Redemption Series Boxed Set, Books 1-4

by Sandi Lynn

  I couldn’t stop thinking about what Grace said to Mr. Stone while she was trying to restart his heart. She said she knew how he felt and it wasn’t worth dying over. The pieces were finally starting to come together. She was dating someone in New York and he cheated on her. Was that all there was to it? Because as far as I was concerned, that couldn’t have been enough to want to run away and start a new life.

  Shortly after returning to my office, Logan walked in.

  “What’s going on between you and Grace?” he asked.

  “Nothing is going on.”

  “So then you won’t mind if I ask her out? It’s obvious she doesn’t want to date you.” He grinned.

  “You go anywhere near her and I will kill you, my friend.”

  “Ah ha. I knew it. What gives?” he asked as he took a seat.

  I sighed as I leaned back in my chair.

  “She was the woman I had sex with my last night in New York.”

  “The one you described as the best night of your life?”

  “Yeah.” I slowly nodded my head.

  “Wait, I’m confused.”

  “I didn’t know she was moving to Los Angeles and she didn’t know I was a neurosurgeon here. In fact, I didn’t even know she was a doctor.”

  “So that’s what she meant when she said that you and drinks would get her in trouble.”

  “Yep. She has this stupid rule. No sleeping with co-workers.”

  “That’s dumb. Everyone sleeps with their co-workers,” Logan spoke.

  “Apparently not Dr. Grace Harper. Do you know she has a photographic memory, graduated at the top of her class at Columbia, and has an I.Q. of 142?”

  “That’s why she won’t have sex with you again. She’s smart.” He grinned.

  “I took her to dinner last night as a welcome to L.A. gesture.”

  “No sex after?” he asked.

  “Nope. Her rule got in the way.”

  “Well, my friend, looks like Dr. Grace Harper is one woman you can’t have with the snap of your fingers. Forget about her and move on. There are plenty of hot chicks in this hospital to have sex with. In fact,” he got up from his chair, “I’m going to go see if Caroline wants to meet me in the on-call room.” He smiled. “I’ll catch you later, buddy.”

  “Remember what I said! Stay away from Grace.”

  “I got your message loud and clear,” he spoke as he walked out of my office.

  I sighed as I rubbed my forehead.

  Logan Gray was my best friend. We’d known each other since college. We went through med school together, partied together, roomed together, did our residency together, and even shared some of the same women. Neither one of us cared, but we always asked first. That was our bro code. He was like a brother to me.

  Chapter 11

  Grace

  I slipped my key into the lock, opened the door, and flipped the light switch. It had been a long day and I was tired. As I was taking off my shoes, I heard my phone ringing from my purse. I grabbed it, but I didn’t recognize the number, so I didn’t answer it. A few moments later, a voicemail came through, and I listened to it.

  “Grace, it’s Sam. I’m assuming you blocked my other number since none of my text messages will go through. I know you told me not to contact you, but I had to. We need to talk now. I’m sorry for everything. But the one thing I’m not sorry for is loving you. I still love you and I always will. Please call me. I know we can work this out. I’m not giving up on us. You’re too important to me. Please tell me which hospital you’re working at now. If you don’t want to, I’ll meet you anywhere you want. Regardless of which state it is. Things are changing. I promise. I know my promises don’t mean anything to you after what I’d done, but I need you to trust me on this. Please, call me.”

  The sound of his voice made my stomach churn as anger filled me. I deleted the voicemail, blocked his number, and threw my phone down on the counter. Damn him. Why couldn’t he leave me alone? I raked my hands through my hair as I paced around the apartment. Walking to the refrigerator, I pulled out the wine and took a sip from the bottle. Suddenly, my phone dinged with a text message and my heart sank to my belly. Looking at it, I saw that I had a message from Jamieson.

  “Just wondering if you might have changed your mind about that drink?”

