Shades of Truth

by Sandra Orchard

  Police cars swerved to a stop, blocking them in on three sides. Doors swung open and officers crouched behind them, guns trained on Ethan. “Drop the weapon!”

  “I’m a police officer. This is the kidnapper,” he shouted, long past caring whether he worked undercover ever again. “Tell them, Kim!”

  Her words spilled out barely audible, let alone comprehensible.

  “I tried to stop him, officers!” Derk drowned out her explanation, looking too believable in his fancy suit with a gun at his neck. “He was trying to shove this poor girl into his vehi—”

  With a growl, Ethan dug the gun deeper into the hollow of Derk’s throat.

  “Drop your weapon,” the officer in charge repeated.

  “Look at the description in your BOLO alert, people,” Ethan said. “This is the kidnapper we’ve been hunting for the past hour.” This was an undercover cop’s worse nightmare. He had no idea what the code or color of the day was to prove he was one of them. And he had no intention of letting go of Derk until Kim was safely out of harm’s way. “Get Kim out of here.”

  A fourth police car careened in alongside the others. The driver jumped from the car and aimed his gun at Ethan.

  They locked gazes.

  Adams. He had to be. Ethan dragged in a calming breath. If he didn’t play this right, Adams would take him out and make it look like an accident.

  Kim went ballistic. “No,” she screamed, finally finding her voice. She flailed her arms, charging closer to danger instead of farther away.

  “Kim, get back,” Ethan shouted.

  An officer broke cover and grabbed her, but she scratched and clawed and kicked, her gaze fixed on Ethan.

  “Get her out of there,” Adams ordered.

  With Kim stowed safely behind a police car, Ethan lifted his gun from Derk’s neck and pointed it skyward in surrender.

  “Place it on the ground,” Adams said, then muttered into his mouthpiece.

  Ethan half squatted to drop his weapon, his other hand still firmly gripping Derk’s collar.

  Kim’s gaze bucked to Adams taking a bead on him, and Ethan’s heart stopped as she charged back into the line of fire.

  Derk reached into his pocket.

  Fear, sharper than he’d ever tasted, slashed Ethan’s throat. “Get down,” he screamed.

  Shouts of “Gun, gun,” erupted from behind the line of police cars.

  Ethan elbowed Derk’s gun arm.

  A shot cracked the air. Return fire ripped through the side of the SUV. Windows shattered, showering them with glass.

  Heat blazed across Ethan’s shoulder. He pushed Derk to the dirt and wrestled the gun from his grip.

  “Cease fire!” an officer shouted.

  Kim lay face up on the tarmac, her face white, blood staining the front of her shirt.

  Icy terror clutched Ethan’s chest. He scrabbled to her side and pressed his palm to her wound. “Get a gurney out here!”

  He brushed the hair from her face and put his mouth to her ear. “Hang on, Kim. You’re going to be okay.”

  Her eyes fluttered, but didn’t open.

  Blood, too much blood, seeped through his fingers.

  “Do you hear me, Kim? You’re going to be okay.” Oh, God, please let her be okay.

  Two hospital attendants rushed over with a gurney. An officer hauled Ethan to his feet and slapped on cuffs.

  “I can’t leave her!”

  The officer dragged him out of the way. And as Kim disappeared through the E.R. doors, Ethan’s heart felt as if it was being ripped from his chest.

  NINETEEN

  Ethan lashed free of the officer’s grip, searing pain flaming down his arm. Sure, he deserved to rot in prison for what he’d let happen to Kim, but if this cop expected to put him there before he saw her, he’d have to shoot him again.

  “Uncuff him. He’s one of ours,” Chief Reynolds ordered, striding toward them.

  “About time you showed up,” Ethan ground out.

  “Good work, Ethan. We got phone records connecting Adams and Derk. We’re taking them in now.”

  “How’s Kim? Any word? I’ve got to go to her.”

  “Get your own wound patched up first.”

  Ethan cupped his shoulder. “It’s just a scratch.”

