Chapter Twenty-Three

Tuesday, January 22, 8:00 P.M.

A contraction hit Nicole and she winced as she leaned forward on the bed to ride it out. Kendall laid her hand on Nicole’s shoulder. Kendall’s own worry doubled. She knew nothing about babies, let alone bringing one into the world. ‘I think you’re supposed to breathe deeply.’

Nicole glanced up at her. ‘Your guess is as good as mine. I skipped the birthing classes.’

Kendall shoved her hair out of her eyes, annoyed she didn’t have a rubber band to tie it back. ‘Didn’t your doctor tell you what to do?’

‘She did. But I didn’t pay attention.’

Her panic rose. ‘For God’s sake, why not?’

Wincing again, Nicole blew out a breath as the contraction passed. ‘If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been in denial about the baby.’

‘I know the adoption has been an issue but I thought you were handling all the medical stuff okay.’

‘I made checkups, but frankly, once I got the thumbs-up from the doc each month, I tuned the rest out. I have no idea what I’m doing.’

Kendall glanced at the locked door. Her head had cleared and she was coherent enough to think and plan. ‘Why would he come after us? It makes no sense.’

The dream Kendall had had over and over again flashed in her mind. The child in the closet. The screams. The soft, soothing voice beckoning her to come out. It was all connected to this place. ‘I’ve got to get you out of here.’

‘How? He’s locked every door.’

‘Todd has got to come back sometime. When he does, he’ll be expecting to find me unconscious and you in labor. We’re not as helpless as we might seem.’ As Kendall rose from the bed to look around the room, a wave of nausea passed over her. She stomped it down, straightened, and concentrated on the room. It was so familiar.

Tears filled Nicole’s eyes. ‘God, I’m scared.’

Kendall managed a brave tone. ‘It’s going to be fine.’

Where had she seen this room before? The place was garishly pink. The smell of the house triggered deep emotions long since buried. This room had never been in her dreams, yet there was a familiarity.

She moved around staring at the posters on the wall. All from the eighties, all considered vintage now. She ran her finger along the edge of a white desk as her gaze drifted to a closet door.

Kendall’s heart pounded in her chest.

‘What is it?’ Nicole said.

‘I’ve been here before.’ Kendall moved toward the closet. With a trembling hand she twisted the knob.

Hinges squeaked as she opened the door and peered into the blackness. Stay in here. Stay quiet. Protect your sister.

Kendall went to the main door of the room and rattled the handle. Locked. She crossed to the window. Nailed shut. And a glance out the icy pane revealed they were in a room three stories up. A jump to the ground would at best break her leg and at worst kill her.

She took a wooden chair from behind a small desk and returned to the main door. She started to beat the doorknob with the chair. Each impact stung her hands.

Nicole rolled to her side and got off the bed. She moved to the window. ‘If he comes back he’s going to hear.’

Kendall kept hitting the door. Some of the wood around the lock chipped but the lock held strong. The exertion made her heart race and combined with the drugs in her system left her light-headed. She stopped and brushed the sweat from her head. ‘This bastard has built a fort.’

Nicole cupped her hand under her belly and grimaced as her gaze skimmed the room. ‘What is it with this room? It’s like he’s expecting little girls.’

A memory danced at the edge of Kendall’s consciousness, just out of her reach. ‘I think I’m one of those little girls.’

Nicole glanced toward the window as headlights shone in the driveway below. ‘Headlights.’

Kendall rushed to the window and glanced out. ‘It’s a truck.’

‘Do you think it’s help?’

Her fingertips touched the icy windowpane. ‘We’re in the middle of nowhere. The chances of someone finding us are slim. I don’t think this is good.’ She glanced at the door and the battered chair. ‘Get back in bed and lie on your side. And make it sound like the baby is coming.’

‘That won’t be hard.’ Nicole lay back down. A sigh escaped her lips as she rolled on her left side and curled up in a ball.

Kendall picked up the chair and moved behind the door. ‘When he comes in, I’m going to hit him with everything I have.’

Nicole nodded. ‘Put all your weight into it.’

Kendall nodded. Her heart hammered.

Downstairs, the front door opened and slammed shut. Kendall winced at the sound. She tightened her grip on the chair. She’d only have the element of surprise once. The steady thud of footsteps sounded on the stairs. They grew louder. Closer.