  I took another sip of wine from the bottle as I stared at his message. I thought about his smile, which was constantly in my head. Damn him for having such a sexy smile. Thoughts of that night played in my mind and my body started to react. Flutters I felt down below took over and I needed something to make me feel better. I needed some awesome sex and I knew Jamieson could give that to me. Was the risk worth it? Was the sex worth breaking my rule? I took another drink, set the bottle down, and picked up my phone. Fuck it. It was only sex. He wanted nothing more from me and I wanted nothing more from him.

  “Yeah. I did change my mind. Come to my apartment and we can have that drink. I’m in apartment 3C.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  I closed my eyes, took in a deep breath, and put the wine away, since I was on call. I went to my bedroom and changed into a pair of gray sweatpants and a white tank top. I wasn’t getting dressed up for him when I knew my clothes would be coming off pretty much when he walked through the door.

  About twenty minutes later, my apartment buzzer rang, and I pushed the button and let him in. I opened my door just as the elevator dinged and he stepped off it.

  “Hi.” He smiled as he walked down the hallway. “I’m happy you changed your mind.”

  The minute he approached the door, I grabbed his shirt and pulled him inside, smashing my mouth against his.

  “Whoa.” He grinned as he broke our kiss.

  “Just shut up and fuck me,” I spoke as I began unbuttoning his shirt.

  “Grace, are you sure?”

  “Keep talking and I might change my mind.”

  His lips met mine as we locked into a passionate kiss. My fingers successfully unbuttoned his shirt as I slid it off his shoulders. He bent down and swooped me up in his arms.

  “Where’s the bedroom?” he asked.

  “Down the hallway. Second door on the right.” I kissed him again as my arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

  He set me on the floor in front of my bed as his fingers grasped the bottom of my tank top and he pulled it over my head. My body was on fire as my skin trembled at his touch. He kicked off his shoes and took down his pants as I slid mine off my hips and stood there in nothing but my bra and panties.

  “You are truly beautiful.” He smiled as he brought his hand up to my face and gently kissed my lips.

  He wrapped one arm around me, and with one swift movement, he unclasped my bra and took it off, letting it drop to the floor by our feet. Our tongues collided as he reached for my panties and slid them off my hips, wasting no time dipping his finger inside me. I gasped as his tongue traveled to my neck and softly stroked it while his finger explored me. My hand wrapped around his hard cock and with a firm grip, I moved it up and down. A moan escaped him, turning me on more than I already was.

  “My God, you’ve got me so hard,” he moaned.

  He took my hand and removed it from his cock and gently laid me down on the bed. His mouth traveled to my breasts as he took each hardened nipple in his mouth, rolling his tongue around, heightening the vibrations that needed taming down below. I let out several pleasurable moans as his hand traveled down my body and once again his finger dipped inside. Once he had pleasured my breasts, his tongue slid down my torso and kept going until it reached my clit. The things this man could do was indescribable. He took me away from this world and put me into a place of euphoria as my body quivered and an orgasm soared through me.

  He brought his mouth to mine, letting me taste myself on his lips before climbing off me and putting on a condom. I was still trying to come down from the orgasm when he slid himself inside me. My legs wrapped around his waist as he slowly moved in and out. Light mo
ans took over both of us as he hovered over me and our eyes locked onto each other’s. There was something in that moment that frightened me, but I quickly pushed it out of my mind and enjoyed the fulfillment he was giving. He pulled me up and rolled me on top of him so I could be in control. My hips moved back and forth as his hands fondled my breasts and I leaned as far back as I could. This was exactly what I needed, and in that moment, I didn’t care about the consequences. The only thing I focused on was how good he made me feel.

  “You’re going to come again. I can feel it,” he moaned as his hands gripped my breasts.

  I let out a loud moan as another orgasm tore through me. He waited until I was finished and then locked my hips down with his hands and thrusted in and out of me as hard as he could until he exploded inside me, straining with each sexual moan that came from him. I leaned down and softly kissed his lips before collapsing on his body. We were both heated, and our skin melted into each other’s. My heart was racing, and my breath was erratic. As soon as we both settled down, I climbed off him and laid my head on my pillow. The corners of his mouth curved upwards as he brought his hand to my cheek and softly stroked it. Neither one of us said a word.

