by J. D. Faver
Javier walked back to where Rafael was standing. “What’s the plan?”
“I’ve asked Ida to go through official channels to request that the electricity be shut down. That will allow us to unlock the rolling shutters and gain access from the front of the building.”
Javier frowned. “How long will that take?”
Rafael shook his head. He raked his fingers through his hair. “I have no idea.”
Javier felt like he was being crushed under a mountain of helplessness. He had to do something. He looked around the enclosed area where ambulances transported the ill and injured.
“What are you thinking?” Rafael asked.
“I’m thinking that you should help me take the doors off the mechanical room.”
~*~
Zach crawled along the air duct, trying to orient himself to the corridors and the emergency wing. He looked through each vent peering through the slats to determine if Sky and her captor were within.
The duct work was made of metal and wrapped in insulation. Chilled air was transported through the ducts. Zach hoped that the insulation and the sound of air whizzing through the vents would mask any noise he made.
He had become horribly confused as to direction. He gritted his teeth and silently cursed when he reached a dead end in the ductwork.
He sighed and backed up, crawling in reverse to a place where the passage was joined to another. He was able to turn and make his way in a different direction.
A low-pitched sound caught his attention. It was the sound of a woman’s voice. She sounded like she was in pain.
A trickle of fear swirled around Zach’s gut.
He’s hurting her.
~*~
Cassie pressed her face to the glass. She saw Rafael conferring with several deputies under the protected roof overhang. The flashing lights from their vehicles reflected off the concrete walls.
Rafael looked worried.
She didn’t want him to be worried. She wanted him to get the doors open and save Sky. Of course, Rafael was probably more concerned about rescuing Chloe and Lacy, but surely he could rescue Sky as well.
She could see Javi’s big red truck from her vantage point, but she couldn’t see him anywhere. Come on Javi. Where are you?
Her gaze lit on Darla, positioned on the far side of the loading dock. She appeared to be standing up on something where she was elevated a few feet above the others. Cassie realized that Darla was watching her through the scope on some sort of rifle.
The fine hairs on the back of Cassie’s neck stood at attention, but she raised her hand to wave and Darla waved in return. Cassie swallowed hard.
Suddenly she spotted Javier. He approached Rafael and then Rafael accompanied him to a room on the side of the complex with its doors standing open. Javi and Rafael talked for a few minutes and then the big auburn haired deputy came with a sledgehammer and knocked the hinges off the doors.
She watched intently as the men dragged the two large metal doors toward the spot where she stood, behind the locked doors to the ER.
Javier looked up from his task and saw her standing on the other side of the glass. He dropped the heavy metal door and ran up the wheelchair ramp to stand on the other side, looking in at her.
He flashed a momentary grin and then a serious expression took over his face. “Cassie. Listen to me, baby. I want you to go away from these doors.” He motioned toward the front of the building. “I want you to go down the hall, past the corner and wait there for me.”
She stared at him through the glass.
“Cassie, go on now. Run!”
~*~
Sky tried to shut out the thoughts of imminent death and focus on her task; to deliver Chloe’s baby and keep them safe.
Lacy had cried herself out and slept on an examination table with the side rails raised.
Chloe lay on her own examination table, gripping the side rails with both hands, a determined expression on her face. “I can’t!” she whispered fiercely.
“Chloe, I was able to turn the baby and its head is in the right position. Try to relax and let me deliver it.”
“No-o-o” she wailed tearfully. “I want my husband. He’s supposed to be here with me. We had it all planned.”
Sky bit her lip, trying to quell her fear. “I know, but things have changed. There’s a hurricane out in the Gulf and a crazy man in the exam room. We need to make sure this baby is delivered safely.”
“I kno-o-ow,” she howled. “But I need Raffy.”
“What’s going on in there?” Luther called.
“None of your freakin’ business!” Chloe screamed.
Luther jerked the cubicle curtain back and scowled at her. “Don’t push me, lady.” He pointed the knife at her.
Chloe screamed, “Get out! Just get out of here!”
Luther wrapped his fingers around Sky’s forearm and jerked her out of the cubicle. “Stop stalling! Pry that kid out and let’s get this over with. You and me got an appointment.” He leaned close to her face, his breath hot against her cheek.
The blade of Luther’s knife scraped the skin on her neck.
Sky’s knees almost buckled underneath her. She swallowed convulsively. Stop fearing him. He’s feeding on my fear.
A metallic creak and the air-conditioner vent cover fell from overhead to crash to the floor behind them. She screamed as Zach leaped out of the ductwork and landed just behind Luther Franks. She thought her heart had stop when Luther lunged at Zach with the knife.
