Authors: Rebecca Zanetti
get Audrey out safely. Shane strapped on a headset, his deep voice making arrangements with the hospital.
Nate tuned him out, listening for the baby’s heartbeat. His vision sucked, and his hearing remained
static. The drugs still thumping through his bloodstream messed with his entire system. The second they
landed, he was going to hand Audrey to Shane to see if Shane could hear anything.
The city flashed by below them.
Matt glanced back. “Put on some clothes.”
Oh, yeah. Nate reached for a duffel with one hand and tugged on a dark shirt. He moved Audrey as
gently as possible to the side, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. The senator tucked her into his good side
and murmured calming words.
Nate exchanged his jeans for clean ones and also threw on socks and boots. Reaching into another bag,
he took out some antibacterial wipes and removed most of the blood and grime from his face and hands
before slapping a Yankees cap on his head.
As smooth as silk, Matt landed the helicopter. Orderlies rushed toward them, and Nate lifted Audrey out
before depositing her on a gurney.
Shane jumped to the ground and slid a gun in the back of Nate’s waistband.
Nate nodded, his throat clogging. “I’ll be in touch. Watch the videos on the laptop. Jory’s alive.”
Shane blinked and took a step back. His eyes blazed dark and gray. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” Nate gripped his arm and leaned toward his brother. “I’m positive.”
Shane swallowed.
Nate turned to run after the gurney and his family.
Seconds later, the helicopter rose slowly into the sky.
Nate followed Audrey until a nurse made him stop and fill out a bunch of forms. He used one of his
many identifications, citing a car accident that would explain both of their bruises. Then he had to wait. He
sat in the waiting room on an orange chair, one eye on the hall for a nurse, the other on the door for the
commander.
The outside door opened, and he tensed.
Matt and Shane jogged inside, their hair wet, jackets covering what had to be a cache of weapons.
“What are you doing here?” Nate whispered, leaping to his feet.
Shane frowned. “Where else would we be?”
Matt clapped Nate on the shoulder. “We deposited the helicopter in the middle of a grocery store
parking lot, secured transportation, and high-tailed it back here.”
Nate shook his head. “Where’s the senator?”
“Waiting with the engine running,” Shane said, his gaze encompassing the entire room.
Nate had to get them out of the hospital. “The commander will know we stopped here.”
“No shit.” Matt frowned and brushed water from his hair. “But we didn’t want to block the heliport with
his piece of crap. We moved it.” He reached under his jacket and drew out the laptop. “Any news on
Audrey?”
“No.” Nate swallowed, too much emotion swamping him at once. “You need to go.”
Matt’s eyes darkened. “
Never alone
, Nate. Period.”
The back of Nate’s eyes stung.
Matt glanced down at the dented silver computer. “This shows Jory is alive?” Matt’s voice broke on the
end.
“Yes.” Nate patted his older brother’s arm. “Watch it. You’ll see.”
A nurse hurried down the hallway toward him. “Mr. Jones?”
“Yes.” He moved toward her. “What’s going on?”
“Mrs. Jones is all checked in.” She smoothed back gray hair and looked up a foot toward his face. “You
can go sit with her until the doctor comes in.” Sympathy glimmered in her eyes. “You look like you need
medical attention, too.”
“I’m fine.” He turned and followed her, his gut clenching. Something was really wrong. He could feel it.
When he reached Audrey’s room, he paused at the doorway. She lay in the bed, covered by a white
blanket, a bruise on her cheekbone. Fragile and soft, she didn’t belong with bruises.
She turned. “Hi.”
He forced himself into the room and took a chair by the bed, taking her hands in his. “I’m so sorry,
Audrey.”
“Nothing is your fault.” She took a deep breath. “The doctors did a physical exam, and I am still
bleeding. He went to get an ultrasound machine. I’m so scared.”
“Me too.” Nate kissed her hands, tears gathering in his eyes. “I was so sure I could rescue you and find
out about Jory.” Not for a second had he doubted his plan. Idiot. For the first time in his life, he felt true
helplessness. There was nothing he could do to save his own baby. As much as he tried to focus and listen
for a heartbeat, all he heard was the thunder outside. When would his senses return?
