Hailey walked slowly, but with my help she made it from the truck to the front door. Five vehicles pulled into the drive and parked at the curb in front of the house. Naomi was waiting at the door for me and the rest of my team to bring my little sister inside.
I tried not to rush my little sister, but Darby hadn’t returned any of my texts or answered my calls, and I was desperate to know if she’d really moved out. I’d sent Naomi to the hotel and then the house, but she’d reported no sign of Darby. It was noon, and there was no indication she’d ever come home. The thought of Darby leaving me was bad enough. Her leaving town pregnant and empty-handed had me near panic.
“Trex,” Kitsch said. I turned to see him holding Darby’s cell phone. “It was in the yard.”
My stomach sank. “It doesn’t make any sense. I’ve scrolled through the security feed. She hasn’t been here.”
Sloan carefully lifted Hailey in his arms, pushing the door open with his shoulder. “Go,” he said, nodding toward the house. “Maybe you missed something.”
For the first time all morning, I allowed myself to hope. I pushed through the door, immediately calling for Darby. I checked the bedroom, the bathroom, the nursery; all of Darby and Maddie’s things remained. Darby’s toothbrush was still in the holder by the sink. Maddie’s pink floral dress Darby had picked out and bought herself still hung in the closet.
“Darby?” I called, my heart racing.
“She’s not here?” Hailey asked, disappointed.
Naomi brought a glass of water into the living room from the kitchen, popping open Hailey’s pill bottle and giving my sister her meds. Naomi turned over her wrist and checked her watch. “You worry about yourself. You’re lucky all you got was some bruised ribs and a concussion. If the cops don’t find the bastard who hit you, I will.”
“Your parents on their way?” Harbinger asked.
I nodded. Hailey had been T-boned at the intersection a few blocks from my house. She couldn’t tell us much about the person who’d hit her except it was a guy with dark eyes and that he’d fled the scene on foot.
“It doesn’t make sense for Darby to leave with nothing,” I said, scanning the living room.
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Naomi said.
“Not to come back here, though, when she knows I’m not here to bother her. Not even to get her own things? Not even the things she bought for Maddie?”
Darby’s phone rang, and Kitsch tossed it to me. “Hello?”
“Trex?” Stavros said, surprised.
“Have you seen Darby today? Have you heard from her?” I asked.
He hesitated. “No.”
“Stavros, this is important. My sister was in an accident. I just got home. She’s not here.” I cleared my throat, struggling to say the words. “We got in an argument this morning. The last thing she said to me was that she was taking her things back to the hotel.”
“To the hotel? What the hell did you do to her, Trex?”
“I…it’s a long story. She left her cell phone. I just want to make sure she’s okay.”
“Call the hotel. Maya would have seen her this morning. Let me know when you find her.”
“Will do. Thanks.” I hung up, found the number for the hotel, and called the front desk direct.
“Colorado Springs Hotel,” Maya answered.
“Maya, hey, it’s Trex. Is Darby there?”
“Not since this morning. She got some boxes and took a cab home. She was really upset.”
I bowed my head, putting my hand on top of my head. I could barely keep it together long enough to speak. “Yeah, we had a rough morning.”
“No, she was, like, yelling at the cab driver.”
“She what?” I asked. “That doesn’t sound like her. What was she saying?”
“I don’t know. I just heard it. By the time I got out there, the cab was gone.”
“She hasn’t been back?” I asked.
“No.”
“Could you ask her to call me when you see her? I’m worried.”
“Sure.”
“Thanks,” I said, hanging up. I threw her phone across the room, hearing it shatter into pieces against the wall. “Goddamn it!” I screamed.
My throat tightened, my nose burned, and then the tears came. I bowed my head and gripped the counter until my palms turned white, struggling to keep it together while I counted to ten. My team had seen me lose control before. That was a side of me I never wanted Hailey to see. My vision blurred. I felt like throwing up, curling into a ball, knocking myself out, anything to get away from the pain.
“Trex,” Harbinger began. His voice was calm and level, talking me down from the ledge we’d all been on more than once, a ledge from where only our fellow soldiers knew the way down.