~*~
“Are you sure about this?” Rafael stood beside the truck, his hands on the door.
Javier nodded. “I’m sure. It’s the quickest way to get inside. Stand back.”
Rafael stepped away from the vehicle, his brows drawn together in a frown.
Javier revved his engine and stared at his objective. The doors to the Emergency Room remained locked and he didn’t see any reason to waste more time waiting for some judge to issue an order.
He tightened his seatbelt and revved the engine again before flooring the gas pedal, his tires squealing against the concrete parking surface.
Javier aimed the truck toward the set of metal doors leaning against the raised concrete landing outside the Emergency Room entrance.
He sped up as he drew closer to the makeshift ramp, his only thought to save the women inside and free Cassie from her captor.
The shiny red truck raced up the ramp and crashed through the doors, stopping with its grill a foot into the wall beyond. The airbag exploded, sending particles of powder into the air. Javier tried not to inhale as he groped for his seatbelt.
Rafael and the deputies rushed inside with weapons drawn. Adriano dragged a battering ram.
“Cassie!” Javier croaked.
~*~
Zach didn’t feel the knife graze his side, so intent was he upon his purpose. He heard Sky scream as Luther lunged toward him.
Zach grabbed Luther’s wrist and pulled him forward, sidestepping the thrust of the knife. He flipped Luther around and wrapped his forearm around Luther’s throat. He released Luther’s arm and gave his head a sharp twist to the left.
Luther went limp in his arms.
Sky screamed again, covering her mouth with both hands.
The door to the examination burst open. Rafael and Adriano rushed inside, with Darla on their heels.
Adriano wrestled Luther Franks from Zach’s grasp and he slid to the floor.
Rafael held his gun pointed at the fallen stalker.
Adriano knelt down and felt for a pulse. He glanced up at Rafael and shook his head. “Dead.”
Rafael kicked the knife away and holstered his weapon before rushing to Chloe’s side.
Darla slapped Zach on the shoulder. “Way to go, little brother!” She pulled on a latex glove and picked up the knife by its blade.
As if in a daze, Zach stared at the dead man, his heart still pulsing his entire body. He looked at Sky, expecting her to turn away from him. Instea
d, his heart gave a leap as she rushed to his arms.
She clung to him, shaking as she said his name over and over.
Her fear overcame his own as he sought to comfort her. He stroked his hand down her back. “It’s okay, Sky. You’re safe. I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you.”
She drew back and examined her shaking hand. “You’re bleeding. He stabbed you!”
“I’m okay,” he insisted, but she was raising his shirt to examine his side. “It doesn’t hurt.”
“Thank God! It’s just a scrape.” She threw her arms around him and squeezed him tight. “I couldn’t bear it if you got hurt.”
He snorted, holding her close. “You were the one in danger. It was you he wanted to kill.”
“But he didn’t, thanks to you.” She gazed up into his eyes. “I love you so much, but I have to deliver a baby right now.”
Zach grinned and brushed a quick kiss against her lips.
She glanced at the dead man and grimaced before hustling into the cubicle where Rafael embraced his wife. Sky blew Zach a kiss before closing the curtains.
Zach felt a wave of nausea roil up from his gut. He stared at the dead stalker, appalled by what he’d just done.
Adriano, still kneeling, seemed to recognize Zach’s ambivalent feelings. “You did the right thing.”
“Did I?” Zach tried to take a deep breath but the antiseptic, hospital smell was getting to him. He wanted to sit down. He wanted to put his head between his knees. He wanted to puke.
Cassie and Javier entered the examination room. Javier had a dusting of white powder over his face and shoulders. He went to the sink and washed up.
Cassie gazed at the dead man, a horrified expression on her face. “Where’s my sister?” she demanded.
Zach jerked his head to the curtained cubicle. “She’s delivering a baby.”
“Oh, thank God!” Cassie threw her arms around Zach’s neck, clinging to him as a torrent of tears burst loose.
He patted her back as the dizzy feeling subsided.
Cassie sniffled against his chest. “How did you get in here, anyway? I didn’t see you outside.”
He glanced up at the open vent, not sure himself how he had found his way here.
Darla rolled her eyes at him. “You crawled through the duct work? And here we were trying to go through the door when you already had it figured out. Trust my brainy little brother to come up with the solution.”
He swallowed hard. “Are you going to arrest me?”
Darla made a noise in the back of her throat. “Self defense, bro. The man was armed.”
Zach frowned. “So that’s it?”
Darla tilted her head, staring up at him with a quizzical expression. “Zach, you’re a hero here. You killed the man who was trying to kill Sky.”
He nodded his head, mutely. He didn’t feel heroic.
