Page 23 of Deadly Rescue
Sophie cried out, but this time it appeared because of a contraction. “Doctor!”
Leo looked at Sophie, withdrew his hand, and nodded vigorously, “Push, Sophie, now!”
Nelson echoed the demand from the phone, and Celina and Polly joined in. “Push, push, push!”
Teeth gritted, Sophie bore down for long moments, sweat rolling down her face faster than Celina could wipe it off, and seconds later, a tiny baby slid out of her body and into Leo’s waiting hands.
“Yes!” both Celina and Polly cheered.
Cooper’s joy at the baby’s arrival was short lived when he noted it was motionless.
A lump formed in the back of his throat.No, no, no. Please don’t let this happen.Without speaking, Leo quickly transferred the baby to Polly’s towel, using the edges to vigorously rub the goo from the baby’s skin and pat it on the back.
“Suction,” Leo snapped and Cooper shoved the eye dropper into Leo’s outstretched hand. Not missing a beat, Leo forced the infant’s mouth open and began to suction.
“Is the baby okay?” Sophie asked fearfully, trying to sit up to get a look at her and Nelson’s second child.
“Coop?” Nelson yelled when no one answered Sophie’s question. Eyes still glued to the motionless baby, Cooper couldn’t speak.Please, he prayed with every fiber of his being.Please let the baby live. Please—
A weak cry rent the air. The blood rushed to Cooper’s head as relief swamped him. Another cheer went up from Celina and Polly.
“Sophie, Nelson, you have a beautiful baby girl.” Leo held up the baby, swaddled in the towel, for Sophie to see, grinning from ear to ear before he handed her off to Polly.
Another tiny cry, this one sounding full-on pissed, filled the room, and they all laughed with relief. Polly showed the baby to Sophie, letting her weep and kiss the baby’s face, before placing her under the lamps next to her brother.
Sophie smiled weakly, and Nelson’s excitement was palpable through the “yes, yes, yes!” cheers from the other end of the phone.
Celina grabbed the phone, taking Nelson off speaker so he and Sophie could have a private moment, and held it to Sophie’s ear. Sophie took the phone, lying back, and laughed, cried, and repeated to Nelson how much she loved him.
Polly helped Leo as he kept working, the two of them murmuring to each other before disappearing into the bathroom together. With the imminent danger over, Cooper drew Celina into his arms, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. Her body shook as he held her, and when he drew back to look into her eyes, he was swallowed up in a combination of relief and joy.
“I was so scared,” she admitted, rising on tiptoe to press a kiss firmly to his lips. “Thank God Leo was here.”
Cooper nodded. “We wouldn’t have been able to do this without him.”
Chapter 7
By the timethey got Sophie and the babies settled, it was late afternoon. Both babies were stable; Sophie, although exhausted, was happy when Leo allowed her to tuck each one next to her in bed.
Cooper was told it would still be a while before anyone could get to them, and to sit tight. All ambulances were in use for the seriously injured, and many of the EMTs and first responders were on that list, so they were short-handed. Since the mother and babies were not in distress, they were not considered high priority. Pissed him off, and he went on a verbal tirade to the 911 operator until Celina took the phone from him and smoothed things over. She explained the seriousness of the situation and asked for help as soon as available. One of Cooper’s friends on the ambulance service called him a few minutes later and told him they’d get to Sophie and the babies within the hour.
Polly and Leo made themselves comfortable near the small kitchenette, Leo checking Sophie and the napping babies every few minutes to monitor them.
Cooper and Celina stood near the window, silently watching the flashing lights of ambulance, fire and police crews below. Taking advantage of the peace, Cooper slid behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and drawing her back to his chest.
She sighed, but a moment later, her body went stiff. “Wait. That’s him.”
“Him who?” He peered over her shoulder at the chaos below.
“He’s missing the ball cap and ditched the EMT attire, but I know that’s him, right there in the brown jacket near that tree. See him? I’d recognize that face anywhere. His picture’s on my camera, if it’s not too damaged.” Celina pointed, then turned to look at Cooper, eyes glittering dangerously. “That’s the son of a bitch who started this all.”
“The bomber?” Rage snaked down his spine and Cooper searched the area until his gaze landed on a man standing off to the side of the crowd, half hidden under an oak. “Are you sure?”
Celina nodded, jaw set in determination. “One hundred percent.”
Whipping out his phone, he punched in Roman’s number. “What’s your twenty?”
“I’m outside organizing a few agents to go back in and do a sweep to make sure we haven’t miss anyone. Medics are almost finished patching up Cruz. He’ll be ready to scale the staircase any moment,” Roman remarked dryly.
