Ignite

by Holly S. Roberts

  She looks back down at the receipt. “He must pay quite well.”

  I think about my foreign account with more than ten times what this one has. “Moon takes care of his employees,” is all I say.

  “I’ve never seen half a million dollars even on paper.”

  “What?”

  “You withdrew thirty thousand dollars and have half a million left. I can’t even imagine.”

  I place my hand out and she hands me the receipt. I’m driving, so I take only a quick look at the small paper. Sure enough, I have five hundred and one thousand dollars remaining.

  “Gomez,” I mutter.

  “Is that code for something?”

  “He’s a friend who also works for Moon. It’s his way of helping us.”

  “With a half million dollars?” she asks, shocked.

  “Yes.” My brain is stumbling over the reality that Moon and Gomez are refusing to back down on this. I turn down a residential road and find the house I’m looking for. Before we look at the vehicle, I check my old email and sure enough, Gomez tells me he’s put money in my account.

  The vehicle we came to see has a for sale sign in the back window. “We’re married,” I tell Beth. “Let me do the talking.” A funny look appears on her face but she doesn’t argue. I emailed this guy earlier and he’s expecting us. The garage door rolls up and he walks out. Beth and I get out of the Jeep and I walk around and take her hand. I let her go when I shake Charlie’s hand.

  He’s somewhere in his sixties with a beer belly that says he enjoys food and drink a little too much. He smiles at Beth when he notices her stomach and I decide he’s a nice guy.

  “We’re looking for a second vehicle for my wife to drive short distances after the baby’s born,” I tell him. He walks us through everything about the car—an older white Honda Civic with low miles. It’s a one-owner vehicle and in great condition for its age. Charlie jumps in the back and we take her for a test drive. I ask Beth her opinion on the way back to Charlie’s.

  “You know I don’t know anything about cars, sweetie. I’ll leave this decision in your hands.”

  She’s such a smartass, just like Nick said. We head to Charlie’s bank so he can notarize the title after I dicker over the price a bit and hand six grand over. From start to finish, we buy the car in less than an hour and drive away. Beth follows in the Jeep. I head to the small Moab airport twelve miles away. Beth parks a mile from the airport and we transfer everything into the new car. When we’re done, she waits for me to ditch the Jeep in the parking lot. Moab airport has a small commercial service that flies to Salt Lake City and Denver. The Jeep won’t become a problem with airport personnel for a week or two. I toss my personal cell phone into some roadside bushes on the way back to Beth. We’re heading to Colorado through back roads and it will take two hours longer. Beth has her seat fully reclined by the time we hit the Colorado border. She moves around a lot to get comfortable but doesn’t complain other than to ask for frequent bathroom breaks.

  Neither of us mentions what happened last night. It’s better this way.

  I bypass Denver and take another back road to Colorado Springs, where I jump on Route 24 that intersects with I-70. At least the weather is warmer here. Colorado Springs reminds me of Phoenix with a little more green and a slightly milder temperature. Beth says she’s not hungry, so we leave the city without eating, though I grab a couple of water bottles out of the back.

  “Damn, damn, damn,” Beth whispers an hour outside of Colorado Springs.

  “You okay?”

  She buries her face in her hands and doesn’t look at me when she whispers, “My water broke.”

  “Here,” I hand mine in her direction. “There’s more in the back.” I glance at her when she doesn’t take it.

  Her eyes are huge. “Not that water. The baby’s water.”

  It takes a few seconds for her words to register. With calm I don’t feel, I put on the blinker and pull off the highway before coming to a stop. A million things run through my head. I take Beth’s shaking hand. “I know very little about childbirth.” That’s a damned understatement. “How long do you think you have?”

  She shakes her hand. “I don’t know. My back’s been cramping for hours. I thought it was from staying in the same position.” Her other hand presses against her stomach. “First babies usually take longer but I really don’t know.” Her voice quivers on the last words.

  “Colorado Springs will have a hospital. We’ll be there in forty-five minutes.” My plan is to drive like a bat out of hell.

