“What?” one of the guys from the front seat ask.
“I see the head!” I repeat.
Kara falls back against the door. I rub her knee; the interior lights come on, so I place her pants across her legs so no one else can see what I’m seeing.
“I don’t think you have much to go,” I say, trying to be encouraging. Kara looks ready to kill me. Her foot goes back in my stomach, this time a little harder than the last, making me grunt in pain. Then she screams so loud that I think my eardrums burst. I look down just in time to see a little face. I look around for something to wrap the baby in. There is nothing, so I rip my shirt off over my head, and hold it out, ready to catch him. Everything happens so quickly after she pushes that I’m not even sure I remember how the baby got into my arms, just that he is there and crying. Kara is laying back against the door breathing heavily. The cord is still attached, and I know that I need to find a way to tie it off and cut it. That’s when I hear the most beautiful sound I have ever heard in my whole life. I look through the windshield and can see the lights of an ambulance racing towards us.
“Thank God,” I sigh, as we pull off the road. The ambulance is on the other side. When they open my door and take Kara and my nephew, I feel my first real sense of relief since this day started.
Trevor
“Where the fuck is she?” I put my head between my knees, trying to breathe. Nothing is working. I can’t take a full breath. I don’t know what I will do if something has happened to her. I look up to see my dad coming down the hall towards me with his phone to his ear. I stand, walking towards him. “Have you heard anything?”
“Liz and Kara are on their way in. An ambulance intercepted a black SUV out on old Spring Place Road. One female gave birth before the ambulance was able to make it to them; the other has suffered a head wound, and is going to need stitches and possibly a transfusion when they arrive.” I rub my hands over my face a few times. Knowing that Liz is on her way here gives me a sense of relief; knowing she is hurt has me pacing back and forth in front of the emergency room doors. I need to hold her and see for myself that she is okay. As soon as I see the lights flashing, I run out the doors. The ambulance hasn’t even come to a complete stop before I’m pulling the door open. Liz is sitting on the bench; Kara is strapped down in the stretcher, holding a small bundle in her arms. The two EMTs look at me in shock when I climb into the back, pulling Liz into my arms. She is cold and pale, but awake.
“Hi.” She starts crying as soon as she speaks. I tuck her face into my neck and hop out of the ambulance.
“Hey, we need—” I turn around, daring him to finish, or to try and take her from me. It will be a long time before I ever let her out of my sight again.
I take a deep breath, the first breath I have taken since I found out that Liz was missing. “I’m just taking her in to the doctor,” I tell him, knowing that he’s just trying to do his job. As soon as I walk through the emergency room door, the nurse is there, ushering us into a room where she checks Liz over, explaining that her blood pressure is a little low due to blood loss; but everything else looks good. She gives me another blanket for Liz to help warm her up, and says that the doctor shouldn’t be too long. I wrap her up and sit in the chair next to the bed. Her hair, chest, and hands are covered in dried blood. I don’t know how much of it is hers; I know my dad said that Kara had the baby before the ambulance arrived. “Did they hurt you anywhere else, baby?” I don’t want to ask, but I notice that she isn’t wearing a shirt. I want to throw up. She shakes her head but doesn’t answer. I don’t want her to think that I would be upset with her. “You can tell me if they touched you.” I lay my forehead against her hand.
“They didn’t touch me.”
“Where’s your shirt?” I whisper, feeling bile crawling up the back of my throat.
“I had to use it to wrap the baby in,” she says, running her fingers through my hair. “The only time they touched me was when one of them hit me over the head with his gun because I was trying to make them let Kara go.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Mayson?”
“Yes.” I stand, wanting to get this over with. I want to take my girl home.
“How’s Kara and the baby?” Liz asks.
“They are both doing just fine. After I get you stitched up, you can see them if you want.”
“Yes, please.”
“Alright. I am going to have you sit on the side of the bed facing your husband.” I help her sit on the edge and stand between her legs, my hands under her jaw, and taking comfort in the feel of her skin under my hands and her body close to mine. “I’m going to numb the area. Then I am going to have to shave the area around the wound and clean it up before I start on the stiches.” Liz nods, but her eyes fill with tears. I hate seeing her in pain, knowing I can’t do anything about it.
“I’m right here.” I whisper softly in her ear, rubbing the underside of her jaw. I try to have her focus on me as the doctor turns on a pair of clippers, the sound filling the small room. The nurse comes in, followed by my dad and another officer, who start to ask Liz questions about what happened. The more she talks, the more my blood starts to heat, between what happened with Tim at the job site, and Kara and Liz being kidnapped, I was ready to hurt someone.
“How did Kai know how to find you guys?” Dad asks her.
“He said that he had been watching for a while,” Liz answers.
“Did he say why?”
“No.” She shakes her head, and I can tell she’s lying. “Is my brother okay?”
The other police officer answers, “He’s fine. The guys who kidnapped you today went to your brother, showing him a picture of you and Kara. When your brother saw the photo, he attacked one of the guys, overpowering him. The next man pulled a gun and shot your brother at close range in the side. He’s awake, and with his wife and son.”
“What?” she gasps.
“It’s just a flesh wound, Mrs. Mayson.” Her body sags in relief when she hears he is all right. “What happened to the guys who took us?”