Isobel fiddled with a loose piece of her hair. “Maybe not. But there’s another reason why I want to keep my past a secret. I can’t tell Cal about Ricky because I don’t want him thinking this is a problem he can solve. Because it isn’t. No one can take Ricky down. No one. Anyone who tries ends up dead.”
Isobel’s face contorted in pain as the next contraction took hold. Talking about her husband was clearly adding to her distress, but she returned to the subject the moment the discomfort subsided. “It’s true, Abby. Ricky hurts everyone who crosses him. In his world, there are no second chances. Revenge and avenge. That’s the creed he lives by, with no exceptions.”
“As far as you know, he is unaware of your pregnancy?”
A shadow passed across Isobel’s face. “If Ricky knew about the baby, I wouldn’t be here. He’d pull out all stops to track me down. If he found out I was pregnant when I left, he’d kill me.”
“He’d kill you?” The man Isobel was describing sounded like a monster. A monster who was right next door. A cold chill of dread washed over her as the likelihood of any of them surviving until morning began to seem more and more remote.
Isobel must have noted her distress because she reached over and squeezed Abby’s hand. “Don’t worry about Ricky. He has no way of knowing where I am.”
If only that were true.
A creak in the hallway caused Abby’s eyes to dart toward the exposed staircase. Did she have time to push it back in place? Isobel’s murmurings sounded dim and faraway as she rushed across the room and clutched the sides of the folding steps. Gripping the slats with clenched fingers, she pushed hard, but the mechanism moved only a few inches before snapping back to the floor. All that was left to do was block the door and employ her persuasive skills to keep the intruders at bay. She clenched her fingers into fists as she waited for the click of a key in the lock.
A minute passed. Then another. It appeared they were safe, at least for the moment, although it was only a matter of time before one of the criminals returned to the room.
Of course, Isobel was unaware of the specifics of the latest threat, and Abby planned to keep her in the dark for as long as possible. Fear could cause Isobel’s body to shut down and trigger complications for her unborn child. No matter what might happen later, Abby’s only goal at the moment was to ensure a safe delivery of Isobel’s little boy.
As Isobel worked through her next contraction, Abby laid out her meager supplies. Two bottles of water. A bowl. A towel. And a roll of dental floss to tie off the umbilical cord. Given Cal’s recent discovery about the robbers’ real intentions, it was likely that somewhere, probably in the room next door, there was a cache of provisions that had been brought along for the delivery. Like a bulb syringe that would allow her to suction the mucus from the newborn’s nose and mouth. And a vitamin K shot. And erythromycin eye ointment for the baby’s eyes.
But there was no point in fretting about things she couldn’t control. Better to concentrate on doing what she could to ensure a safe delivery. She drummed her fingers against the side of the couch, trying to anticipate every possible complication.
Isobel shot her a questioning glance. “Is there something going on that I don’t know about? Because Cal seemed pretty frantic before he left.”
It was time for some diplomatic backpedaling. “Cal has been working hard to find a way to get us out of here. But once the baby is born, we may need to move fast.”
Isobel nodded, her eyes shining with resolve. “You can count on me.”
It was impossible not to be impressed by her courage. She had run away from an abusive relationship, moved to a place she had never been before, gotten a job and now she was about to give birth in the break room of a bank. “You’re an incredible woman, Iz. You’ve shown an amazing amount of courage in the way you’ve stayed so positive through this ordeal.”
Isobel shook her head. “The thing is, Abby, I’m not usually very brave. I think that’s why I ended up married to Ricky. When I met him, he was extremely charming. He kept asking me out until I finally gave in. His persistence was a definite boost to my ego. And he knew how to pull out all the stops to make a good impression.”
Abby was preparing a follow-up question when a booted foot appeared on the top rung of the staircase.
