Far from it, she thought, wishing she could change her mind. Knowing it was the wrong thing to do.
* * *
Skye slept fitfully. So much had happened in the past few days. So much remained unfinished. It was two o’clock in the morning when she heard a sound in the guest room where Callie and Lila were spending the night. After all they had been through, they were a comfort to each other. And they had a lot to catch up on.
Skye sat up in bed, heard a scream, followed by the door bursting open down the hall.
Callie’s voice rang out. “Skye! Come quick! It’s Lila! Something’s wrong with the baby!”
She was already on her feet. Ignoring thoughts of Mahler, she left her gun in the drawer next to her bed, grabbed her terry robe and pulled it on, stuck her cell phone in her pocket, and raced down the hall.
Lila sat up in the twin bed, bent double, clutching her abdomen.
“She’s bleeding,” Callie said, her voice shaking. “And she’s in a lot of pain.”
Pulling out her phone, Skye punched in 911.
“This is police dispatch. What’s your emergency?”
“We need an ambulance. There’s a woman—she’s pregnant. She’s bleeding and in pain. Please hurry!” She rattled off the address of the apartment building, including the unit number. “Hurry—please!”
“Ma’am, stay on the line.”
Bent over on the bed, Lila gripped her stomach. “My baby . . .” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Please . . . I don’t know what to do.”
Skye’s heart clenched. “The ambulance is on its way. Try to stay calm. How badly are you bleeding?”
“Not . . . not too much, but the cramps, they are really bad.” A deep groan of pain escaped her throat as another vicious stab struck.
Callie rushed into the bathroom for towels, returned, and pressed them between Lila’s legs. Her flannel nightgown was spotted with blood, and she was trembling. Skye pulled the blanket up over her, but it didn’t stop her body from shaking.
Every minute seemed like an eternity.Where was that ambulance?
“I can’t lose my baby,” Lila said. Fresh tears welled. “I have already lost Raul. I cannot lose my baby, too.”
Skye’s own eyes filled. Lila had suffered so much. She didn’t need this, too. Skye found herself stepping into the hall, taking a shaky breath, and punching in Edge’s number. She couldn’t stop a sob at the sound of his voice.
“Skye! What is it? Skye? Honey, tell me what’s wrong!”
She swallowed back another sob. “It’s . . . it’s Lila’s baby.” A sound slipped from her throat, but knowing Edge was on the other end of the line somehow steadied her. “The ambulance is . . . is on its way. I just . . . there’s nothing you can do. I don’t know why I called.”
“I’m coming over. I’m on my way. If the ambulance isn’t there when I get there, we’ll drive her to the hospital ourselves.”
Her throat closed. She felt better just hearing his voice. “Yes. All right. I’ll tell her.” She hadn’t realized she was crying. Wiping tears from her cheeks, she took a deep breath and hurried back into the bedroom.
In an emergency, she was usually the strong one. The thought of Lila losing her precious child touched a place inside her, a secret feminine place she hadn’t been sure existed until now.
She reached for Lila’s hand. “Edge is coming. If the ambulance isn’t here when he arrives, he’s going to drive us himself.”
The tears in Lila’s eyes rolled down her cheeks, followed by a deep moan of pain. “I can’t . . . can’t lose my baby.”
“Everything’s going to be okay.” Skye squeezed Lila’s hand and prayed it was true. Inside her chest, her heart beat dully. Lila wanted this baby so badly. She had already lost so much. Skye prayed she wouldn’t lose her unborn child, too.
The intercom buzzed, and Skye hurried to answer it.
“Your ambulance is here,” the guard in the lobby said. “Paramedics are on their way up.”
Her voice shook. “Thank you.” Skye rushed to the door. “Please come in. Hurry. Mrs. Ramirez is just down the hall.”
