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Nathan stepped off the porch, grabbed Kadin, and pulled him back to the vehicle. As soon as they were secured inside, Nathan backed out, checking the most recent coordinates on Lilly’s transponder.
“What’s going on?”
“When Lilly disappeared, I put tracking devices on her car and the one Savannah let her borrow.”
“What are you freaked out about?”
“For one thing, it’s illegal to place these devices on a person’s car without a warrant.”
“And you didn’t have one.”
“Correct. Secondly, there’s only one person who knew about what I had done. Even if Brett doesn’t like me right now, he would never betray my trust. That officer Savannah spoke of is Drake. Once you know the make and model of the device, you can figure out a way to track it. And now, Drake is following Lilly.”
L
ILLY WAS SICK
, and Drew didn’t know what to do to help her other than find this cabin in the woods. Problem was, even Lilly wasn’t sure of its exact location. He glanced at her in the passenger seat. She was bent over, clutching her abdomen, breathing through another contraction. He placed a reassuring hand on her forearm, which was moist with sweat. The contractions were frequent, occurring every several minutes, and seemed to be intensifying as the hours wore on. After the explosion at the diner, it hadn’t taken Drew long to shake their tail, but it had taken a few hours to find another vehicle to purchase. Stealing one was sure to attract the scrutinizing eyes of the police.
They already had enough of those.
The stop at Savannah’s for Lilly’s car had been short.
Lilly eased back into the seat. She would communicate with him only out of necessity, and he’d given up on comforting her with platitudes hours ago.
“Can you help me find the turn?” Drew asked.
“I’ve never been here before. I only know the name of the street.”
“Deer Valley Drive?”
“Yes.”
“How far do you think it is?”
“Drew, I don’t know!” Her hand clenched the dashboard like a vise. Headlights loomed in the rearview mirror and were gaining distance. Lilly must have sensed his concern, as she turned to look behind them.
“Pull over,” she said.
“I don’t think that’s an option.”
“Just let them go by!”
Drew placed a protective hand over her belly as the lights filled the backseat and they were struck from behind. It sent them into the guardrail, and sparks blazed against Lilly’s window as metal met metal. Drew swerved the car into the oncoming lane.
“How did he find us?” Lilly asked.
“There must be a tracker on this vehicle.”
“Give me a weapon.”
“No, you need to stay in your seat belt. I don’t know if I can shake him.”
Drew pressed the accelerator to the floorboard and eased back into their lane. Ignoring his request, Lilly unbuckled her seat belt and grabbed the gun from the backseat. She hooked her arm around the headrest to steady herself, and took one shot, blowing out the back windshield. The second bullet caught the trailing vehicle, and it eased back a few yards in response. Lilly screamed and dropped the weapon, her breath jagged through clenched teeth. She turned and sat, her arms tight around her midsection.
The vehicle gained speed and pulled up beside them. Drew turned to look. The fallen night and tinted windshield made it impossible for him to see the driver, but he sensed who it was. The vehicle slammed into theirs, pinning them up against the guardrail. A flurry of sparks cascaded next to Lilly’s window, the smoke from metal grinding against metal filled the interior compartment. Lilly shielded her face with her arm. Drew hit the brakes, and the other vehicle shot forward, but as soon as they reached the end of the rail, the momentum carried them onto the loose shoulder.
There was a moment of reprieve when the car stilled, up on two tires. He turned to Lilly. She pulled her arm down from her eyes, a hint of hope in her blue eyes before the car groaned and pitched. Her scream pierced his ears as they tumbled side over side, every loose object in the car a deadly projectile. The wind whistled through the broken glass. His limbs bounced uncontrollably, and he was unable to reach out and grab Lilly. Suddenly, they stopped, a pine branch punched through the window behind Lilly. The resinous scent of pine filled his nostrils. Dust and smoke clouded the air, and Drew coughed as the particles invaded his lungs. He reached to his side, feeling for Lilly.