  He climbed out of bed and disposed of the condom in the bathroom. I watched as he walked back into the bedroom, his cock still semi-hard.

  “I can stay if you’d like,” he spoke.

  “Sure. It’s late and we both have to be at work early.”

  He climbed under the covers and wrapped his arm around me.

  “I think this was a hell of a lot better than a drink.” He smirked. “What happened to you, Dr. Harper?”

  “I was horny, and since you’re the only guy I really know in Los Angeles, I used you. Plain and simple. I’m not going to sugar coat it. I needed sex and I knew you would give it to me since you’d been practically begging for it since I got here.”

  He let out a chuckle. “Okay, then. I don’t mind being used by you. But what happened to your rule?”

  “I guess I broke it. Just because we had sex, it doesn’t mean things need to be awkward with us at work, right?”

  “Of course not. There will be no awkwardness on my end at all.”

  “Good, because there won’t be any on my end either. I’m going to sleep. It’s been a long, hard day saving lives and I have new residents joining me tomorrow, so I need to be sharp and ready for them. Plus, I’m on call tonight.”

  “New residents, eh?” He laughed. “Good luck with them. Good night, Dr. Harper.”

  “Good night, Dr. Finn. By the way, no one is to know about this. No one at all. Understand?”

  “I totally understand. My lips are sealed.”

  I rolled over as his arm stayed locked around me. As I closed my eyes, regret started to seep in. What did I do?

  Chapter 12

  Grace

  I was sound asleep, drifting in and out of a dream and only hearing the words “Time of death.” My eyes flew open as the beeping and buzzing noise from my pager drowned out the words as my heart raced at an unbearable speed.

  “Is that mine or yours?” Jamieson asked in a sleepy voice.

  “Mine.”

  I reached over and grabbed my pager from the nightstand.

  “I have to go. There’s a trauma coming in,” I spoke as I climbed out of bed.

  “Do you need me to help?” he asked.

  “No. Go back to sleep. I’ll leave my key on the counter. Lock up when you leave.”

  “Will do.” He rolled over and went back to sleep.

  I brushed my teeth, threw my hair up in a ponytail, got dressed, and flew out the door.

  “What do we have?” I asked as I entered trauma room one and put on a pair of gloves.

  “Twenty-five-year-old male with three gunshot wounds to the abdomen. BP is holding in the low eighties.”

  “Hi there. I’m Dr. Harper. Can you tell me your name?”

  “Chris,” he mumbled in pain.

  “Dr. Harper, there’s a lot of blood in his urine,” Dr. Cortez, one of the residents, spoke.

  “One of the bullets must have hit his kidney. Call the OR and let them know we’re on our way up. Dr. Cortez, you can scrub in.”

  “Thanks, Dr. Harper.”

  As I was scrubbing in, I let out a yawn. Thoughts of Jamieson sleeping in my bed, in my apartment ran through my head. This was not how my new life was supposed to go. I shook my head as I finished scrubbing in and then walked into the operating room and performed surgery on my patient. Three bullets out with one kidney and one lung to go with them.

  “Dr. Harper, the patient’s girlfriend is in the waiting room,” one of the nurses spoke.

  “Thank you. I’ll go talk to her. Can you close for me, Dr. Cortez?”

  “Of course, Dr. Harper.”

  I sighed as I removed my scrub gown, mask, and cap, and scrubbed out before heading to the waiting room.

  “For Chris Major?” I asked.

  “How is he?” a frightened young woman in her twenties asked.

  “He’s stable. He had three gunshot wounds to the abdomen. One of the bullets traveled and lodged in his lung and another one nicked his kidney. We had no choice but to remove his right lung and his left kidney.”

  “Oh my God!” she cried as she placed her hands over her mouth.

  “I know it sounds scary, but Chris can live a full life with only one lung and kidney.”

