Solid Steel

by J. B. Havens

  As she drew closer to the bus stop, she could swear she heard a baby crying. Unusual for a mother to have her baby out at this time of night. Deciding to see if they needed help, she forced her feet to move a little faster. That baby sounded very upset, wailing like a fire whistle with no signs of slowing down. Her eyes strained to see, but she couldn’t make out the figure of a woman, or even a man, sitting at the stop.

  Her heart began to hammer; there was something wrong here. She can’t remember ever hearing a baby cry like that, and she was a mother of five. She was only a few feet away now, and she could see a bundle lying on the ground near the bench. The poor thing must have rolled off the seat.

  “Oh, you poor little thing.” Bending down, she struggled to pick up the child, but there was no way she was going to leave the infant laying on the cold concrete of the sidewalk. Rewrapping the blanket, the baby was in she held the child against her chest. Looking at her face and clothes, she determined the baby was a little girl. “Shh, now sweetie, I’ve got you.” She hummed a lullaby she sang to her own children when they were babies and looked around for the parents of the child. Seeing no one and judging by the feel of this poor thing’s diaper, she’d been here all alone for some time now.

  “Don’t you worry, old Eloise has you now child.” Settling the baby more solidly against her chest, Eloise began to walk. She didn’t have a cell phone, she hated the technology, but she admitted it would come in handy right about now. Luckily, there was a hospital only fifteen minutes away from the bus stop. The exhausted and terrified child finally began to calm, though she whimpered every few minutes, her little body relaxed into Eloise and gave up the fight. She fell asleep. “That’s right child, you rest now. We’ll get you back to your Mum and Dad. I raised five children, I’ll keep you safe. No one is going to hurt you now, baby girl. I sure wish I knew your name though.”

  As she walked, Eloise kept up a steady stream of chatter, hoping her voice would help soothe the baby. Her heart broke for her, being out here in the dark, all alone. No child should ever feel fear like that. “My son won’t be able to holler at me for walking late at night anymore. If I hadn’t come along, lord knows what would have happened to you.”

  She arrived at the hospital and found a nurse right away. “Please, ma’am. I found this baby at the bus stop. I think she’s okay, but she’s needs a dry diaper and some food.”

  “Please, come with me.” The nurse took the baby and led them both into the A&E, calling for a doctor as she did so.

  Eloise stood back as the nurse placed the baby on the bed and un-swaddled her. Her clothes were dirty and smelled terrible. The poor little girl was so weak. She could hardly move.

  The nurse came over to her and guided Eloise out of the room.

  “Please, ma’am I need you to step out of the room but don’t leave. I’m sure the police will want to talk to you. This baby is very dehydrated and weak, but I think she’s going to be okay.” The nurse patted her arm, “It’s a good thing you brought her in when you did; she could have been in some serious trouble otherwise.”

  “Thank the lord. I’m so happy to hear that. I’ll take a seat out in the waiting room, would you please let me know how she is doing? My heart hurts for that baby girl.” Patting her chest where the sore and aching organ is located, she said a silent prayer, asking God to watch over that precious child.

  “Of course. Now you go on. I have to get back in there.” The nurse smiled, grateful for the old woman’s help.

  Eloise slowly made her way back into the waiting room and took a seat, grateful to be off her aching feet. You did a good thing today, Eloise. You did well. She thought to herself as she relaxed into the surprisingly comfortable chair. She looked up at the TV where the twenty-four- hour news station was on. They were reporting a missing child.

  “What is this world coming to?” She muttered to herself, shaking her head at the horrors of the world. They showed a picture of the missing child, and her heart skipped a beat.

  Getting up and moving as fast as she could, she went back to the room where the baby was. “Nurse!”

  Chapter Eleven

  Riiing.

  Riing.

  “W-hat?” Chris mumbled from his side of the bed, waking me the rest of the way.

  “It’s the phone.” My mind caught up, and I grabbed the phone, swiping the green button hastily.

  “Hello?” I cleared my throat, my heart hammering in my chest. Chris leaned close to me, listening in.