Kendall’s palms grew slick with sweat. ‘Be ready to run,’ she whispered.

‘Got it.’

‘Showtime.’

Nicole closed her eyes and started to moan loudly.

The dead bolt on the door turned, followed by the knob. Kendall raised the chair. Her bangs fell in her eyes and made her nose twitch but she ignored it.

Hinges creaked. Nicole moaned as the door opened.

A dark, masked head appeared. Todd was holding a fast-food bag. Kendall didn’t give herself time to think. She brought the chair crashing down. Wood contacted with the side of his head and Todd dropped to his knees and forward onto the floor.

‘Hit him again!’ Nicole shouted. Wincing, she scrambled off the bed as Kendall stood guard over Todd, the chair still held high over her head.

Adrenaline pumped through her veins. Kendall hit him between the shoulder blades.

‘Get out, Nicole,’ Kendall said. ‘I’m right behind you.’

Tears ran down Nicole’s face but she kept moving forward. Carefully she stepped around Todd as if she expected his hand to shoot up and grab her ankle.

Only when Nicole had started down the stairs did Kendall step over Todd, who still gripped his keys in his hands. Keys. She thought about the truck. Her heart racing, she reached down and tugged the keys free from his grip. He groaned and tried to lift his head but couldn’t manage it.

Kendall jerked back and dropped the chair. Keys clutched in her hands, she sprinted across the landing toward the stairs. She caught up to Nicole halfway down the stairs. Wrapping her arm around Nicole’s waist, she hurried her the rest of the way.

Nicole’s breathing sounded ragged when they reached the front door.

Kendall turned the knob and discovered it was locked. ‘Oh, God.’

‘Damn him!’ Nicole gripped her belly and doubled over.

Hands trembling, Kendall searched all the keys on the chain trying to find one that looked like a door key. She picked one that looked right and shoved it in the lock. It didn’t work. She tried another and then another.

An angry wail emanated from the room upstairs. ‘Eve!’

Kendall dropped the keys. Panic exploded as she reached down and picked them up. She’d lost track of which keys she’d tried. Upstairs, Todd sounded as if he’d stumbled to his feet.

Nicole gripped her belly again. She bit her lip and sucked in a deep breath.

Kendall pushed another key in the lock just as Todd appeared at the top of the stairs. He staggered and gripped the banister. ‘Eve! No! You can’t leave!’

This time the dead bolt turned. She opened the front door as he started down the stairs. Wrapping her arm around Nicole, she helped her outside. Cold air hit them hard in the face but Kendall barely cared. Her only goal was to get Nicole to the truck.

Nicole stumbled. ‘My water has broke.’ And in a rush her water splashed over Kendall’s and Nicole’s shoes.

‘Keep moving,’ Kendall ordered. ‘Your baby isn’t going to be born in this house.’

Nicole gritted her teeth, gripped Kendall’s hand and the two hurried down the house’s front steps toward the truck. Kendall opened the passenger door and helped Nicole inside.

She’d just started around the front of the cab when a shot rang out. An unmasked Todd appeared on the top step. He shouted, ‘Eve!’

Kendall ran to the driver’s side door and slid behind the wheel. She shoved the key in the lock. ‘Please start.’

Todd fired. The back wheel deflated.

‘You’re not leaving me, Eve!’ His voice sounded ragged with anger.

Kendall clenched the keys in her hand. ‘I’m not Eve! I’m Kendall!’ She’d drive the truck on its rims if that’s what it took. She cranked the engine.

Running, he fired again and hit the front tire as the engine ignited. ‘You won’t make it far! I’ll find you!’

Kendall put the truck in drive. ‘Just try!’

He pointed the gun at Kendall’s window and fired. Glass shattered as the bullet whizzed by their heads. Nicole ducked and screamed.

The explosion of noise stunned Kendall and confused her. She slammed on the brakes. She jerked forward and hit the steering wheel with her head. Stunned, she hesitated just long enough for Todd to yank open the driver’s door and point the gun into the cab. ‘I don’t want to kill Nicole but I will.’

Kendall’s head pounded as she glanced at Nicole’s ashen face. ‘The baby is coming. She needs a hospital. Let her go. I’ll stay.’

‘No,’ Nicole said. ‘I’m not leaving you.’

‘You have no choice,’ Kendall said. She didn’t want to imagine what his sick and twisted mind was planning. ‘Let Nicole go and I’ll stay.’