I turned around, glaring at the pieces on the floor, and looked away, already regretting it. My face fell as recognition hit. “No. Please, fuck, no…” I said, scrambling to fish my phone out of my pocket. I scrolled through the front door camera and driveway cameras between seven a.m. and eight thirty, this time looking for more than just Darby approaching the front door. It was then that I saw it. Her phone was tossed into the yard from a passing vehicle. I could barely make out a sliver of a possible white sedan when it passed.
I looked up at my team. “He has her. We have to go. Now.”
“Who? Shawn?” Naomi asked. “Let’s take one step at a time. We don’t know anything yet.”
“We’re wasting time,” I said, rushing into my bedroom, putting my phone to my ear, silently begging Val to pick up. When she did, I barely let her get out the first syllable of hello.
“I need you to find someone for me,” I said.
“Another fav—”
“Shawn has Darby! For the love of Christ, Val, skip the fucking snark and just find her!”
The other side of the line was quiet for too long, but just as I began to ask if Val was still there, I heard nails clicking against a keyboard. “Fill me in.”
“Shawn showed up at the hotel. A hotel employee reported hearing Darby yell at a cab driver, which makes no sense.”
“Checking security footage…” she said.
“My sister was hit and I had to leave Darby alone at the hotel. I sent Naomi to the hotel but by the time she got there around seven thirty, Darby was already gone. She wasn’t at the house.”
“Cab left without her. She’s with someone else, but it’s almost off-camera, hold on…”
More clicking.
“The car that hit your sister was stolen,” she said.
I sighed. “They fucking baited me.”
“Following a white sedan from your intersection just after seven thirty a.m. It left town…hold on, bringing up highway cams…” She sighed. “White sedan is on its way back to Texas. Four passengers. One female fitting Darby’s description.”
I packed a duffel with clothes and firearms, stepping into the living room. My team and Hailey stared at me, waiting for me to tell them what would happen next. “That was Val on the phone,” I said. “He has her. I’m going to Texas.”
“Not alone you’re not.” Naomi glanced over her shoulder at Hailey.
“I’ll stay,” Harbinger said.
Naomi nodded. “Oorah. Load up, boys.”
Naomi sat shotgun, with Martinez, Sloan, and Kitsch in the back seat. I drove ninety miles per hour down I-25 south, having Naomi check and double-check every white sedan and truck stop we passed. Val kept us updated. They were five hours ahead until Val caught Shawn on a gas station camera in Amarillo, Texas. The white sedan didn’t leave its parking spot for several hours, and by the time she saw them leave, we were only an hour behind.
“There’s a motel next door. It’s possible they napped and ate before the second leg of the drive,” Val said over the speaker. “It’s definitely Darby. She’s very pregnant. I don’t see a credit card being used at any of the area locations. They must be paying in cash.”
“Is Darby okay? Was she in the same motel room with Shawn? Where were the other two?”
“Unknown,” Val said. “She’s walking. That’s a good sign.”
I frowned, my knuckles turning white under the pressure as I squeezed the steering wheel.
“What about Derek? Is it possible he’s fucking with you?” Naomi asked.
“Nope,” Val answered.
“How do you know?” Naomi asked.
“Because he was arrested three weeks ago and charged with willful communication of classified intelligence to an unauthorized person under the 1917 Espionage Act. However, we do have information that he called in favors, and then made a call to Shawn on Hailey’s whereabouts.”
“Damn,” Sloan said.
“That explains why Shawn made his move,” Naomi said. “His brother isn’t around to cover his tracks or bail him out. The last thing Derek could do for his brother was to help him create a diversion.”
“With no help, he’s desperate and has likely decided he has nothing to lose,” I said, driving faster.
I drove until dark, and then Kitsch got behind the wheel. Naomi sat between us, and despite Val having eyes on every camera between Amarillo and Fort Hood, I still checked every white four-door from the passenger seat. We didn’t talk much, except to form a half-assed plan for when we came upon the car. The objective was to get Darby away from Shawn and his thugs before they knew we were there.
“Christ,” I said, “she’s probably terrified.”
“And stressed. Martinez, I hope you’re ready for this,” Naomi said.
