by Karen Rose
“How did you end up holding a gun on DJ?” Croft asked, and Molina’s brows lifted.
“I used the blade in my shoe to cut the zip tie and ran and hid. DJ ran past me, so I doubled back to take one of the vehicles, but he found me. DJ tried to get me to walk to the edge on my own, but I stabbed him, got his gun, and then lost it again when I got distracted by the arrival of Agents Hunter and Croft.”
Molina was listening, a smile playing on her lips. “I see. And then?”
“Tom tried to negotiate with DJ, but he was a real dick. DJ. Not Tom.”
Molina swallowed a smile. “I see.”
“He was dragging her to the edge,” Tom explained, then relayed how they’d taken DJ down.
Molina nodded, then walked toward the edge, keeping far enough back to be safe. “Who’s this guy?” she called.
Tom exchanged a puzzled glance with Croft. “What guy?” he called back.
“Oh,” Liza said. “That must be Dominic the Suave.”
Tom snorted. “Who?”
Molina came back and crouched so that she was face level with Liza. “Dominic the Suave?”
“Kowalski’s assistant,” Liza said. “He thought I’d make a tasty snack and stuck me in the Jeep to save for later. That’s where I was when I cut the zip tie.”
Molina nodded again. “I see. Anything else?”
“Coleen is dead,” Liza said. “DJ killed her. Probably Nurse Innes, too.”
“We know,” Tom told her. “We found both of their bodies. What happened to you at Sunnyside? We lost transmission.”
“Yeah.” Liza sighed. “I was trying to get away, but DJ said he’d kill everyone in the solarium. There were kids in there. He also claimed to have planted a dirty bomb that he could detonate with his cell phone. That’s why I got in the ambulance with him. Is Rafe okay?”
Molina did not look pleased at that. “Yes. Did you hire him?”
Liza met Molina’s gaze. And lied through her teeth. “Yes. Of course I did. Not like I didn’t trust you, but . . . I’m not stupid, ma’am.”
Damn, but Tom loved her.
Molina nodded. “I see.”
Liza looked at her innocently. “I’m glad. Did you really find Eden?”
“We have coordinates now,” Molina said. “We’re sending transport vehicles to bring the members down from the mountain. But there is, apparently, a woman about to go into labor?”
Tom sat up straighter, ignoring the discomfort in his ribs. “Yes. Cameron Cook’s girlfriend, Hayley.”
Molina tilted her head at the helicopter. “Have you ever delivered a baby, Liza?”
Liza sucked in a breath. “Yes, ma’am.”
The day her unit was mowed down, Tom remembered. Please let her help, he wordlessly asked Molina. Please.
Molina extended her hand. “Come. We’ve got medics en route, but it’ll take them three hours to get there by car, two hours by air. We can get you there in under an hour.”
Her smile radiant, Liza took Molina’s hand and let the older woman help her to her feet. “Tom too?”
Molina met Tom’s gaze with a small nod and he remembered that she’d talked to Liza’s CO. She knew she’d delivered a baby that day, right before everything had gone to hell. “Of course he’s coming, too. But Agent Croft, I only have room for two.”
Croft waved them on. “I’ll stay and wait for the crime scene techs and the ME. Y’all go. Text me later.”
“I will,” Tom promised, then followed Molina and Liza to the helicopter.
THIRTY-TWO
EDEN, CALIFORNIA
TUESDAY, MAY 30, 6:00 P.M.
Liza’s new fear of heights was put to the test an hour later when they arrived at the Eden coordinates derived from Daniel Park’s cell phone. There was no place to land, so they were lowered by a pulley to an area just big enough for two, maybe three SUVs.
She and Tom looked up at the cave entrance. There was a short walk up a steep trail and they set off right away. Molina quickly caught up.
Molina had explained that she was there for the Eden rescue and had only recused herself from the DJ Belmont part of the investigation. When Tom had asked her what she would have done if DJ had still been threatening them when she arrived, she’d merely shrugged.
