Baby in His Arms Read online

  Tom sided up to Noah, his hands raised in front of him. There were only a handful of staff inside the Core. Hopefully by now one of them had pressed the under-counter security button. His body was humming with the urge to race across to the exam rooms. From here, he caught a slight side-view of Afton and Kylie. The other exam rooms with patients had the curtains closed, but not hers. She was wide open, like a sitting duck.

  She turned to him as if knowing he was thinking of her—hadn’t stopped thinking of her!

  Stay back, he mouthed slowly. Her forehead crinkled as if she didn’t understand. Stay back.

  There was no where for her to go, but if she stood by the back wall, she could grab a piece of equipment to try to protect herself. Something. To her right, EMS stood back with their hands up.

  Suddenly, the angry woman spun toward them, sweeping a look from the EMT’s to Kylie. A sneer formed on her thin mouth. A hum started deep in Noah’s ears as the woman walked that way, saying something to Afton that his brain couldn’t process. That woman was holding a gun on his daughter, his tiny, flushed-face, crying daughter.

  He lurched forward. Tom grabbed his forearm and gave a stern shake of his head.

  His daughter!

  Christ, he’d been throwing that term around for days now, coming to reality with what was. It was a struggle to let go of the things he’d looked so forward to while his son was growing up. Being able to travel, to come home late, to date, to waste time if he wanted. To have freedom.

  And yet, since Caleb had left for college, Noah had just been wandering around aimlessly. Doing things, yes, but without purpose. Having freedom without a reason to come back home wasn’t the life-enriching experience he’d always thought it would be.

  "What is it that you want?"

  The woman turned toward Tom's voice. Noah's let out his breath as the gun moved away from Afton, cringed as it came his way and landed on Tom.

  "I was here last night to get more of my pills. I just need my pills, you know, but no one would give them to me. So, you're gonna give me my pills and then I'm going to leave you fine people alone. Know what I'm saying?"

  She nodded her head toward Dr. Carpenter, who peered from behind the safety glass of the Core, his face as pale as his lab coat.

  "He wouldn't give me nothin' last night."

  Tom incrementally put his hands down. "I'm sure we can work something out. Without anyone getting hurt."

  One of the gunmen barged over, waving his weapon as if he'd seen too many thug movies.

  "The only way we working this out is if you give us the damn pills!"

  Desperate for narcotics, a few among a sea of addicts who needed more to tweak or to sell. The drug crisis in Chicago had been getting worse by giant leaps. Not a day passed without dealing with at least one person looking for pain killers.

  Noah glanced at Bruce lying on the cot. His breathing was shallow, the rise and fall of his rotund belly barely visible. He was a prime example of what these drugs could do.

  "Get back! Get in your damn rooms and stay there!"

  The other man, tall and thin, paraded in front of the patient rooms, pulling doors and curtains shut. By now, every single patient was on their cell phone, dialing this in. Pronouncing their panic in abbreviations and emoticons all over social media. These three had to know there was no way they were coming out of this by walking away. They had to realize it was going to end badly for them. Yet, the need for drugs outweighed reality.

  It was easy to let desperation and selfishness cloud reality, wasn't it?

  Noah turned to Afton. She was frozen in place. She didn't deserve the way he'd treated her. He'd been so enshrouded in the scandal, so single-minded in his determination to live a free life, that he hadn't truly seen what was right in front of him.

  The woman looked around and then cocked her head. "Alright then, go get me my pills and we out of here."

  "I'm afraid I can't do that."

  "You in charge here, old man?"

  "Yes."

  "Then you best look in my chart from last night. Go ahead. You'll see what it is I want."

  If she wasn't standing right in front of him, Noah would have edged his way across the space to Afton's room. The wild-eyed expression of terror on her face was eating him up. Kylie had settled into grumpy cries, but he could tell even from here that she was miserable.

  "I'm afraid I can't do that," Tom repeated. Lines around his eyes made hard, deep impact against the smoothness of his cheeks, the set of his lips pinching them white.

