Doc had a team of nurses from our medical facility in Boston prepared to help. They’d arrived a couple of days ago. Since the C-section was scheduled for next week, Doc was being proactive. No surprise Doc had his shit together.
Jo pushed me out of the way. “We’ve got this, Sam.”
The three nurses—two brunettes and one redhead—dove into action. The redhead I recognized. I’d met Beverly after my father had been rushed into the Boston facility. He’d suffered injuries from Roman’s great escape from the prison at our vampire complex.
Doc barked orders as they rushed Layla into the infirmary.
My sister pressed a hand on my chest. “Find out what’s going on. That’s the fire alarm, but I didn’t see or smell anything related to a fire.”
“I am not leaving Layla.”
“Sam.” Doc’s tone was harsh. “Dr. Martin. Now!”
The nurses wheeled the stretcher straight down the aisle and through another set of double doors at the back side of the infirmary where the new wing had been constructed, complete with an operating room and a nursery for newborns, including a neonatal room with incubators. The latter was necessary with an early delivery.
I trailed behind them.
Jo blocked me. “It’s imperative you let us do our job.”
“I got that, sis. I’m taking the stairs.” Truth. The stairwell was through a side door on the left end of the infirmary. I couldn’t stand still in an elevator, or I would feel closed in. “Sis, if she dies, I will blow up this place,” I said through clenched teeth.Or burn it down.
She flattened a steady hand back on my trembling body. “I know. I’ll help you.” My sister was as calm as a windless summer day.
Not me. I was about to self-combust, and I pitied the person who got in my way.
I bolted out the back entrance and jumped the stairs two at a time. No sooner than I was outside in the balmy night, the fire alarm died. We had different sounds for each threat. If our enemies were storming the base, the siren would wail every two seconds, while the recent one had been constant.
I jogged to the end of the building, scanning and sniffing. I didn’t see any fire or smell smoke. That was a good sign that the infirmary wasn’t compromised, yet that didn’t erase my need to filet the asshole who’d screwed with Dr. Martin coming onto the base.
I called Tripp, who I’d been talking to earlier about Jordyn. As soon as the line connected, I shouted, “What the fuck is happening?”
“Jordyn pulled the fire alarm,” he said. “No fires. I called off the trucks.”
The headline would read: “Jordyn Aberdeen Dead at Age Twenty by the Hand of a Vampire Who Is on Every News Channel in the Country.”
“Layla is in the operating room, and I need to clear the path for Dr. Martin to come in.”
“One step ahead of you. He should be pulling up now,” Tripp said. “His name is on the list at the guard shack to let him through anytime. I’ll meet you up in the infirmary.” Then he hung up.
Maybe luck was on my side.
I wound my way to the front entrance of the building. Petty Officer Cole Dawson stood watch outside the lobby doors.
“Sir.” He straightened, his amber gaze flickering at me. “Is everything okay?”
The last time we ran into each other, he was guarding Junior Aberdeen’s room in the men’s barracks. I’d been on a mission to strangle Junior the day Layla had been kidnapped. I’d thought Junior had been part of the plan to snag Layla. Regardless, I’d been seconds away from strangling Junior when Petty Officer Dawson tried to pull me down off a ledge and pissed me off in the process. He’d only been doing his job.
Now, here we were again. Same thing. I was fucked in the head with worry over Layla.
“Just waiting on Dr. Martin,” I said in an even tone. He didn’t need the brunt of my wrath. Jordyn did, though.
She was the reason Layla’s heart rate had nose-dived. What was wrong with Jordyn? I knew she was struggling with Junior’s death and was dead set on revenge against Fred Emery, but she knew better than to go into the prison. She knew our rules.
“Oh, is your wife having the babies?” Dawson sounded excited.
The SEAL team couldn’t wait to meet my kids. I couldn’t either. But I also couldn’t be a single father with four kids to raise.Fuuuuck! Layla had to live.
I nodded at Petty Officer Dawson as the sound of the engine filtered through the light wind before the headlights lit up the darkened road leading in from the main gate.
