She relaxed with a panting sigh, and even though she’d tied her thick red hair behind her head, tendrils curliqued the edges of her sweaty forehead and temples. He didn’t tell her that, though. Instead, he wiped her face very carefully with a damp cloth, steered clear of her clutching hands, and kept his big mouth closed.
The obstetrician finally showed up, another woman with a no nonsense demeanor and eyes like daggers. Dr. Hehrsmann was embroidered on the left breast of her scrubs. Oh, yeah. That name sounds familiar.
“Nice to finally meet you, Mr. Mortimer,” she said with a definite monotone, judgmental New York kinda accent that made him feel as if he should go to confession and apologize for being a man.
He ignored the barb. “Hey, umm, is this normal, Doctor? Is all this pain and craziness normal for a woman in labor, or is—”
“ARGHHH!” Judy jerked his knuckles to her teeth.
And he forgot his question. She bit him. Hard.
The doctor was too busy to answer, or maybe she didn’t like him much, either. Whatever her reason for ignoring him was, she pushed the sterile sheeting off Judy’s legs and positioned herself on a stool at the bottom of the birthing bed while he extracted his knuckles from his dear, sweet wife’s incisors. The nurse handed the doctor a giant pair of ice tongs, or at least that’s what they looked like.
“No. I won’t need those right now.” Dr. Hehrsmann rubbed Judy’s huge belly in a slow circular motion. “How are you doing?”
“Just great. I’ve got a rapid heartbeat, my blood pressure’s spiking sky-high, and a freaking smart car’s coming out my ass! How do you think I’m doing?” Her sweet melodic voice evolved into the rumbling baritone of one of Satan’s minions.
Harley zipped his lips tighter. He wasn’t stepping into that bear trap again. No way. Let the doctor find out for herself how much fun this particular patient was. Any second now, his darling wife’s head might start spinning around, as nasty as she sounded. At least she had a grip on his full hand right now instead of just fingers. He stiffened his spine. She had to be in a powerful heap of pain to have gone all Freddy Krueger on him. If Judy could do this, so could he.
“Then let’s push, shall we?” the doctor asked in the same steady voice. “Come on, Judy. Tuck your chin to your chest. You know how to do it. That’s good. Lean forward and—one, two, push.”
Harley helped her lean forward. This part he knew. He’d actually attended that class.
Judy clenched his hand with a fierce grip, snorted and pushed with everything she had. He squeezed his eyes along with her, contorting his face at the same time. The contraction passed, but Judy trembled, and in that split second—everything changed.
Her heartbeat pounded in the sweaty fingers tucked inside his hand. She couldn’t seem to let him go, though. The little gold hoop earrings rattled against her neck. Her feet shook in the stirrups. He got it now.
She wasn’t mad at him. Well, yeah, maybe she was, but mostly she was just a scared little mama, afraid something might happen to her babies. And yeah, delivering them hurt, and... and he’d been a freaking dumb ass, left her alone when she needed him most. With all the stuff going on with Alex and Kelsey, he’d neglected his number one priority: her.
He reached an arm around her shoulders, for the first time overwhelmed with what they had done, and what they were doing. They could get through this—together.
Repentance replaced the pain in his fingers. He pressed her fingers to his lips. Everything else fell away. She needed him now most of all.
“I’m right here, darlin’,” he murmured. “I’m sorry I’m so thoughtless and dumb. I promise. I’m not leaving. I love you, Judy Mortimer. Can you forgive me?”
She looked up at him through tears and sweat, and growled, “You’re not dumb.”
Another contraction gripped her belly. Frightened emerald greens blinked. She whined. Dr. Hehrsmann told her to push again and—
Alexander Marcus Mortimer was born on a gush of blood and water. He uttered an angry baby scream that made Harley smile and cry at the same time. Big alligator tears blurred the sight of his newborn son.
Harley wanted to crow and cry at the same time. The world needed to know. That’s my boy!