Tom had grinned. His boss was far more flexible than most people gave her credit for.
The three of them were the first wave of the Eden rescue, Tom carrying bags of food and water that Molina had brought, hoping the offer of sustenance would ease their way in. Mercy and Gideon were on their way. Amos would be arriving a few hours after that.
They’d anticipated resistance, but they hadn’t anticipated a man guarding the cave entrance with a shotgun and a darkly forbidding expression.
“Hello,” Liza called. “I’m a medic.” She no longer wore Sunnyside Oaks’s scrubs, as they’d been soiled by mud and blood—both Kowalski’s and Belmont’s. Luckily one of the helicopter pilots had had a pair of sweats in his duffel, and she’d changed while they’d been in the air. It was a good thing she was tall. The sweats were baggy, but she’d only had to roll up the sleeves. Far better than walking up to the Eden compound covered in blood. “Do you have need of emergency services?”
They’d agreed that Liza should be the first to speak, as the community had been brainwashed to distrust the government.
“No,” the man said. “Take your helicopter and go.”
But a scream met their ears.
“Hayley,” Tom murmured. “Call her Magdalena.” To the man he said, “Please lower your weapon. We’re a rescue party.”
“We don’t need to be rescued,” the man bit out. “Go away or I will shoot your heads off. You’re trespassing.”
Technically, the man was trespassing, but Liza wasn’t going to escalate things by pointing that out. She took a step closer, her hands up in surrender. “My name is Liza. I was sent by your healer, Sister Coleen. I work at the hospital where Pastor has been recuperating. She was busy caring for Pastor, but asked me to come and help. She’s worried about the young woman who’s about to give birth. Magdalena.”
The man hesitated. “Sister Coleen sent you?”
“She did. She was afraid the baby would be born breech and that she wouldn’t be able to get back in time for the birth.”
“Who are they?”
“Tara is my assistant,” Liza said, pointing to Molina. They’d agreed that this would be a less precarious mission if Tom and Molina didn’t scare them by identifying as FBI right away. “And Tom is here with food and water. Sister Coleen also said you were low on supplies.”
The man looked torn. “Can you prove what you say?”
Liza smiled at him. “Sister Coleen thought you might say that. Can I show you a photo of us together?” She took Tom’s phone from her pocket and the man eyed it suspiciously. “Here we are, just this morning.”
She showed him the photo that she’d taken at Brooklyn’s request—bless her—and had accessed from her e-mail using Tom’s phone. Molina had assured her that Brooklyn was well after the raid, which had soothed her mind enough to focus on this next task.
The man frowned at the photo. “Pastor looks awful.”
“He was hurt badly. But his recovery was going well when I left today.” Which was true. Pastor’s recovery hadn’t tanked until DJ had killed him.
“Who’s the bald kid?” he asked gruffly.
“That’s my patient. She’s got a kind of cancer.” Another scream echoed through the caves. “May I please come in? Magdalena sounds like she needs assistance.”
The man made his reluctance clear, but he lowered the shotgun and stepped back so that they could enter. “You have to leave after.”
“Of course.” Liza couldn’t help but stare as they were led through the compound. “These caves are beautiful.”
“I’d be happy to help them as well,” Liza told him. “I didn’t get your name, sir.”
“Brother Joshua.”
Liza recognized his name. Joshua was Amos’s guess for who would take Ephraim’s place.
Joshua continued to look uncomfortable. The people they passed met them with shock and downright animosity. But they also watched Tom with interest, whispering that he carried two big bags filled with food.
Liza just smiled and waved, making sure the first-aid kit she’d taken from the helicopter was prominently displayed. The red cross was a symbol most people recognized. Even those who’d been hiding for thirty years.
They followed Joshua through a maze of rooms, many partitioned off with curtains. Some were legit curtains and others were clotheslines with drying laundry.
The young woman screamed again and this time it was closer. Joshua pushed the curtain aside and three shocked pairs of eyes met theirs.
