyn's face scrunched in pain, "Damon..." she rasped. 

The blood rushed from Damon's face. "No, you can't pass out. Don't pass out. You'll never wake up. Stay awake Rae. Stay awake, you hear me? Do not die on me Raelyn Mitchells. Stay awake." His voice sounded like a combination of hysteria, panic, and complete and utter terror.

Asher felt helpless. Damon sounded more upset than Raelyn did. Asher jogged outside to meet the oncoming paramedics. To his relief, Nicole Tanner, one of the Wagner children, hopped out of the ambulance. "What is going on?" She asked.

"Raelyn Mitchells, Damon Stewart's fiancé was stabbed."

Nicole's jaw dropped, "Stabbed?!" She turned toward the ambulance, "Lucas! Get the gurney now! Tell Bella to be ready!" She faced Asher again, "How bad?"

Asher swallowed, "Real bad."

"Asher!" Damon yelled desperately. "Get back here!"

Asher exchanged a glance with Nicole and they both took off running, the other paramedic, Lucas, not far behind with the gurney. They made it into the kitchen and Nicole fell to the ground next to Raelyn, not caring at all about the blood she was now kneeling in. "Hey Raelyn, it's Nicole Tanner. Can you hear me?"

Raelyn managed a small nod and Damon squeezed her hand tight.

Nicole seemed slightly satisfied, "Okay good. Now all I want you to do is focus on not passing out. You've lost a lot of blood. We're going to move you to the gurney."

Lucas had the gurney ready, "Alright, let's get her on this thing."

Damon had Raelyn up and onto the gurney within the second. He rushed out of the house with Nicole and Lucas. Asher brought up the rear.

Minutes later, Raelyn was in the ambulance. Nicole turned to Damon, "Usually, we let others ride with us, but we need room to work so you're going to have to drive to the hospital yourself. Sorry." She hopped into the ambulance without another word and it backed out, sirens screaming, not giving Damon time to protest.