Adriano took a sheet from the linen cart and draped it over the remains of Luther Franks. “When the storm subsides, we can get the coroner out here.”
Darla led Zach to a chair in front of a small charting station and made him sit down.
Cassie leaned over to whisper in his ear. “I’m sorry I doubted you, Zach. I was afraid that you couldn’t take care of my sister. I didn’t think you could protect her.”
Javier grasped Zach’s hand and shook it firmly. “I learned how to take down an armed assailant in SEAL training. Who taught you to do that? Did Calvin teach you to kick butt?”
Zach felt a bubble of laughter gurgle up from his gut. He gave in to the feeling and laughed out loud. He couldn’t stop.
Darla stared at him, her expression clearly stating that he was embarrassing her.
He tried to sober up. “No, it wasn’t Calvin. It was your girlfriend.”
They all turned to Cassie who merely shrugged.
Zach shook his head, trying to control his laughter. “Remember when you jumped on me and grabbed my head? I knew you came within inches of breaking my neck. I just applied the laws of physics and tried to recreate that move.”
Darla started laughing. Then Cassie joined in followed by Javier and Adriano.
The laughter stopped abruptly as they heard the sound of an infant’s cry.
Javier pulled Cassie back against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. He planted a kiss on her temple.
Cassie’s eyes were shining.
Sky came out from behind the curtains. “It’s a boy!”
Zach clapped his hands together and the rest joined in.
Sky grinned at Zach. “Could someone please go find Doctor Marcos and the others? I’d like to go home with my fiancé as soon as the storm passes.”
~*~
CHAPTER THIRTY
Fruition
South Padre Island and Port Isabel were spared from the full brunt of the storm. Fiona danced along the coastline and made landfall south of the border in an unpopulated area, but by then, her winds had diminished to a tropical storm level.
Zach took Sky home and they spent what was left of the night in each other’s arms. He couldn’t even express to her how much she meant to him and how he’d been terrified that she’d be killed. He hoped she knew.
“Isn’t the baby beautiful?” she asked. “He was so perfect and I’m so glad that Rafael got to be there for his son’s birth. Chloe needed him to be with her.”
Zach’s throat got hoarse. “Beautiful baby. Our children will be beautiful, too.”
Sky nodded, smiling. “I can actually relax and plan our wedding. I want Cassie to be my Maid of Honor. And Darla and Chloe as Brides Maids.”
“I thought your attendants were supposed to be unmarried women?”
“Who cares? I want them with me. They’ve been the best friends I could ever wish for.”
Zach nuzzled her temple with his lips. “Are you sure you don’t want to go for the elopement?”
Sky giggled, burying her face against his neck. “I’m only going to do this once, so I want the whole thing.”
“You’ve got it. I’ll rent a monkey suit and ask Rafael and Javier to stand up with me.” He snuggled her closer. “You did a great job of delivering Rafael’s and Chloe’s baby all by yourself. I’m really impressed.”
“I kind of impressed myself. I was thinking that maybe I should take the Nurse Midwife classes for licensure and maybe open a practice here on the Island. What do you think?”
“It’s a great idea.”
Sky turned in his arms, looking into his eyes. “Zach, I know you don’t believe in fighting. What made you take on Luther Franks?”
Zach looked at her in disbelief. “I can’t believe you asked that! I couldn’t let anything happen to you, Sky. You and I are soul mates. We belong together.”
She smiled, resting her head against his chest. “I know that, silly. But what made you throw aside your pacifist nature and go after my stalker?”
He chuckled and kissed her forehead. “You’re the silly one. I went after him because I couldn’t let him hurt you. I never had anything worth fighting for before.”
Sky sighed. “I’m glad you’re a lover and not a fighter, Zach. But I’m really glad that this one time, you were a fighter,
~*~
On Sunday, Cassie sat in church beside Javier, apart from his family and from Sky and Zach.
He held her hand and slipped his other arm around her. She was surrounded by Javi and it felt good.
The service was dedicated to giving thanks to God for sparing the town from the brunt of the storm.
After the mass, the priest turned to the assembly. “One of my former altar boys would like to make an announcement.” He called Javier Rios to the front.
Javier kissed Cassie’s hand and drew her to her feet.
Cassie felt a rush of shyness wash over her as the entire body of church-goers turned their collective heads to gaze at her.
Javier smiled encouragingly and pulled her behind him as he made his way to the front. He stood with her in the center of the steps leading t
o the altar. He looked out over the congregation.
“I know most of you. I was born here in Port Isabel. I was christened and baptized in this church. I made my First Communion here, so it seemed appropriate that I take this next step in my life here.”