In the distance, an explosion split the night, and the pressure rocked the van.
And that’s when the world went black.
* * *
I woke up on a dining room table, staring up at a tray ceiling and a massive chandelier. I rolled my head to the left and found Gallagher snoozing on the floor. When I rolled my head to the other direction, I found Dr. Sarah Aaron sitting on a padded window seat, sipping from a glass of ice water. The early-morning sunlight pouring in from behind her pierced my head like spears through my eyes.
She noticed my movement and looked up. Then she stood. “You got lucky. The bullet broke your rib, but missed your lung. Your biggest problem was blood loss. Fortunately, I’m O positive.”
I frowned, trying to understand.
“You now have a pint of my blood,” she explained. “You’re going to be fine. But you have to leave. Now.”
I tried to sit up, and pain shot through my left side. I gasped, and froze.
“Wait, let me help.” The floor creaked as Gallagher stood, then shook with each step as he rounded the table. He slid one arm beneath my back and set me upright. Slowly.
“Give her two of these a day, with plenty of water.” She handed him a brown pill bottle. “They’ll keep her from getting an infection. Give her Tylenol for the pain, every four hours, as needed. The stitches will dissolve on their own, but don’t let her lift anything until that happens. And make sure she gets plenty of rest.”
“The baby?” I asked, and my voice broke on the question. My throat wassodry.
Dr. Aaron gave me a small smile. “The heartbeat is strong. If you rest and stay hydrated, I’d say you’ve got a good shot.”
Her face blurred beneath my tears. “So I’m still pregnant?”
“Yes. But I’m serious. Let Daddy, over there, take care of you. He looks like he’s up for the challenge.”
“Daddy?” I followed her gaze to Gallagher, who was clutching an envelope that had practically been pressed into the shape of his fist.
“I found it on his desk.” He pulled a folded sheet of paper from the envelope and handed it to me.
I unfolded it with trembling hands and scanned the writing until I got to the bottom.
Fetal species:faeof indeterminate origin.
I burst into tears, then gasped at the pain in my side. Then I laughed, and cried again from the pain. After that, I was just crying.
“Thank you,” Gallagher said to the doctor, while I sniffled and wiped tears from my face. He helped me toward the edge of the table, and I flinched at the pain in my side.
“Tylenol only,” Dr. Aaron reminded us. “If she has any complications, you’re going to have to find another doctor. You can’t come back here.”
“I understand.” Gallagher stuffed the pill bottle into his pants pocket, then lifted me in both arms. He still wore no shirt. His chest and pants were still stained with my blood.
Gallagher carried me out of the kitchen and down the back steps toward the van. The rear doors opened just as Dr. Aaron closed her door behind us. I could see her watching through the sheer curtain over the window. But she would not open her home for us again.
She and I were even.
Zyanya started the engine as soon as Claudio closed the van doors. “Well?” he said as Gallagher laid me carefully on the floor.
“Delilah’s going to be fine.”
“And we’re going to be parents,” I added.
Genni sat in the front corner of the truck, right behind the driver’s seat. Her leg was wrapped in a large bandage.“Un bébé?”she said, her golden eyes wide.
“Oui,”I told her with a smile as Zyanya turned us out of the Aarons’ neighborhood.
Lenore had her map open. She didn’t look at me, and I wasn’t hurt by that. Her loss was too fresh.
Crowded against the rear of the van, Rommily and Eryx sat side by side, their hands interlocked. She laid her head against his arm and smiled at me.
“Where to?” Zyanya asked as she pulled out of the driveway and onto the street.
“Away,” I said as I stared through the windshield at the empty highway stretching before us. “We need to regroup. Recuperate. Then we’ll find the others.”
“Delilah, we need to lie low,” Gallagher said, with a pointed glance at my stomach.
“I know. But I gave them my word. And my word is my honor.”
