The Complete Arms of Grace Series

by Eleanor Chance

  It took Mara ten minutes to get Johnny lying flat and seat-belted into the backseat. She ran through her options as she squealed out of the driveway. The closest hospital was Richmond City where she’d abandoned Johnny as a baby, and it had the best trauma center in the city. They stood the greatest chance of being recognized there, but she hoped the FBI had their eyes pointed elsewhere and wouldn’t think she’d dare take Johnny to such a conspicuous place.

  Richmond City Hospital was in a different system than the one she’d taken Johnny to a few days earlier so they wouldn’t have access to his records. Her only chance of not getting caught was if the FBI hadn’t red-flagged the files, but she had to risk it to save Johnny’s life.

  She pulled the car in front of the ER and ran inside shouting for help. Two orderlies rolled a gurney to the car and loaded Johnny onto it. Mara left the car and ran to keep up with them as they raced Johnny to the trauma center. Her heart pounded as much from fear of being recognized as from concern for Johnny.

  A nurse blocked her way at the doors of the trauma room and directed her to a row of chairs in the hallway.

  “Let the doctors do their work,” the nurse said. “Tell me what happened.”

  Mara hesitated as she tried to concoct a new story to tell, but she was too distraught to think and decided to stay close to the truth in Johnny’s best interest. She lowered the pink ballcap she’d grabbed from the car over her forehead as she answered.

  “My son has a seizure disorder from a car accident as a baby. He had a seizure the other day and hit his head. The doctors thought it was minor and released him, but he’s been getting worse. He passed out just as I was getting ready to bring him here. It’s never happened like this. I’m scared.”

  The nurse put her hand on Mara’s arm. “This is the best trauma center in the region. We’ll take good care of your son. Come with me to registration, and we’ll do his paperwork.”

  Mara thought it was best not to mention that she was a nurse. “I forgot my purse at home in my rush to get here. I think I can remember most of the information. We’re visiting from out of town.”

  “Don’t worry. Just give us what you can. We’ll get the rest later.”

  Mara brushed away a nonexistent tear and followed her to registration.

  Mara paced the surgical waiting room like a caged tiger five hours later. She’d never been on that side of the operating room doors and had worried how another person’s surgery was going. She felt the security cameras watching her and knew her odds of getting caught increased with each passing minute.

  Johnny had been in surgery for three hours. The surgeon said Johnny had a massive subdural hematoma and his intracranial pressure was critically elevated. They’d also found a densely packed bundle of vessels in his left frontal lobe that was probably a result of his earlier injury. The surgery was delicate and could take eight to ten hours, which meant they had five to seven hours left to go.

  Mara stayed in the waiting room as long as could before needing to escape. She gave her phone number to the volunteer at the surgical desk and said she had an urgent matter to tend to. She forced herself to walk to the parking lot instead of bolting to the car. She didn’t know where she’d go, she just knew she had to get away from the hospital.

  She headed to the trailer first to retrieve her purse. She hadn’t lied to the nurse about forgetting to bring it to the hospital. She unlocked the trailer and dropped onto the couch to take advantage of the quiet and get her head straight.

  The urge to abandon Johnny and run resurfaced but she resisted, knowing she’d regret it for the rest of her life. She was destined to be Johnny’s mother. She had to stay the course to prove she was worthy of that destiny. She’d worked too hard to give up this close to her goal. She just needed to keep her wits sharp.

  Asking herself what a real mother would do in her situation, she went to his room to put some of his personal items in his backpack to take to the hospital. After searching for a few minutes, she found it shoved under the bed and wondered if he’d been hiding it from her. She knew the answer as soon as she unzipped it. Her laptop, a kitchen knife, some food, water, and toiletries were stuffed inside. She sank to the floor with the pack on her lap. Johnny had been planning to run away from her.