Cal made his way down to the break room. She couldn’t see his face, so there was no way to know if he had found anything useful in the attic, but her heart beat faster at each measured step. When he reached the bottom and turned his head, she slowly expelled the air in her chest. He was smiling. That crooked smile of his that crinkled his eyes and hinted that momentum finally had turned their way.
“I’ve got blankets for the baby,” he said, setting a pile of fleece throws onto the floor. There was an edge of excitement in his voice. Clearly, he had discovered something more significant. “I only grabbed five, but there are more. And they were packaged in plastic, so they’re clean and moth-free. I also found a pair of trainers that might be your size.” He handed the shoes to Abby. She glanced over at her discarded pumps, grateful for the thoughtful gesture.
“Thanks, Cal,” she said.
“You’re welcome. We can’t have you hobbling around in bare feet. How’s our patient doing?”
“So far, so good.” Abby tilted her head to the side. What was he not telling them? What else had he discovered under the rafters?
His lips bent into a pleased smile. “I couldn’t find a light switch. But there’s a full moon shining through a skylight in the roof, so it was bright enough for me to spot a pile of sleds stacked on the floor.”
“Oh. Right. They were left over from a promotion we did last Thanksgiving,” Isobel explained. “We gave away about five dozen, but Tessa saved the rest. She never throws anything away.”
“Well, I for one am glad she’s a pack rat,” Cal said. “Because they just might be the key to our escape. I still have a few things to figure out, so I’m going back up to see if there’s something I missed. Same strategy as before if anyone comes to the door.”
Cal’s excitement was palpable. But what was the plan? “We don’t have much time,” Abby said. “Isobel’s getting close to delivering the baby. It could happen any minute.”
He turned to look at Isobel. “Hang in there, kid. Abby’s great at this stuff, so you couldn’t be in better hands.” And with that, he began to climb up the stairs.
* * *
Cal had made it halfway across the attic when he stopped and looked down at the floor. If his estimation was correct, the kidnappers were gathered directly below the spot where he was standing. At this point, they were probably getting anxious, waiting for the baby to be born. For Max and Martina, there was money on the line. They were hired guns, probably looking for a payout of cash from the robbery. He had dealt with criminals like them before. When caught, they were quick to lawyer up, always with one eye on the possibility of a plea bargain. But their leader was a different story. Ricky would be a formidable foe, quick to turn even a small mistake to an immediate advantage.
But at this point, none of them knew about the attic. And Cal aimed to keep it that way by treading as silently as possible over the creaking wooden boards.
First up—the sleds. The cheap plastic shell would offer little protection against a rough terrain, and the flimsy handles looked like they could break with one hard pull. On the positive side, they would be light enough to skim across the deep drifts of snow.
Second item on the agenda—the skylight, which was cut in to a section of the roof almost level with the floor. Another positive. So was the fact that the mechanism itself was an older model with a spring-loaded screen on the front designed to provide ventilation. He knelt down and spun the crank. It was just as he hoped. The opening was wide enough to fit a sled.
He pushed out the screen and watched it slide sideways across the shingles. The slope was steep, and t
he snow was still coming down. But the roof itself extended all the way to the ground where a deep drift would soften their landing.
It wasn’t a perfect escape plan, but at this point, it was their only option.
He headed over to a bin at the far end of the attic and retrieved the wooden shims that he had spotted on his last visit. Thanks again to Tessa and her unwillingness to throw things away, he would have plenty of wedges to jam under the break room door. Then he placed his left foot on the top step of the staircase and headed down to the break room.
His feet had barely hit the ground when he heard the bleating of a newborn’s first cry. Isobel’s baby had been born.
He hurried toward the couch and looked down at the infant curled on his mother’s chest. His body was red and wrinkled, and his arms and legs seemed too long for his pint-size frame. There were a few tufts of dark brown hair on his otherwise bald head, and a pair of bright pink lips framed his rosebud mouth. In other words, he was perfect.
“Nicely done, Iz,” he said.
“Abby deserves all of the credit.” Isobel’s voice was woozy with relief. “I could never have done it without her.”