She wasn’t moving.
“Lilly?”
The vehicle was tipped up, the driver’s side higher than the passenger’s. The interior was dark. Drew unclipped his seat belt and edged closer to her. He placed his fingers against her neck. Her pulse was strong and steady. Reaching into the back, he patted around for the flashlight he had stowed. Finding it, he gripped his fingers around the cool metal and flipped it on. He began to brush the debris from her face.
“Lilly!”
He shook her gently.
Her eyes rolled back as her arms and legs pulsed in rhythmic contractions.
“I
THOUGHT YOU
were going to meet her at your place?” Nathan checked to see if the latest coordinates for Lilly’s vehicle had transposed to his PDA.
“We didn’t want it to be obvious. A friend has a cabin not too far from mine. He only uses it in the summer. We were going to meet there.”
“The most recent download has them heading straight there.”
“I thought you got updates every five minutes.”
“I do.”
“Well, hasn’t it been longer than that?”
Nathan pushed a button on his watch; the iridescent light shone. Kadin was right.
“Something must have happened to the transponder.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, but they should be on this road.”
“Do those look fresh?”
“What?”
Kadin pointed to the long, black strips of rubber melted into the gravel. “Those skid marks.”
Nathan pulled his car to the shoulder and stepped out. The night air cooled the sweat on his forehead. Kadin followed, and Nathan handed him a flashlight.
“How far are we from your friend’s place?”
“Not far.”
Nathan stepped into the roadway, scanning his flashlight to and fro. His heart thundered in his chest as he silently prayed to find Lilly alive and unharmed. He started walking the way they had come. He noted damage to the guardrail. Glass sparkled under his flashlight beam. Kadin concentrated on the car’s forward progress. Nathan looked his way. He was still at the roadside.
Nathan’s lungs tightened with dread, and he began to think through his options. If he summoned search and rescue, the lit-up scene would be a beacon for Drake. If he delayed, he risked losing Lilly. How did he know she wasn’t already dead?
“Nathan! Something’s down here!”
He ran to Kadin’s position. Joining his flashlight beam with Kadin’s, he could see a car halfway down the slope, pinned against a pine tree. There didn’t seem to be any movement within the vehicle. The faint smell of smoke in the air hinted that they had not been too far behind what had happened.
“I’ll go get the rope.”
Nathan ran back to his car. Popping the trunk, he grabbed the multicolored climbing rope and two weapons, placing one gun behind his back. Kadin helped him secure one end of the line to the guardrail.
“I’m going first,” Kadin insisted.
“No, I’m going.”
“She’s probably injured.”
“We don’t even know it’s her yet. Let me take a look first,” Nathan said. He handed Kadin the spare revolver. “I need you to keep an eye out. If you see anything suspicious, fire a warning shot into the air.”
Nathan faced his back down the slope. He took even steps backward, making sure his foot was secure before leaning his weight to take the next step. From the top of the hill, the slope didn’t look that bad, but the farther Nathan descended, the harder it was to keep himself from sliding. Making it to the vehicle, he secured the rope around himself. The driver’s window remained intact. The front windshield was shattered. Nathan pulled his weapon and eased his way to the front of the car.
He peered in.
Lilly was there, slumped in the passenger seat. The rush of blood in his ears overcame every other sound. He aimed his flashlight beam directly at her chest and watched for movement.
Please … please.
Lilly’s chest rose. The tightness in Nathan’s chest eased.
He looked up the hill. “Kadin, it’s Lilly! I need you down here!”
The vehicle hadn’t nudged with his weight against it. Feeling confident it would maintain its position, he climbed up onto the hood and laid himself flat, inching across until he could reach in and feel Lilly.
“Lilly? Can you hear me?”
Kadin was next to him quickly and up on the hood as well. He climbed into the driver’s seat. A moan escaped her lips.
“Well?” Nathan asked.