  “Then it won’t take long to treat.”

  Twenty minutes later Ethan headed to the surgical floor. He caught sight of Joy outside the waiting room. “How’s Kim?”

  Joy’s compassionate expression cut him off at the knees. “She needs our prayers, Ethan. She’s lost a lot of blood, and every minute more they spend probing around in there…” Tears filled Joy’s eyes. “They’re doing everything they can.”

  Ethan slumped against the wall. “This is all my fault.”

  “You aren’t to blame. You got her away from that awful man.”

  “It wasn’t enough.” The image of Kim stepping in front of Adams’s gun swiped his breath. “What does God want from me? ’Cause I’ll do anything—anything—to save her.”

  “He wants you to trust Him. That’s all He’s ever wanted.”

  “She doesn’t deserve to pay for my mistakes.” Ethan lifted his head and forced his gaze to meet Joy’s. “It’s bad enough that you’ve had to.”

  “Bargaining with God for Kim’s life is as much a lack of faith as hanging on to your guilt over something you’ve long since been forgiven for.”

  His heart pounded as images of Joy’s accident flashed before his eyes like unwanted snapshots torn from a battered scrapbook—the car speeding beside him, the bend in the road, the roar of laughter, the sun glaring through the windshield, the thud of metal against flesh.

  A rueful, agonized sound burned his throat.

  “Circumstances don’t always go ‘our’ way, Ethan. This wheelchair is proof of that. But God’s love and grace exist no matter what happens. You need to believe that. Kim needs you to believe that. Because God loves Kim more than you ever could.”

  He reached for Joy’s hand, squeezed it. Dropped it back in her lap. And then reached for it again.

  “Oh, God,” Ethan whispered, closing his eyes against the taunts of Why would He listen to you? screaming in his head. “I want to believe. I don’t deserve Your mercy. But Kim does. Spare her, Lord. Please.”

  Joy’s hand tightened around his. “Why can’t you see that by clinging to your remorse, you’re strangling the joy God wants you to have?”

  Ethan’s gaze snapped to hers. “Kim asked me that once.”

  “And what did you tell her?”

  “That I didn’t want to talk about it.”

  Joy gave him an understanding smile. “Do you love Kim?”

  Did he love her? He loved that she wasn’t afraid to stand up to him. He loved her refusal to give up on the kids at the manor. He loved that she’d trusted him enough to let him do his job even though it threatened everything she’d worked for.

  Yes, he loved her. The word hardly seemed big enough to describe how he felt about her. And it terrified him.

  Kim may not have rejected him for his past, but he’d arrested her brother and endangered her life, not to mention likely destroyed her chances of saving Hope Manor. If she lived, how could she bear to look at him now, let alone return his feelings?

  “Ethan?”

  “Yes.” His voice cracked. “I love her.”

  “You love her so much you’d forgive her anything?”

  “Yes, anything.” He palmed the moisture pooling under his eyes.

  “Could you forgive her for behaving recklessly and injuring someone you care about?”

  “She’d never—”

  “But if she did, could
you forgive her?”

  “Yes. I love her.”

  “I don’t think you took enough time to really consider my question. What if you had a child, and in Kim’s haste, she accidentally backed into him with her car? Could you forgive her then?”

  “How could you ask such a horrible thing?”

  “Could you forgive her?”

  He hesitated. “I’d be angry. Devastated. But yes, knowing how utterly tormented she’d feel, I’d do anything to help her find peace.”

  “You’d forgive her?”

  “Yes! I already told you.”

  “Ethan, God loves you more than you could ever love Kim. Why is it so hard for you to believe He’s forgiven you?”

  Ethan’s breath caught in his chest. Put in that light, every possible reason why God could never forgive him fled his mind. He closed his eyes and prayed with renewed vigor.

  A nurse exited the O.R. and walked toward the room where Mrs. Corbett and Darryl, who’d been granted permission on compassionate grounds to be with her, awaited news of Kim.

  Ethan and Joy rushed over.