  "Then you best find someone who can, little man!"

  Kylie gave out another wail. Noah lurched forward again, stopped at the barricade of the angry woman with a gun. She smiled and started walking backwards until she'd reached Afton's room. Quicker than her body mass implied, she spun and grabbed for Kylie.

  Afton jumped back, crossing her arms over Kylie's little body. The woman gripped Afton's forearm, trying to dislodge her grip on the baby. Afton pulled and twisted with an enraged cry, spinning just as the woman wrapped her in a bear hug. Noah lost sight then as they moved slightly behind a curtain. The sound of shocked gasps and murmurs from the department consumed him. Suddenly, Kylie let out a wail and Afton cried out, lurching after the woman who now held the baby in her arms.

  The gun clicked, the woman pointing it bulls-eye to Afton's forehead.

  "Sit down, bitch."

  Tears streamed down Afton's face, the sight ripping Noah in two. His gaze turned to Kylie, her cries echoing through the ER, reminding everyone of the precarious situation they were in. This woman was beyond insane. How could they underestimate any threat made by a woman who'd just ripped an infant from her mother's arms?

  Tom's face blanched, his hands up again, palms out.

  "I said sit your ass down."

  The woman blocked Noah's visual of Afton, but the squeak of the cot said she must have sat. He took a small step forward, willing control to keep him from lurching forward. He wanted to tackle the woman, but he couldn't risk hurting Kylie.

  Afton's thick voice reached his ears, but he couldn't make out her words. The repetition of her tone sounded like pleading. The woman turned around to face Tom again. Kylie's face was red and streaked with tears. Noah nearly doubled over from the force of seeing her like this.

  How could this woman so coldly place a child's wellbeing in the balance, for what? A quick high or a couple hundred bucks in her pocket?

  She gave a sassy bounce of her head, waving the gun toward the baby. "Now you goin' to help me or what?"

  Kylie's body went rigid, her arms splayed out at her sides. Despite her obvious anger, she was running out of energy, pumping the last of her little reserve into letting the world know how mad she was. Afton jumped to her feet, taking two steps toward the woman. Noah held out his hand, hoping Afton would listen and stay put.

  "I asked if you're going to help me?"

  Noah stepped forward, everything in his being begging to reach for Kylie.

  "I will. I will help you." He glanced at Tom, knowing the door he was about to close would stay that way permanently. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered except for one thing.

  "I'll help you. But first, give me my daughter."

  Chapter Fourteen

  Afton put a hand on the cot to steady herself.

  Noah's words seeped into her soul and pushed emotion forward until she didn't think she could stand. A shocked hush had taken over the space, and had she looked, she was sure she'd see every pair of eyes turned to Noah.

  "How you going to help me? You ain't no damn doctor."

  The woman rocked Kylie in the crook of her left arm. The baby had quieted from wails to a mixture of soft grunts and moans. Knowing her daughter was in that monster's arms was unbearable. The way she'd been ripped from Afton as if getting her hands on Kylie were akin to grabbing the very pills she wanted to badly.

  Noah pulled a badge from his front jeans' pocket and flashed it in front of the woman. Please get Kyli
e, please. Those three words played over and over in Afton's mind as she scrambled for a way to get her daughter back.

  "I am a doctor. And I can get you what you want. But I won't do it until you put my daughter in my arms."

  The woman scoffed. "This is your baby?"

  Chills raced down Afton's arms as Noah's face momentarily softened.

  "Yes, she's my daughter."

  The words went straight to Afton's heart. There's strength in hopeless times; you just have to let it find you. Her mother's voice echoed in her mind, the familiar reassurance something she used to say. It had been hard to believe it before, until now, when Noah's acceptance buzzed through her like a power source.

  To her right, EMS waited, looking for any opportunity to return to their patient. The man on the cot was heaving breath. It wouldn't be long until he wasn't breathing at all. Afton edged closer, slowly, one small slide of her foot at a time until she'd cleared around the cot in her room. A few steps to the right and she'd be able to reach the patient. The EMT had left a full syringe of Narcan attached to the patient's IV line, but never had the chance to give it. Afton recognized it by the bright orange sticker on the side. She remembered last time Bruce had come in and he’d been given too much... like, a full dose.