These were the moments where Nathan felt inept. He watched as Kadin checked her pulse and shone a light into her eyes. Lilly pulled her head away at the insult.
“Lilly?”
Her scream lit Nathan’s nerves. Kadin placed gentle hands over her belly.
“Nathan, we need to get her out of here. She’s in labor.”
T
HE FIRST SENSATION
Lilly had was of distant voices clamoring, distressed. Thick fluid slid down her temple. She reached to her face with her right arm, but it didn’t respond to her brain’s command for movement. The left hand obeyed, and she eased it up and felt leaves encrusted in drying threads of blood. Her lungs rejected the first deep breath she took with several racking coughs. She batted the light away and opened her eyes. A figure in front of her was on the hood, and someone sat beside her.
“Drew?”
“Lilly. It’s Kadin. Nathan’s here, too.”
“Where’s Drew?”
Her vision cleared. Nathan was visible to her now, lit by the flashlight he held in his hands. “I’ll look to see if he was thrown from the car.”
“Can you move?” Kadin asked her. A contraction hit, and she doubled over. Kadin was silent but offered quiet expressions of comfort. He pulled the matted hair from her eyes and smoothed his hand over her back until the contraction eased.
“How long have you been having these?”
“All day.”
“Are you hurting anywhere else?”
Lilly was beyond herself with pain, but no singular injury seemed to be life threatening. Her hands and feet moved at her brain’s request. No numbness. The explosion had left hundreds of small cuts and scrapes on every exposed surface of skin. Dirt and pine needles covered her hair from being run off the road, and the right side of her body ached from slamming into the door when the car had crashed into the tree. Lilly was ambivalent as to whether this suffering was worth mentioning.
“I can’t do this anymore.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
Kadin looked around the inner compartment with his flashlight, finally testing the door and opening it after several hard shoves. Nathan returned and hoisted himself back onto the hood of the car.
“I don’t see anyone around.”
“I think he’s gone,” Kadin said. “There’s no blood on this side. Steering column is intact.”
“Damage is significant. Looks like they rolled a couple of times.”
“She wasn’t wearing her seat belt.”
“Someone ran us off the road.”
“Well, I don’t think Drew wanted to stick around for whatever reason.” Kadin patted his back pocket for his cell. He came up empty. “Nathan, I need you to call an ambulance. She needs a hospital.”
Lilly shoved Kadin back. “I’m not going there! We’re keeping with what we arranged. With what you promised me.”
“No. Absolutely not! You were unrestrained. This pain could mean your placenta has torn away. It’s too dangerous, Lilly.” Kadin looked through the broken windshield to Nathan. “I need you to make that call, Nathan. This isn’t smart.”
Lilly leaned forward and groped for Nathan over the glass that littered the dashboard. She found his hand and held tight. “Nathan, please, don’t. I’ll be fine.”
Kadin shook his head. “She could die, Nathan. I’m not joking about this.”
In Nathan’s eyes was the sure resolve that he was in her corner. Lilly’s heart swelled with gratitude.
With his free hand, Nathan pulled his weapon and pointed it at Kadin.
Kadin raised his hands. “What are you doing, Nathan?”
“I’m giving you an out. If things go wrong, you can testify your actions were under duress. I’ll take the fall. I’ll go to jail. But, we’re doing as Lilly asks.”
Lilly reached for Kadin. “Please, trust me.”
“Both of you have lost your mind.” Kadin stepped out. “Let’s get her out of this car.”
The progress up the hill was painful and slow. Lilly stopped every few yards as the contractions continued to build in pacing and intensity. If Kadin was worried, he didn’t let on, which was every physician’s learned trick, but she could see the distress in Nathan’s face as he glanced at Kadin for reassurance every time she nearly buckled to her knees in agony.
“Can’t you give her something?” Nathan asked.
“Not in the middle of the forest, in the dark, climbing up a hill. Go ahead and call for that ambulance like I asked.”