  The realization infuriated her. After all she’d done for him? Knowing all the plans she had for him, how could he dare leave her? A tear rolled down her face and dripped off the end of her nose. Wasn’t he coming to love her? Didn’t he care about the sacrifices she’d made? How could he not?

  She pondered these questions for some time before an idea popped into her brain. Johnny was homesick. That had to be all it was. He was a teenage boy who was homesick for the only life he’d ever known. It didn’t matter how much he hated the Walkers; he missed his friends and his life. It was so simple. Mara told herself that she’d have to give him time to adjust to her and his new life. The week they’d spent together hadn’t exactly been normal. She’d have to learn patience and give him time to come to love her if he survived.

  She took out the items he wouldn’t need at the hospital and left them in the middle of the floor. She left the toiletries and laptop where they were and packed his video game, and the comic books she’d bought that morning. It might be days before he’d be in any condition to need them, but she wanted them there for him when he was ready. It would be good for him to see what a thoughtful mother she was.

  She left the trailer with her purse and the backpack and got some fast food on her way back to the hospital. Remembering her purpose had helped her focus, and she was prepared to do whatever it took to save her son.

  19

  Grace finished Alec’s book on the sixteenth day since Johnny’s abduction. She tenderly laid the book on her lap and closed her eyes in the stillness, absorbing the lovingly crafted words her friend had put to paper. It was a profound and masterful work of art. Grace felt humbled and unworthy of the tribute Alec had paid her. The recounting of some details from Grace’s early life was not exactly as they’d happened, but the rest mirrored Grace’s memories.

  The book had flown off bookstore shelves and online retailers in the week since its release. Alec’s publisher was scrambling to print enough copies to keep up with demand. Grace was happy for Alec. She had a promising future writing nonfiction, just as she did in children’s books. None of that mattered to Alec, though. Like the rest of the family, all she cared about was finding Johnny.

  Grace had been so sure the $200,000 award would spark a frenzy around the country of people searching for him, but Mara’s trail had gone cold in the past week. The promise of an award hadn’t been enough to produce evidence that led to her capture.

  It was pure torture each morning when Grace opened her eyes and realized Johnny was still missing. Her dreams were filled with bizarre and disjointed images of him that left her breathless and anxious. There were mornings she wished she hadn’t woken up, not that she’d do anything to cause that to happen. The strain and despair of their ordeal were enough to do her in.

  She’d read the same despair in Wes’ eyes. He did his best to assure her that Mara had taken Johnny underground to wait for the uproar to quiet down and the public to forget the two of them. He didn’t believe those words even as he spoke them.

  Grace had concluded that either Mara had killed Johnny and dumped his body before going underground, or she’d abandoned him, and he’d died of exposure or starvation and thirst. Images of Johnny lying dead in a ditch invaded her thoughts. She appreciated Alec’s book giving her a tangible reminder of him as her little man and not as a decomposing corpse.

  She lowered her gaze to the book and studied the picture of Johnny as she tenderly ran her thumb over the cover. Alec came into the living room from the kitchen eating cannoli and stopped when she saw Grace.

  “How many of those have you had today? It’s only ten in the morning,” Grace said, attempting to lighten her mood.

  “Lost count around five. Who ca
res?” Alec glanced at the book on Grace’s lap. “Did you finish? What did you think?”

  Grace wiped her tears and gazed up at her friend. “Extraordinary.”

  “I had extraordinary material. Made my job easy.” She sat next to Grace and held her hand. “What’s the plan to look for our boy today?”

  “No more plans. I’m empty. You can go home, Alec. Adam and the kids need you, and there’s nothing to do here. I’ve sent Mark and Steph back to their normal lives. They’re making plans to go to DC on Saturday to see Jen and the babies. Even Ryan is back at work.”

  “Trying to get rid of me so you can sit here alone and wallow in your misery?”

  “I’m going to do that whether you’re here or not.” Grace got up and went to the Christmas tree. She straightened an ornament and adjusted a string of lights before stepping back to admire her work. “Christmas is two weeks from today.” She wanted to say more, but the words caught in her throat.