  Mrs. Corbett looked as though she’d aged ten years in the past twenty-four hours. She’d lost her husband, and now…

  Ethan braced his hand on the door frame. “Mrs. Corbett, I’m sorry for your loss and for—”

  Darryl’s gaze bucked to his. “Get out! You’re not welcome here. I told you Derk would get to her. I told you!”

  “Darryl,” Mrs. Corbett said sharply. “This is our fault, not Ethan’s. He saved her.”

  Ethan’s insides crumbled at the unmerited reprieve.

  Mrs. Corbett’s red-rimmed eyes held his for a long moment. “I would’ve given anything to take my husband’s place. I can see you feel the same about Kim.” She returned her attention to the nurse. “How is she?”

  The nurse’s gaze flicked from Mrs. Corbett to them, and then back to Mrs. Corbett, who waved her hand. “They’re fine.”

  “Her bowel’s been nicked. The surgery could go on for some time yet. The risk of infection is high, and she has little strength left.”

  “Then she needs our prayers more than ever,” Joy said, reaching for Ethan’s hand.

  Ethan clasped Mrs. Corbett’s hand, who covered Darryl’s with her other. Darryl closed the circle by taking Joy’s. Ethan prayed as if his life depended on it. And it just might, because Kim was the one person who made him feel truly alive.

  Yet, even knowing that God’s answer might be no, a new sense of peace came over him.

  They prayed and prayed, and then sat in silence as the minute hand circled the clock.

  At some point Joy had left to see other patients.

  Finally, the doctor appeared at the door. “Mrs. Corbett?”

  “Yes.” She sprang to her feet.

  Ethan felt himself start to hyperventilate and forced himself to take deep breaths. He couldn’t lose it. Not now. Kim might need him.

  “Your daughter has pulled through surgery and is in recovery.”

  Ethan swallowed a sob and let his eyes slip shut. Thank You, Lord.

  When the nurse came to take the Corbetts to see Kim, she explained that only two visitors were permitted in the ICU at a time.

  Ethan squeezed Mrs. Corbett’s hand and sat back down.

  To his surprise, Darryl stopped and shook his hand. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier.”

  “It’s forgotten.”

  Darryl nodded, blinked away a tear. “Thank you for getting Kim away from Derk.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Alone in the waiting room, Ethan fought a wave of grief so powerful it threatened his newfound peace. “Oh, God, You spared Kim’s life, but I could still lose her. Making peace with You doesn’t mean she’ll forgive me. I know that. And I won’t bargain with You anymore. Just…”

  Her smile rose to his mind. A smile that held him together when the world seemed to be falling apart.

  “Oh, God, just give me strength.”

  Pain clawed at Kim’s side, dragging her fuzzy brain from a strange, thick fog.

  “Kim. Kim, can you hear me?” A cool hand enveloped hers.

  She pried open her eyes and her pulse quickened. An IV dripped into her arm. Monitors crowded the space next to her. “What—? How long—?”

  A nurse leaned into her line of vision. “You were shot.”

  Shot?

  “You’ve been unconscious for twenty-seven hours.” The nurse asked her a bunch of questions and checked her vitals.

  Twenty-seven hours. The last thing she remembered was Dad—

  Oh, no, Dad!

  The nurse patted her arm. “You have a lot of people anxious to see you awake.”

  “Hi, honey,” Mom said, giving Kim’s hand a gentle squeeze. Her beaming smile almost made Kim forget the grief bruising her heart. Grief for Dad, and—

  Memories of a gun swamped her. Followed by panic. “Ethan?”

  “He’s right here,” Mom soothed, stepping aside.

  “You had us worried,” he said, his voice rough with emotion.

  Something warm and wonderful swelled in her chest. “You’re alive,” she whispered.

  Ethan cradled her hand in his. “I am now.” He brought her hand to his lips. His two-day beard growth tickled her skin. “Waiting for you to wake up has been killing me.”

