“Stay down,” she told him. “I’ve got this.” After bending even lower, she aimed under the cars to the left, obviously hitting someone by the sound of the scream.
The cops in the hospital now ran out, shooting.
Eve’s face paled.
“What?” Ryan returned fire to the right.
“It’s a distraction. Jesus. I’ve got to get back inside.” Eve stood as if the decision itself would keep her safe.
He karate-chopped her behind her knees, forcing her to sit hard on her ass. The place where she’d been standing lit up with gunfire, and a machine gun cut into the metal around them.
“Taylor’s still inside.” Ryan checked his ammo. “I’m good for a few more. They’ve got to be sending backup. This is some suicide bullshit.”
The foyer of the hospital exploded in front of them, and he pulled Eve to him, covering her with his body. She grabbed and covered his neck.
When the shards of glass cleared, the gunfire resumed. “This was planned!” she screamed. “They want my babies, and now I’m useless!”
Ryan closed his eyes against the anguish in her voice.
Beckett stood in front of the vending machine, counting in his head and thinking. If Rodolfo had already cleaned up the scene, his people were here. And the babies were in even more danger than just their delicate internal organs.
He was trotting back to the spot where he’d last seen Morales to tell the locals they needed round-the-clock on the kids when he heard gunfire in the parking lot. One shooter, two shooters, a machine gun. Shit. The cops he intended to speak to turned tail and ran for the parking lot. Every single one of them.
Every single one.
Someone had to stay behind. He had to have faith that Eve would stay alive, stay smart out there. Beckett found the stairs and took them two and three at a time until he could get to the NICU. While they’d been waiting for hours and hours, he’d looked at the hospital map a few damn times. Know your exits and all that bullshit. This was why. He ran full-out as the building rocked with an explosion, and as soon as he could steady his feet, he ran again. Alarms and buzzers sounded as the fire sprinklers kicked in.
Oh, this was a set-up all right. Jesus.
He skidded into the NICU and helped a few nurses to their feet. “Where are the twins who were just delivered? Are they okay?”
As the nurse started to point at the nursery, three men carrying guns and duffle bags entered the hallway with the look of people who knew what the hell was going on. There were two sets of doors to the nursery, and Beckett ran through the second ones and grabbed a scalpel, an old faithful friend, off a cart by the nurse’s station.
The room was packed with nurses and some doctors, all carrying on like nothing was out of the ordinary. He was at the other entrance seconds before the hit men. He suspected Rodolfo had given strict instructions for how the kids should be taken: Avoid gunfire near his babies, and take a nurse and doctor with you. At least that’s what he would do. He warned the others around him. “About to be gunfire in this room. Take precautions.”
As if this were a direction they were used to handling, the staff began to move. They wheeled incubators out of the center of the room, shielding them behind machines. Those that had nothing to use for cover draped their bodies over the little plastic cribs, still checking stats the whole time.
Heroes. They were all heroes.
The door yanked open, and Beckett went low, swinging the scissors into the knee of the lead man. The second got a left hook to the jaw, the sound of his teeth cracking together audible. The third aimed his gun at Beckett, and he grabbed the barrel. He pushed the weapon back so it collided with the man’s nose, giving a sickening crunch. The gun fired past his ear. Beckett then proceeded to beat the living piss out of each man in a round-robin version of ass kicking.
Two of the nurses joined him, and one of the doctors was swinging an oxygen tank. Beckett focused on getting the guns and duffle bags out of reach, sliding them to some of the other nurses with his foot. Not a single one swooned or screamed. These people were unflappable. When all three men were disarmed and lying on their stomachs, another nurse came over with three prepped needles. “These will keep those fuckers down until we get the cops here.”
Beckett nodded. Perfect solution. “Are the babies okay?” If it wasn’t Armageddon outside right now, he knew they would have forced him to leave. Instead they turned back to their business.
Once the men were snoring on the floor, they called the babies out by their mothers’ names, doing a count and a condition update.
“Smith, Victoria.”
“One. Accounted for and stable.”
“Wexford, Alison.”
Beckett held his breath.
“Two accounted for. Stable.”
Oh, thank fuck.
Morales and Eve ran into the room and gave a scan before holstering their guns. Morales kicked the bastards on the floor.
“The babies are fine,” Beckett reported. “You’re good. It’s okay.” He held out a hand to her.
The assessment of tiny patients continued, and Ryan immediately handcuffed one of the perps. His official demeanor and a flash of his badge commanded all the attention and gave Beckett and Eve a second. He pulled her over to the incubator where the twins had been counted off. He held her shoulders and stood behind her as she looked at the babies for the first time. Her whole back shook with her shaky intake of air.
“They’re so beautiful,” she said softly. “They’re okay?”
The nurse met her eyes. “Yes. And you are?” She looked at Eve’s wrists to see if she was the unlikely, un-pre-oped mom.
“A friend. I’m a friend.” With that she turned, eyes closed.
Beckett pulled out his phone and snapped a few pictures before following her out the door.
Morales stood just outside in the hall. “It’s a fucking nuthouse downstairs,” he reported. “And in the parking lot. They are evac-ing everyone. They have to stabilize the area. NICU is always the first to be transferred out back in Poughkeepsie, but not sure they do it the same way here.”