  “Ms. Michaels? This is Constable Williams. We found her. Well, an old lady did, but Phillipa is safe. Get down to the hospital.”

  “Hospital? Is she okay? Fucking answer me!” My free hand gripped the sheet, balling the fabric up in my fist.

  “She’s fine. A little dehydrated and has some diaper rash, but she’s okay, I promise.” I could almost hear his smile. His voice was pitched high with excitement.

  “We’ll be right there. Text me the address.” I hung up on him before he could answer, I tossed the phone on to the bed and jumped up, pulling on whatever clothes I could grab.

  “Bea, they found her!” Chris was jubilant, he swung me up in a bear hug, spinning me around in a circle.

  “I’m going to wake the others, you grab the diaper bag and meet me downstairs.” I left our room in a flurry of motion, adrenaline shooting into my veins and making my heart race. I ran down the hallway, pounding on everyone’s door and screaming the news.

  “They found P.J.! Get your asses up!” In seconds the doors began to open, and my men were assembling. Ian stepped into the hallway, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

  “Fucking right on! Let’s go you beautiful bastards! Let’s go get our girl!” Flynn was jumping up and down, trying to put his shoes on and yell at everyone at the same time.

  “Bea! Come on!” Chris shouted from downstairs.

  “Follow us!” I yelled over my shoulder, taking the stairs two at a time, I had to force myself to slow down, so I didn’t break my neck.

  We practically flew to the hospital, the speedometer topping out well over the legal limit but neither of us caring one bit.

  We screeched to a stop at the entrance to the A&E. Together we ran into the building and looked around, I saw a group of police, and we headed right to them.

  “We’re here. Where’s my daughter?”

  Constable Williams stepped forward, shaking my hand and then Chris’s. “Come with me, she’s in here. We’re keeping the room guarded as a precaution, but we think the danger has passed. An old woman named Eloise found P.J. at a bus stop. Our best guess is, Mary Grant panicked and abandoned her, not knowing what else to do.”

  “We’ll worry about that later, take us to our daughter,” Chris demanded, losing patience quickly.

  Walking down the hallway, past the group of police, Constable Williams led us to a private room in the A&E. Opening the door, he stepped aside and allowed us to enter in front of him. A doctor and a nurse were standing next to a hospital issue crib. I could see an IV pole with clear tubes leading into the bed.

  Turning toward us, the nurse waved us closer with a gentle smile of pure kindness. “Hello little one, there is someone here to see you.” Taking a few steps back from the crib so we could get closer while the nurse and doctor watched. “She’s sleeping. We’ve just fed her again also. You can pick her up, be careful of her IV.”

  I held the sides of the crib tightly. My fingers wrapped tightly around the edge. I wanted to look down at her, but I was afraid that it wouldn’t be her. That this was all a big mistake and Phillipa wasn’t really here. My eyes were squeezed shut, like a little kid afraid to look into the dark, terrified of what I would see.

  “Bea, open your eyes,” Chris said, pulling on my hand.

  I opened my eyes.

  It was her. My baby. She was sleeping peacefully, her chubby cheeks were blotchy from crying, and she was wearing a little hospital gown. The IV line led her to arm, where it was strapped down with what looked li
ke a cast, but I knew it wasn’t. There was a bump on her forehead, a bruise forming around it in a ring.

  “She fell at some point. The woman who found her said she was laying on the sidewalk near the bus stop bench, we think she rolled off the bench and hit her head on the sidewalk. It looks bad, but she’s fine.”

  I didn’t reply to the doctor, only nodding in response. Reaching over the side of the crib, I picked her up. Her weight was familiar, she smelled nice; they must have bathed her. Wet spots appeared on her gown, and I looked up in confusion.

  “Bea, you’re crying. It’s okay.” Chris put his arm around us, his tears silently falling as he pulled us close to him. He leaned down, kissing Phillipa’s forehead.