The commander had wondered how to break him. This was it.
A tech rolled a machine into the room, and seconds later a man in a white lab coat followed. He stuck
out a hand for Nate. “Dr. Shawnesee.”
“Nick Jones.” Nate shook the doctor’s hand, careful not to bruise it. The doctor stood a foot shorter
than Nate and appeared to be all of eighteen years old.
“You look like you need an examination. That must’ve been some car accident.” The doctor moved a
rolling seat into position.
Nate swallowed. “I’ll get checked out after you’re done here.” He couldn’t even say the word
baby
.
“Okay. Let’s take a look, shall we?” The doctor did something with a wand and handed it to Audrey
with instructions.
Nate’s world fuzzed, and he dropped into the seat, his head in his hands.
All of a sudden, a rhythmic
thump, thump, thump
filled the room.
Nate lifted his head slowly, not wanting to believe. His heart thumped so strongly against his broken
ribs he winced. His breath actually stopped.
“Yep. There he is.” The doctor pointed to the screen. “Heartbeat is good. Let’s check out the amino
sac.”
Audrey reached out and grabbed Nate’s hand. Hard.
Hope. The feeling spread through Nate until his body refused to move an inch. Not one inch.
The doctor pointed out organs one by one and spent several minutes making sure Audrey and the baby
were perfectly healthy. Finally, he printed out a 3-D picture of the little guy. “Your son is doing well.”
Audrey half sat up. “What about the bleeding?”
“You have two bruised ribs from the car accident. My guess? That caused bleeding.” The doctor stood.
“You need rest, Mrs. Jones. I recommend you stay here overnight, and then it’s bed rest until you don’t
bleed for two days straight.”
Audrey burst into tears.
Nate reached for her with one hand and shook the doctor’s with the other. “She’s just relieved,” Nate
said. He couldn’t describe his own feelings—they went way beyond relief. His hands shook, and deep
inside, emotion welled. The baby. The baby—his baby was all right.
“I know, although I’d like for your wife to take it easy for the next few months. Bed rest isn’t strictly
necessary, but it’s time to take it easy.” The doctor shook his hand. “Tell the nurse when you’d like to be
examined, Mr. Jones.” With a happy wave at Audrey, the doctor skipped out of the room.
Nate hugged her tight, a prayer he hadn’t realized he knew tumbling from his lips. “You’re all right.”
“I know.” Audrey wiped off her face. “The baby is okay.” Her blue eyes seemed dazed.
“He’s fine.” Nate eyed the door. “You can’t stay here tonight.”
Audrey swung her bare legs toward the floor. “We should go. Now.”
Matt and Shane instantly appeared at the door.
“Well?” Shane asked.
“Baby is fine,” Nate said, a smile welling up. “Audrey needs bed rest.”
“Awesome.” Shane bounced back on his heels. “Two Humvees just rolled up outside. We need to go.
Now.”
Nate helped Audrey to stand. “If you saw two, they’ve already covered the other exits.”
Matt nodded. “Get ready to fight, gang.”
Audrey cleared her throat. “Why?” She pointed to the window across the room. “We’re on the first
floor, right? Where’s the car?”
Matt eyed her and then the window. “In the parking area over there.” He frowned. “Let’s go.”
Nate opened the window and jumped out first. Audrey tried to swing one leg over, but Matt caught her,
lifting her. “Bed rest,” Matt said, handing her over to Nate.
Nate held her tight, hunching his body over her to shield her from the blustering wind and rain. He had
to get her somewhere warm. Now. Shane and Matt jumped out silently.
They made it through a tangle of shrubs and dying flowers before a bright light descended on them.
Guns cocked and echoed louder than the storm.
Nate’s shoulders tensed, yet he gently set Audrey on her feet, pushing her behind him.
Soldiers in black surrounded them.
Audrey’s bare toes squished in the mud. Rain splattered her gown to her body, and she shivered.
