Hidden Away

CHAPTER 14

PEOPLE just don’t goddamn disappear. Did they? Garrett was tired. He was hungry. And he was one pissed-off motherfucker. He’d been over every inch of this island and there was no sign of Sarah. No one in the harbor had seen her—or so they said. There wasn’t a flight with her on it—as near as he could tell.

The woman had simply vanished into thin air.

He wanted nothing more than to say fuck it all, go home and let Resnick deal with Sarah Daniels. It was what he should do. His sister-in-law was about to deliver. Sam’s hands were tied if they got another job because Garrett was off fucking around in paradise. And quite frankly, he’d have a hell of a lot better time blowing some shit up over playing junior detective. Hell, that was Donovan’s job.

He should just go home and call it good.

But he’d kissed her.

It was a pansy-ass excuse. But if he hadn’t kissed her. If he hadn’t gotten close to her. Hadn’t seen her fear. Hadn’t felt her tremble beneath his fingers. If she hadn’t tasted so damn good. If he hadn’t kissed her, he could go home and forget she ever existed. He could leave her to Resnick and company.

But he couldn’t. Somehow in the course of a few days she’d become his. His responsibility. His to protect.

It was a fucked-up scenario no matter how he looked at it. He couldn’t make it go away no matter how hard he wanted it to. All he knew was that somehow, some way, he and Sarah Daniels were connected.

No, he didn’t like it. But there it was. All laid out, sort of like he felt right now. Balls flapping in the wind.

No man should ever get so damn tied up in a woman. Especially one he barely knew.

Yeah, go home. It’s precisely what he should do.

Then he could better prepare himself for the job of protecting her. While Donovan ran her to ground, he could haul out his arsenal and start planning for the eventualities. Hell, he never went anywhere without at least four rifles and a few handguns. And yet here he was with only a Glock and his winning personality to get himself out of a scrape on this shit hole of an island. And he’d have to leave the Glock behind.

He stalked into the tiny-ass terminal that served as ticketing desk, luggage check and security all in one and tossed his bag onto the stuttering conveyor belt.

“I want to get the hell out of here,” he announced to the startled agent. “What’s your next flight out?”

“Miami,” she said nervously.

“Done. When does it leave?”

“Half hour, sir. They’ll be boarding in the next few minutes.”

Garrett scanned the waiting room to see four other people all watching him like he was the shoe bomber. He smiled through gritted teeth. “Bad breakup. Girlfriend dragged me down here for a vacation and dumped me for the first dude she saw in a Speedo.”

The two men grimaced in sympathy while the two women looked like they thought it was no wonder.

He tossed his credit card onto the counter and hoped to hell Sam hadn’t already discovered the last charge and frozen the account. The agent hastily shoved a printed boarding pass over the counter and then went to secure the routing ticket onto Garrett’s bag.

“You say I have thirty minutes? When is last boarding call?” he asked.

The agent checked her watch. “You have twenty minutes before final boarding. The plane takes off in thirty.”

He nodded and walked back outside, where he pulled out the sat phone. This time Donovan actually answered the phone.

“We have a problem,” Garrett began.

“We?” Donovan echoed. “I don’t see a ‘we’ in this equation.”

“Fuck you,” Garrett growled. “I need your help.”

Donovan sighed. “What else is new? What, did you forget your bathing suit? Oh wait, no, the sunblock right? Give me a minute. I’m actually mustering real sympathy for you here. I might even manage to squeeze out a tear or two.”

“Are you done yet?” Garrett asked impatiently. “Sarah took off.”

There was dead silence.

“She gave you the slip?”

Garrett closed his eyes and braced for what was to come.

Donovan laughed in his ear. “Let me get this straight. All you had to do was stay close to a beautiful woman. Watch over her. Even cozy up to her, if that’s what it took. And she gave you the slip?”

Garrett could hear the fool wheezing through the phone. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger and closed his eyes. “I’m going to beat your ass when I get home.”

“Ah man, I wish I could be there to see this one,” Donovan said. “So what are you going to do now?”

“It’s not what I’m going to do. It’s what you’re going to do. I’m hopping a flight home. I need you to find out where the hell Sarah has gone. She took a boat off the island but her trail was cold when I got here. I need to know if she flew, swam, took a boat or what. I’m counting on you to find out, Van.”

“Well hell,” Donovan grumbled. “I like how you take an assignment and I do all the work.”

“Oh and by the way. You can’t use Resnick or his resources. I don’t want him to know about any of this.”

Again there was a long silence. “You want to explain to me why you’re holding out on the man you took the assignment from?”

