Bruce explained. “At this point, we consider him MIA.”
MIA, asshat,Kyle thought.
“Chantal is still in surgery. The placenta tore,” Seth said.
I can’t lose her.“Seth, what’s her prognosis?” Kyle hoped for some good news.
“If they can’t stop the bleeding, they’ll have to take her uterus. And then it depends if she can clot. Hunt and Tuck will give her the best chance. Hang on a little more,” Seth said.
Kyle swallowed hard and nodded.
“Do you want me to tell Harper about Kip?” Seth looked to the group.
“No, I will. We brought in four children no older than five and newborn triplets plus three adults,” Julian said hoarsely. “I’m heading to Kip’s office, grabbing a quick shower, notifying Ian, and then I’ll talk to Harper. Who’s covering her?”
“Tim Holland,” Seth said.
Kyle shook his head. “Jule, what do you want me to do? I can’t sit on my hands.” He felt helpless.
Julian inhaled deeply. “Wes, Kyle, Bruce, we need to keep this place going. Check on all our assets. Grab Rich, call O’Mara, Thorn, and Donnelly to fill them in. Stone is a wreck.”
“I’ll handle Josh,” Kyle said.
* * *
“Ian,I’ll let you know when we hear anything. We’re holding steady. I’d appreciate it if you’d notify the board. What about Kieran?”
Ian’s voice came over the speaker. “What about Kieran? His brain wasn’t operated on. Hold on.”
“I warned him…damn it, if he dies…” Kieran cursed. “Give me the sit-rep on the rest of the situation.”
Julian wanted to ask how Kieran was feeling but decided not to. Kieran, yelling, made his point.
Julian continued to report, “The hospital has water coming into the basement and the first-floor lobby, but the pumps are working. The generator is functioning, and we have a baby binge at the hospital. We are up to eleven.
“The parking lot at the building has about six inches of water in it, which is splashing over the curb at the front entrance. The generator is working here too.
“Mia is running through our systems at the Houston location. We took it down to storm only here. I spoke with Tiki in San Diego and Benita in Denver. They’re trying to track the consortium of Louisiana stakeholders Harper said were mentioned in Adelaide Matin’s journal. They’re attempting to follow the money.”
Julian’s voice weakened. “Kip saved a set of triplets and an entire family. The triplets’ parents had them in a plastic bin. The biggest one is five pounds. Unfortunately, the parents drowned. Seth is looking at the babies and children with the nursing staff while Thom Wagner is checking on the adults. I’ll know more about them soon.” He blew out a breath.
“I’ll call the Brennans,” Kieran whispered, leaving the call.
“Jule, he’s been missing before,” Ian reminded him.
“Yeah. Talk to you in a couple of hours.” Julian ended the call. Kip had gone missing for a few hours in San Diego in June. But he knew Ian was referring to the time in El Salvador.
They were working a hostage rescue for the Navy. After they found the aid workers, they were making their way to the exfil, slowed down by the condition of the hostages. With the kidnappers getting close, Kip led them away from the group. After getting the hostages to safety, they violated orders and went back to look for him.
Ten days later, they found him in a cage, hanging upside down, near death. He woke up five days later. He’d been beaten and tortured.
* * *
“Congratulations, Tante Harper.”Julian, wearing a gown over his tactical uniform, walked into the ICU room configured as a NICU.
“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Harper watched her new niece through the plastic. “Look at these tiny ones. Seth said they didn’t have names, so, after watching them, the big one—he’s five pounds, I’m calling him Duke. This one is a four pound, eight ounce boy. I’m calling him Count. And this tiny boy is four pounds. I’ve named him Prince. How did they get here?” Harper lifted her chin, knitting her brows. “Where’s Kip?”
Julian sat beside her. “When Kip heard the little ones were in trouble, he insisted we try to save them.” He went on to tell her the story. “I promise, as soon as we can… We won’t stop until we find him.”