  Her gaze doesn’t leave mine. A tear rolls down her cheeks. “We can’t. He’ll find me there.”

  I’m fully aware of that. “I’ll get you there and you’ll contact the police immediately.”

  Her lips tremble even more. “He killed a man in front of me. He…he left me in the room with the body for hours.” Her voice rises. “He’ll kill people to get me back.” Her eyes change and I see Nick’s calm resolve staring at me. “No hospital.”

  My fury at Angelo ignites again. Keeping my voice calm isn’t easy. “He won’t get near you. I’ll be in the wings and I promise to keep you safe.” I don’t tell her I’ll die keeping my promise. This is Angelo’s child. He’ll bring his father in if he hasn’t already. I’m so far over my head it’s pathetic.

  Involving Gomez and Moon might be my only option.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Beth

  THE BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR my child has just taken a nose dive. This can’t be happening, but the small regular ache in my lower back and my wet maternity crop pants say differently. I can’t go to a hospital. Babies are born every day in a natural environment, I reassure myself.

  I lift my hand from my stomach and place it on top of Rack’s. “Angelo will kill you. He’ll kill anyone who gets in his way. Get us to a hotel. I’ll tell you what you need to purchase. Women have been having babies by themselves since the dawn of time. I can do it.” I say the words out loud because I’m terrified and actually need to reassure myself. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to the baby.

  Rack looks away. I have no idea what he’s thinking. The quiet in the car makes a few minutes seem like hours. He finally looks ahead, throws the car in gear, and turns around. He’s taking me to the hospital. I can’t stop panic from gripping me, and my heart races uncontrollably.

  Rack turns my way and offers a reassuring smile. “I have an idea. To put it in play, you need to keep the baby inside you for at least five hours.”

  That’s too ridiculous to acknowledge but it doesn’t matter. I’m so relieved a flood of tears streams down my face.

  “Hey,” he says. “I’ll deliver the baby if I need to. Stop worrying about it. I promise you’ll both be safe.”

  I cover my face as I try to gain control. My pants are wet and uncomfortable. The seat’s wet too. I’m two for two on messing up Rack’s vehicles. I take a few deep breaths and reach into the back seat where the bags of clothes are. I take out Rack’s T-shirt that I wore to bed last night and place it under me. I need to time my contractions. It will give me something to do besides worry.

  Once we hit the city again, he leaves me in the car and goes into a large discount store with a list of the items I hastily wrote out. It takes him thirty minutes. My contractions aren’t steady. I had several at eight plus minutes and two interspersed at about three minutes. Rack finally jumps back into the car and we take off.

  “Have you thought of names?” he asks after offering another reassuring smile.

  He’s trying to distract me and I’m thankful. “Not really. Angelo had names picked out. The last thing I’ll do is use his. Maybe Gracie or Addison?”

  “I like both of those,” he says and then hesitates a moment. I watch his fingers gripping the steering wheel, confident in everything he does. Those large hands might deliver my baby. “What about boy names? Maybe you should have one on standby,” he says and takes me out of my current thought process.

/>   A cramp tightens my belly and I try not to grimace. Rack waits patiently for my reply. “No boys allowed,” I breathe while leaning forward and rubbing my back. “If this were a boy, he would be late not early.”

  Rack laughs and a weight lifts off my shoulders. If he can laugh about anything right now we’re doing better than I thought. My due date is closer to three weeks away than four and I know the baby is a good size. If I had to choose a competent midwife, hero, problem solver, it would be the man sitting beside me.

  “Tell me about your brother. In the last email from Nick he said your brother died,” I ask because I need more to think about than the current situation. When I met Rack for the first time, I never asked about his brother. I was too wrapped in my own grief combined with happiness at my coming wedding and didn’t take time to delve further into Rack’s life.

  Rack thrums his fingers on the steering wheel. “Andrew was the baby of the family.”

  “If I remember right, you were one of five boys. Your poor mother.” Nick loved hearing stories about Rack’s family and he shared some of them with me.