Dr. Hehrsmann calmly suctioned the baby’s mouth and nose while the little guy sputtered and kicked. Baby Alex let out another angry wail. Harley winced. The doctor might know what she what doing, but she sure handled his boy a lot rougher than he expected newborns should be handled. She flopped the little guy gently to his back onto Judy’s abdomen like a fish while she clamped the umbilical cord. Eying Harley expectantly, she extended a pair of surgical scissors handle first. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He released Judy’s shoulders and took hold of the scissors. With a nervous clip, he looked at Judy. God, he could hardly see her through his tears, but what a sweet smile shone through those tired green eyes of hers.
She pinched her lips in a kiss while he accomplished his first official chore of fatherhood. He severed the umbilical cord. Baby Alex flailed under the bright lights, as if the whole world startled him. As if he needed someone to hold him tight so he wouldn’t fall. As if he needed his daddy.
An overwhelming need to save his son washed over Harley, but Judy squirmed, arching her back to keep her eyes on her son despite the contraction assaulting her body. “How... how is he? Is he healthy?”
“He’s perfect,” Harley whispered, his heart literally in his throat at the miracle unfolding.
“His color is good. You can hold him the minute his little brother gets here, okay?” Dr. Hehrsmann said. “You’re doing fine. Rest for a minute. Relax. Breathe.”
Judy rubbed the side of her sweaty face against the pillow. “I’m tired.”
Harley wanted to see his son again, but one nurse had taken the little guy and stretched him out to measure him, while another blackened his feet for footprints. Little Alex hadn’t made a sound since the nurses took him, probably because he was under the heat lamp. Harley wanted to hear him again, just to be sure. The poor little fellow had squeezed out of a very narrow tunnel. Damn. No wonder he’d screamed the second he’d shown up.
“We’re in the home stretch.” Dr. Hehrsmann held her palm on Judy’s abdomen. This time she met Harley’s eyes with kindness. “Are you two ready?”
“Why not?” Judy asked tiredly. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Harley kissed the top of her head. “I’m here, darlin’.”
She peered up at him, her eyes brimming and her lips puckered, ready to cry. “I know,” she squeaked. “I’m sorry I was so mean.”
Another contraction commenced. Within three minutes of his older brother, George Patrick Mortimer slid silently into the world.
“Is he okay?” Harley and Judy asked at the same time. Baby George hadn’t made a peep.
Dr. Hehrsmann suctioned the infant’s mouth and nose before she held him up with a big smile. “Congratulations. You have two very handsome and healthy sons.”
Little George blinked wide-open eyes at the bright lights, his tongue darting in and out like a baby lizard’s. The doctor laid him across Judy’s stomach. Judy smoothed her hand over the little guy’s bald head while Harley wrapped an arm around her, placing a fervent kiss on her forehead.
He choked. “I love you so much, wife.”
“I love you, Harley,” she said, cupping his jaw with her palm.
Harley stepped forward again to clip his second son’s umbilical cord. The nurses took baby George to join his brother. While the doctor attended to Judy, the nurses performed all the necessary assessments to evaluate the twin’s heart rates, breathing, muscle tone, and reflexes. Harley watched anxiously while they collected blood samples, took footprints, and finally wrapped the boys in blue-striped receiving blankets.
At last, Harley held his twin warriors, their heads covered with knitted blue caps. Baby Alex squirmed while baby George was fast sleep. The moment was too much. He outright cried, baptizi
ng his sons with tears he couldn’t stop any more than he could keep his mouth from grinning.
He sank to Judy’s side, nuzzling the top of baby George’s head. “Look at us. We got redheaded baby boys. They look just like you. You’re the most beautiful woman in the world,” he said reverently. “God, I love you.”
“Fatherhood looks good on you, Daddy.”
His heart turned to mush. He’d never thought this day would come, never thought he deserved it, but here he was, gratitude running out of his eyes like two rivers for the blessings in his arms, and all because of the woman who loved him.
“Do you even remember what day this is?” Her emerald eyes brimmed with moisture.
He had to think. The last two weeks had been one nightmare after the other, the days and dates of the calendar completely forgotten. Guilt slithered in amongst the good feelings. I haven’t forgotten her birthday, have I? Our anniversary? Damn. Just when I thought I got something right for a change.
Nothing came to mind, so he asked, “What?”
She beamed. “It’s Independence Day.”