“Always ready,” he said. He lifted his medical case by the handle.
The white sedan stopped in Lubbock for another hour, and again just half an hour later. We were twenty minutes behind them when they left George’s, a restaurant in Tahoka, Texas.
Just north of Justiceburg, I saw a pair of taillights. Finally, the white sedan came into view. “That’s them!”
“Okay, take it easy,” Naomi said. “Stay back, Kitsch. We’ve gotta play this smart.”
The sedan slowed from seventy to sixty-five, then fifty-five, then pulled over into an RV park.
“Pass it,” I said. “We’ll go in on foot.”
Kitsch passed the dirt drive, and I turned around in my seat, watching their car bounce over the uneven terrain. Kitsch turned off the headlights and yanked the steering wheel to the left, crossing the oncoming lane and bouncing the truck into a field, parking one klick south of Shawn’s location.
“You think they spotted us?” Naomi asked, tying her boots in double knots, securing her hair at the nape of her neck, and taking off her jacket. “The moon is full. It’s like we’re sneaking around in broad daylight.”
“Not sure,” I said. “Be ready for anything.”
I checked my Glock, took it off the safety, and took point, directing Sloan and Martinez to the outer line while the rest of us moved forward in a wedge formation. Just like the old days.
Fifteen yards from the tree line that surrounded the clearing, I could see Darby through the branches. She was sitting on her knees, her pants wet from the mud beneath her. The back doors of the sedan were wide open, the dim light from the cab of the car highlighting the sheen of sweat on her face.
Darby grabbed her stomach, leaned forward, and groaned. I rushed forward, but Naomi grabbed my sleeve and shook her head.
Darby put her hands flat on the ground, panting as she looked forward in fear. “You’ve gotta…you’ve gotta get me to a hospital,” she pleaded.
“Shut up!” Shawn growled. “I’m thinking.”
“We don’t have time!” Darby cried.
My jaws ticked, and I squeezed the handle of my gun.
Naomi motioned with her hand for me to be patient.
We took cover behind trees surrounding the RV park. Only the white sedan and two campers were present. I could hear Shawn and the other two talking to one another in distressed tones.
I could only see the top of Darby’s hair. She was crouching next to the car. “Fuck,” I said, leaning my head back against the tree. “She’s close,” I whispered.
“Complicates things,” Naomi said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Could also work in our favor.”
The others were waiting in the wings for an order.
Darby cried out again.
I leaned up, trying to get a better visual. I looked over at Martinez. He signaled he could see her and pointed at his watch. We were running out of time.
“Please!” Darby screamed.
“Shut her up!” the tall one said.
“Oh, I’m going to do more than put him on his ass this time,” Naomi whispered.
I gave the signal to move, and as one unit, we moved in.
Darby noticed us first. She was holding her stomach, soaked in sweat. She began to half laugh, half cry. “You came,” she said, tears streaming down her face.
Shawn turned around, took one look at me, and reached for Darby. I squeezed the trigger of my Glock, and the sleeve of Shawn’s jacket frayed. He cried out, grabbing his forearm, but I’d only grazed the fabric, a bullet hole appearing in the car behind him. Shawn checked himself over and then held out his arms to the side. The tall one ran, but Naomi put three bullets in the ground around his feet until he stopped.
“Is Hailey okay?” Darby asked.
“She’s going to be fine. Let’s get you home.”
She offered a tired smile. “Can we stop by the hospital first?” Her expression changed, and she doubled over. “It was him,” she grunted, lifting a shaking hand to point at the tall one. “Todd. He hit Hailey as a distraction.”
I looked at him. “You hit my sister’s car?”
He looked caught at first, looking to Shawn for direction. When Shawn didn’t say anything, Todd’s expression turned defiant. “Yeah, I fucking hit her.” He pulled a pistol from the back of his pants, cocked it, and raised it just halfway before I squeezed the trigger of my Glock. Todd fell to his knees, a stunned look on his face and blood spilling from his chest.
I lowered my chin, staring down Shawn. “Now we all have a reason to get to the hospital.”
Shawn’s other friend lunged at Darby, grabbing a fistful of her hair and yanking her back toward the car.
