Retribution Road by Jon Coon (best books to read for women txt) 📗

with you. It was a long night, and I’m worried about your mom. You’ve said it often enough, we’re family. In fact, you’re the only family I’ve got left, and if she dies … well, it’s going to be hard.”

“Yeah, for me too.”

“Has she ever talked about what happened at the hospital in Florida, when Emily nearly died?”

“No, not at all.”

“When I brought Emily out of that decompression chamber on the river bottom, her heart had stopped and she wasn’t breathing. They got her heart started with an AED and put her on a ventilator. She was critical in ICU, and it was bad. On my way to her room I saw your mom praying in the little hospital chapel. On the way back to my room, she was passed out on the chapel floor. She said she’d been praying for Emily and fainted.”

“Oh, she fainted? She’s never done that.”

“That’s what she said, but I was afraid it might have been something else.”

“I know the story about great-grandmother Marie making a deal with the Baron to save a little girl. Is that what you thought?”

“Yes, exactly. And your mom said Marie died a year to the day after the girl was miraculously healed. Tomorrow will be a year for Emily. Can that be a coincidence?”

“Come on,” Cas said jumping up from the table. “We need to see Mom right now!”

Up to the fourth floor and down the hall to 414, Cas burst into her mother’s room and marched to her bed. Alethea was frail. She didn’t just look frail, the multiple monitors she was connected to confirmed her frailty. She smiled at Gabe and reached up for him. He bent over the bed and kissed her cheek gently. “Hi, pal. How are you?”

“Mon trésor. Thank you for coming.” She held him and gazed deeply into his eyes. Gabe waited until she released him and sat on the bed beside her, holding her hand. She looked at him sadly and said only, “I’m tired.”

Cas went to the other side of the bed, reached through the rail, and took her mother’s other hand. “Mémère, did you make a contract with the Baron to save that little girl in Florida? Tell me the truth.”

“Someone has been telling stories,” Alethea answered and scowled at Gabe.

“Alethea, please, tell us.”

“I did tell you. No, I did not make a deal with the Baron. I just prayed for that child’s life. I prayed hard. Is she all right?”

“Yes, she’s wonderful, and she sends you her love.”

“Good. Mon fils, I’ve been so worried about you. I knew you were in great danger and there was nothing I could do. But I prayed for you too. I prayed God would keep you safe.”

“Thank you. He did. He kept us all. And yes, I was in danger, and it may not be over, so I can’t afford to lose my best prayer warrior.”

She smiled and squeezed his hand. “Always,” she said. “No matter which side I’m on. Always.”

A nurse entered the room and shooed them off the bed. She checked Alethea’s vital signs and then said, “She needs to rest. You can come back this afternoon. But for now, it’s best you leave.”

Gabe bent over and kissed Alethea’s cheek again and Cas did the same. They eased out of the room, and Alethea thanked the nurse and gently closed her eyes.

“We need to go back to the house, and I need to make some calls,” Cas said. “I have an idea, and I’m going to need your help.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“You need to sleep for a couple hours, and when you wake, I’ll tell you. If this works, it could save her.”

“Cas, what are you—”

“Is there anything you wouldn’t do to help my mother, after all she’s done for you?”

Gabe hesitated. “Anything” coming from Cas’s lips was a powerful word.

“Well?”

“No, anything. Just ask.”

“Okay. I’ll take you home and fix you some herbal tea, and you rest. I’ll be back shortly.”

They left Gabe’s rental car at the hospital, and he rode with Cas the eight blocks to Alethea’s garden home. He followed her to the door. She unlocked it and said, “There’s food in the fridge. Go stash your stuff in your bedroom, and I’ll fix our tea. I’ll wake you when I get back.”

He entered the foyer and was met by the portrait of Alethea’s great-great-grandmother, Marie Laveau. Marie had a warm and welcoming smile. Gabe stopped to admire the painting and found himself talking to Marie. “They say you were a great healer. If your spirit is really still with us, she could really use your help.”

He waited in front of the portrait as if expecting an answer. Getting none, he went into the kitchen and made a sandwich. When the tea was ready, he and Cas sat at the kitchen table briefly, and then she left. He stayed, recalling his many therapeutic conversations with Alethea, and tried not to think about what life would be like without her. He went upstairs to the bed that had been his for the three months he’d lived there. Kicked off his boots and sank into the luxury of a real goose-down mattress. He was asleep in seconds.

He had no idea how long he’d been asleep when Cas woke him. She was sitting on the edge of his bed, talking softly and rubbing her hand gently across his chest.

“We need to go back to the hospital. Mom isn’t doing well.”

“Okay, give me a minute.” He got up and staggered to the bathroom, still half asleep.

When they were in the car, Cas opened up about her plan. “If Mom made a deal with the Baron, that deal can’t be broken. But if she didn’t, we may be able to use the Baron to save her.”

“Do you mean by someone else taking her place?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t have to be one of us. I’ve made some arrangements. Some friends are coming over tonight, and we’re going to summon him. I need you