  Rack smiles while watching the road and his dimple shows. “There is nothing poor about my mother. That woman had a wicked right arm when holding a wooden spoon.” He’s quiet and I let him gather his thoughts, though I’m smiling too. “Andrew was like Nick—full of life, solid, an all-around great guy. He joined border patrol as soon as he turned eighteen. I thought he would go the military route like me, but he had his sights set on the border for some odd reason.”

  “Did you ever think about something else besides the military?”

  “No,” is his emphatic reply.

  “I think that’s your answer. My brother was the same way. The military appealed to him and nothing would hold him back.”

  We’ve been driving and talking for an hour when a strong contraction hits.

  “So what’s your big plan for this baby?”

  I huff through the pain. That was a strong one.

  Rack looks at the clock. “In four hours we’ll reach my brother, Lincoln. He’s a cop and has training in delivering babies.” He doesn’t give me time to soak this in. “My dad was a cop too. He delivered a baby on the side of the road a few years into his career. Made the newspapers and the parents named the baby after him.

  Rack keeps talking while I watch the clock and time contractions. He tells me stories of his brothers and their escapades while growing up. We travel for two more hours. The pains are steady now and fear is making everything worse. I half-listen to Rack when he calls his brother. Two hours might be pushing it. The laugh over my silent pun turns into a groan.

  Rack increases his speed.

  I’m desperate. “Why did your parents name you Rack?” It fits him, but I can’t imagine what the name would be like for a kid to carry around.

  “It’s short for Rutherford.”

  “Rutherford?” I ask because it seems like such a strange name.

  “Rutherford Hayes Street, Andrew Jackson Street, Calvin Coolidge Street, Woodrow Wilson Street, and the brother we’re heading to, Abraham Lincoln Street.”

  I’m breathing hard but still manage to say, “Presidents, I love it. I thought your last name was Jones?”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Rack

  “NOW YOU KNOW MY big dark secret.” I laugh as a way to take her mind off the pain. She’s holding tight but I don’t know how long it will last. I’m terrified over delivering the baby. Give me a rifle and something to shoot—I’m your guy. Bringing a child into this world—mind numbing terror.

  I thought about forgoing the call to Lincoln so he had no chance to say no. What if he wasn’t there? Beth is a trouper, but I know we’re almost out of time. If we’re pulled over, it means we’re going straight to a hospital with a police escort. I’ll let fate decide. Even though my brother has training, it doesn’t mean he can handle an emergency if something goes wrong.

  Beth gains control and replies, “I won’t tell a soul, but now I have a lot of questions. Not now, though. Can you sing?”

  Her question comes out of left field. “No, not at all. You want me to turn on the radio?”

  “Yeah, something mellow. I need to keep calm.”

  I turn on the radio. It works until we’re about an hour from my brother’s house.

  “Turn it off,” she yells and then grits her teeth and groans in pain.

  I snap the music off. I start looking at highway signs. “I’ll find a hotel.”

  “No,” she groans. “Keep driving. The music hurt my ears.”

  I don’t have a reply for that. I should be telling her to breathe or something. As far as the breathing goes she’s doing well on her own. She hasn’t hyperventilated. She’s not screaming and she’s not crying.

  That changes ten minutes from our destination.

  “Damn,” she screams. “I can’t do this. I can’t.”

  I take the next turn on two wheels. My brother’s duplex in the headlights is the best sight I’ve ever seen. I burn rubber coming to a stop and I’m out my door and around to Beth’s side in seconds. I lift her from the car as she sobs.

  “Don’t let anything happen to the baby, Rack. Promise me.”

  I’m a few feet from the door when Linc opens it. I barrel through. “She’s having a baby. I have what we need in the back seat of the car.” A woman stands inside the door with a large strange-ass looking dog beside her. I don’t have time for introductions because Beth screams again.

  “I’ll get what’s in the car, Linc. Help your brother into the guest room,” the woman says on her way out the door. The dog stays put with a small whine.