  If she could just reach it, she could push the medication, and with any luck...

  She could barely bring herself to look away from Noah and Kylie. Turning slightly, she tried to catch one of the EMT's attention by lifting her eyebrows. On the second try, the medic closest to her locked eyes. Afton looked at the syringe of medication and gave a nod. The EMT's eyes went wide in understanding.

  "Come on now, you know I ain't handing over this child until you have what I want. Get yer ass to the pharmacy and go get it."

  "I'll send someone. I’m not leaving my daughter."

  My daughter.

  "Oh, hell no, you won't. All these fine people here heard you say you were going to help me. You. So, use your doctor badge there and go get me my pills. You got five minutes or I'm going to start the hurt up in here."

  Panic welled higher in Afton's throat. She didn't have a visual on Kylie. Noah did. If he left... it would be like walking away from the baby herself. Desperate, she turned to the EMT and gave a hard nod. In a swift motion, the EMT reached over the patient and grabbed the plunger. And pushed, delivering the entire syringe.

  One of the gunmen spotted them. He punched a fist toward them and headed their way.

  "What are you two doing?"

  Afton shook her head. "He's dying. He needed his medicine. We were just trying to give him his—"

  The gunman didn't slow his pace as he came directly at her, one hand outstretched as he pushed the center of the chest and drove her back. Afton tumbled backward two steps before losing her balance and falling against the cot behind her.

  "Afton!" Noah's voice broke through the hum in her ears.

  "Brody, what the hell? Get back out here!" The woman's voice broke behind the backdrop of Kylie's angry wail. The man did as he was told, turning his back as he hunched to an earful from the woman.

  Afton pushed herself to her feet. She couldn't take this anymore. The fear of something happening to Kylie was stronger than her need for self-preservation. Staff were starting to stir, some taking small steps forward, many putting down their hands. She could bounce a penny off the tension in the air, a restlessness that threatened to painfully break, one way or the other.

  Afton steeled herself. Let them shoot her. She wasn’t going to stop trying to get back her baby.

  Suddenly, a roar from the cot broke through the room. Bruce made a desperate half-sit, his thick arms flailing like weapons. The medicine had worked, exorcising the reluctant demon again. Both the gunman and the woman spun to the sound. Afton took her chance, pulling the removable metal top from the medical stand by Bruce’s bed seconds before he could as she ran forward.

  The gunman was between her and her baby.

  She raised the tray, fully prepared to hit him when a flash of something silver and red zoomed by her head and nailed the perp in the forehead. Scissors followed by a breathing tube. Bruce grabbed handfuls from the EMT bag on the end of the cot, throwing them like missiles. Taking her chance, Afton ducked and stopped in front of the gunman. Fear raced down her spine as she swung the tray and smacked him in the head.

  He fell with a shout, the gun loose in his hand. In a flash, a handful of staff mobbed him, pinning him to the ground.

  The woman and Kylie were gone.

  The EMTs rushed to assist Bruce while Afton ran into the hall. There, against the wall, Noah had the woman in a choke hold, a gray-haired man gently cradling Kylie against his chest as he turned away and headed for the safety of the Core. She wouldn’t breathe until she had her in her grasp! Aware that there was one more gunman unaccounted for, she crept cautiously toward the Core. Other staff was breaking free of their fear, gathered together, willing but unsure.

  Where had the other gunman gone?

  The man beeped into the Core and slammed the door behind him. Inside, staff lucky enough to be behind the bulletproof barrier watched with horror and disbelief at the movie-scene unfolding in the unit. She hurried, trying to reach safety and her baby when she was suddenly shoved to the side.