‘I can’t do that.’ His voice was deadly calm.

Kendall tensed. ‘Let her go.’

‘I need you and the baby to complete the Family, Eve.’

Cold and fear made her teeth start to chatter. ‘What family?’

‘Our family, Eve.’

‘My name is Kendall Shaw.’

‘Your name is Eve Turner.’

She’d only just learned of it today. ‘How do you know that name?’

‘I know all about you. Where you came from and who your real parents are.’ He smiled. ‘And soon you’ll join the Family, just like the others.’

Kendall remembered the monogrammed E on the silver mirror he had given her. ‘You didn’t find that mirror in my kitchen.’

‘No. I gave it to you when you turned three. You loved it. You loved me.’

Maybe she had at one time. But not now.

Nicole opened her door. Pain constricted her face. ‘Kendall, the baby is coming.’

Kendall searched Todd’s eyes. The million questions that had plagued her for a lifetime didn’t matter now. All that mattered was Nicole and the baby. ‘Please let her go.’

‘No.’ He waved the gun. ‘Now help her up the stairs. Our baby is about to be born.’

It was nearly nine when Jacob and Zack drove to the house of the retired detective who had investigated the Turner murders. It was a small brick rancher. A low-wattage bulb shone down on a small front porch. Snow covered the front lawn and the trees dipped low under the weight of the snow.

The detectives got out and moved to the front door. Jacob rang the bell. Seconds later the door jerked open. Standing in the doorway was a short burly man with thick graying hair. He wore a red sweater that stretched tightly over his round belly. ‘Warwick and Kier?’

Jacob nodded. ‘Detective Houseman?’

He nodded and pushed open the screened door. ‘Come in.’

They wiped their feet on the mat outside and moved into the warmth of the house. The living room was furnished with formal-looking furniture covered in clear protective plastic. Sitting on top of the polished coffee table was a dusty file box. It was open, as was one of its files.

Houseman closed the front door. ‘Have a seat. After you called I pulled my files. Didn’t take me a minute to refresh my memory on that case.’

Jacob felt antsy and didn’t want to sit but he and Kier dutifully took seats across from the couch. Houseman picked up reading glasses from the table and put them on. ‘I won’t waste your time with small talk.’

‘Thanks,’ Jacob said.

‘I remember what it’s like to be under the gun.’ He dropped his gaze to the file. ‘Elijah and Delia Turner married in the late seventies. It was her first marriage, his second. He was a religion professor at the college and she stayed home with the kids. They had five daughters in a decade. There was also a son.’

‘A son?’ Jacob prompted.

‘Yes. From Turner’s first marriage. Turner’s first wife had gotten pregnant while they were in high school and he wanted to do right by her. But the marriage never worked. His first wife had never been very balanced and after four years of marriage he moved out. He paid his child support but he didn’t visit the boy much.’ He sipped his coffee. ‘The boy was about six when Turner married the second wife. From what neighbors say, wife number two encouraged her husband to include the boy in their lives, so he did. The boy was quiet, but he seemed to enjoy his visits with the new family. Allen seemed to adore his sisters. Especially the second to the youngest, Eve.’

Jacob sat forward in his chair. ‘What were the girls’ names?’

‘Ruth, Judith, Rachel, Eve, and Sarah.’

Jacob shoved out a breath. The charms were engraved with the girls’ birth names. ‘What happened?’

‘From what we could piece together, Delia caught Allen with the two oldest sisters in the back shed. The girls were partially clothed. Delia went nuts. She told Allen he could never visit them again.’

‘Her husband backed her up?’ Zack asked.

‘According to Delia’s next-door neighbor, he did. He’d never wanted the boy around anyway. The kid reminded him of all the mistakes he’d made. He took the boy back to his mother and informed both of them that Allen was never welcome again.’

‘How old was Allen at the time?’

‘Sixteen.’ Houseman shuffled through his papers. ‘Here’s a picture taken shortly before Elijah and Delia were murdered.’

The family portrait was of Mother, Dad, oldest son, and five daughters.

Jacob drew in a breath. ‘Look at the girls. The oldest must be Jackie White, then Vicky, and then Amanda. That infant has to be Adrianna and the toddler beside her is Kendall.’

‘And our killer is the son,’ Zack said.

Houseman sighed. ‘I read about the recent murders but the names were different and so much time has passed, I didn’t connect the dots.’