Garrett checked his watch. “Look, I don’t have a lot of time. I’ll explain when I get there. In the meantime, if Resnick knocks, you play dumb. And find out where the hell Sarah is.”

He cut the connection and turned to go back into the terminal. What he needed was about twelve hours’ sleep. He wouldn’t sleep a wink on the plane. He hated commercial flights.

GARRETT pulled into the driveway of his house and frowned when he didn’t see Sam’s or Donovan’s truck parked. Sophie’s SUV was under the carport and he pulled in behind it. Where the fuck was everyone? He was tired from the flights, pissed over the entire deal, and he’d called Donovan as soon as he’d landed in Nashville to tell him he was on his way home.

He needed to get in, get whatever info Donovan had and get the hell back on the road. Hopefully this time, one of the Kelly jets would be available, because damn, this going-through-security-hoops at airports was for the birds.

He opened the front door and stepped inside. “Hello? Anyone home?” Where the hell was everyone?

Frustration frayed his already worn patience. He didn’t have time for this.

“Garrett?”

He turned in the direction of the kitchen to see Sophie standing in the doorway, her face pale, her hand palming her enormous belly. He strode across the room, concerned by her pallor.

“Hey, you okay, sweetheart?”

She clutched at his shirt when he got close and swayed unsteadily on her feet. “No. I mean, yes. I’m in labor. I need you to take me to the hospital.”

Oh hell. “Where is Sam?”

She frowned. “I don’t know. He’s not answering his cell. He went over to Ethan and Rachel’s but when I called over there no one answered. I was just about to call Marlene when I heard you come in.”

Seeing the anxiety etched in her expression, he put his arm around her and squeezed reassuringly. “It’s okay. I don’t want you to worry. Have you got your bag packed?”

“By the door,” she said.

Suddenly she went still and gripped his hand with enough force to cut off his circulation. Damn, but for a little woman she packed a mean grip. She closed her eyes and took in several light breaths through her nose. Shouldn’t she be taking deeper breaths or something?

Panic hit him in the stomach like a baseball bat. Give him a fucking war, but a pregnant woman in labor? He was clammy just thinking about it.

When the contraction passed, she started for the door and he hurried beside her. He bent down to retrieve her bag and reached for his cell phone at the same time. This was a hell of a time for Sam to go MIA. What the fuck was he thinking? Sophie could have been completely alone. She had been alone until Garrett showed up.

He ushered Sophie to his truck and instead of helping her to climb up, he lifted her and eased her down onto the seat. Then he gave her an awkward pat on the leg and hurried around to the driver’s side.

He called Sam first but when he got no answer, he called his mom next.

“Mom, is Sam over there?” he demanded as soon as his mom answered.

“Garrett? You’re home?”

“Yeah, Ma, look I don’t mean to be rude, but I need Sam. Where the hell is he?”

There was a pause. “He’s helping your father and brothers look for Rusty. She didn’t come home after school today.”

Fuck. Just what he needed was Rusty’s irresponsible ass to cause trouble when everything else was going to shit.

“Sophie’s in labor. I’m on the way to the hospital with her. Sam isn’t answering his phone. He needs to get his ass to the hospital to be with his wife.”

Rusty could rot. He didn’t say it but his mom wasn’t an idiot. It was there in his voice to hear.

“Oh my goodness,” Marlene breathed out. “I’ll get him. I’ll call your father. Tell Sophie I’m on my way over right now. Tell her not to worry.”

Yeah, he was going to tell a pregnant woman not to worry about pushing a bowling ball out of her uterus.

“I gotta go, Ma. Find Sam for me. I’m going to take care of Sophie.”

He tossed down the phone and glanced over at Sophie, who had a tight grip on the door handle.

“It’s going to be all right.” He hoped he wasn’t lying. What the hell did he know about women in labor? “Ma is going to run down Sam. He’ll be there. No way would he miss this.”

To her credit, Sophie looked less worried than Garrett felt.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Goddamn Rusty,” he bit out. “She didn’t show up after school. Apparently they’re all out looking for her.”

Sophie frowned. “Oh, I hope she’s all right.”

Garrett shook his head. “She better damn well have a good reason for this and I’m thinking unless she’s in the hospital, there isn’t one.”

Sophie laid her hand on his arm. “I’m fine, Garrett. Really. I’m having contractions, but I’m pretty sure she isn’t coming anytime soon.”

“Shouldn’t I be the one comforting you?”

She smiled. “Well, yeah, I wouldn’t turn down sympathy or a little petting. I am a little nervous about all of this. I think I’ve been in a state of denial over the actual labor process. This stuff hurts!”

