Page 110 of Hart's Redemption

My gaze caught on the stairs and the deep crimson carpet runner leading the way up to the next level.

There’s one thing here that’s Josh’s.

I didn’t offer an explanation as I vaulted up the stairs, my tread nearly silent on the plush material as I ascended.

“Elijah?” Josh called after me.

At the landing, I glanced left and right. I knew these doors, had seen them all before, but I only needed one. On pure instinct, I turned down the nearest corridor, Josh’s voice chasing me the whole way. The halls twisted and turned in what was probably a logical layout, but I had to stop multiple times to regain my bearings. His mind had been a straight corridor of never-ending doors, not a veritable labyrinth. At last, the door I sought came into view.

Lighter trim created delicate patterns on the wood, though the door itself seemed darker than all the others. That was likely a figment of my imagination because I knew what had transpiredbehind it. Either way, I knew without a doubt I’d reached my destination and turned the knob.

Ambient lights automatically gave the room a comfortable glow. For a moment, I doubted my certainty. The maps on the wall, which I remembered so clearly, were now stunning photographs of nature. The wall of weaponry, so inappropriate for a child’s room, was now resplendent with shelves upon shelves of books.

I looked around the familiar, yet drastically different room. I’d witnessed horrible things take place here, but I’d also seen something truly special as well. Finally, my gaze fell on the opulent marble fireplace. No flames burned there now, but everything else about it was exactly as I remembered from my time in Josh's mind. As I walked towards it, Josh slid into the doorway.

“How the hell did you know this was my room? I haven’t been here in over a year,” he panted from where he stood braced against the doorjamb.

I glanced at him and twisted an intricate piece of molding decorating the fireplace. “You forget, I’ve been in your head.”

His eyes widened at the same time that the secret panel slid back to reveal a deceptively large compartment. He stepped into the room, his body rigid with trepidation. “Do I want to know what else you saw in there?”

“Probably not. But this,” I reached in and gently removed the contents, “this I think you’ll want to remember.”

His brow scrunched in confusion as I passed him the stuffed wolf. “What is this?”

Josh

I stared at the plush animal in my hands. Something about it tugged at my memory. I carefully brushed off some of the dust to reveal gray fur and a copper streak running from the head down the spine.

I looked up. “I don’t understand.”

Elijah’s smile turned sad. “I was really hoping that holding him again would trigger something.”

I dropped my gaze back to the fluffy animal and absently ran a hand over its head as if it was something I’d done a thousand times. Suddenly, I wasn’t staring into colored-plastic eyes. I was looking into eyes as green as mine. They belonged to a man with soft brown hair and a kind smile that left a dimple on one cheek. My fingers tightened around the animal—the wolf—as the memory of my father came back to me.

I’d gotten into trouble because Harkers weren’t supposed to like wolves. They were supposed to kill them. But I did like wolves. I liked them a lot, and I favored the timber wolves over all the others. I thought they were beautiful and wanted more than anything in the world to meet one. That was why my father had gotten me one. To be my friend and keep me warm. To protect me. Our little secret.

“Josh?” Elijah’s soft voice pulled me from the edge of a total breakdown.

“Jasper,” I whispered. “His name is Jasper.” I looked at Elijah, rebellious tears heavy on my lashes.

He smiled at me. “He’s been watching over you this whole time.”

I nodded wordlessly as I rubbed my hand over the back of the animal again, revealing more of the reddish streak so like Elijah’s. Even as a child who knew nothing but hurt and rejection, I’d been looking for him. I clutched the wolf tighter, heedless of the dust rubbing off on my clothes.

"Josh? Are you okay? I didn't mean to upset you." Elijah stepped closer, and I emphatically shook my head as the press of forgotten memories pushing to be free threatened to become too much. He reached out a hand, and I finally met his gaze.

"My father gave him to me." I struggled to see Elijah through the haze of tears. "My… my father loved me." With those four words, my legs gave out, and I crumpled to the carpet-covered hardwood floor, clinging to the stuffed animal like it was a lifeline. In a way, it was. A stuffed wolf, covered in decades of dust, was the only thing in the entire house—in my entirelife—that remained of my father. And I would know. Goddess knew I'd searched this house from top to bottom after my mother finally moved to her own estate for any trace of him. She'd even scrubbed him from the family history. Now that she was gone, I could finally put him back.

I wasn't sure how long I'd been sitting there, swept up in a tide of repressed memories. Not all of them were pleasant, but in a shocking twist,mostof them were. Eventually, I registered Elijah had joined me on the floor and was rubbing soothing circles on my back. I wiped clear a section of the stuffed animal, then buried my face in the plush fur, like I'd done countless times before.

"I'm right here," Elijah whispered.

"My father—," my heart squeezed painfully, "Papa, was the only one to ever show me affection, though he was always careful never to do so in front of my mother. I wasn't allowed to have friends or go to a normal school. I remember them arguing. He was so angry when he found out she'd struck me. Their voiceswere so loud. They were in a room Papa told me never to go into, but Mama kept trying to take me. When he realized I was there, he yelled at me to go to my room." I clutched the wolf tighter, curling in on myself. "I was so scared. Papaneveryelled at me. I ran so fast that I fell on the stairs and skinned my knee. Later that night, he brought me Jasper and apologized for raising his voice. 'Our little secret,' he called it. We had a lot of those."

I sniffled, and Elijah wrapped his arm around me, tugging me closer. "You're safe now, moonbeam. She can't ever hurt you again."

Tears stung my eyes. "She's taken so much from me. Why did she have to take him too?" I pulled my face out of Jasper's wet fur and tucked the plush wolf under my arm before turning to curl into Elijah's comfort.