Page 19 of Fatal Love
“Yes, well for now, the only way to help him is to give birth to his child and keep it safe.”
Beatrice took a deep breath and imagined she was lying in a snowy field, cool and clean. Soundless. “We need to go to the closet, like Cal said.”
“You need to stay right where you are. I need to see how far you’re dilated.”
Beatrice leveraged herself up on an elbow. “No, we need to go in the closet. There’s something I have to show you.”
“It can wait!”
Beatrice sat up and shook her head. God, she was looking forward to not feeling like a beached whale. “No, it can’t.”
With Maria’s exasperated help, she shuffled to the closet. It was excruciatingly slow going. Beatrice felt like her child once again weighed 200 pounds, all of that weight bearing down on her weak legs.
They finally made it, Maria flipping the light switch, but of course, it didn’t work. The walk-in closet was pitch black. “Help me over to the baseboard on the south wall,” Beatrice said. “The section under my handbags.”
Maria used the flashlight on her phone to light their way, aiding Beatrice as she went down to on hands and knees and ran a finger under the bottom shelf.
“What are you looking for?” Maria said.
Beatrice felt the fingerprint reader, cleverly disguised in the mop board under the shelf that held her favorite Burberry tote bag Charlotte had given her as a diaper bag. Out of all the renovations Cal had accomplished on their house, this secret weapons drawer buried in her closet was the last one Beatrice had ever thought she’d appreciate.
A soft click let her know the drawer had unlocked. Moving back, she motioned at Maria to open it. “We may need more than handguns to take care of Ms. Nielsson and her minions if they come back.”
Maria opened the drawer, her eyes going wide as she surveyed the submachine guns, smoke bombs, bulletproof vests, and a host of ammunition. She lovingly fingered an MPK5 9 mm. “I have to admit, this is the strangest birth I have ever been a part of.”
“That’s something, coming from you.” Beatrice surprised herself and laughed. “In case you haven’t figured it out yet, we never do anything the normal way around here.”
Maria nodded with a smile, already loading the MPK. “Besides help you deliver the baby, what would you like me to do?”
Beatrice felt a wave of dread flow over her. “You saw the woman’s face. If Cal doesn’t take her out, there’s no way she’ll leave us alive. You may be my last line of defense against her and her goons.”
Maria tucked the gun under her arm and gave Beatrice a sharp nod. “Stay here. I’ll get some pillows and blankets, and my bag. We’ll deliver your baby in the closet.”
Beatrice leaned her back against the wall. Above her hung Cal’s clothes. Her nose detected the faintest scent of him and she rubbed her belly as a new contraction began to build.
What was happening outside her bedroom? She hadn’t heard any more gunshots. No voices. Had the art thief taken off for good? Was Cal okay?
She slowed her breathing and gritted her teeth. A feeling of loneliness swamped her, mixing with the dread. Worst-case scenarios ran through her brain and she purposely ignored them, forcing herself to imagine the snowy field again.
Clean. Quiet. Relaxing.
She believed in Cal with all her heart. If anyone could handle Nielsson, it was him. Still, the sense of foreboding sat heavy in her belly along with the baby.
The contraction shifted into high gear, making her groan through gritted teeth. What if she had to raise this child alone? How could she be a good mother without Cal’s guidance?
What if Ebba Nielsson got past Cal and Trace? What if she came after Beatrice and…
Stop it! She would not think like that.Cal is going to be fine. The baby is going to be fine.
I’ll be okay too. No matter what happens.
Because if there was one thing she knew, it was how to survive. She’d survived her mother, she’d survived Command & Control. She’d survived a CIA assassin.
Crawling over to the drawer, she helped herself to a weapon and then laid down on her back and did her best to breathe through the contraction.
“DON’T SHOOT,IRISH.”
Connor froze. Beside him in the dark, Sabrina did too.