Garrett grimaced and then took her hand, squeezing to reassure her. “Sorry, sweetheart. I’m an insensitive jerk, but then I think you already knew that. Is there anything I can do to make it better?”

“You could have the baby for me.”

“Oh hell no,” he muttered.

She laughed. “What a baby. You took a bullet without whining.”

“Yeah, well that’s different.”

“How about just getting me there as quickly as possible. Maybe I’m far enough along to have an epidural right away.”

“I can do that.”

He drove as fast as possible without wrapping them around a tree. It was about a thirty-minute drive to the hospital. He made it there in twenty.

“Don’t make a big deal,” she pleaded as he roared into the parking lot. “No big entrance at the E.R. Just park and we’ll walk into the hospital’s front entrance.”

“Isn’t this an emergency?” he demanded.

She gripped his arm and was silent for a moment. Then she took a deep breath and exhaled. “No, it isn’t an emergency. I don’t want to look like a moron. Just park and help me inside. They’ll take me up to the right floor.”

Garrett frowned but he did what she asked, although he did make a new parking place right up close to the front entrance. They could kiss his ass or tow his truck. He wasn’t making her walk all the way across the lot no matter what she said.

He jumped out of his truck and walked around to open the door for Sophie. She put both her hands out to brace on his arms, but again, he just plucked her from the seat and eased her down onto the pavement.

“Good?” he asked.

She nodded and took a step forward toward the entrance. The doors slid open and she stopped and held on to his arm for a long moment.

“Okay, granted I’m no expert on having babies, but are you sure this baby isn’t coming soon? Those contractions seem to be awfully close together.”

She blew out and started forward again. “They’re irregular. Some are close. Others are spaced ten to fifteen minutes apart.”

“And you’re relying on the kid to realize they’re supposed to be regular?”

Her sides shook with laughter as an elderly woman in a volunteer uniform hurried over.

“Are you in labor, dear?”

Sophie grimaced and nodded.

“Stay right here with your husband. I’ll call for a wheelchair.”

“Yeah,” Sophie said as the volunteer hustled away. “Be a good husband and stand here without losing your mind.”

“I’m so going to kill Sam for this. I took a bullet for you. He should at least have to be here for the delivery.”

Again Sophie laughed. “Trust you to prefer the bullet.” But she squeezed his arm and this time it wasn’t because of a contraction. “Thank you. Really. I was scared back at the house.”

He gathered her in a hug and kissed the top of her head. “That’s what family is for.”

“So you keep reminding me.”

A few minutes later, an orderly entered the lobby pushing a wheelchair. Garrett got Sophie settled in, fussed over her a few seconds and then followed alongside them as the orderly pushed her toward the elevator.

Once upstairs, they were greeted by a smiling nurse who took over the wheelchair and wheeled Sophie into a small room with a rather uncomfortable-looking exam table. Weren’t they supposed to have beds? Like comfortable beds? Geez, childbirth clearly wasn’t for sissies.

“Is there where you’re putting her?” Garrett blurted.

The nurse smiled and set a hospital gown on the “bed.” “No, this is only temporary. We need to see how far along she is. Sometimes we send the mothers back home for a while. False alarm and all that. But if she’s progressed enough, we’ll move her to a delivery suite.”

Garrett scowled. “Send her home? She’s in labor. You can’t send her home. Can’t you see she’s in pain? Can’t you give her an epidural now?”

Sophie laughed. “Calm down, Garrett. We’ve got it handled. I promise.”

The nurse patted the gown. “I’m going to leave you to change. I’ll be right back to do an exam and hook you up to a monitor.” She glanced at Garrett with barely veiled amusement as she walked back out.

Sophie picked up the gown and Garrett froze. “Uh, you don’t need help or anything, right? I mean, you’ll be okay if I just go over ...” He glanced around. There wasn’t anywhere else to go in the tiny room except out. “Uhm, I’ll just step out unless you need ... help.” Oh God, don’t let her need help.

“You can leave or you can turn your back,” Sophie said calmly. “It’s not going to take but a second to slip into the gown.”

He whipped around to face the door and raised his eyes heavenward. Where the fuck was Sam?

He heard the rustle of clothing and even though he was facing away, he closed his eyes and listened for any sign that she was having trouble. Or a thump.

“Okay, all done,” she said. “I could use your help getting onto the bed if you don’t mind.”

Garrett turned back around and kept his gaze averted just long enough to make sure he wasn’t going to see anything he shouldn’t. Slowly he let his gaze travel upward, relieved to see that the gown covered all the necessary parts.