He looked at Abby. She was smiling as she wiped away a tear. Admiration and a pang of something deeper—something he hadn’t felt in a very long time—exploded in his chest.
“Want to hold him for a minute while I take care of mom?” Abby said.
He nodded.
Abby picked up the baby and, with the edge of a towel, gently wiped off the little boy’s head. She swaddled him in one of the blankets, tucking in the sides to form a tight pouch. Then she set the blue bundle in his arms.
He had held babies before. Three of his sisters had kids, and he had visited the hospital when they were born. But there was something extraordinary about a birth under such difficult circumstances, and it was hard not to be overcome with the wonder of it.
“Does he have a name?”
Isobel shook her head as the thud of footsteps pounded in the hall. Ricky and his henchmen had come to claim their prize. There was no time to delay. Defend and protect. It was the only way. Nothing was going to happen to Isobel and Abby and the little boy nestled in his arms, not if he had anything to say about it. He handed the infant back to Isobel and picked up the stapler. It wasn’t much of a weapon, but the element of surprise would be on his side, at least for the first few seconds.
Abby touched his shoulder, lowering her voice as she pointed toward the door. “I have an idea. Let me see if I can stall them, at least for a few minutes.”
He nodded. It was worth a try. A key turned in the lock. It was the moment of reckoning.
Abby waited in front of the door. With the stapler gripped in his right hand, Cal pressed his back against the wall where he could remain invisible to the robbers. The knob turned, and Abby poked her head through the ten-inch opening. “Hey, hi, there, Max, Martina, and...who are you again?”
Ricky? Cal guessed, but he couldn’t be sure.
“We heard noises. Has the baby been born?” Max’s tone was hushed and soothing, but there was an impatient edge to his question.
Abby compressed her body further into the crack. “Yes, Max. Isobel just gave birth to a little boy. She’s fine, and the baby appears to be healthy, as well. But I need to do an assessment one minute after delivery, and then five minutes later to verify the results. Basically, it’s an evaluation of the infant’s color, heart rate, muscle tone and respiratory effort. After the second check, I’ll assign an Apgar score, which is normally somewhere between five and ten. I’ve just finished the first check, and I’ll do the next one in just a few minutes. So far, so good, I’m happy to report. It certainly looks like Isobel has been blessed with a healthy little son. Which reminds me, I ought to get back and assist with the afterbirth. Before I go, is there something I can do for you?”
“We demand to see the baby.”
Cal flinched. That was definitely Ricky’s voice issuing orders. He shifted his eyes to Isobel. A look of absolute terror consumed her countenance as she clutched her tiny son tightly in her arms. Her eyes met his and appealed for help. He raised his chin, signaling the need for patience. So far, Abby was more than holding her own and managing to avoid a violent confrontation.
“That’s fine. I understand.” Abby kept her tone light, allowing that it was the most natural thing in the world for three armed bank robbers to concern themselves with a stranger’s newborn. “I will have the baby cleaned up and ready for you to see if you will just permit me ten minutes to finish the assessment.”
“You can have five minutes,” Ricky spit out. “And not a second longer.”
As the lock clicked into place, Cal went into overdrive. Abby had bought them five minutes. Three hundred short seconds, with the countdown beginning right now.
“Don’t forget our coats. We can put them on when we’re in the attic!” he whispered to Abby as he sprinted across the room. First order of business was barricading the door. He pushed a chair under the knob and then dropped to his knees. He split open a package of shims and began wedging them in place. This was a first. He’d never blocked an entryway before, though he had busted through many as a cop.
In the background, he could hear Abby encouraging Isobel to set the baby down on the couch so she could help her slip on the large men’s coat they had found stuffed in one of the cubbies.
“This isn’t my jacket. It belongs to Zander.” Isobel sobbed as fresh tears flowed down her cheeks. “Oh, poor Zander. What will happen to his family?”
