by Abby Blake
Pete walked to the other side of the bed, his expression unreadable. He gathered his wife’s limp hand in his own, whispered something to her, kissed her bandaged forehead, and left the room, his anger palpable even to those without empathic skills.
Theresa took his place, grasping her sister’s hand, trying to give her own strength to Dana, trying to think positive thoughts, trying desperately not to crumble. She felt her husbands’ presence, their solid support only a few meters away, but they held back, giving her time, giving her space.
“Dana,” she whispered. “We’ll find her. We’ll find your sweet, little girl, and then we will shut them down for good. We rescued two girls today, just like we talked about. They’re only six years old, but already they’ve seen so much sadness, so much loneliness. They need us both to help them through. They need their family to help them grow in a world so different to what they’ve been taught.” Theresa swallowed painfully, very aware Dana was probably not hearing a word of what she said, but saying it anyway because she needed to hear it herself.
They’d rescued two more relatives at the same time Dana had been shot and her baby stolen, and even though Theresa realized she couldn’t have been in both places at once, she felt guilty she hadn’t been able to protect her sister or her tiny niece.
“I promise you we’ll get her back. With everything in me, I won’t stop until I can get her back to you, so you have to fight this, Dana, fight to survive, fight to live.” Theresa’s voice faltered, her throat clogging with tears as she felt a small spasm of movement in the hand she held.
“Good girl,” she whispered, hoping, praying the small twitch was Dana’s way of promising to fight.
She stood, gently releasing Dana’s hand and tucking it onto the bed beside her, careful not to upset the tubes and monitors surrounding the bed. She glanced over at Sandra and John, feeling their misery, their desperation for Dana to survive, and their fear for the child they loved. Slowly, Theresa backed out of the room, sending a telepathic message to them that she’d be back when she had their baby safe in her arms.
Outside the room, she found Caleb talking quietly with Pete, obviously trying to sway him from his current thinking. Pete stood in front of his boss, his fists clenched, his jaw held tight as his eyes glittered angrily.
“I don’t care,” Pete said loudly. “Without her...” His voice cracked. “Without her I’m not whole, I’m not...I’m nothing.”
Caleb said something quietly, something Theresa couldn’t quite make out from where she stood. Strong arms wrapped around her as Ethan pulled her into his embrace, turning her and pressing her face into his big body. She felt the slight tremor that wracked through him as he exhaled.
“She’ll be all right,” he said quietly. “She’s a fighter, and she’s not going to let a few little bullets take her down.”
Theresa smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. Ethan was right, Dana would be really pissed that someone had done this to her, and she’d be fighting tooth and nail to pull through so she could extract vengeance. Theresa could almost see the look on Dana’s face right now. Relaxing just a little, she held her husband tighter, grateful he and Caleb were here.
Theresa watched as her brother-in-law collapsed, his knees giving out as the emotions he’d been trying to hold burst from him. Caleb helped him into a plastic chair, shielding the distraught man from prying eyes. Theresa was still trying to decide whether Pete would want her help or not when the door behind her flew open and Sandra ran through.
“Jason found her,” she said breathlessly.
Chapter Three
Cody’s phone was ringing. It had been so long since his cell phone had rung he wasn’t even sure where he’d left it. Rummaging through the mess scattered across the sofa, he finally snagged the little vibrating machine before it went to voice mail.
“Cody Evans,” he said, trying to sound professional.
“Cody, it’s Caleb. I have an emergency situation, and you and Bec are the closest agents. Consider yourselves both on active duty.”
“Yes, sir,” he said, glancing up as Bec walked into the room towel-drying her hair. She stopped when she realized the emotions emanating from him and quickly linked her mind to his so she could hear the conversation.
Caleb explained their mission. Locate, retrieve, and return his niece and the man who was trying to get her out of the rogues’ medical facility about forty miles north of their position. Cody pulled his shoes on as he listened to Caleb’s detailed instructions and watched Bec gather their equipment. As he hung up, she threw him his shoulder harness, then quickly opened the safe under the floor and extracted their firearms.
They were in the car and on the highway within five minutes of Caleb’s call, speeding their way toward the most important assignment they could’ve ever imagined.
* * * *
Jason’s heart was pounding in his throat, making it hard for him to catch his breath. He’d spent the last five minutes explaining the situation to Sandra via telepathy. She’d spoken to her supervisors and between them all they’d sketched out a rough plan. Agents were coming for him. He just had to time it so that he’d be out of the compound with his precious bundle at the same time the agents arrived. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be missed here before they could get to safety.
Somehow, he needed to feign a calm he was far from feeling. Somehow, he had to pretend that looking after this beautiful little girl was just another of his duties as a doctor in this medical lab from hell. Somehow, he had to keep his cover for another twenty minutes, and then he could take a relaxed breath for the first time in years. Funny how, now that the end was so close, how much more difficult it seemed to stay undercover.
He briefly mourned the lost opportunity to extract Jenna from the rogues’ hold, but he was damned if he would leave this innocent babe in their grasp a moment longer. He silently vowed he would insist Sandra help him find Jenna when this little darling was safe and his cover blown.