  “Chris. She’s okay. S-he’s here.” I hiccupped and bawled. I don’t remember even crying like this when she was born. Phillipa struggled in my arms, moving fitfully and starting to whine.

  “Shh, P.J., it’s okay. Mommy and Daddy are here now.” Her eyes popped open and locked with mine. She smiled a gummy baby grin, and a giggle burst forth from her chest. She wiggled her arms free and waved at my face. I leaned down closer to her so she could grab my cheeks. Her feet kicked happily against my side and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

  “Oh baby girl, I’m so happy to see you. I’m so sorry I let this happen to you. I’ll never let you out of my sight again. We’ll build you a park at home. Please forgive me, Phillipa?”

  She smiled, and giggled, feeling such joy that she erased all my fears and guilt. Everything was going to be okay. I passed her over to Chris. I knew he needed to hold her for himself as much as I did. My breasts tingled as my milk swelled in them and prepared to let down. It was such a welcome sensation that I couldn’t help but feel the joy in it.

  I turned to the doctor, needed the reassurance that she is okay.

  “Doc? She’s okay? Really?”

  His face was kind, greying hair brushed his temples, and his blue eyes shone from behind wire- framed glasses. “Yes, Ms. Michaels, she’s completely fine. I want to keep her here tonight to make sure she gets rehydrated correctly, but there should be no reason why you can’t take her home in the morning. She’s a tough kid, a fighter. Other babies would be in much worse shape after an ordeal like she has gone through. But look at her, smiling at her Daddy as if nothing happened to her. You two have a remarkable daughter.” He looked over at Chris and Phillipa, seeing the care he took laying her back down in the crib so she could sleep. “She has remarkable parents as well.”

  “Thanks, Doc, not just us parents I’m afraid. There is a group of men out in your waiting room that is desperate to see her. She has a regiment of uncles who have been just as worried about her. Can I bring them back, a few at a time to see her for a few minutes?”

  “Of course, but she’s going to be transferred upstairs to a room. If you don’t mind waiting until she goes up, that would be less of a disturbance in my A&E.”

  “Of course.” Not willing to leave her for even a second, instead of going out to the waiting room, I texted Rook and let him know that everything was fine and they’d see her when we get upstairs. Seconds, after I hit send, I heard whoops and shouts coming from the waiting room.

  “Sorry about that,” I said to the nurse, who was checking Phillipa’s IV. “They are just happy she’s okay.”

  “Don’t apologize to me, sweetie. We don’t often see such happy endings in here. It’s a nice change.” Tucking a blanket tight in around Phillipa’s sides, the nurse smiled again and left us alone in the room.

  Chris came to stand beside me, his arm automatically going around my shoulders as we stood together at the edge of her crib, staring down at our precious daughter.

  “Told you so.” He said in a near whisper.

  “What?” Confused, I had no freaking idea what he was talking about.

  “I told you that she would be home safe. I don’t know how I knew, I just did.”

  “Well, in this case, I’m glad you were right. She’s never leaving my sight again. I’m also pretty sure I’m going to have Jones put GPS trackers in all her clothes or something.”

  Laughing, Chris pulled me closer, kissing the top of my head. “Nah, she’ll be okay. We got through this, but we still have to let her be a normal kid.”

  “I can’t think past this moment. The future seems so far away right now. I hope the police find Mary. I want to hate her, and I suppose part of me does, but I also pity her. A lifetime of abuse twisted her mind and made her into what she is. How different would her life be if she’d never married George? She didn’t hurt P.J., our girl will grow up and not remember one minute of this, of being kidnapped. Mary left her, and I think knowing that she couldn’t take care of P.J. or even herself. She’s out there, all alone and sick. I hope they find her and get her the help she needs.”

  “That’s positively decent of you. I was sure you wanted to hunt her down to the ends of the Earth and kill her slowly.”

  “Motherhood seems to have mellowed me a bit. It’s made me see things differently, I guess. Aunt Beatrice would be so proud.” I chuckled, tucking my head into Chris’s shoulder.

