by Dana R. Lynn
Levi staggered. “Owen? He drives Amish people around.”
“He does. Billy Whitman rolled on him. Once we had a name, we were able to dig up lots of other interesting information on him. Like the fact that he also deals in illegal narcotic sales, including to students at the local high school. Several of his dealers are kids he blackmailed into working for him. His latest venture has been into the world of human trafficking. Six months ago, several women in Ohio and Pennsylvania were reported missing, and authorities had reason to believe they’d been taken by force. Just last night, one of them managed to escape and returned to Pennsylvania. She came forward and identified Owen as one of her captors. She had heard them talking about selling the women. As we speak, a drawing is being distributed to other precincts in the area. There’s a BOLO out for him.”
For the first time in the past three hours, a kernel of hope nestled in his heart. He held tight to that hope for the next ninety minutes.
Another officer entered the room and reported that Owen Brown had been spotted entering an antique shop owned by his aunt.
Five minutes later, Levi was in the car with Officer Dawson, heading east to save Lilah. Two other cruisers had been dispatched to the same location. They were going in without lights or sirens. No sense in warning Owen that they were coming.
“He must have been the sniper,” Levi guessed. “Did he have any training?”
“Yes.” She cast a glance in the rearview mirror. “He had gone into the service but had been dishonorably discharged when he swung at his commanding officer. He didn’t serve any jail time.”
Levi processed this new information. “He had to have seen me at Lilah’s haus that first day when we went to search through what had been her brother’s office. When I called him to drive us to Hannah’s haus, I think he was trying to figure out how much we knew.”
She agreed. He sat tensely beside her, every moment dragging. Finally, they pulled into the alley behind the antique shop. When she left the car, Levi sat for a moment, then he followed. He needed to be there when Lilah was found.
He entered the shop. No one was there. Near the back of the store, he saw a hallway. Moving on silent feet, he turned into the hallway and saw Officer Dawson. She frowned when she saw him, her gaze grew steely. He’d have some explaining to do, but he didn’t care.
A sharp cry came from behind the door. A woman was behind the door and she was in agony.
Lilah was going to die if he didn’t get in there.
Levi kicked in the door and rushed into the room, ignoring Officer Dawson’s shout. The door banged against the wall and bounced back, knocking him in the side of the head. He barely even noticed. All his attention was focused on the terrified blonde sitting on the floor against the opposite wall. Vaulting over the countertop, he rushed Owen.
Owen raised the gun to fire, but he was too late. Levi hit him with enough force to send the gun flying.
Officer Dawson entered the room behind him, her weapon drawn and held high, centered on Owen’s chest. Levi knew she’d probably yell at him later, but he didn’t care. Lilah was alive. Obviously injured, but she would be well. Nothing mattered to him except that.
“Down on the ground!” Officer Dawson shouted.
Instead of complying, Owen backed up and turned to run, his feet skidding on the slippery tiles. He was running toward the back door. Levi knew if he made it out that door, he’d be going straight into the parking lot. What chance did he have of making it to his vehicle to get away?
The police officers who had piled into the room behind Officer Dawson surrounded him.
Levi ran to Lilah and dropped to his knees beside her, barely aware of the jolt as he hit the hard ceramic tiles.
“Are you hurt anywhere?” He visually scanned her from head to toe, trying to find any serious injuries. She was bruised and scratched, and she would probably have a black eye within a couple of hours. But to his relief, he couldn’t see any other injuries.
“My ankle. The cabinet fell on it, but I don’t think it’s serious.”
He nodded. “We should let someone look at it. Just to be sure it’s okay.”
“I’m fine,” she gasped. “Hannah. Hannah is not well. I think she’s going into labor.”
He had been so focused on Lilah that he hadn’t paid much attention to Hannah, where she was huddled against the wall in the corner. He looked at her now. She was pale, shivering, and she was definitely in pain. Even while he watched, her face twisted in agony. She was having trouble catching a full breath.