‘There’s no way you could have,’ Jacob said. ‘The names on the charms had never been released to the public.’

Houseman frowned. ‘No one realized how upset Allen Turner was. A week later he stole a car and came back to the Turners’ house. Using a kitchen knife, he first stabbed Elijah in the garden. It looks like Delia saw what was happening and hid the two youngest children in a closet. She didn’t have time to find the other three. He killed her in the kitchen as she was calling the police. He cut up the second daughter’s hands as she fought him off.’

‘Vicky,’ Jacob said. ‘That explains the old defensive wounds the coroner found.’ Kendall’s dream hadn’t been a dream at all. It had been a repressed memory.

‘He’d have killed the older girls if a neighbor hadn’t intervened. The neighbor showed up with a baseball bat and knocked the knife out of the kid’s hand. He thought he broke the kid’s hand. But Allen was able to get away. He and his mother vanished.’

‘They were never found.’

Houseman shook his head. ‘We couldn’t find them.’

Jacob nodded. ‘We think now they went to Alaska.’

Houseman had been briefed on the recent homicides. ‘Now he’s back to kill the sisters.’

‘That’s what we think.’

‘And the two younger sisters?’

‘We found the youngest. I’ve been trying to reach the older sister for a couple of hours but she’s not answering her cell.’

‘Who is it?’

Jacob clenched his right hand. ‘Kendall Shaw. She’s missing and so is her very pregnant roommate.’

Houseman raised an eyebrow and glanced back at his files. ‘Mrs Turner was pregnant with her sixth child when she was killed.’

‘Damn,’ Zack said. ‘We know the Turners owned land east of the city.’

‘They hunted there but didn’t live there. They lived in a farmhouse in Hanover County.’ Houseman flipped through his notes and read out the address. It was still raw, rural land – a perfect place to hide women.

Jacob and Zack rose at the same time. ‘Thanks.’

Sweat dampened Nicole’s brow as she lay panting in the center of the bed. Her contractions were less than a minute apart.

Kendall had tied back her hair with a shoelace and now held Nicole’s hand as another contraction gripped her body. The baby would be here any second. When the contraction passed and Nicole collapsed against the pillows, Kendall moved to the end of the bed and pushed up the sheets. She helped Nicole out of her pants, careful to keep her covered from Todd’s watchful eye.

He stood by the door. A gleeful smile turned up the edges of his lips.

Kendall tried to look calm for Nicole’s sake. ‘We’re right on schedule.’

Nicole gritted her teeth. ‘I want to push.’

‘Okay. Okay.’ Was that a good thing or not? She glanced down and thought she saw the tip of the baby’s head. ‘I think I see her.’

‘Can I push?’

Kendall had no idea. ‘Yes.’

Nicole moistened her lips. ‘How would you know?’

‘I just do.’ She didn’t look over her shoulder at Todd. ‘I’m going to need hot water so I can wash my hands and clean the baby off.’

Todd shook his head. ‘Make do with what you have.’

‘I’m worried about infection.’

‘I’m not. As long as the baby is fine that’s all I care about.’

‘Kendalllll!’ Nicole arched her back and started to pant.

Kendall looked down. The baby’s head had started to crown. She had no idea what was going to happen once the child was born, but now all she could worry about was the birth. ‘She’s coming, Nic. Push. Push hard!’

Nicole bore down and screamed through clenched teeth. Todd moved closer, peering with great interest. The head emerged.

‘Push!’ Kendall said.

One final scream and the baby’s shoulders passed. Kendall caught the wet, blood-soaked baby as she moved out in one final whoosh. Immediately, she turned the baby on her side, cleaned the mucus out of her mouth, and rubbed her between the shoulders. The baby started to wail.

Nicole started to weep. ‘Is she all right?’

‘She’s fine,’ Todd said. There was pride in his voice.

Kendall took the other lace she’d removed from her shoe and tied off the umbilical cord. Seconds later the placenta emerged. ‘I need to cut the cord.’

Todd flipped open a pocketknife. ‘I’ll do it.’

Kendall covered the baby with her hands while Nicole pushed up on her elbows to watch Todd. The worry in her eyes was not for herself but the baby.

However, Todd’s hands were as steady as a surgeon’s. He cut the cord.