  “What the hell are you doing, Rutherford? She needs a hospital,” my brother shouts while leading the way to the back of the house.

  “Yes, she does. It’s not an option. She’s Nick’s sister and she’s in trouble. I need you to deliver this baby.”

  The shock on Lincoln’s face is comical. Not much daunts him but this has. “I can’t deliver a baby,” he says in horror.

  “Open the damn bedroom door, I need to put her down. I’m here because they train cops to deliver babies.” He steps around me, opens the door, and I carry Beth through.

  “You need to put down the plastic I had you buy,” Beth groans.

  Fuck the plastic.

  “I’ve got it.” The woman marches past my brother with the bags from the car. She finds the plastic painter’s sheet and rips it open, pulls back the bed covers, and spreads it over the bottom sheet.

  “We need to call an ambulance,” my brother continues arguing.

  “Angelo Gimonde is the father. You’ve probably heard of his father who runs the Gimonde crime family. They’ll kill her and take the baby.”

  My brother runs his hand through his hair. “Fuck, Rutherford.”

  “I’m Shelby by the way, your brother’s next door neighbor. Lay her down on the bed. If you can’t do this, Linc, go boil water or something.”

  If I wasn’t so worried about Beth, I’d take more time to enjoy the new look on Linc’s face. “You know how to deliver a baby?” he asks Shelby.

  I place Beth on the bed and she grips my hand. I don’t like the panicked look in her eyes. I’ve seen this look when soldiers are dying.

  “No, but women have been doing this forever. If the two of you can’t stop arguing, get out and let the ladies handle it.”

  “Fuck,” my brother says again.

  Shelby takes over and pushes pillows behind Beth’s head. “No worries, you’ll be fine, sweetie, and so will the baby. Linc, water. Rutherford, grab towels from the bathroom. Wet a washcloth and bring everything in here.” She whips out her phone and says, “Googling baby delivery here. The two of you get busy.”

  Shaking my head, I follow my brother from the room. We haven’t cleared the hallway when he pushes me up against the wall and threatens me in a very low voice. “I love Shelby. If you bring shit here and endanger her, I’ll kill you.”

&nb
sp; We don’t have time for this shit. “There’s a very small chance they’ll discover what car I’m driving. Unless they stumble across the car itself, they won’t trace me here. For Christ’s sake, Linc. Kill me after the baby’s born.”

  Lincoln’s eyes hold fire. He loosens his grip and turns toward the kitchen. I locate the towels in the bathroom and carry them and a wet cloth back into the bedroom. Beth’s pants and underwear rest at the bottom of the bed. There’s a sheet pulled up to her waist. She gives me a small smile before she grits her teeth and bends slightly forward.

  Linc walks back in, goes to the side of the bed, and takes Beth’s hand. “Listen, sweetheart. I’ve never delivered a baby before but I’ll get you through this.” He takes the wet cloth from Shelby’s hand and gently wipes Beth’s brow. He reminds me of my father now that he’s settled down—calm and controlled no matter the situation. I allow myself to pull in a long breath and unclench my fists.

  Shelby starts reading directions aloud from the phone. “Do you need to push?” she asks.

  Beth shakes her head and Linc slowly moves the sheet aside. “I’m going to check and see if we can see the baby’s head, okay?” Her chin nods rapidly as tears slide down her face. Linc looks at me. “Come up here and hold her hand.”

  I take his place and he moves the sheet farther down. “I’m afraid for the baby,” Beth cries.

  I’m more afraid for her. “My brother and Shelby have this under control.” I use the cloth Linc hands me to wipe her brow again. “I bought blankets for the baby and a cute little outfit she can wear after she’s born.”

  Her grip on my hand tightens. “I need to push. God, I can’t stop it.”

  Shelby moves a towel next to Beth’s hip. The woman appears unfazed. “There’s string and scissors in the bag. I’m going to drop them in the boiling water and I’ll be right back.” She leaves the room with one of the bags.