  Afton hit the floor, her shoulder bouncing off the hard surface and hard footfalls trampled by. With a groan, she pushed herself into a sitting position and tried to stand. A red beam cut across the floor on her right, pointedly working its way into the air, making a perfectly straight line past Afton, the end targeted in the center of the second gunman’s chest. Afton whipped around, cranking her head to look up at the ceiling. There, behind a carefully dislodged ceiling tile, the very tip of a sniper rifle peeked through.

  She swung back around, eyes searching as she honed on the Core.

  Tears flooded her eyes. Noah was inside, their baby in his arms.

  # # #

  Noah sat on the side of the cot holding Kylie gently over his shoulder while Afton stepped between his legs and curled against him, sobbing.

  He wrapped his arm tightly around her. Emotions were too jumbled and strong to sort. All that mattered was the overwhelming relief that she and the baby were okay. Officer Rossi had pegged the gunman with his sniping rifle, giving the rest of the SWAT unit time to get in and take control. The ER became a flurry of activity, most of which he couldn’t recall because he hadn’t been paying attention.

  Instead, he’d ushered Afton back to the exam room where they could sit in a moment’s thankfulness for being safe and unharmed. Together.

  Just the three of them.

  Finally, things around them began to settle down. Doctors resumed seeing patients, the ER was taken off lock down. Though the wheels of normality were turning, nothing would stay the same here again.

  Noah patted Kylie’s back. She was still flush with fever but fell asleep shortly after Dr. Carter had diagnosed her with an ear infection and given her more fever reducer. Soon, they’d be discharged and within a few days, the baby would be better. He’d help see her through it, if Afton would let him.

  Winding his fingers in her hair, he urged Afton back, so she looked down at him. Her tear-stained face gutted him.

  “It’s going to be okay.”

  She nodded and wiped at her eyes with a tissue. “I just... can’t believe this all happened.” Taking his face between his hands, she pressed her forehead to his and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I doubted you, your character. I’m sorry that I questioned the man you really are. What you did today for Kylie...”

  “Hey,” Noah smoothed her hair. “You beat a man senseless with a tray and got the gun away from him. Remind me never to piss you off.”

  Her body shook with a light laugh.

  “I’m serious, Noah.”

  He readjusted Kylie and pulled Afton back for a soft kiss.

  “I’m the one who’s sorry. I’ve been so caught up in my issues that I didn’t give you and K
ylie a fair chance. I shouldn’t have put you through the ringer like that.”

  “You were in shock over finding out the truth.”

  “I still handled it badly.”

  “No, Noah. We both did. But now everyone knows about our baby. How’s that going to affect you?”

  As he’d watched the cops escort the perpetrators out of the ER earlier, he’d formed an idea, one so pressing that it wouldn’t let go.

  “I’m going to face it all head-on, like I should have done in the first place.”

  He searched her eyes as his fingers lightly traced the curve of her back.

  “Noah, I— “

  "Afton? Oh my God, Afton!”

  She spun as her father rushed into the room, his eyes glazed over with a sort of panic Noah never expected to see in Yeager Henningsen. His white hair was sticking up in a crazed Einstein impression, his shirt a bit untucked as if he’d gotten dressed in a hurry. Shaking his head, he put his arms out and walked to Afton. She tensed, her brow wrinkled as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

  “D-dad?”

  “Oh, honey.” He wrapped her up, not seeming to notice that Afton’s arms stayed stiff at her sides, or that her body pulled away from his embrace instead of stepping into it.

  “What are you doing here, dad?”

  Another awkward second passed before he pulled away. “I was on my way over here after you called and said Kylie was sick and you were bringing her here. I thought I’d better watch over her examination, make sure she was getting the best care. But then—the ER was on lockdown because of a gunman?”

  “Three. Three gunmen.”

  He shook his head as if he just couldn’t believe it. He put his palms on Afton’s cheeks.

  “Listen to me. I’ve never worried so much as when I heard you were in danger. After Marieke resigned last week, I realized...”

  “Mari resigned?”

  Yeager’s lower lip quivered. “I’m in intolerable bastard, Afton.”