Darby cried out, reaching for her hair.
“Get…get back!” he said.
“I’ll cut off that fucking hand if you don’t let her go right now,” I said, yelling the last part.
“Let her go, Terry,” Shawn said, still holding his hands out.
“Get back!” Terry said again. He let go of her hair, but produced a gun from behind him, pressing the barrel against Darby’s neck.
“You’re outnumbered,” Naomi said. “Leave the girl. Get in the car and leave. Now.”
Terry and Shawn traded glances. Todd was wheezing.
“Let her go, and I’ll tend to your friend,” Martinez said. “His chest cavity is filling with blood. He’s closer to suffocating every time he takes a breath.”
“Nobody fucking move!” Shawn yelled.
Darby’s face morphed as pain took over her body. She cried out, startling Terry. Sloan squeezed his trigger, and Terry jerked back, a bullet slicing through his heart. He fell against the car, a crimson smear left behind as he slumped to the ground.
I signaled for Darby to crawl to me, keeping my sights on Shawn.
“Darby! Don’t you do it,” Shawn growled.
Darby froze. She was nearly panting, but she closed her eyes tight and then continued. I walked a few steps toward her, keeping my gun on Shawn, and helped her to her feet, hugging her to me.
“You okay?” I asked, kissing her temple.
She looked up at me, tears in her eyes but a relieved smile on her face. “I’m better now,” she said, breathing hard.
I held her to my side, letting her put all her weight on me.
“Get your hands off her!” Shawn yelled. “She’s mine!”
“Martinez,” I barked. Martinez broke formation to attend to Darby, setting her on the ground and checking her over.
“Put that gun down, pussy,” Shawn said.
“You wanna go?” I asked. “You wanna find out what it’s like to fight someone who hits back?”
“Trex, don’t,” Darby said through her teeth. “He’s got…” She groaned, doubling over.
“Put the gun down. Just you and me, jarhead.”
“Trex,” Darby warned. “He’s…” She grunted and then yelled through the pain.
I put my Glock on the ground and walked toward Shawn. “This is going to hurt like hell, but just remember…I warned you.” I threw the first punch with every bit of pent-up rage I’d had for him since I’d met Darby. My fist connected with Shawn’s jaw. Blood burst from his mouth as his head was knocked to the side, but he righted himself, then looked at me and smiled with dark red teeth.
I didn’t notice it at first, the subtle stinging in my side, until Darby cried out.
“You won’t have her either,” he said, pulling the knife out slowly and then jabbing it in again and twisting.
He was knocked backward with a bullet to the shoulder, and as he came at me again, his head jerked to the side. Naomi held Vicky in front of her, the barest whiff of smoke rising from the barrel. Shawn fell to the ground with a thud, and I stumbled back, the sting growing to searing pain.
I fell next to Darby. It was quiet for a moment, the ringing in my ears the only sound, and then suddenly all there was was noise.
Martinez ripped my shirt and scrambled for his pack.
“Trex?” Darby said. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Her hair was soaked. She looked exhausted.
“Sit back,” Kitsch said, helping me lie back against his pack.
“It’s just a flesh wound,” I said, feeling warm blood pour out of my side.
Martinez frowned. “It’s more than a flesh wound, jackass. What the hell was that?”
“Always the hero,” Naomi said, unhappy.
“Just patch me up. Let’s get Darby to the hospital.”
“Trex?” Darby said, reaching for me.
I took her hand and kissed it. “I’m okay, baby. I’ve survived worse than this. Let’s get you to the hospital so we can meet our little girl.”
“Let’s get you both there,” Kitsch said, watching Martinez work with a frown.
Martinez carried Darby, and Sloan hopped in the truck bed to make room. I crawled in the back seat with Darby and Martinez. Kitsch drove, and Naomi took shotgun.
“You hanging in there?” I said, wiping back the wet hair that was plastered to Darby’s cheeks.
“I’ve been better,” she said through clenched teeth. “How about you?”
I shook my head and snarled my lip. “Doesn’t even hurt.”
She breathed out a laugh, then leaned forward, a string of curse words streaming from her mouth.