Hayley—Liza refused to call her Magdalena in her own mind—lay on a pallet on the floor, sobbing. Two women kneeled next to her. One was older and had a harsh face. The other was much younger and exuded an air of gentleness.
The older woman rose, shock quickly morphing to outrage. “What is the meaning of this?”
Liza met Hayley’s wide eyes and gave her a small wink.
“They were sent by Sister Coleen,” Joshua said. “Two healers, and the man carries food and water. You may return to your own quarters, Tamar.”
“No,” Hayley cried. “Tamar can stay. Make Rebecca go.”
The older woman’s face darkened. “You will be silent, Magdalena.”
Liza left the politics to Molina and Tom, dropping to her knees next to Hayley. “I’m Liza,” she said for everyone to hear, then lowered her voice. “Graham got through.”
Hayley grabbed her hand and squeezed so hard that Liza thought her bones would crack. “He’s in the box. Get him out. Please.”
The box. Liza knew what that was because Gideon had been put there for a whole week. It was where rule-breakers were confined and given only the most basic rations of food and water.
Liza looked up at Tom and he gave her a nod, his promise to take care of it.
“I want my brother here for my baby’s birth. Please,” Hayley begged.
“He stays in the box,” Rebecca declared. “Pastor can determine his fate when he returns.”
“That might be a while,” Liza commented. “He could be hospitalized for up to six weeks.”
A collective gasp rose from behind them and Liza realized that a crowd had gathered. Tamar dipped a cloth in a bowl of water and dabbed at Hayley’s forehead, leaning in to whisper in her ear something that Liza couldn’t hear.
Hayley nodded pitifully. “Thank you,” she whispered to the woman.
Tamar patted Liza’s shoulder. “I’ll be back later.”
Behind them, Molina and Tom were telling Joshua about the supplies they’d brought, so Liza leaned in close. “We’re here to get you out,” she whispered, then raised her voice. “I’d like to examine Magdalena. Can we give the patient some privacy?”
Tom and Molina instantly stepped from the room, as did everyone else except for Rebecca. Liza turned to her with a polite smile. “Are you a trained nurse, ma’am?”
“No. But I have children.”
“She’s barren,” Hayley spat. “Her children were birthed by other women. She wants to take my baby as soon as she’s born, and I won’t let her.”
Liza continued to smile even though she wanted to beat Rebecca to a bloody pulp. “There are so many supplies. Perhaps you can aid with distributing them.”
The woman shook her head. “I’m staying.”
Hayley screamed again with another contraction. When it was over, Liza pushed aside the curtain. “Tara, can you come back, please?”
Molina promptly returned. “Yes?”
“This woman is a danger to my patient. Can you remove her?”
Molina took the woman’s arm and forcibly removed her from the room. But Rebecca’s irate shouts grew abruptly quiet as the two headed for the entrance. Liza briefly wondered what Molina had said to shut her up.
Liza grinned. “Let’s have a baby, Hayley.”
Hayley’s eyes filled with new tears. “Say it again, please. My name.”
“Hayley,” Liza said gently and brushed Hayley’s damp hair from her face. “Now I’m going to have a look at your baby. We don’t have any equipment so I’m gonna have to go old school.”
“Have you delivered a baby before?” Hayley asked as she nervously watched Liza pull on a pair of gloves and sanitize her hands.
“I have. In a war zone, no less. A little village in Afghanistan.”
“You’re in the army?”
“I was until recently.”
“And the baby was okay?”
“Yes. The baby was breech and the mom was scared. Her husband saw us distributing food to the village and asked me to help. We had no medicine and no special equipment. The mother and baby were fine.”
“Who are you now?” Hayley whispered.
“Just a nursing assistant,” Liza told her, then leaned in again. “The other two are FBI. They’ve been looking for Eden for a very long time.”
“Thank God,” Hayley breathed. “Is Cameron okay?”
“Cameron is fine. Just worried about you. How far apart are your—”
Hayley screamed again, her stomach rippling from the contraction.