What really worried him though was the water pooled around her.
There was no doubt about it. Hannah was definitely in labor. And if her water had broken as he suspected, there was no stopping it. That boppli was coming, whether they were ready or not.
“Lilah, I need to go check her out. I’ll be right back.”
“I understand. Do what you can for her.”
Despite her brave words, he saw the terror in her eyes. When he hesitated, however, she shoved him away. “Go! She needs you.”
That was the moment Levi finally stopped fighting against his heart. He loved this sweet, brave woman who put those she cared about above herself. Always. He didn’t know if he could ever be worthy of her, but he was so sick of trying to fight against it. If she would have him, he intended to make her his wife.
Quickly, he ducked and kissed her forehead before running across the room and checking on Hannah. He squatted down beside her. He didn’t like the red spot across her shoulder. He was no doctor, but he was pretty certain she was going to need medical care, possibly even surgery. He hoped an ambulance was already on the way.
“Hannah, can you hear me?”
“Hurts,” she panted. “Hurts. Boppli is too soon.”
Grimly, he reached his hand out and felt the pulse of her wrist. It was strong. Rapid, but that wasn’t surprising, considering what she was going through.
A sudden bellow rent the room. Levi spun on his heels. Owen was grappling with an officer. A chill went through Levi when Owen’s hand touched the service weapon at the officer’s waist. Hatred shone from his narrowed glance as it lasered in on Lilah.
“Your fault!” he shouted, spittle bubbling in the corners of his mouth. “This is all your fault.”
Levi knew what was going to happen. He shouted and barged across the room.
Too late. Owen wrenched the gun out of the weapon belt and took a wild shot at Lilah.
She cried out. For a single moment, Levi imagined that her cry was one of fear, that Owen had missed her. Then Lilah grabbed her thigh with both hands. The spreading stain beneath them made Levi sick to his stomach. He fought against the nightmare that threatened to hurl him back in time and render him useless to Lilah.
It only took a second or two for him to reach her side, but she was already pale, and her teeth were chattering.
“Stay with me, Lilah. Stay with me.” His words tumbled out of his mouth, shaking and shivering as if he’d been sitting in a freezer.
He shut the rest of the room out. He heard Owen crying and wailing as he was put on the ground, handcuffed and had his rights read to him. He knew another officer was tending to Hannah.
It didn’t matter.
He took the end of Lilah’s skirt where it had torn, probably caught on something, and tore a strip off.
Officer Dawson dropped down beside him.
“Two ambulances are on the way,” she rasped, her breathing harsh.
“I need to stop the bleeding. Do you have anything I can use, other than my hands I mean,” he snapped. “She’s losing too much blood.”
She nodded. “You keep pressure on the wound. I have a first aid kit in the cruiser.”
She ran out before he could respond. He kept pressure on Lilah’s leg. Even though his right arm wasn’t as strong or flexible as his left,
he was still more than capable of using it effectively enough to do first aid on the woman he loved more than anything.
He didn’t know what he’d do if she died.
“Gott. Help me. Help her. Please, Gott. Give me the wisdom to do what I need to do.”
Officer Dawson sprinted through the door and swung a first aid bag down. She opened it and efficiently pulled out the supplies they needed. Working as a team, they used the clean pads and applied pressure to stem the bleeding. Sweat broke out on Levi’s head as the second pad soaked through. Officer Dawson handed him another one. He placed it on top of the other two, pressing down on the wound, wincing when Lilah whimpered and tossed her head.
“I know it hurts, Lilah. We have to stop the bleeding.” He remained focused on his task. “I won’t let you die.”
Silent tears were running down her cheeks. At some point, her lids had fallen closed. “Lilah, wake up. You need to stay awake.”
She moved slightly, her lids fluttering.
“So hard. Want to sleep...” She slurred her words. His heartbeat went into overdrive. He couldn’t lose her now.