He held a bottle to the squirming child’s lips, trying to get her to drink the baby formula that had been delivered to his office by a bemused lab assistant. The baby’s tiny face screwed up in distress, obviously unhappy with the taste, hungry but unwilling to suck on the unfamiliar teat. Jason’s anxiety notched a little higher. A screaming, distressed child would be much harder to smuggle out of the compound without calling attention to what he was doing.
He checked his watch as he gave up on the bottle and tried to rock the little cherub to sleep. She cried for a few more minutes before wearing herself out and falling into a tired, red-faced slumber. Relieved to have one problem seemingly under control, Jason grabbed his backpack, and quickly checked that the information he had liberated was still stowed in the hidden space at the base of the bag. He filled the bag with as much of his stuff that he could, and left his office, carefully locking the door behind him.
His heart pounded hard as he stepped into the hallway.
* * * *
Bec felt the familiar rush of adrenaline spread through her veins. God, she’d missed this. Glancing over at her partner, she could feel his similar excitement tinged with a little nervousness. She understood his unease. They hadn’t even been medically cleared for active duty and here they were charging in to rescue a child abducted after her mother had been viciously gunned down. The fact the child was their boss’s niece should change nothing. They were well trained, well prepared, and more than capable of pulling off what should amount to nothing more exciting than a taxi service. Somehow, telling herself that didn’t mean she believed it. This assignment was more important than anything they’d done before.
Her focus narrowed as they approached the rendezvous point, ready for anything, hoping for the easy outcome but expecting the worst. It was full dark by the time they rolled to a stop on the quiet country lane. She’d switched off the lights more than a mile back and had donned her night vision goggles to be able to maneuver the vehicle without hitting a tree. It was dark, a
nd it was very, very quiet.
Speaking telepathically, Cody checked the time with her. “We’re right on time. He should be here,” he said. She could sense he had his teeth clenched tightly.
“Give him a moment,” she sent, sounding calmer than she actually felt. “It can’t be easy negotiating bush land like this at night with a small infant.” Her own words heightened her anxiety. How would Jason, a doctor, not a field agent, manage to keep the baby quiet and get himself through dense bush land in the dark?
After making sure the interior light was switched to the off position, Bec eased the door open slightly and carefully lowered one foot to the dirt road. Straining to hear any unusual sounds over the night insects, she thought she heard movement off to her left. She froze in place, once again trying to hear any sounds that didn’t belong.
A small noise alerted her to Jason’s presence at the same moment her empathic senses picked up on his distress. He was hurt, and he was bleeding, dragging his badly damaged ankle behind him. Without conscious thought she moved from the car and toward the injured man, sighing with relief when she saw him through her night goggles moving toward them. Her gun was in her hand before she really thought about it, her years in the field coming back to her as if the last year had never happened.
She reached Jason just as he stumbled again, jolting the infant in his arms. A small cry rang out over the area as the baby girl woke with a start. Speaking telepathically, she called his name as she approached, reassuring him she’d been sent by Sandra and her boss. She went to take the infant from his arms, but it was clear he wouldn’t relinquish the precious bundle until he knew for sure they were safe.
She helped him instead, guiding him over the rough ground, grateful the baby had only made that single noise. She heard Cody start the car and throw the back door open for them as they approached. She guided Jason into the backseat, quickly following him in and closing the door, still trying to be quiet.
“Stay down,” Cody told them telepathically, obviously aware of a danger Bec had missed while she helped Jason. He moved the car forward quietly as Bec struggled to get a seat belt around Jason and his precious cargo.
“Hold on,” Cody ordered silently. “We’re about to have company.”
He planted his foot on the accelerator at the same time that he flicked on the lights. The car leapt forward, pushing Bec backward against the seat and then throwing her forward again as he slammed the brakes on and turned onto a paved road. The abrupt change in direction woke the baby, her tiny voice whimpering her discontent. Accelerating rapidly, Cody threw his phone over his shoulder to Bec, quickly sending telepathic instructions to her to call Caleb and request air assistance. They needed a helicopter, and they needed one before their many pursuers managed to box them in.
Bec glanced behind them as she pressed the speed dial, realizing for the first time they were being followed by several sets of car lights and more were traveling on a road running parallel to their current course.
The adrenaline kicked in again, slowing the situation around her, heightening her senses, enabling her to give clear, concise instructions to her boss. She spoke rapidly but calmly into the phone, her professionalism overriding the emotion of the moment. Slamming the phone closed, she checked on her passengers as she relayed the information to her partner.
“Get on the highway. Head north. They’re going to land the chopper as close to the road as they can to extract us.”
She saw Jason’s eyes widen in terror as he overheard her telepathic instructions to Cody. Reaching out, she grabbed his hand and held it tightly, trying to reassure him that she and Cody would protect him and the baby with their lives if necessary. Bec’s damaged little finger throbbed as he squeezed her hand in his tight grip and held the now screaming baby against his chest.