“I know it’s hard to think about that, Iz. But we just need to get moving up the steps.”
“But why can’t I carry my little boy with me up to the attic?” Isobel pleaded as Abby nudged her toward the stairs. “What if something happens while we’re gone?”
“Cal will be here. And I’ll come right back down here to get him and bring him to you. I won’t leave him alone a minute longer than necessary.”
“Please, Abby. That was Ricky’s voice on the other side of the door. I’d know it anywhere. He has come for the baby, hasn’t he? But I won’t let him take him. I would rather die than let that man lay a hand on my son.”
“Shh,” Abby said. “Cal and I have no intention of letting your little boy out of our sight. We worked too hard to get you this far. We’re not about to let some thug kidnap your son.”
“Kidnap?” Isobel’s voice was tinged with hysteria.
Out of the corner of his eye, Cal could see Isobel’s body lurch sideways. But Abby was right behind her, poised to keep her from falling to the ground.
“Is that what all of this is about?” Isobel wanted to know. “Those men didn’t come to rob the bank. They were hired by Ricky to take my baby!”
“That may have been their plan, but we are not going to let them succeed. Take one step at a time, Isobel. I’m right behind you. And Cal is ready to help, too.”
“I’m right here if you need me,” he chimed in from his spot by the door. He had to hand it to both women. Isobel’s response to the situation was relatively measured, given the circumstances, and Abby—well, there was no other word for her short of amazing. It was astonishing how adroitly she had dealt with Ricky while he had barked his commands.
“Take it slow and easy.” He heard Abby murmur as she threaded her hand around Isobel’s waist and helped support her weight as they walked across the room. “I’m going to let go and you can grab hold of the ladder. I’m right behind you if you feel weak.”
With a final flourish, Cal wedged the last half dozen shims into the side of the frame. They wouldn’t do much to slow the men down, but even a few seconds could make a difference. Once he finished with the shims, he began adding to the barricade. Anything and everything that wasn’t nailed down needed to be hauled as quietly as possible across the room and propped against the door.
Three m
inutes passed in the blink of an eye. The baby started to wail just as Abby returned to the bottom of the stairs. “See you in a minute,” she said. Then, she tucked the infant under the crook of her arm and headed back to the attic.
After pushing the last couple of chairs in place, he turned off the light and climbed up the stairs. When he reached the attic, he unhinged the ladder and pulled the clasp. The panel ticked into place, but a second later it clicked out. The snap wasn’t holding.
Twice more, he attempted the lock.
And twice more, he failed.
FIVE
The baby’s cry was so soft that it seemed laced with feathers, but it caused pangs of concern in his mother’s eyes.
“Abby...” Isobel slumped against a crossbeam, barely able to stand.
“Rest for a moment, Iz, and gather your strength. As soon as you feel up to it, you can hold your little boy.”
“I should have told you about the broken latch. The janitor usually closes it for us. We always...” Isobel’s tears fell and stained the wooden floorboards.
Cal released the panel and pulled himself to his feet. “Don’t worry about it. The barricade at the door ought to slow them down enough to give us a head start. You know that old saying, when God closes a door, He opens a window? Well, that’s literally what He’s done for us tonight. We’ve got a couple of sleds, an open skylight, a slanted roof and a soft drop to the ground. Not to mention lots of snow for a fast ride down to the road at the bottom. We might have to wait for a few minutes for someone to drive by. But when they do, we’ll flag them down and call nine-one-one. Make sense?”
“Uh-huh.” Abby grimaced through chattering teeth. It made sense, but it wouldn’t be easy. She looked down at the baby, still nestled in her arms. He looked even smaller and frailer wrapped in his thick cocoon of blankets, his serious blue eyes staring up at her so trustingly.
A gust of wind blasted through the skylight, dusting the floorboards with a shower of downy flakes. Even in their winter coats, the attic was cold, and it would be even chillier once they got outside.
Rescue on the Run Page 5