She was trying to climb up but with her belly and her holding the gap closed on the gown, it looked awkward as hell.

“You hold the gown, I’ll lift you up,” he said gruffly.

Her lips twitched suspiciously as she gathered the material in her hands. He lifted her onto the bed and hastily arranged the sheet so she was modestly covered. A few seconds later, a knock sounded and the nurse returned.

“I need to see how much you’re dilated,” she said.

That didn’t sound good. Garrett kept his eye from twitching. Barely.

“I’ll just wait outside,” he said.

Sophie waved him off and he stepped outside the room. He leaned against the wall in relief. Christ but he hated hospitals. He didn’t even want to know what the nurse was doing in there. His imagination was in overdrive and it was frying his brain.

He waited. And waited. He started to pick up his cell phone and realized he’d left it in the truck. Just great. If Sam had tried to call, he was probably losing his mind by now.

Several long minutes later, the nurse stepped into the hallway and motioned for Garrett to step inside again.

“She’s already dilated to five,” she said in way-too-cheerful a voice. “We’ll be moving her to a delivery room and the good news is she can get her epidural just as soon as the anesthesiologist can be paged.”

Garrett looked over to where Sophie lay but she was watching the monitor at her bedside.

“Uh, so how long does she have? I mean until the baby gets here.”

The nurse patted him on the arm. “No way of knowing really. It could be soon or it could be hours yet. We’ll monitor her progress. No need to worry, Dad!”

“I’m not her husband. I mean, I’m not the father. I’m her brother-in-law. The father should be here any time.” Where the fuck was he?

“Oh, well, then just relax and help keep Sophie calm and comfortable. There’s nothing to worry about. The baby is doing just fine.”

A commotion outside the door had Garrett turning. He breathed a huge sigh of relief just as Sam barreled inside, a crazed look in his eyes.

“Sophie? Baby, are you all right?” Sam demanded as he rushed to her bedside.

Sophie raised her head and smiled. Her entire face lit up and Garrett could see the tension ease in her expression. “I’m good. Really. Garrett took good care of me.”

Sam took her hand and then leaned over to kiss her. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there. My damn phone went down and we were out looking for Rusty. I never should have left you. I didn’t think I’d be gone but a few minutes to Ethan and Rachel’s and then Ma called.”

Sophie put a finger over his lips and then followed with a soft brush of her mouth. “Shhh. I’m fine, Sam. Garrett was great.”

Sam turned to look at Garrett for the first time. “Thanks, man. I’m glad you got home when you did.” He studied him for a long moment. “Everything okay with you?”

Garrett nodded. “Yeah, now that you’re here.”

Sophie laughed. “He was afraid he’d have to coach me through delivery. He was pretty green there for a while.”

Sam settled into the chair beside Sophie’s bed and laced his fingers through hers. “No chance I’d miss this.” He smoothed a hand over her swollen belly. “I can’t wait to meet our little girl.”

“I hate to interrupt, but we need to move Mrs. Kelly to another room now,” the nurse said from the door.

The nurse moved forward to unhook the monitor. Sam helped Sophie from the bed and she walked awkwardly toward the door after the nurse. Not knowing what else to do, Garrett followed the group down the hallway to a larger, much more comfortable-looking room. The bed was certainly bigger and it didn’t look like a slab at the morgue.

As the nurse settled Sophie into the bed, Sam stepped back to stand beside Garrett. Garrett turned to his brother. “I should probably leave now.”

“You aren’t going to stick around for the birth of your niece?”

Garrett swallowed. “You want me to watch?” He tried to keep the horror from his voice but knew he failed miserably.

Sam laughed and slapped him on the back. “You can stick around until the messy part comes and then move into the hall. Hell, before it’s over with, I imagine the entire family will wind up here.”

Garrett ran a hand through his hair. He needed to get with Donovan and figure shit out about Sarah. And he needed to get on the road, but how could he leave when his niece was about to arrive? Donovan would want to be here, not stuck in the war room on his computer looking for Sarah.

Sam’s eyes narrowed. “What’s going on with Sarah Daniels? Besides the fact she gave you the slip.”

“Someone broke into her cottage and scared the shit out of her. So she bolted.”

“And what is this about keeping Resnick in the dark?”

“How about you worry about Sophie and let me deal with Resnick and Sarah Daniels.”

Sam frowned but the nurses were moving away from Sophie and Sophie looked over to find Sam. Sam left Garrett and returned to Sophie’s bedside. He took her hand and kissed each finger, his smile warm and contented.

Garrett leaned back against the wall and wondered how the hell he’d gotten himself in the middle of childbirth.