Kendall wrapped the baby in a blanket from the bed and laid her in Nicole’s arms. Nicole glanced down at the child. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she gazed upon the baby.

Kendall covered Nicole and wiped the blood from her hands on the sheet. She met Todd’s gaze. ‘Leave them and I will go with you. Please. Just leave them be.’

He stared at her for a long moment. ‘You would go with me?’

She used the word she’d heard him utter so many times. ‘We can be a family.’

He reached out and touched her face. ‘Family.’

She stiffened at his touch but she managed a smile. ‘Yes. It will be better if it’s just the two of us.’

For a moment he hesitated. Nicole cradled the baby close.

Todd shook his head, moving to the head of the bed beside Nicole. He reached down and pulled the baby from her arms. ‘It has to be the three of us to complete the Family.’

‘No!’ Nicole yelled.

He moved toward Kendall. ‘Take our baby, Kendall.’

Kendall took the child, not daring a glance at Nicole’s stricken face. The bundled infant squirmed in her arms as if sensing she’d been wrenched away from her mother.

Todd leveled his gun at Nicole’s head. ‘It’s just the three of us now.’

Kendall clutched the baby tight against her. ‘Don’t kill her, Todd. You and I and the baby will leave but don’t kill Nicole. Don’t make me hate you.’

The memory of her mother’s screams echoed in her head. ‘You killed my mother. If you kill Nicole I will never forgive you.’

He frowned. ‘We are family. You can’t hate me.’

‘Families hate all the time. If you want me to love you, leave Nicole alone. She can’t hurt us now.’

Tears streamed down Nicole’s face.

Todd stared at Kendall. The raw pain in his eyes was almost heartbreaking. ‘I didn’t want to kill her. I just came back to talk to her. But she got so angry. She found me with Ruth and Judith. She didn’t understand how much I loved them.’

Tears choked Kendall’s throat. ‘And you stabbed her.’

Todd lifted the gun, holding it to his temple. ‘I didn’t want to.’

‘Don’t kill Nicole. If you love me you’ll leave her be.’

A tense silence followed and then he nodded. ‘Okay. For you, I’ll let her live.’

He moved toward Kendall, the gun in his left hand. He wrapped his right arm around her and guided her and the baby out of the room and down the stairs.

Behind them, Nicole’s weeping filled the house. ‘My baby!’ Her moans mingled with the child’s cries.

The front door opened. Cold air hit Kendall’s face and she held the baby closer. He put her in the cab of the truck and hurried around the front of the vehicle, all the while keeping his gaze on her. He got behind the wheel and fired up the engine. He took a moment to adjust the heater so that she and the baby would be comfortable. But the windows, shattered from his bullets, allowed the cold air into the cab. The baby cried louder.

‘Why is she crying?’ He sounded angry, annoyed.

‘I don’t know.’

‘Tell her to shut up or I’m tossing her out the window.’

Kendall held the baby close and started to rock her gently back and forth.

Todd put the truck in drive just as flashing blue lights appeared at the top of the driveway. Kendall clutched the baby. At least ten police cars blocked the entrance.

She nearly wept with relief.

Todd cursed and thrust the truck into reverse. He started driving toward them, then quickly veered onto a dirt road that intersected the driveway.

The side road was bumpy and rough and the flat tires made the truck unwieldy. Kendall bounced in the seat. With the baby in her arms, it was nearly impossible to keep her balance. She fell forward and hit the dash hard with her shoulder before she righted herself.

Todd didn’t even toss her a side glance. He kept driving down the narrowing road. Snow started to fall and soon the windshield wipers couldn’t keep pace.

Without any notice, the truck’s tires hit a slick spot and the vehicle skidded sideways until it hit the side of a tree.

Ayden parked his car at the top of the driveway. Gun drawn, he pushed through the house’s front door. His gaze swept the dimly lighted interior.

From upstairs, he heard Nicole’s cries. He didn’t rush up as instinct demanded. Instead, he and the uniformed cops flanking him methodically swept the house’s interior. Until he knew differently he wouldn’t assume Todd was working alone.

Once the house was cleared, he followed Nicole’s cries to the third floor. He moved down the hallway toward the lighted room at the end. Her cries tore at his heart.

‘My baby,’ Nicole cried.

Ayden burst into the room. Nicole lay back against the pillow, her body wrapped in blood-stained sheets.

‘He’s taken the baby,’ she said.