Thunder bellowed high above, and for a moment, silence ruled.
Then all hell broke loose.
The Dean brothers moved as one: Matt went left, Shane turned right, and Nathan blazed forward. Hard
and fast, they punched and kicked, often simultaneously.
A shot fired.
“Alive,” one of the men in black yelled. “Unconscious is okay.”
Audrey backed away until her butt hit the rough bark of a tree. So the commander wanted them alive.
But even so, with the ferocity of the punches being thrown, somebody could be critically hurt.
And Nate was already injured. He had at least two broken ribs and might still be bleeding internally.
Two soldiers took him down, and he grunted as he impacted the ground. Pain filled the noise.
Audrey started forward only to have Matt yell at her to get back. She hesitated, her body trembling, her
stomach still cramping. Nate twisted one guy’s neck and rolled the other one over to punch him in the face.
Hard. The soldier’s head clonked a rock and he didn’t move. Nate leaped to his feet and one-arm tackled
one of several soldiers punching Shane on the ground.
The smell of blood filtered through the falling rain.
A soldier appeared to Audrey’s right with a stun gun already crackling, and she screamed.
Faster than humanly possible, Nate lunged for her, curled around her, and rolled her to the ground.
Somehow, he kept her from hitting any rocks or shrubs. He tensed and then convulsed. The scent of
burned cotton and flesh clogged her nose.
With a growl, Nate released her and charged the soldier, taking him down.
How could Nate even move? Audrey gulped and scrambled to her feet. She needed a weapon.
Suddenly, two headlights swung wildly around as an SUV jumped a curb and skidded across the wet
grass, taking out several of the commander’s soldiers. Bodies flew in every direction, hitting the building,
trees, and shrubbery. The vehicle spun sideways. “Get in,” the senator yelled.
Nate kicked his opponent in the head, staggered to his feet, and reached for Audrey.
She tried to fend him off and walk herself, but he lifted her and ran for the SUV, sliding in the back.
Matt jumped into the front, and Shane leaped next to Nate.
“Go, go, go,” Matt said, pounding the dash.
The senator punched it, and the SUV rammed over several shrubs, barely skirted a tree, and screeched
onto the street. The bumps and jumps made the vehicle land hard, but Nate held Audrey tight.
He leaned over and brushed leaves off her face. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” She patted his wet face. “Are you? How much voltage did you take?”
“Not enough.” He grinned, his bottom lip bleeding again. “We’ve trained to take shocks and keep going.
Chalk one up for the commander.”
“Screw him.” Audrey settled back down, shivering. “You okay up there, Senator?”
“Yeehaw!” The senator cut off a Mercedes that honked angrily. “Call me Jim. Grandpop Jim. And just
hold on.”
Grandpop Jim? Audrey shook her head, trying to relax. The man was having the time of his life.
Matt glanced warily at the senator. “Take back roads to the next grocery store you see, and we’ll need to
change cars.”
“No problem.” The senator flipped off a honking trucker.
Shane reached over and plucked a stick from Audrey’s hair. “We’re gonna have to change cars a few
times. You okay, Aud?”
“I’m fine.” Her body rioted, but she took several deep breaths.
Nate gave a short nod. “Audrey, lay down the best you can.”
She nodded, her body going lax, her head against Nate’s chest and her feet on Shane’s legs. Touching
them both and trusting them to take care of her. Nate and his family would keep watch. Her family, too.
Finally. She belonged. Plus, she’d joined the family with a grandpa. Grandpop Jim. They’d all come for
her, and they’d protect her. The baby would always need protection, and her new family would provide
that.
If they destroyed the chips, the baby would never be alone. The kill chips hung over her head, but for
now, she’d rest for the baby.
Nate was a deadly man, but she loved him. All of him. The good and the dangerous… he was all hers
and she’d accept him as such. They’d find a way to have peace and safety for their child.
With a soft sigh, she smiled and finally relaxed into the sense of home.
* * *
She wore new yoga clothes they’d picked up on the way. It was freaking amazing she hadn’t killed one or