Eve looked at Ryan and spoke quietly. “Vitullo likely knows that. He’s done his research.”
Beckett opened the duffle bags Vitullo’s men had brought in to check for bombs. Instead they held everything someone might need to handle a medical situation. Firefighters filled in the hallway. They seemed to know that the adults in the NICU would never leave their little patients alone for a second.
Beckett put a call in to Dildo, who quickly confirmed that the evac procedure was easily found on the hospital’s website. Nurses and various personnel began putting on orange vests and unpacking carrying cases. Eve stared at the little clear crib with a mixture of shock and desire.
Beckett looked at Morales. “Can we get a private ambulance to take these kids to a different hospital?”
“Do we know how Alison’s parents are? Where are they?” Eve turned to face them.
“I’m assuming they were downstairs,” Ryan said. “Maybe visiting with…their daughter.”
Eve gave a look that told Beckett to watch the babies as she ran from the room.
Eve had to put her shirt over her mouth because the smoke was so thick. The firefighters intercepted her and pointed her toward the side parking lot. She exited the building and finally took a deep breath.
Babies. The babies were so tiny. Part of her was scared they were really hers. And part of her was terrified they weren’t. Her loyalty to the woman who carried these children was off the charts. She had a ton of emotions to feel, but now wasn’t the moment. She spotted Alison’s dad first, then her mom was sitting on the curb. Both looked shaken, but not hurt.
She approached them slowly. They were dazed, and the whole morning seemed lit more by sirens and shouts than the sun that was beginning to rise.
“The babies are still okay,” Eve said. It was all she could think of by way of greeting.
They both nodded and spoke simultaneously. E
ve got the impression they had been married a long time. “Good. That’s good,” they told her.
“I’m sorry about Alison.” And she was. So much. So sorry.
The pain on their faces was everyone’s worst nightmare.
“I wanted to give you an update,” Eve continued. “The babies are going to have to be moved.”
Cindy stood. “That can’t be good. They must be small.”
“They are. But the hospital is not very well equipped any more, and the man who kept Alison, he’s still around. There’s no telling what he’ll do next.” She looked around, watching for any new attackers.
Bill spoke. “Who are you again, young lady?”
Eve ignored the question. “We’re going to need you to stay with the babies at the new hospital,” she told them instead.
“But Alison is still in there.” Cindy looked back at the simmering lobby and covered her mouth for a new round of sobs.
Eve’s heart clutched. “Where would Alison want you to be?”
It was a low card, but she felt certain the woman would want her babies protected.
Cindy nodded. “With them. Which hospital are they going to?”
Eve motioned to them. “Come this way. We’ll discuss all of it.”
“My car? Should we take my car?” Bill asked. “Oh, wait.”
Eve watched as his gaze found what had to be his vehicle. It was covered in debris from the explosion.
“Well, I guess that won’t work.” He looked confused again.
These people were in as much shock as she was, or more so. So much more. “Just come with me,” Eve said. “The sooner we move, the better.”
She walked to the loading dock of the hospital in time to see two unmarked ambulances back into parking spots. A convoy of people in orange wheeled machines out. Beckett walked alongside, scanning the area. He spotted her with the parents as they drew near and raised an eyebrow.
She responded by shrugging. Couldn’t leave them.
They loaded the ambulance quickly: first with the babies, then two nurses and two EMTs, and finally more equipment. One of the EMTs assumed Eve was the mother and banded her arm. How Beckett had arranged this on such short notice, she didn’t know.
He smiled at her and answered her internal question as Ryan pulled around in the Challenger. “Money talks, baby.”
Bill held Cindy’s arm. “We need to make sure Alison’s cared for. Just tell us the hospital you’re going to.”
“They probably don’t know just yet,” Ryan explained as he joined the group. “How about I take you where you need to go as soon as things are settled?”
Eve got into the Challenger as Ryan held the driver’s door open. “I think you’re our best eyes on the babies right now,” he told her. “I’m going to try and fix as much bullshit as I can down here. Then I’ll head up. I’ll watch these two as well.” He tilted his head toward Alison’s parents.
Eve kissed his cheek. “Thank you. I’ll call Midian if you want?”
He nodded.
“Where’s your ride?” she called to Beckett.
“I got something, no worries,” he assured her. “I’ll call you in a minute.”
And with that, they all parted. Eve stayed close to the ambulance, and watched the back doors like they contained her future. She gave Midian a brief rundown on speakerphone, and then forty minutes into the trip she had a call from Beckett.
“Watching out for them on your own might be a lot for you.” Beckett’s voice filled the car from her speakerphone.
She swiveled in her seat, checking her surroundings while driving. “Yep, it’s already a lot. But until I know different, they get treated like family.”
“Noted.” Beckett was quiet on his end.
“I feel so angry and hopeful right now. I think my brain is going to snap.” She ran a hand through her hair. “And how long did you know about this? Like, did you know before tonight?”
He exhaled deeply into the phone, the sign of his truth. “I had a guess about it after Rodolfo’s fire. He said a few things about your father, but nothing concrete. It’s come together over time, but the documents I found today are what really spell it out.”