‘Is there anyone else working with him?’

‘No.’

Immediately, Ayden holstered his gun and went to Nicole. He got on his phone. ‘This is Sergeant David Ayden. I need a rescue squad.’ He gave the address before closing the phone. ‘Nicole.’

She stared up at him with bloodshot eyes. Sweat had matted her hair to her head. ‘He took my baby. And he took Kendall.’

‘Where are they going?’

‘He didn’t say.’

Blood was normal at birth. But Nicole was losing too much. And her face was deadly pale. He raised the sheet and realized Nicole was hemorrhaging.

Jacob cursed when he saw the truck careen off the road. The driver’s side took the brunt of the impact but he feared for Kendall.

‘Jesus,’ he said.

Zack pulled out his gun.

Jacob slammed on his brakes and put the car in park. He drew his gun and jumped out of the driver’s seat. He was less than twenty feet from the truck.

‘Get out with your hands where I can see them!’ Jacob shouted.

Todd appeared to be slumped over the steering wheel but straightened at the sound of Jacob’s voice. He grabbed a handful of Kendall’s hair and pulled her toward him and pressed the gun to her head. A baby’s cry broke the tense silence.

Todd pulled Kendall out of the driver’s side of the cab and held her in front of him as a shield. She clutched the baby, trying to turn sideways so she could protect the child. Todd forced her to face Jacob. ‘Leave us alone or I’ll kill them both now.’

Zack and Jacob kept their weapons trained on Todd. ‘Okay,’ Jacob said, but the detectives didn’t move.

Todd snarled at Jacob. ‘Put your guns down!’ He cocked the hammer of his gun and pressed it to Kendall’s temple.

Terrified, Kendall kept her head bowed low over the baby.

‘Okay. Okay.’ Zack didn’t budge. He kept his gun pointed at Todd.

Jacob also kept his gun pointed at Todd.

Agitated, Todd jerked back Kendall’s head. For just a brief instant Jacob’s gaze locked with hers. There was fire in her eyes.

‘Put your gun down, Detective, or I’ll kill her!’

The baby’s cries cut though the night. The air was bitter cold and the snowflakes were falling heavily.

In that moment, Kendall racked her heeled boot down his shin.

Todd winced and for just a split second was distracted. That was all Jacob needed. He fired. The bullet hit Todd in the head.

Blood splattered on Kendall’s face. For a moment, Todd stood frozen, his eyes wide, the hole in his forehead oozing blood. Then he teetered back and fell into the snow. Kendall, the baby still in her arms, collapsed to her knees.

Jacob moved quickly toward Todd, his gun pointed at him. Zack followed. Their gazes were not on Kendall but Todd. Both were ready to fire again if need be.

Only when Jacob was certain that the man was dead did he spare a glance at Kendall. He holstered his weapon.

Dropping to his knees, he pulled Kendall into his arms. The baby squirmed and wailed between them.

‘Is he dead?’ Kendall said.

‘Yes.’

The baby’s cries quieted.

Jacob stroked Kendall’s hair, now coated with snow and blood. ‘I was afraid I wouldn’t find you.’

‘Me too.’ She savored his warmth. Only now did she realize just how cold she was. She started to tremble.

He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. His scent clung to the worn leather and calmed her nerves.

‘How is Nicole?’

‘Ayden is with her.’ She glanced down at the baby, who had calmed. ‘I want to see her.’

‘Sure.’

When they returned to the house the ambulance had arrived. The flashing blue lights of the cop cars and the red lights of the rescue squad lighted up the night.

Nicole had been loaded onto a gurney and was being wheeled to the ambulance. A grim-faced Ayden was at her side. Kendall hurried over and glanced down at Nicole’s pale face.

‘Nicole.’

Her eyes opened slowly. ‘The baby?’

Kendall lowered the child so Nicole could see her daughter. ‘She’s here. She’s fine.’

Nicole started to cry. ‘Thank you.’

The rescue squad worker glanced at Kendall. ‘We need to get her to the hospital right away.’

Kendall moved back so they could load Nicole into the ambulance bay. She handed the baby to the attendant. ‘What’s wrong with her?’

‘She’s hemorrhaging.’ He got into the back of the cab and Ayden shut the doors. The rescue squad raced off into the night.

Jacob wrapped his arm around Kendall’s shoulders and she turned her face into his chest and started to weep.