“Nee! Lilah Schwartz, don’t you give up. Stay with me, do you hear me? I’m not going to lose you.”
“Levi—”
“Jah, I’m here! I’m always going to be here.”
Her lids fluttered a few more times before she dragged them open. It was obviously an effort for her. Her eyes were hazy.
“Levi, you’re blurry.”
He swiped his arm across his face to clear away the tears blocking his own vision. “Jah, I know. Hold on.”
Sirens were coming closer. “Lilah, I hear the ambulances. You’re going to be okay. Just hold on a little longer.”
He couldn’t keep the ragged sob constricting his throat at bay. She lifted a hand and traced it down his cheek. “Don’t cry. Doesn’t hurt anymore.”
That was not a good sign.
The paramedics entered and took over. He was edged out of the way. Officer Dawson stood with him while Lilah and Hannah were strapped to stretchers and carried out to the ambulances.
Owen was gone, too, on his way to the hospital.
Levi swallowed the rage inside him. It had all been about greed. Jacob had died, and Hannah and Lilah were seriously injured, because of greed.
“Levi.” Officer Dawson placed a hand on his elbow. “Come on. You can ride with me to the hospital.”
He followed her out to her cruiser. He didn’t speak during the drive, too overcome with his emotions to hold on to the threads of a conversation. She seemed to understand.
“Hold on, Levi. I’ll get us there as fast as I can.”
He couldn’t respond, his throat was tight, and he felt as though he’d been hollowed out. If anything happened to Lilah—
He wouldn’t go there. Squeezing his eyes shut, Levi dug deep and prayed for all he was worth. He prayed for Hannah. He prayed for the boppli. But most of all, he prayed for Lilah. He prayed for that beautiful girl with the blond hair and deep blue eyes, who had managed to pull him out of his self-imposed isolation from his emotions.
Officer Dawson flipped on the siren and the lights. Levi appreciated it. Anything that would get him to the hospital sooner.
The cars in front of them sheared off to the side of the road, letting them pass.
“We’ll be there in five minutes. Six, tops,” Officer Dawson told him, her knuckles white on the steering wheel.
It was going to be a very long five minutes.
SEVENTEEN
Levi followed the stretcher carrying Lilah into the hospital. He stuck close until the hospital staff stopped him. Helpless, his eyes tracked her as she was borne through double doors that swung shut behind her. Lost, he wandered around the waiting room.
A nurse came out from behind the registration counter, a tablet and stylus pen in hand. He responded to her questions, impatience making his skin itch. He wanted to bust through the doors to see where she was.
What if she died? There had been so much blood. Leg wounds were tricky. He had no idea if the bullet had nicked the artery or not. He had stemmed the bleeding as much as he could, but she’d lost so much before the ambulance and paramedics had arrived to take over. He didn’t think he’d ever erase the memory of her lying so still and pale from his mind.
Had he done enough, fast enough?
His mind swam with one horrid outcome after another. He shook his head, trying to literally shake the thoughts from his mind. It was pointless to stand here considering the worst-case scenario. And almost as pointless, to his way of thinking, was answering these questions when Lilah was fighting for her life.
“Sir, who is her next of kin?”
“What?” he frowned at the nurse. “Next of kin? Not sure. She had lived with her brother, but he was recently killed in a fire. Her sister-in-law was brought in about the same time as Lilah. She was in premature labor.”
Her entire family was either dead or in the hospital with her. Lilah had no one.
Nee. That wasn’t completely true.
Lilah had him. Levi needed to stay strong and steady. At least until she was on the mend. His stomach dropped at the idea of his world without her.
Breathing deep, he fought down the despair. Lilah would make it. She was young and strong. The doctors would know what to do for her. She would recover.
Then what? He couldn’t think of leaving her. He couldn’t do it. But would it be selfish to stay? He loved her, but would it be enough? He still had issues he was working through. Nightmares and flashbacks.
He finished answering the nurse’s questions. When she left him alone, he prowled along the edges of the room, his mind churning and boiling with doubts and fears.