  Kim shifted to find a more comfortable position, and winced at the burn searing her side.

  Ethan stroked the hair from her face. “I’m so sorry I didn’t stop Derk before—” He choked on the words.

  “As I recall, you told me to take cover,” she said, hoping to tease away his remorse. “And I refused to listen.”

  “You are a stubborn woman. But it’s one of the things I love most about you.”

  Her heart jumped from her chest. Love? Did he just say love? She searched his eyes for confirmation.

  A hint of insecurity darkened his gaze as he nodded yes.

  Grinning stupidly, she reached for his cheek, but immediately winced in pain.

  Ethan’s expression turned fierce. “What were you thinking, stepping in front of that gun?”

  She dug her fingers into his shirt and tugged him closer, this time mindful not to jar her injured side. “I was thinking that I couldn’t bear to lose you.”

  He stilled, a stunned expression on his face.

  “Every time Derk threatened to kill me, all I could think of was you.” She took a deep breath. “And that I’d never be able to tell you how much you mean to me.”

  “Oh, sweetheart, I was so afraid I wouldn’t find you in time.”

  She cupped his face in her hands. “But you did. You saved me.”

  He gently folded her in his arms, his heart thundering against her ear. “You’ve got it wrong. You saved me. The first day at the manor, when I found you lying in the ditch, something inside me sparked to life. You made me want to be so much more than just a cop. Your absolute acceptance made me believe God has forgiven me. I’m done living in regret. Who am I to tell God that I don’t deserve the good things He brings into my life?” He pressed his lips to her hair and tightened his hold.

  She pressed her hand to his chest, lifting her gaze to his, and shivered at the love shining there. “Trust me, you deserve them all.”

  “You are so precious to me. Please know that I would never do anything to hurt you.”

  “I know, Ethan. Deep down, I’ve always known, even when I accused you of using me to help your investigation.”

  He touched his lips to hers and whispered, “I love you.” Then he kissed her slowly, deeply, as if trying to put all his love for her into that one kiss. She kissed him back with all the love brimming in
her heart.

  EPILOGUE

  At the sight of cars overflowing the church parking lot, tears sprang to Kim’s eyes. But she didn’t want to cry today. Joy had organized this memorial to commemorate Dad’s service to the community. Today was about celebrating his life, not grieving his death.

  Ethan reached across the car’s seat and squeezed her hand. “Are you okay?”

  “I hadn’t expected this many people.”

  “Blake contacted all the former residents he could find.”

  “Blake?”

  “Yup. After he came out of the coma and told the police what he knew about Derk, I told him that you knew he was the one that ran you off the road, but you refused to press charges. Your concern for his future made quite an impression on him.”

  Her heart twisted. Thanks to her, Blake had been shot. If she’d reported him in the first place as Ethan had urged, she could’ve spared him permanent brain damage. “I guess it’s just as well the government won’t renew Hope Manor’s contract. I’m probably too soft-hearted for this work.”

  “You’re wrong. God’s given you a special gift for working with those kids.”

  She lifted her gaze to the cloudless blue sky. If that was true, why hadn’t God helped her save the manor?

  Mom tapped the car window, Darryl at her side, looking much happier now that he’d come clean, even with his sentencing pending. “Are you two coming?”

  They walked into the auditorium together and took the place reserved for them in the front row. Aaron, Tony and a dozen more Hope Manor employees filled the row behind them. Kim’s resolve to not cry dissolved into a puddle as former residents went to the podium and shared the impact Dad had had on each of their lives. At some point, TV cameras arrived. A number of uniformed officers were among the crowd. The police chief even rose to speak. But the biggest surprise of all came when a government official made his way to the podium.

  “As you know, there has been much debate of late about the future of Hope Manor. However, a few days ago the organizer of this service informed me that since Mr. Corbett’s death, memorial donations in support of Hope Manor have poured in. And I’m here today to tell you that in light of the overwhelming community support, I have secured a renewed ten-year contract for Hope Manor’s rehabilitation services to the prison board.”