Page 89 of Queens and Monsters

“Come,” Josefina called. “Joaquín, the boat captain, is almost here.”

Following my mother-in-law down multiple sets of stairs, we came to the boat deck. The guards I’d been looking for were here. A long thin boat was being moored to the deck. Once it was secure, the captain offered his hand, helping Josefina and I into the boat. As soon as we were seated, two more men in dark suits joined us. Josefina secured a scarf over her long hair. I shivered from the ocean breeze as I huddled near Josefina. “I should have brought a coat.”

The captain opened one of the seats and removed a blanket. “Señora,” he said, handing it to me.

“Gracias.” I had enough time to wrap the blanket around me before the boat was untied and sped away from the setting sun.

Leaning closer, I spoke to Josefina. “We took four of the guards. Will Jorge be okay?”

She nodded, but I could see the concern in the lines around her brown eyes. I reached out and took her hand. “Mia and the baby will be all right. Didn’t she say she was thirty-six weeks?”

Josefina nodded. “We can pray.”

It wasn’t until the lights of the mainland came into view that I finally relaxed—if that was even possible. I kept telling myself that this boat was how Rei and Aléjandro traveled.El Patr?nwouldn’t allow Josefina to travel this way if it wasn’t safe.

One of the guards turned and spoke to Josefina after reading a text message. Once he was finished talking, I looked at my mother-in-law.

“Mia is now with Silas and Viviana. They’re on their way to the hospital, and they’ve called Mia’s doctor.”

I missed Piero. In the sea of dark-suited men surrounding us, I wasn’t confident as to who I could trust. I stayed close to Josefina as we were transferred from the long boat to a waiting SUV. The sun was fully set by the time we arrived at the hospital. The guard who had given us the news about Mia must also be informed as to her current whereabouts. When the other man pulled the SUV up to the hospital, the second guard got out and opened our door. Without a word, we followed him around the metal detectors.

I kept expecting someone to tell us we couldn’t walk around them, but we needed to walk through them. No one stopped us. He then led us to elevators that took us up to the fifth floor and to a secure door. He spoke to the speaker in Spanish and the door opened.

Once we passed a nurse’s station, we were directed down a private hallway. There was a dark-suited manoutside the door who simply nodded as Josefina and I made our way into the room.

An older couple was standing by Mia’s bed.

Josefina rushed to Mia’s side. My sister-in-law was wearing a medical gown and lying on a bed. There was a big belt around her midsection and multiple screens with numbers and graphs. She already had an IV in her arm.

The older woman came my direction. “You must be Jasmine.”

“I am.”

She smiled. “I’m Viviana, Silas’s” —she motioned to the man— “wife. We hear you’re the one who heard Mia calling for help. We’re so thankful you saved her.”

“I didn’t save her, but I heard her. What have the doctors said?” I asked.

Mia nodded toward the screens. “See that second one on the right? It’s monitoring the baby’s heart rate.”

I stepped closer and read the monitor. “One hundred and fifty? Isn’t that high?”

Mia shook her head. “It’s strong, where it’s supposed to be. They’ve done an ultrasound. If they can stop labor they will, if not” —tears filled her eyes— “we’re having a baby.”

“Oh, honey,” Josefina said. “Jano will be here soon. I know it.”

I wanted to ask if she truly knew about Aléjandro or if she was being positive. As a sense of dread sent a chill over my flesh, I feared it was the second.

The hospital room had a couch, a table with two chairs, and a recliner. As Mia napped,Josefina and Viviana chatted quietly on the couch. Silas sat at the table, and I sat in the recliner. The food the guards brought us wasn’t even close to edible when compared to the meals Josefina’s staff had been feeding us on Bella.

I wasn’t sure how I did it with the nurses and aides coming in and out of Mia’s room, but somehow, I must have fallen asleep. I woke with a gasp, noticing I’d been covered with a blanket and the sky was still dark through the windows. Dante was standing against a wall. However, none of that mattered as much as the vision of two large men entering the hospital room.

Aléjandro rushed to Mia’s side.

Springing from the recliner I closed my eyes as Rei’s strong arms surrounded me.

“Preciosa.”

Chapter

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