  Alec came up behind her and wrapped her arms around Grace’s waist. “I’m not abandoning you. I told you at the start of this nightmare that I’m not leaving until Johnny comes through that door. Adam and the kids are fine without me. They prefer the nanny. She spoils them. Adam is dealing with this by throwing himself into work as usual. I’ll bring the kids over tomorrow, and we’ll make our gingerbread houses.”

  The thought of their annual gingerbread house tradition was too much for Grace. She slid out of Alec’s arms and curled into a ball in front of the tree, fearing the force of her sobs would tear her in two. Alec rubbed her back and muttered words of comfort, but no words existed to soothe her pain.

  Johnny stared at the shapes in the ceiling tiles while he waited for the nurse to answer his call button. He’d been staying awake enough during the day that the doctor ordered the nurse to remove his catheter. Johnny had been relieved and disappointed. The catheter had been uncomfortable and embarrassing, but it had also meant he didn’t have to worry about having an accident while he waited for his nurse to help him to the bathroom. He wasn’t allowed to get up on his own. Most of the time they responded quickly, but sometimes they didn’t show up until he was about to burst.

  He didn’t really need to go to the bathroom this time. He’d used that as an excuse to get the nurse to his room so he could tell him who he was. Mara had finally gone home to eat and shower, so Johnny needed to take advantage of the chance while Mara was gone. She hadn’t left his side once while he was awake in the week since his surgery.

  The doctor had kept Johnny sedated for the first three days after his surgery. When he woke up on the fourth day, he didn’t know why he was in a hospital. He was more lucid by the next day but still so drowsy from the drugs they were pumping into him that it was impossible to force himself to stay awake.

  As he grew more alert in the days that followed, he bided his time until he could nark on Mara and get free of her. She’d made that impossible by putting on her Mother-of-the-Year act and refusing to leave his bedside. Johnny had finally managed to convince her that it was hard for him to rest with her staring at him all the time. He also played the angle that she needed to take better care of herself, so she’d be strong enough to take care of him when he got out of the hospital. He was shocked when she bought it.

  Johnny was about to push his button again when the nurse came in and gave him a fist bump.

  “You have to go again, bro?” the nurse asked. “It’s only been an hour.”

  “Sorry, Luke. You know how it is,” Johnny said. He pushed himself up higher in the bed and swung his feet to the floor.

  “Guess this means you don’t want the bedpan.” He handed Johnny his crutches and started unhooking him from the monitors. “Doc says no more wheelchair if you think you can manage.”

  “I can,” Johnny said.

  Luke held the IV bag as he followed Johnny toward the bathroom. They’d almost reached the door when Mara walked in and asked what they were doing. Johnny wanted to scream.

  “Why isn’t he in the wheelchair?”

  “Don’t worry. The doctor said crutches are fine,” Johnny said. He hoped to catch Luke’s eye and signal that he wanted him to get Mara to leave, but Luke was busy watching Johnny’s feet.

  “Can you get me one of those smoothies I like from the cafeteria? I ate all my lunch,” he asked Mara.

  She held up a large paper cup with a straw. “No need. It’s much better than the hospital ones.”

  “I’ll take it if you don’t want it,” Luke said and winked at Mara.

  “Nice try,” Johnny said and went into the bathroom with Luke trailing him.

  He was tempted to whisper to Luke about Mara while the bathroom door was shut, but he was too afraid she’d overhear. He didn’t know what she’d do if he crossed her and he was more helpless than ever. She’d probably behave herself in front of Luke or the other nurses, but the thought of what she might do to him when they were alone terrified him.

  He relieved himself and Luke helped him back to bed.

  “I’ll come back in an hour to see if you’re up to sitting in the recliner for half an hour. The doctor says as soon as you can sit without getting a headache, we’ll move you out of ICU to the step-down unit. They have much nicer nurses down there, and they won’t have to bug you as much.”