What would Lilah do if she had been in his place? He knew the answer before he’d finished asking the question. She would pray.
In the empty waiting room, Levi bowed his head and prayed. He prayed for the sweet woman in surgery. He prayed for Hannah and her boppli. And he prayed for himself, that Gott would reveal His wisdom.
Levi had no idea how long he stood in that room, pouring out his heart to Gott, begging for His healing touch on the woman who held his heart in her slender hands. By the time he finished, more people had filtered in.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearly eleven thirty. He had been in the waiting room for nearly two hours. And still no word.
A hand landed on his shoulder. Startled, Levi turned his head.
“Aiden! What are you doing here?”
He wiped his hand across his eyes.
“Your brother Abram called me. Told me what was going on. I left the minute I heard.”
Aiden lived several hours away. Levi had no problem believing the man he’d gone to war with would drop everything to come to his aid. That was the kind of man he was. Levi would do the same for him. “Aw, man. You didn’t have to do that. But I’m glad to see you.”
Aiden flashed him a tight grin. “No sweat. I remember many times when you dropped what you were doing to help me. Have you heard anything?”
“Not yet.” A doctor entered the room, her surgical mask pulled down under her chin. Her eyes scanned the room and rested on him. “I think we’re about to,” Levi murmured.
He swiveled on his heels until he was standing next to his friend, hands clasped behind his back, legs spread slightly, falling back on his military training for support.
“Mr. Burkholder?”
He nodded. He couldn’t have spoken if he’d tried. His mouth was as dry as the Sahara. His throat felt like he’d swallowed a large cotton ball.
“Your friend, Lilah Schwartz, is out of surgery and resting. You should be able to see her in about an hour.”
He swallowed. “Will she be fine?”
The surgeon smiled. “She will. We stopped the bleeding. We n
eeded to do a graft to repair the artery, but it was barely scratched. Her ankle needed a couple of pins. She’ll be unable to walk for a few weeks, but she will heal. I don’t want her to be alone.”
“She can stay with my family until she heals.”
The doctor smiled.
“What about her sister-in-law? Hannah Schwartz?”
“The baby is fine. So is Hannah. She had a little girl. We’ll keep the baby here for a week or so, but she’s breathing on her own.”
When the doctor left, Levi wilted into a chair. He held the bridge of his nose and focused on breathing, striving to keep the tears filling his eyes at bay.
She was fine. They would all live.
“Hey, buddy. You okay?” Aiden settled into the chair beside Levi. It creaked when he shifted his weight.
“I honestly don’t know.” Levi leaned forward. “I could use some guidance here.”
Aiden smiled. “Let me guess. You’re in love and about to do something really stupid.”
Levi scowled at his best friend. “I didn’t ask to be insulted.” He leaned back in his chair. “Define stupid.”
Aiden grinned. “Stupid is thinking that the girl who means the world to you would be better off without you. Seriously. Dude. How many women did God make that would be perfect for you, even with all your flaws?”
One. He made one.
Levi nodded. “Jah, I get what you’re saying. How did you know what I was considering?”
Aiden gave a one-shouldered shrug, grimacing. “How do you think? I made the same idiotic decision when I realized I was falling for Sophie.”
“What?”
Several people shushed him. He hadn’t meant to shout.
“What?” he repeated with less volume.
“You heard me.” Aiden tilted his head. “You remember when I brought her to you. She and Celine. Man, she was messing with my head, even after only a day. It wasn’t long before I knew she was the one for me. But I was stubborn. I refused to commit. I had too much baggage. Too many issues. All sorts of lies.”
“Are they lies?” Levi broke in.
Aiden stared him straight in the eye. “Every single excuse I told myself was just that. An excuse. Yes, I had baggage. But so did she. I had issues from my childhood. She was dealing with her family’s death and her uncle’s ultimate betrayal. That’s life. You still go on, learn to cope.”
