“I can be brave, Mommy.” Tana smiled down through her tears and bent to kiss Sarah’s forehead.
“Thank you, Sweetheart. I will try to hurry.” Tana took Sarah’s hand again and pulled her through the door to the second floor. She quickly searched for any sign of Tag or Sawyer and found none. She made her way to Piper’s room and looked through the little glass partition to find Lorna, Sawyer, and Piper looking at the beautiful baby cradled in Piper’s arms.Shit.Tana knew that if she went barging in to tell them all that had happened, Sawyer would never let her go off alone after Matt and Beth. If she was able to find Matt, having the local sheriff tag along wasn’t going to sit well with him. Tana ducked into the hospital’s chapel two doors down from Piper’s room and pulled out her cell to dial Lorna’s number. Lorna answered on the third ring, and Tana breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hi Lorna, it’s Tana,” she whispered. “I was wondering if you could come and meet me at the chapel, two doors down from Pipe’s room.”
“Is everything all right?” Lorna sounded a little panicked, seeming to pick up on Tana’s unease. The last thing she needed was for Lorna to alert Sawyer to where she was.
“Everything is great,” she lied. “But don’t tell the others about this—it’s a surprise. I just need a little help if you’re up to it.” Tana knew that asking for help was what was going to clinch her plea with Lorna. That woman was a natural caregiver and would go to any lengths to help a friend.
“Sure,” Lorna hesitated. “I will be there in just a minute.” Tana thanked her and ended the call. She sat down and pulled Sarah onto her lap, offering up a prayer for her little Beth to be safe. Lorna and Henry entered the back of the chapel, and she walked up to sit next to Tana and Sarah. “Okay, spill it. What’s really going on?” Lorna looked over at Tana, keeping her voice to a whisper not to wake up sleeping Henry. “I had to lie to my husband and niece to sneak over here—this better be good.” Lorna tried to look angry, but the woman didn’t have a mean bone in her body. “My ex found the girls and me at the playground. Torren’s been shot,” Tana sobbed, covering her mouth with her hand. Lorna pulled Tana into her side, wrapping her arm around her.
“We have to tell Sawyer; he’ll know what to do.” Lorna tried to stand, but Tana pulled her back down.
“No,” she shouted, startling the baby. She grimaced. “Sorry. But I can’t let you do that, not until I’m gone at least. I need a head start. I’m betting that Matt has taken Beth back to my house. He knows where I live—well, lived and he’ll go somewhere that I can find him. He wants me, and he’ll be waiting for me, using Beth as bait.” Lorna shook her head, and for a minute, Tana wasn’t sure that Lorna was going to help her.
“I need you to keep Sarah. I can’t take her with me, it’s not safe,” Tana whispered. “Please, Lorna,” she begged. “I know that you would do the same thing if it were Henry being held hostage by a crazy man. You’d give your life for your child. I know that I can save her.” Lorna looked down at Henry sleeping in her arms and sighed.
“I’ll keep Sarah, and we will sit here for five minutes before I go back to Piper’s room and tell my husband what has happened. That’s all the head start I can give you, Tana.” Lorna took Sarah’s hand and helped her onto the other half of her lap, opposite Henry.
“Thanks, Lorna. I owe you one.” Tana gently kissed her friend’s cheek and ran for the back of the little chapel. She stopped and chanced one last look back at Sarah, snuggled into Lorna’s arms. “Lorna, will you please tell Torren that I love him and that I’m sorry. Tell him that I’d never willingly leave him because he’s worth sticking around for, but I have no choice.” Tana choked back her tears. Lorna nodded, and Tana took one last look at Sarah, knowing that she could be looking at her daughter for the last time. Would her girls have to grow up without a mother or father, as Torren and Tag did? She hoped to God that they wouldn’t have to ever feel abandoned by her, the way Torren felt that his parents had left him. She would just have to find a way to get Beth safely away from Matt and stay alive because the alternative wasn’t one she wanted to think about.
Tana held her breath as she snuck past Piper’s room through the doors and down the stairwell. She knew that a five-minute head start wasn’t much, but a lot could happen in five minutes. She made it halfway down the stairwell before she heard the commotion back up on the second floor. Judging by the amount of shouting, Tag found Torren, and he was back to tell Sawyer what was going on. Tana rushed the rest of the way down the stairs and exited through the emergency room doors that she had followed Torren through earlier. She just aboutmade it through the double doors and outside when she heard Torren’s weak shout. She tried to ignore him, not sure that she would be able to bear telling him goodbye.
When she heard the doctor tell him to stay in his bed, she couldn’t help but turn around. The last thing she wanted was for Torren to be in more pain or worse. Tana quickly walked back to where the doctor and two nurses were wheeling him down a hallway.
“Torren,” she cried. “Tell me that you are okay.” She gently touched his arm, not knowing where he was hurting.
“I will be. They are taking me to surgery now to dig this fucking bullet out,” he growled. “Where is Sarah? Why are you wandering around alone? You should have a guard with you.” Torren was working himself up, and she could see the worry on the doctor’s face.
“Mr. Harrison, I need you to remain calm. We need to get you up to surgery; they are waiting for you.” The doctor nodded to the nurse, and they began to push Torren’s bed towards the elevators.