I raised my brows and looked up at Martinez.
“They’re just a couple minutes apart,” Martinez said. “Darby, can you do me a favor? Reach down, see if you can feel her head.”
“What?” Darby said.
“It’s forty minutes to the closest hospital,” Martinez said.
“That’s at normal speeds,” Kitsch said. “I’ll have us there in twenty.”
“Darby,” Martinez said, his voice cool and calm. “Reach down and feel if she’s crowning.”
Darby pushed against the floor with her feet and reached down into the black slacks she’d put on for work the night before. She shook her head. “Close, but not yet.” She looked at me and smiled. “I can feel her.”
I kissed her forehead. “Hold tight, baby. We’re almost there.”
“Fifteen minutes out,” Sloan said.
Darby took a few breaths and then leaned against my shoulder, closing her eyes. She was exhausted. I’d lost so much blood, I wasn’t too far behind.
“Stay awake, Trex,” Martinez said, slapping my cheek a few times.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said. “I’ve got a dinner date with a couple of pretty girls.”
“I’m sorry,” Darby said, taking shallow breaths.
I shook my head and began to speak, but Martinez cut me off.
“Darby, you’re going to hyperventilate if you don’t get your breathing under control,” Martinez said.
“In through your nose,” I said, taking one with her even though it hurt like a bitch to take a deep breath. “And out,” I said, exhaling for five seconds. “Again…good, that’s good.”
Darby cried out, clenching her teeth and leaning over, her usually smooth, honey-blond hair tangled, soaked with sweat at the roots. “Trex,” she said, her voice strangled. “Help me.” She began to cry. “Please help me.”
I held her hand and squeezed. “Kitsch!”
“Six minutes!” he yelled back.
I could feel the truck surge forward, and then I heard a subtle pop and then a gush, like someone had poured out a pitcher of water onto the floor.
“Water broke,” Martinez called. “Darby, let’s get your slacks off. We might be delivering in the truck.”
“No,” Darby whimpered. “I can’t, I…”
“Darby?” I said, keeping my voice calm. “We’re all here for you. Martinez is a medic. It’s going to be okay.”
Darby looked at me from under her brow, then nodded. She lifted up, and Martinez helped her out of her slacks, then her underwear. Naomi turned around, placing her jacket over Darby’s legs. As Darby leaned against me, Martinez took a quick look, then his eyes darted straight to me.
“Try not to push and we can make it to the hospital. Relax your body between contractions, and as much as you can during.”
The truck bounced as we entered the drive of the Cogdell Memorial Hospital, and Kitsch blew past the business office, down a strip of road, parking under an overhang. Everyone jumped but me, and then my door was yanked open. Naomi helped me out, and Martinez carried Darby into the emergency room entrance.
“We need medical!” Martinez yelled.
A small group of nurses ran outside, and I listened to Martinez explain Darby’s and my statuses. Darby was seated in a wheelchair.
“Wait,” she said. She pointed to me. “He’s the father. I need him with me.”
The nurses traded looks, and one rushed to get another chair. I reached for Darby’s hand, and she took it.
“What’s your names?” the nurse behind Darby asked as they pushed us through double doors.
“Scott Trexler,” I said. “She’s Darby.”
The blonde pointed to herself. “I’m Deirdre. This is Leslie,” she said, nodding to the smiling brunette.
“I’m a Trexler to-be,” Darby said.
I squeezed her hand. “Yeah, you are,” I said with a smile.
They wheeled us into Exam Room Two, helped Darby into a gown, and into the bed.
“First baby?” the nurse asked.
“Yes,” Darby said.
“First stab wound?” she asked me.
“No, actually,” I said.
All the women in the room traded glances, including Darby.
“He’s a Marine,” Darby explained.
The nurses nodded with understanding, continuing to work.
Deirdre cut my shirt off, using the tear Martinez started as a guide. “Oh my goodness,” she said, lifting the bandage. “Your friend has medical experience, I’m guessin’?”
I nodded. She had the same accent as Darby and it made me smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Those are pretty ugly. You’ve lost a lot of blood.” She looked at Leslie. “We should put him in Exam Three.”