Several terrifying minutes and two more abrupt changes in direction later, they finally reached the highway. Cody planted his foot hard against the accelerator, pushing the car’s engine in an effort to gain distance between them and their pursuers.
A helicopter approached from behind and hovered over them briefly before lifting higher into the air and disappearing into the darkness again. The phone in Bec’s lap rang again, and she quickly opened it, relief flashing through her as she saw the caller ID.
“Caleb,” she said, her emotions leaking through her demeanor. She listened carefully, realizing that Cody was trying unsuccessfully to link to her conversation and keep the car moving at dangerous speeds.
“Got it, sir. Thank you,” she said, once again slamming the phone closed.
“The pilot says we have at least four cars on our tail about half a mile back. They’re going to land the chopper about three miles ahead and wait for us. It’ll be close, but the more distance we can get between them and us, the more time we’ll have to get on board.”
Bec looked over at Jason and the wailing infant.
“Can you get her on the chopper?” she asked, concern lacing her telepathic voice.
She felt his determination, his absolute confidence that he would protect this little baby. He nodded once, lifting his eyes to her face only briefly before he again tried to quiet the terrified child.
“Here we go,” Cody sent telepathically. “Hold on.” He left the road, slowing the car as much as he dared, and then swung the wheel so they skidded to a stop with Jason’s car door closest to the helicopter. With his head down, Cody quickly slid across the seat and out of the front of the car, turning to help Jason to his feet. Bec pushed him into a standing position from her place behind him. Then, flanking Jason on either side, Cody and Bec half-carried, half-dragged him and the baby to the helicopter and pushed them into the arms of the crew member by the door. Leaping quickly on board, they both held tightly as the helicopter lifted off the ground and into the night sky.
* * * *
Theresa shifted uncomfortably in the chair, and glanced over at Sandra. The woman looked terrible. Her usually gorgeous blonde hair hung limply down her back, her eyes bruised with deep shadows and her skin red and blotchy. Her brother John held her tired form tightly against his side, and Theresa could feel him trying to control his own raging emotions.
Caleb walked into the room, his stride purposeful as he approached the grieving siblings.
“She’s safe,” he said without preamble. “Lexie is on a helicopter that should be landing on the roof of the hospital in about twenty minutes.”
Sandra lifted her head, her relief swimming in her eyes.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. Caleb turned, heading toward the door, leaving the three of them once again with Dana and all of the medical machinery keeping her alive. Sandra pushed herself to her feet and stepped next to the bed.
Pulling Dana’s limp hand into her own, she said quietly, “Did you hear that, Dana? Lexie is safe. Looks like Jason really came through for us.”
Nothing happened. Dana’s bruised and battered body remained still, the only signs of life the mechanical lift and fall of her chest caused by the respirator and the steady sound of the heart monitor.
John stepped up behind her, steadying her faltering balance. Theresa felt the devastation that flowed through them both again, washing away her hope, robbing her of her belief that Dana would pull through. Wrapping Sandra tighter against him, John bent over and lifted his sister against his chest. He turned and carried the exhausted woman from the room.
Theresa dragged in a deep breath. “Fight, Dana! Please fight.”
Chapter Four
As the helicopter landed and the blades stopped spinning, Jason let Bec lift the infant from his arms. He felt fairly certain his ankle was broken, and he held no wish to endanger the little one with a macho display of stupidity. He’d spent the entire flight trying to shield the child’s ears against the intense noise of the helicopter and worrying about her overall health. He felt pretty certain he’d succeeded in protecting her hearing because about halfway through the flight she’d quieted and fallen into a ca
lm sleep in his arms.
Cody helped him, steadying him as he stepped down onto the concrete. He watched as Sandra and a man he assumed was Dana’s husband, rushed forward and took the sleeping infant from Bec’s arms. He saw Sandra’s expression as she held the baby close, the relief warring with the overwhelming fear for Dana.
She lifted her head, seeking him out.
“Thank you,” she sent telepathically as she turned and went back into the hospital.
Bec walked back to him, sliding against his other side as she and Cody helped him into the hospital.
“Come on,” she said a little too brightly. “Let’s get you to the emergency department and get this ankle sorted out.”
Several hours later, Jason sat in the emergency department, his left ankle elevated on the seat beside him, a heavy cast holding the broken bones in place. He’d been given pain relievers but was delaying taking them, trying to figure out his next move.
Basically, he had nothing and nowhere to go. He willingly sacrificed everything to save little Lexie and would do it again in a heartbeat, but that still didn’t solve his current problem. He was homeless, broke, and probably in a lot of danger if the rogues caught up with him. He laughed aloud when he realized his incredible lack of foresight. Over the last three years he’d been so focused on finding Alana and Jenna and extracting them from the rogues’ experiments that he hadn’t really given much thought to what he would do once he’d accomplished his goals. He had money in a bank account, but considering that’s probably the first place his ex-employers would watch in an effort to track him down, he probably shouldn’t try to access it.
His ankle throbbed like the devil, and he again considered reaching for the painkillers, but gritted his teeth and tried to come up with a workable solution to his current predicament.