Lilly pulled away from them and slid a few feet back down the hill. Nathan grabbed her hand to keep her from falling. Kadin’s eyes were wide in disbelief.
“You really can’t expect to keep the plan. You have eclampsia.” Kadin argued.
“How did you know?” Lilly crossed her arms over her chest.
“Nathan told me.”
She looked up at him, his grip firm on her hand. “How did you know?”
“Dr. Stone called.”
“It’s my decision!” She wanted to be strong, but the tears betrayed her.
“Everyone … this is not helping,” Nathan said. “What we know for sure is that we don’t know where Drake is. Being out in the open is not an option.” Nathan smoothed his thumb over the back of her hand.
“Fine. Let’s get her to the cabin so I can assess her.”
Once they made it to Nathan’s car, the drive was short. The first thing Lilly did, without asking Kadin’s permission, was find and lock herself in a bathroom, undress, and sit at the bottom of the bathtub, letting the hot water from the shower and soap steam away the aftermath of her hellish day. A soft knock at the door beckoned her eyes open.
Kadin’s voice was muffled through the wood. “Lilly, it’s been fifteen minutes. Are you okay?”
Lilly watched rivulets of dirt, pine needles, and blood swirl down the drain as the water washed each particle from her skin. Being in solitude and safety was a comfort she hadn’t known in far too long, and it was easier for her to manage the contractions, actually breathing through several without feeling the need to scream at the top of her lungs. Kadin banged on the door, giving up his gentle questioning, and she reached and turned off the water. As she stood up, a large flow of fluid, warm and thick, gushed between her legs. She wrapped a towel around herself, the length not enough to cover her protruding belly as Kadin made his way into the bathroom with a key in his hand.
“Are you all right?”
“My water broke.” Tears leapt over her lower eyelids.
“You’re going to do fine.”
“Why did I ever think this was a good idea?”
“People give birth at home all the time.”
“Twins?”
“There weren’t always hospitals, Lilly. Let’s get you settled.”
Leading her by the hand, Kadin brought her to a room that looked like a mini hospital. There were two bassinets with tables set on either side full of medical equipment. Several large, metallic green oxygen tanks sat in the corner.
“You’re sure Drake didn’t find his way here?”
“I haven’t seen any sign of him yet,” Nathan said, keeping vigil by the window.
Lilly eased herself onto the bed. Kadin worked at checking her blood pressure and started an IV. He placed cool jelly on her abdomen and began searching for fetal heart tones with a small, hand-held Doppler, finding them quickly.
“They’re strong. You want to tell me about your hospital visit?”
“I passed out. Drew took me in. I was on mag sulfate.”
“Did the doctor say anything else to you?”
“I think I had a seizure when we had the accident.”
“You know the best cure is to get these little ones out.” Kadin grabbed a small machine about the size of a large laptop and sat next to Lilly. “Looks like they agree with me.”
“Did you steal that from the ER?” she asked, referring to the ultrasound machine he held.
“No. A friend of mine from school is working in medical equipment development and loaned one to me. It’s not going to do anything fancy, but I want to check the position of the babies. Pray they are both head down.”
Lilly appreciated Kadin’s calm demeanor, but she realized now how much she had missed Nathan.
“At least these two are behaving themselves. They’re in good position. Hopefully, they’ll stay that way.”
“I feel like I have to push.”
“Let me check you.”
“No, I mean it.”
“Me, too. Let me look.”
She felt his hands gently ease her knees apart. “Nathan, I’m going to need you over here.”
Nathan looked away from the window. “Why?”
“I need your help.”
“That’s why I brought you here.”
“I’m going to have my hands full,” Kadin said. “Lilly is having twins.”
“Twins! No … no … no …”
“That’s right, Nathan. Maybe we should have talked more about the things I know and the things you know.”
A stabbing pain shot over Lilly’s abdomen. She sat up and grabbed her knees.