  Just then, the nurse came back in with an orderly, “We’re going to take her upstairs now. You can walk with us.” Moving purposefully and with practiced ease, the nurse rearranged P.J.’s IV and helped the orderly unlock the wheels and push the crib out into the hallway. We followed along behind, watching over Phillipa as she continued to sleep. She knew she was safe now and could finally rest deeply, I was sure of it. I couldn’t wait for the day when she started talking and could tell us what she was thinking and how she felt. Then again, if she’s anything like me, she’s going to be a handful.

  Smiling, feeling more at peace than I had in a long time, I followed my daughter and Chris into our new future. With all its uncertainties and pitfalls, it was terrifying, but also full of hope and possibilities. That’s what children are, precious pieces of the future, to be nurtured and protected—allowed to grow and change, becoming the people they are meant to be. I couldn’t wait to see who she became.

  Epilogue

  Six Months Later

  I help Phillipa’s hand as she walked through the grass with me. She was giggling, laughing hysterically and the blades of grass tickling her bare toes. She was happy and so smart, it was scary. She had her many uncles wrapped tightly around her little finger. The nightmare of half a year ago is fading into a distant memory, though there are still times when I wake in the night and check on her. My heart hammers in fear that her crib will be empty. I don’t think that terror will ever entirely leave me.

  My phone vibrated in my pocket, pulling it out and recognizing the number I answered with dread.

  “Hello?”

  “Ms. Michaels? Constable Williams here.”

  “Hello, but it’s Mrs. Jordon now. Chris and I finally got married.”

  “Congratulations! I’m happy to hear that. How is little Phillipa?”

  “She’s doing very well, talking more all the time now. Constable, I’m assuming this isn’t a social call?”

  “No.” He paused, and I gave him time to collect his thoughts. “We found her.”

  “Where?”

  “In a homeless camp, just outside Edinburgh. She’s dead, Mrs. Jordon. It seems she died of a drug overdose.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, but thanks for letting me know. I wish we could have found her and gotten her the help she needed.” I felt a mixture of relief and sadness. I was glad to know she’d was found, but I was sorry she’d died all alone, with no one to help her.

  “Most parents would be jubilant at the news of the death of their daughter’s kidnapper. You’re one amazing woman, Mrs. Jordon.”

  Phillipa tugged free of my hand, running ahead of me, laughing and squealing as she ran.

  “Thanks, Constable. I appreciate you letting me know. Have a good rest of your day.”

  I ended the call and ran after Phillipa, catching her and swooping her up into
my arms. She shrieked in delight, not fear. Our girl didn’t know fear and I was going to do everything in my power to keep it that way. I carried her over to the big wooden jungle gym in our yard, complete with a slide, swings, and a tree house. She could play all day in the safety of our yard. I was working on letting my fear go, but it was hard. Being home helped a lot. Our giant house in the mountains of Pennsylvania was safe and secluded, not far from where our compound used to be located. After we left, it was bulldozed, all traces of it long gone. The forest is quickly retaking its territory. I was okay with that though. We were building a new life, leaving old worries and enemies behind. The team still lived together, Phillips star still hung on our wall, but we no longer needed a war room. That part of our life was over. We’d found what Phillips had chased, what he’d been willing to leave us for. A regular life. Full of normal things.

  Lifting Phillipa onto the platform for the slide, I arched my back, trying to ease the pressure of her growing brother or sister. I was only four months along, but the baby was sitting low, straining my back. We’d decided not to find out the sex again, loving the surprise of Phillipa’s birth. Life was good, and the future was bright.

  The End.

  I hope you enjoyed Solid Steel. Please take a moment to leave a review!

  Other Books by J.B. Havens

  STEEL CORPS SERIES

  Core of Steel

  Hardened By Steel

  Forged by Steel

  Bound by Steel

  No Way in Hell: A Steel Corps/Trident Security Series Crossover Novel—Books 1 & 2

  ZOMBIE INSTINCT

  Molly: The Beginning

  Molly: Immersion

  STAND ALONES