She was quiet for miles before responding. “That’s a long damn time.”
“It was. And I doubted keeping it from you every damn day. But how could I put this on you without proof? And maybe you knew about your father and the ovary and all that, and you just didn’t want to use it with me. Not that I’d blame you.” He was obviously in a car now, the noises giving him away.
“I didn’t know,” she said softly. “And it’s beyond creepy, but also loving. I mean, I had no idea, and yet he was thinking of my future. This is a lot to process. It feels like a nightmare. Or a dream. What’s the destination of these ambulances?”
“The babies are only a few hours old and premature. We needed a hospital. And we can’t pick the one in Poughkeepsie. Not now. So I decided on Maryland. We’ve got Chery, Vere, and Chaos nearby. It could work. They have an amazing hospital there.”
Eve followed the ambulances as they exited the highway.
“This whole thing could be seen from cameras and triangulated through satellite,” Beckett said. “Spider will be busy covering our tracks.”
Eve touched the window where it was fogging up, running her fingers through the mist. “Is that where you’re headed too?”
“No. Morales has a ton of crap to handle down here in lovely Fallom, and our pictures are on all of it. I’m going to call Spider and see if he can erase some things, but I should stay local. I’m here for as long as you need me, though,” he assured her.
They were quiet for a long time, despite all they had to say. The drive to Maryland was about two hours.
“So where’d you get the car?” she asked nearly an hour later. “Because I know you’re not still at the hospital.”
He laughed a little. “There was a whole parking lot full of them, killer. I’m safe. Nearby, but safe.”
She got a text from Ryan as the ambulances pulled onto the local road.
More of RV’s people arrived on the scene.
Were subdued. Stay gone for now.
Bill and Cindy in a hotel.
Can’t risk someone following them to you.
She relayed the information to Beckett.
“Dolfo wants those kids bad,” he commented.
“I want to know if they’re mine.” She’d been quiet about it, but this was really what she thought of most. “And his. Do we need to get his DNA?” She bit her bottom lip, thinking.
“We’ve got Primo,” Beckett offered. “I bet he could work in a pinch. And I’m sure they’ve pulled some blood from those poor babies. I’ll have someone get on it.”
The ambulances pulled into the ER dock, and Eve noticed the security cameras. She texted Spider. They’d need him to wipe her presence here too.
Unloading the babies from the ambulance took much longer because of all the equipment. The moving ECMO was particularly impressive. Eve parked and walked up next to an EMT.
“How’d they do?” she asked.
“The girl’s heart rate dropped twice, but we’re here,” he said, rubbing his face.
Eve walked alongside the crib. She couldn’t get too close because of all the personnel around them, but she saw a flash of a little hand. Her desire to cover the tiny bodies with a blanket was overwhelming. After putting the phone back to her ear, she spoke to Beckett, who had stayed on the line. “What now?” she asked.
“Well, I’ve warned the home front that things went south quickly down here, and told them to beef up security in Poughkeepsie. I’ll get some of our guys running security up there for the little ones and here for Bill and Cindy. I think you should stay there. But whatever you need.”
“We need to get him out of the picture,” she countered.
“I know. But for now I’ve got to get things squared away here. Stay put and do your thing. I love you.”
�
�I love you too.”
Her wristband allowed her to stay near the twins after they entered the building, and she didn’t protest when the nurse in charge replaced the baby’s bands with ankle monitors that matched the new band they gave her.
The boy’s alarm went off, and soon they were using an air bag with a pump on it to give him a tiny version of rescue breaths. A man standing near her smiled. She had her eyes glued on the boy.
“Did you name them yet?” he asked.
“What?”
“Did you name the babies yet? I’m sorry, I’m the chaplain for this hospital, Timothy Rowe. I was told to report here in case you needed me.” He smiled. “I understand the hospital where you gave birth had to be evacuated. Do you need to sit down? Do we need to get you to a doctor?”
“They were born via surrogate, but she passed.” Eve looked at her shoes. It sounded like a lie in her head, but was probably closer to the truth than she was able to admit.
“You’ve had quite a morning. Would you like to pray? I’m here if you need that.”
Eve thought of Cole. He’d pray. What good it did she didn’t know.
“Okay.” She bowed her head as the chaplain ran through some pleasant-sounding prayers. When she looked up again, both babies were being attended to feverishly. Tears filled her eyes.
“How about names? That might be good right now.” The chaplain touched her hand. The children might not make it. As small as they were, she knew he was right.
She wondered if she should call Bill and Cindy. But they didn’t know how complicated this situation truly was. And from the looks of the frenzy, there might not be time. “For the girl, Mouse Anna Taylor.”
“Very good.” He took out a pen and paper. “Like this?”
“Looks good. Yes.” Never in a million years would she have guessed she’d be naming babies today. Never.
“And the boy?” The chaplain waited patiently.
“Theodore Beckett Taylor.” She hugged herself and watched the activity in the nursery.
She approved the spelling, and he had one more question. It was more loaded than he could ever know.
“And the father? Do we leave it blank?”
Saving Poughkeepsie Page 32