A ton of joy hit him square in the heart. The Fourth of July. Best damned birthday ever.
Harley took a deep breath of fatherhood. And life was good again.
Chapter Seven
“You guys,” Kelsey muttered tiredly, finally awake after her long nap. She’d slept the better part of two entire days and resembled a raccoon with her two black eyes and purpled cheekbones. “Don’t you ever go home?”
“No, ma’am.” Gabe set his magazine aside. “There’s no place I’d rather be. I promise. Can I get you anything?”
“A drink,” she said. “My mouth is dry. I’m thirsty.”
No sooner said than done. He held the water bottle for her while she took a long sip. The simple assignment to guard Kelsey had become everything to Gabe. The image of her underwater in that car still haunted him. No one would hurt her again, not as long as he breathed.
Zack had barely stepped out to take a call from Mark, who anxiously wanted to speak with Kelsey and get her version of what happened.
She had lost nearly all of her privacy. Zack hovered over her as much as Gabe did. They camped outside her hospital room when they weren’t allowed inside with her. Doctors and nurses had to prove who they were before they could enter. All she had to do was stir, and Gabe was off his feet and ready to assist. It still didn’t feel like enough.
A sad smile breached the corners of her mouth. She pulled herself into a sitting position in her bed, a difficult task for a woman with several broken fingers. Libby had brought her a bed jacket. It helped Kelsey feel comfortable. That was all that mattered.
“Someone tried to kill me, Gabe,” she whispered, trying to interlock her splintered fingers on her lap. She gave up and laid them flat on the beige blanket.
He pulled a chair alongside her bed. “Yes, ma’am. Sure looks like it.”
Kelsey’d done very little but sleep since he and Zack found her. Mark and the authorities only knew the barest details and some nonsense about Alex finding her, but if she felt well enough to talk, Gabe was all ears.
“The sheriff’s wrong. He told Mark that I lost control of my car because I was hysterical, but I wasn’t, Gabe. I want you to know that.”
“Don’t worry about him,” Gabe assured her. “He jumped to that conclusion before his deputies even finished investigating the crime scene. But why were you way out there then? It’s quite a ways from your house. Were you just tired of being cooped up and decided you needed some fresh air or something?”
“No. Not at all. A man called. He said he could prove Alex was still alive. He asked me to meet him there. That’s why I went. I was excited. You know, hopeful.”
“Did he sound familiar?”
“No. I didn’t recognize his voice.”
“Tell me exactly what he said.”
She thought for a second. “He said he could take me to Alex.”
“Where did he want to meet?”
“On the walking path along the river. He said to meet him at the picnic table. I was watching for the turn-off into the parking lot when I got stopped.”
“What happened?”
Kelsey took a slow breath. A shadow shifted over her battered face. “A car slid sideways in front of me. I thought maybe the road was wet, but...” She coughed for a moment and needed another drink before she continued. “But then, another car slammed into my back bumper, so I had to swerve sideways to avoid the first car—you know, the one that slid in front of me. I didn’t want to hit it. I might’ve hurt someone.”
“What kind of vehicles? Do you remember?”
“Both were big SUVs, a lot bigger than Harley’s Jeep, and both black. I don’t know what kind, but I couldn’t believe someone would ram an old car like mine with a brand new SUV. The guy behind me could’ve stopped, but he didn’t. I saw him in my rearview mirror. He meant to hit me.”
She took another sip from her water bottle and licked her lips. “After he hit me, he backed up real fast and cranked his wheel. I thought maybe he meant to run from the scene, but he rammed into me. He pushed me all the way into the river. It happened so fast. I kept pushing the brake pedal all the way to the floor, but it didn’t make any difference. He had one of those ramming bars on the front of his vehicle.”
“A push bar? Your story matches the tire tracks and evidence at the scene.”
“And I couldn’t stop and...” She shuddered, reaching for Gabe’s hand, splints and all.
He accepted her broken fingers carefully, wishing he could pour comfort into her through his grip. “But they didn’t kill you. They might’ve tried, but they missed, Kelsey, and a miss is a good thing. Focus on that. Can you describe what either driver looked like?”