  “Bet they’re cuter, too,” Johnny said and did his best to smile.

  Moving him out of ICU meant he was recovering, and he wouldn’t be in the hospital much longer. He had to find a way to get free of Mara before that happened. There was no way he was leaving with that monster.

  “Alec told me what happened this morning,” Ryan said when he got home that night. “God, I’m worried about you, Grace.”

  Grace was on the bed watching some mindless sitcom. She couldn’t even remember the name. After her breakdown, Alec had helped her to bed. Grace had cried herself to sleep and woke two hours later with a roaring headache. Alec forced her to eat a few bites of lunch and take a pain pill. Grace had relented, not having the strength to fight her.

  She had to admit she was feeling better and had an appetite for the first time in days. Alec always knew what was best for her. She’d been pestering Grace to have a good cry, but as always, Grace resisted. She’d been taught as a child that crying equaled weakness. It was still a challenge at times to get past that backward conditioning.

  Grace patted the bed for Ryan to sit with her. “Stop worrying. All I needed was a good cry. You have to face it that I can’t put on a brave face and pretend our son hasn’t been in the clutches of a maniac for more than two weeks.”

  “I’m not asking you to pretend. In fact, I’m glad you cried it out and that you’re defending yourself. It’s the silence that scares me. Have you decided to go to your girls' dinner tomorrow? Contrary to what you say, it would be good for you to get out for a few hours.”

  Grace had hoped Ryan forgot about her annual dinner out with a few of the friends she’d worked with over the years. The only excuses any of them allowed for missing the occasion were serious and/or contagious illness or a death in the family. None of them could have imagined one of them missing due to a kidnapped child.

  Grace had tried to beg out, but her friends insisted she join them. She’d texted them two days earlier that she’d go if none of them brought up Johnny. They answered that they wouldn’t agree to that, and it would do her good to talk. She was certain they were motivated more by curiosity than concern.

  She couldn’t conceive of going to dinner and chatting with her friends about their children’s grades and sporting exploits or gossiping about so and so’s divorce while Johnny, if he was still alive, was out there suffering. Alec and Ryan thought it was the perfect distraction, but even garnering the strength to dress up and do her hair and makeup was overwhelming. Her breakdown that morning was proof that she wasn’t up to girls’ night out.

  “I’m not going. It takes all I’ve got left to get out of this bed every day. Can’t that be enough for now?”
>
  “Put off your decision until morning, but I say you can be miserable in a restaurant as well as here.”

  She sat up and swung her feet off the bed. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m starving. Let’s go find something to eat.”

  Ryan followed her to the kitchen without a word, but she knew he wasn’t done with her. She wasn’t the only stubborn one in the family.

  Alec watched from the bed as Grace put on her makeup the following evening. “What made you change your mind about going?” she asked.

  Grace grimaced at her reflection. “I’m only doing it to get you and Ryan off my back. Ryan brought it up first thing this morning, and you’ve been pestering me all day.”

  “All day? I asked you once. Maybe twice.”

  “Felt like all day. I look like hell. No amount of makeup is going to cover the bags and circles under my eyes.”

  “Cut yourself some slack. You look like a mother whose son was kidnapped. No one expects you to be a cover girl. What would you do if one of us was in your shoes?”

  Grace stared at Alec through the mirror. She put down her blush and rested her hands on the counter. “I’d do anything, and everything, just like all of you have done for me. I’m sorry if I seem ungrateful. I’m not. There’s no way to express how thankful I am.”

  Alec fell back onto the bed and sighed. “I’m not looking for gratitude. I’m trying to get you to see that we’re doing this because we love you and Johnny, just as you love us. Let your friends show their love. Are you almost ready? I told Katrina we’d pick her up at the hospital.”

  She grimaced at her reflection and scooped her makeup into the drawer. “This is as good as it’s going to get. Let’s get this over with.”