Page 67 of The CEO's Baby

“Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no. Please, don’t let me lose this baby,” she prayed through gritted teeth. It hurt so much

“Help,” she managed to get out, holding her stomach, kneeling on the floor.

She couldn’t even stand. She tried to breathe through the pain, but nothing was working.

“Cath?” John hurried down the hall and into her room. “Oh my word, what’s wrong?”

Expending every effort, she tried to answer him. Fear hampered her movement. She could scarcely breathe. The pain was intense and unrelenting.

Please don’t let me lose this baby, she chanted over and over inside her head.

“I need help. I think I’m losing my baby. Oh, please, no.”

“Hold on. How do I call for help?” John asked, stepping around her and reaching for the phone.

“Dial 911,” she said.

She could scarcely listen to John’s side of the conversation. The pain was unrelenting. She hadn’t even made it to the end of the first trimester, she thought sadly.

Cath began crying with fear. She was going to lose this baby after being so elated. She should have listened to her doctor but every day she carried it was another day of hope. She had not truly believed she’d miscarry after becoming pregnant despite her doctor’s warning.

She curled into a ball, easing to her side, holding her legs close.

“Oh, love, it’ll be okay,” John said a moment later.

“Tell Trace,” she said.

He looked up the number and dialed.

“Take it easy, help will be there soon,” he said.

Cath nodded, moaning against the pain both physical and in her heart. She’d known it was too good to be true. She’d been told years ago she’d never have a baby. This miracle wasn’t going to end happy.

The next few moments were a blur of pain, prayer and regrets. She rocked against the agony in her abdomen. She couldn’t focus on anything. If prayer alone would save her baby, it was a done deal. But it seemed as if nothing would stop the force of nature. The pain was relentless and sharp.

Trace broke every driving law on the books, as he wove through city traffic, ran red lights and even went the opposite way down a one-way street. He couldn’t stop hearing John’s British voice giving him the worst news possible.

Trace had still been on his cell phone when he hit the elevator running. The connection had been broken at that point, but he’d heard enough. He just hoped he made it to Cath’s before the ambulance. Would he know where they’d take her?

She’d feared this would happen. The doctor had been clear it was a high-risk pregnancy. But Cath always seemed strong. He thought she’d have her baby—her miracle child. He liked the idea that he’d given her that child.

Turning onto the street, he saw an ambulance parked in front of her building. He slammed to a stop directly behind it and ran.

Mercifully there was an elevator at the lobby. He leaned on the floor button, praying every foot of the way as the elevator shot up. When he reached the right floor, he saw the door to the apartment still opened. In only seconds he was inside and in the bedroom.

His heart chilled at the sight of Cath curled into a ball and holding her stomach. Her tears struck him. Trace had never felt so scared in his life.

“Thank goodness you’re here,” John said, kneeling beside Cath, holding her hand. He rose and stepped aside as Trace moved in.

The two EMT workers had a portable stretcher and were trying to get Cath on it, but she wasn’t cooperating.

She kept keening, “No, no, I can’t lose my baby.”

“Hey, sweetheart, it’s okay. You hang in there,” Trace said, going to scoop her up.

He laid her gently on the transport stretcher, brushed the hair back from her face. Her skin was wet with tears. He felt like crying himself.

“Hold on, okay.”

---