  “Can I see him?”

  “In a few minutes, you can. I’ll send Dr. Cortez out to get you as soon as Chris is in his room.” I gave her a small smile.

  As I was walking back to the ER, a police officer stopped me.

  “Excuse me, are you Dr. Harper?”

  “Yes. I am.”

  “I’m Officer Wade and I need to speak with your patient, Chris Major. We have some questions for him regarding the shooting.”

  “You can talk to him when he’s awake, officer. But that won’t be for a while.”

  “I’ll wait, then.”

  I gave him a nod and talked to Darcy behind the desk.

  “I’m going to the on-call room to get some sleep. Page me if you need me. My shift starts in three hours.”

  “Okay, Dr. Harper.” She smiled.

  I lay on the pillow and placed my hands behind my head. As I stared up at the ceiling, I thought about the dream I had. The same dream that used to plague me as a child. It had been years since that dream invaded my sleep and I knew it had something to do with being back in Los Angeles and this hospital.

  Jamieson

  I climbed out of bed, and being the gentleman that I was, I made it for her. Pulling on my pants, I ran down to where my car was parked and grabbed my bag with a change of clothes from it. After I showered, I got dressed and noticed a picture of her and her parents sitting on the nightstand. I picked it up and looked at it. It was taken on the Santa Monica Pier and she couldn’t have been any more than ten years old. Suddenly, I heard a phone beep and it wasn’t mine. Looking around, I noticed her phone sitting on the dresser. Picking it up to put it in my pocket, I noticed there was a text message on her lock screen.

  “Stop blocking my numbers and call me! I need to.”

  That was all the message showed. Who was she blocking? I really needed to find out what was going on with her. I shoved her phone in my pocket, grabbed my bag and her key off the counter, and headed to the hospital.

  “Good morning, Jackie.” I smiled as I walked into the ER.

  “Good morning, Dr. Finn.”

  “Where can I find Dr. Harper? I need to give her key back and she left her phone on her dresser.” I winked with a smirk.

  Jackie sat behind the desk and narrowed her eye at me.

  “She’s sleeping in the on-call room. Her shift doesn’t start for another thirty minutes. You can leave her key and her phone with me and I’ll make sure she gets them,” she spoke with a slight attitude.

  “No need. I’ll give them to her. Have a great day.” I grinned.

&
nbsp; I walked to the on-call room, and when I opened the door, Grace opened her eyes.

  “Good morning,” I spoke. “Sorry if I woke you.” I pulled her key and phone out of my pocket. “I was just going to set these down.” I held them up.

  “Thanks.” She yawned and sat up. “I didn’t realize I left my phone at home. Thanks for bringing it.”

  “You’re welcome.” I walked over and took a seat on the edge of the bed. “When I picked up your phone to put it in my pocket, you had a text message from someone asking you to stop blocking their number.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath.

  “You read my text message?”

  “Not really. That was all I could see. It was on the lock screen. You can change that setting to where it only shows the number or the name. Who is he?” I asked as I handed her the phone.

  “Just an ex-boyfriend who won’t get the hint.”

  “I see. Is he the reason you left New York?”

  “Listen, Jamieson,” she spoke as she got up from the bed. “I’m not talking about this. Okay? I need coffee bad.”

  I followed her out of the room and onto the elevator.

  “How was your trauma last night?” I asked as I pushed the button to the rooftop.

  “Three gunshot wounds to the abdomen. I had to remove a lung and kidney.”

  “Eventful night, I would say.”

  She sighed as she stepped off the elevator and walked over to the coffee station.

  “Seriously, Grace. Who is he? He had to do something pretty bad for you to pack up and move across the country to get away from him.”

  “Jamieson, leave it alone. I’m not talking about this.”

  Her pager went off.

  “Damn it. I have to go. It’s my patient from last night.”

  I took my coffee to my office and grabbed my patients’ charts so I could start my morning rounds. I was going to find out who this guy was and why she left New York.

  Chapter 13

  Grace