“I’m gonna hang out here until I see my daughter brought into the world, and then you can take me where you need to take me.”
“Trex,” Darby said.
“I’ve been dreaming about this moment for months. I’m not missing it.” I held my hand against the bandage. “I’ve been far worse off than this.”
Leslie hesitated. “The doctor ain’t gonna like this.”
“I think she’ll be more interested in the story,” Deirdre said. “I know I am.”
Darby held her breath, then cried out. Leslie checked her for less than a second. “She’s crowning.”
Both nurses went into action, setting up the stirrups and a side table. I struggled to wheel myself closer.
“I’ll help,” Leslie said, pulling me backward so I was sitting at Darby’s side.
I grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. “You’re going to do great, honey.”
“Well, hello,” a woman in blue scrubs and a white lab coat said as she entered the room. She stood at the sink for quite a while washing her hands before putting on gloves and then sitting on a stool, scooting it forward until she was sitting between Darby’s legs. “I’m Dr. Barnes. Looks like I’m going to be delivering your baby in a few minutes.” She scanned me, looking over her rectangular glasses. “Should be a good story at birthday parties.”
Deirdre stood on one side of Darby, Leslie on the other, and when it was time to push, they picked up Darby’s feet and pushed her knees toward her stomach, their palms against the soles of her feet. When it was time to rest, they returned Darby’s legs to the stirrups. I held my breath with each push, counting with the nurses. In the thirty or so seconds Darby could rest, she would turn and smile at me.
“I love you,” she said. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I wasn’t thinking. I was just ma—”
She yelled and pushed, and Deirdre and Leslie grabbed her feet again, counting to ten.
“You’re doing so good,” Leslie said.
“So good,” Deirdre said, nodding. She looked at me. “Stop holding your breath, or you won’t be conscious when the baby is born.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said, taking a deep breath and blowing it out.
Six pushes, and Maddie’s little face popped out. Six more pushes, and the rest of her little body slid out all at once like a pea from a pod. Dr. Barnes put Maddie on Darby’s stomach while Deirdre rubbed Maddie’s tiny body with a receiving blanket.
I waited for her first cry. It seemed to take an eternity, but finally, Maddie took a big breath and the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard filled the room.
Darby laughed and cried, and I did, too. This tiny, slimy, pink baby girl with dark, wet curls plastered to her head was trembling and screaming on Darby’s belly, and I felt honored to be a witness to it.
Darby looked up at me with a bright smile, the hours of pain she’d just endured instantly forgotten. I pecked her lips twice, then smiled as I watched the nurses work.
“She’s a little early,” Deirdre said.
“Is she okay?” Darby asked.
“Right as rain,” Deirdre said with a smile.
“Are we cutting the cord?” Dr. Barnes asked.
I looked to Darby for the okay, and once she nodded, I took the scissors from the doctor and snipped between the two clamps like she directed. “Holy shit,” I said. “That just happened.”
“Indeed,” the doctor said. “Good job, Dad.”
I breathed out a laugh, feeling tears burn my eyes. I was a father. I was Maddie’s father.
Deirdre clamped the cord and wrapped Maddie in another receiving blanket before placing her gently in Darby’s arms.
“Oh my gracious,” Darby said to Maddie, touching her tiny nose and then her miniature fingers. “You’re here.”
“Christmas baby,” Leslie said, perching her wrists on her hips.
“Look what you did,” I said, touching Darby’s cheek, watching her coo and whisper sweet nothings to Maddie. “Definitely going to have to change out that birthstone,” I said with a smile.
Darby looked up at me, her smile turning to worry. “You look pale. Dr. Barnes, you should take a look at Trex’s wounds.”
I blinked, suddenly feeling tired.
“I feel kind of weird, actually.”
“Trex?” Leslie said. Her voice sounded like it was underwater.
“Trex?” Darby said. “What’s happening? Oh my God! Help him!”
“Trex?” Leslie said at my side. She grabbed my wrist, taking my pulse. I wanted to talk, to tell them I was okay, but nothing worked.
“Let’s get him to Exam Three! Now!” Dr. Barnes yelled.