“That answers that question. Three minutes. Let me see how dilated you are. Oh!” she said a minute later. “I see the head. You’re about to meet your baby. I understand she’s a little girl?”
“Yes. Jellybean.”
Liza grinned. “All right, then. On the next contraction, I want you to push.”
She moaned at the next contraction, but pushed like a champ. The contraction passed, and Hayley panted in silence, readying for the next.
The curtain parted and Tamar returned. “Everyone is getting food. They are so happy.”
“And Graham?” Hayley asked.
“The lady, Tara? She’s taking care of him. He’s dehydrated and hungry, but she said that Liza should stay here and that she would handle it.”
“Tamar, can you sit behind Hayley? Help her remember to breathe during the contractions.”
Fifteen minutes and five giant pushes later, Liza held a beautiful baby girl with a pair of very strong lungs. Liza had to do some deep breathing of her own, but her eyes still filled and tears still fell. “She’s perfect,” she said to Hayley. “Beautiful. Ten fingers and toes.”
“Let me help you wash her,” Tamar said. From a box she retrieved a clean towel and filled a bowl with water and cleaned the baby with such tenderness that Liza cried some more.
“You’re almost done,” Liza told Hayley as Tamar put the baby in her mother’s arms. “One more giant push.”
She was dealing with the placenta when the curtain was ripped aside. Liza smelled the boy before she saw him. “Holy God,” she coughed. “What did you fall into?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll stay over here,” the boy said, his voice squeaky high and raspy at the same time. “God, Hayley. You did it. You really did it. She’s okay?”
Hayley looked up from her baby and smiled. “She’s perfect.”
The boy grinned, his face dirty and tear-streaked. “Hey there, Zit.”
Hayley shot him a mock glare. “One more time, Graham, and I swear.”
“Do you have a name picked out?” Liza asked.
“I have one in mind,” Hayley said. “I want to check with Cameron first.”
Liza sat back on her heels. “You could have done this without me, Hayley. This was as simple a deli
very as they come. But I need to get you out of here, so I’m going to tell them that you need a hospital, okay? For now, just lie here and relax. You earned it. And Uncle Graham, if you can wash up—I mean squeaky clean with soap and water—you can hold your niece.”
“He volunteered to empty the toilet pots,” Tamar said quietly. “He stunk so bad that the leaders didn’t bother him. That’s how he set up the computer.”
Liza looked over her shoulder at the empty doorway. Graham was gone, the curtain drawn. “Oh. Now I feel bad. I mean, he can’t come around the baby that dirty, but . . .”
“It’s okay,” Tamar said. “He’s a good boy, and smart. He knows about germs.” She hesitated. “Will you take everyone who wants to leave?”
“Transport is on its way,” Liza replied, and Tamar nodded but didn’t look as happy as Liza expected. “Do you want to leave?”
“Yes, but . . .”
Hayley looked up at Liza. “She doesn’t want to leave her son. Rebecca stole him. She stole Tamar’s baby. Don’t let Joshua tell you that it’s hers.”
Liza’s gaze shot to Tamar’s, horrified. “You have my promise.”
“Thank you,” Tamar whispered.
“What’s your real name, honey?”
“Tiffany.”
“You have my promise, Tiffany. We’ll make sure your baby is returned to you. The authorities will probably require a DNA test—that’s a blood test,” she added, not knowing how long the woman had been in Eden. “That’ll prove the baby is yours, but I know people who can make that happen.”
Tiffany wiped tears from her face. “Thank you. Is it really going to be six weeks before Pastor and Coleen come back?”
“At least,” Liza said grimly. “At the very minimum.”
Tiffany’s lips curved. “Are they in jail?”
Liza didn’t say a word and Tiffany’s eyes widened when the truth sank in. “Did you do it?”
Liza shook her head. “DJ.”
“And he’s in jail?” Tiffany pressed.
Liza shook her head.
The two younger women shared a knowing glance. “Good,” they said.