“Wait,” he shouted. “I’m not going anywhere until I get a few answers.” He tried to get out of the bed again, and this time, Tana was by his side. She knew what she had to do to keep him safe and make sure that he got the help that he needed. Torren wasn’t going to like any of her answers, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to like her plan to get Beth back. If she waited much longer, Sawyer and Tag would catch up to her, and she would have no hope of finding her daughter alive.
“Tor, the doctor is right, you need to go to surgery. I can’t do this anymore, it’s just all too much,” Tana sobbed, not able to meet his eyes with her own. “I can’t be with you anymore, Torren. I didn’t mean for all of this to go this far.” She motioned between the two of them, chancing a look into his eyesand instantly regretting it. His beautiful blue eyes, which were usually her anchor in any storm, were tumultuous and angry.
“So, you’re just giving up on us, just like that? Is it that easy for you, honey? I must be one of the dumbest fuckers on the planet for falling for you. You are the first woman that I’ve ever loved, Tana. I thought you’d be my last, but I guess I was wrong.” Tana shook her head, wanting to take back her words but knowing that if she did, he would never let her go after Beth. She just hoped like hell that she wasn’t already too late. She couldn’t lose them both—losing Torren was the only way to get her daughter back.
“I’m so sorry, Torren,” she cried. Tana was hurting him, and seeing the pain in his eyes and how easily he accepted her rejection just about gutted her. It hurt her heart to know that Torren didn’t believe that he was worth her trouble because he was. She hated that this was the only way to keep both Beth and Torren safe, but she had no other choice.
“You know what—just walk away like everyone else, Tana. I’m used to that.” Torren lay back in his bed and closed his eyes. “Let’s go, Doc.” The doctor nodded at her, and they wheeled Torren’s bed into the elevator. Tana stood in the hallway watching the doors close, hoping that he would open his eyes and look at her one last time, but he never did. The doors closed, and she felt as though someone had ripped her heart from her chest. She slid her hand against the wall, trying to steady herself. Now wasn’t the time to fall apart—that would have to wait. Now, she needed to find her daughter and make sure that Matt would never be able to hurt any of them again.
Matt waited for Tana at her little house, knowing that his wife was a smart woman. She would eventually figure out where he was waiting for her. Still, he was getting sick of sitting around, listening to Beth go on about how hungry she was or how mean he was. She was right—he was plenty mean, and if his little angel didn’t shut her fucking mouth, she would realize his anger firsthand. “Give it a rest, Beth. I will find you something to eat when I’m good and ready. You just shut your mouth and drink your water.” Beth shot him an incredulous look that reminded him so much of Tana. He shot off his chair and raised his hand, only backing off when she screamed and covered her face with her arms. At least his daughter was smart enough to back down, something her mother never learned. Tana always seemed so defiant whenever he would have to smack her around. She always deserved it, and when he got done with her, she wasn’t as smug and condescending as she first was. Beth was at least smart enough to protect herself—maybe keeping her around wasn’t such a bad idea. She was the twin that reminded him most of himself. Besides, he didn’t know if he had it in himself to kill his flesh and blood. Tana had it coming, and he was more than willing to get rid of his wife. His fresh start would just have to involve a kid or two. The twins were still young enough that they would probably forget all about their mother—he would make sure of that. At the sound of a car pulling into the driveway, he looked out the front window to find his wife sitting in her car. Tana was smart enough not only to find him but to show up alone. It was about damn time—he was waiting for over an hour now.
“Mommy?” Beth questioned when the front door opened.
“Sit down, Beth.” Matt barked. He grabbed his gun from the counter and trained it on his daughter. He needed to use her as leverage; otherwise, Tana would think she had the upper hand, and he wouldn’t allow that.
“Beth!” Tana’s voice sounded shaky, and he knew that she wasn’t going to just let him have their daughter. She was going to put up a fight, and he would enjoy beating that fight out of her. “Baby, are you all right?” Beth nodded her head, a small sob escaping from her little chest.
“She’s just fine, Tana. You need to stop right there, not one more step closer.” Tana froze in place, and he knew that it was all part of her act. His wife usually wasn’t so accommodating. “It’s nice to see that you can obey me, Tana.” He barked out his laugh, causing Beth to jump in her seat. “Let’s see how well you do, and maybe I’ll let Beth go.” Tana looked at him like she didn’t believe a word that he was saying.
“And I’m supposed to just take your word for it, that you are going to just let our daughter walk out of here? How about you let her run across the street, and I’ll stay here to take her place.” Tana held up her hands as if surrendering, and Matt couldn’t help his laugh.
“Sure, honey,” he chuckled. “I think you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Beth here can run along and play at your new boyfriend’s house, and everyone will just leave us alone?” He shook his head, tsking her as if he wasn’t buying her lies. “How about you come on in here, slowly, and have a seat in this chair.” Matt kicked a chair out from under the table, and Tana made her way into the kitchen and gingerly sat down in the chair that he slid towards her.
“Look at you playing nice. I have to say I like this side of you, sweetheart.” Tana’s smile was mean, and he knew that it was taking all her restraint to be a good girl.
“Listen, Matt, I’m here just like you want. How about you let Beth go, and we can handle this like adults. We can talk and work out what’s best for our family, like civilized people.” Tana was watching him, waiting for him to make the next move. Hell, she was almost daring him to rough her up a little.