She nodded. “Alex taught me how to estimate height and weight. I couldn’t see the top of this guy’s head, the one who rammed me. I think maybe six-three, six-four. He wore dark glasses, but he had a square-shaped head and a buzz cut, from what I could see of it. He had a scar on his left cheek. I could tell because his skin was puckered under the corner of his eye all the way to his mouth. His eye drooped. Caucasian. No neck. Around two hundred and fifty pounds. And his license plate number is...”
Sweet. She might not be savvy about vehicle makes and models, but the plate number sealed the deal. Gabe jotted every last detail on his cell phone notepad app. Leave it to the wife of a covert operator. She hadn’t missed a damned thing.
Now he could dispute the sheriff’s claim once and for all.
“Good job. The police need to hear this. They might want you to work with a sketch artist when you’re feeling better. Are you up to talking with them?”
“Sure. I hate to cuss. Alex does enough for both of us, but I’d like nothing better than to put this bastard behind bars.” She actually smiled—until she realized what she’d said. “I mean... he used to cuss.” Her breath hitched. The light left her eyes. The vulnerable woman was back. “Someone tried to kill me, Gabe.”
“But I’ve got his plate number now. It shouldn’t take long to track him down,” Gabe said, hoping to keep her upbeat instead of dwelling on the attempt on her life.
He lifted her right hand from the blanket and held it extra gently. Kelsey was very fragile, but she needed something to hold onto, and he needed her to know she was safe. “Mark’s got everyone working your investigation. Either the police or The TEAM will catch these guys and while they’re doing that, old man Lennox and I are moving in to keep you company. Hope you don’t mind if we turn your home into Fort Knox while we’re there.”
“No, I’d love the company.”
The door opened behind him, and Gabe expected Zack’s heavy smack to his shoulder.
“Hi, Kelsey. You’re looking better today.” Nurse Sullivan’s cheerful voice startled Gabe as fast as the finger she jabbed into his shoulder. “She needs her rest. You should leave.”
An unexpected jolt of energy rippled from her meaningless c
ontact straight up the back of his neck. He nearly squeezed Kelsey’s fingers at the jolt of energy that shot through his shoulder. What the hell? Nurse Sullivan was annoying in more ways than one. He shrugged her hand off, not wanting her to assume familiarity where none existed.
“Hi, Shelby,” Kelsey said. “Yes, I’m feeling better today. I’m ready to go home.”
“That would be nice, but how about if we get you showered first? Can I get you anything from the kitchen? A snack? Maybe some orange juice?” Sullivan sat at the opposite edge of Kelsey’s bed. “They’ve got the herbal tea you like. It might soothe the last of your sore throat away. I’d get an extra large cup so you could hold it.”
“Some tea would be nice. Thank you.”
Nurse Sullivan smiled. “Great. I’ll be right back. And I’m bringing you some cinnamon toast. I know you like that.”
He had to take a second look. Sullivan seemed—different. Lighter maybe? An air of excitement radiated from her as if Kelsey was more than just a patient. Or something. He couldn’t quite place it. Sullivan seemed genuinely happy. It looked good on her.
Gabe let his eyes scroll over her on her way out the door, taking in her tanned legs and the sway of her hips when she walked. Nurse Sullivan had dressed in a silky skirt that clung to her curves and accentuated the hollow of the cheeks of her taut ass. He’d not noticed that very feminine, umm, aspect at their first meeting.
As curt as she’d been with him, she seemed genuinely concerned for Kelsey. He couldn’t deny that Miss Sullivan had organized an effective door-to-door search for Kelsey, too. She’d put in as many miles as anyone. Maybe there was hope for her after all.
He pulled his attention off Sullivan’s backside to Kelsey. “Can you remember anything else?”
A shadow drifted over her face. “I remember water flooding my car. It was cold and I couldn’t get out. My seat belt was stuck. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t break the window. That guy kept pushing me in deeper and deeper. My car tipped sideways, and I... I was really scared.” She bowed her head, panting in short ragged breaths. “I was underwater when something broke through the window and hit me. He wanted me to die, Gabe. He kept hitting me with... something hard. He crushed my hands.”
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