Dream Shard (23 page)

Devon raised an eyebrow. “And that would be?”

“What a woman who is timing her labor contractions looks like.”

There was stunned silence for about ten seconds.

“Shit!”

It was impossible to tell who actually cussed. It felt like it came from all sides. Men on the other side of the mess hall jumped, landing on their feet as they surveyed the area for threats.

Major Jacobs pulled a remote unit from his belt and pressed a button. “You need to learn how to cut to pertinent information.”

“You just told me you didn’t want me telling you what to do with your Operative.”

Garrick drew in a stiff breath and opened his mouth to say something. Kalin pegged him with a hard look. “Your Operative would be lucky if I told him what to do with himself.”

Garrick choked, his stony expression cracking for an instant. She felt Devon’s gaze trying to burn her but there was a snort from outside the door. A moment later, Grace was herded back inside by two Rangers who looked terrified by the idea of actually touching her. Instead, they had their arms out and were crowding her through the doorway.

“Call them off, Jacobs,” she snarled.

“You’re not having this one alone, Grace.”

Jacobs faced off with his Operative. He towered over her, but Grace looked like she was confident in her ability to tear his throat out.

“You know, Major Jacobs, women in labor can get away with almost anything, and she is wearing a gun.”

Grace turned a furious look on Kalin but she stiffened as another contraction gripped her.

“You’re going to medical, Grace,” Jacobs insisted. “If I have to carry you.”

When the contraction passed, Grace bared her teeth at her C.O.

“It’s been pointed out to me that I really don’t know all that much about Operatives and all,” Kalin interrupted as she slid between Grace and her C.O. to lock gazes with the female Operative. “But I know this. It takes just three minutes without oxygen for a baby to start suffering brain damage. I bet you’re pretty confident with giving birth alone because you can feel that baby, but my guess is these guys wouldn’t risk your life by performing an emergency C-section on you if you found yourself with a complication. Something along the lines of preserving the Operative at all cost, sort of thing.” Kalin shot Grace a no-nonsense look. “By the time you realized there was a life-threatening situation like a prolapsed cord and they got you into an operating room, it would be all over.”

Grace’s eyes widened. She hissed through her gritted teeth before giving in. “You’re right.”

She turned and faced the door. Jacobs grabbed her biceps but she shook him off.

“I think she has more experience with delivering babies than you do, Jacobs.” Grace turned to glare at Kalin. “Unless you still can’t step foot in a medical facility.”

Grace’s words were a direct hit.

Kalin felt them tearing through the hesitation that had paralyzed her for the last eleven months. She heard Grace pull in another harsh breath as a contraction began.

The sound sent her into action, lifting her wrist to note the time. Kalin moved forward, refusing to think about anything but the patient who needed her.

It was the best damned feeling ever.

“I want her,” Grace snarled at the doctor when he tried to take over for the tenth time.

“She isn’t a doctor.”

“I don’t care. Go stand in the corner until there is a need for you. I’m doing all the work here and she looks like she can catch just fine.”

Grace was merciless as she locked gazes with Kalin. “Don’t let him touch me unless it’s needed.” She looked around the delivery room and scowled. “I hate it in here. So stale.”

“Then concentrate on your baby.”

Grace blinked and nodded. Kalin felt the woman shifting her focus. It was an amazing thing to witness. Every mother was close to their child, but Grace had a mental link with the baby being born.

The doctor was glaring at her, but Kalin focused her attention on helping Grace. She counted through the contractions.

“Breathe, Grace. We’re almost there.”

The female Operative never made a sound. She was completely comfortable with the pain.

“Big push this time, Grace, and we’ll have a baby.”

The baby came into the world without crying. Kalin got a good grip on him before using the length of toweling she’d draped over her shoulder to clean him off.

“Here’s your son, Grace.”

The baby opened his eyes and looked for his mother. Kalin laid the infant in her arms and made sure Grace had a good hold on him before cutting the cord. The doctor was itching to take over but finally gave up when Kalin finished without ever looking over at him.

“We need to give the baby a checkup with the doctor.”

Kalin made sure Grace nodded before she reached for the infant. The baby boy fussed when taken from his mother.

“Rourke,” Grace said.

Kalin wasn’t sure if she was talking to her son or telling them what the baby’s name was, but the baby stuck his fist in his mouth and started sucking. Kalin laid him in the warming bed that was waiting. The doctor muttered as he finally had something to do. Grace watched him until he turned and nodded.

“Very healthy.”

“Your duties are finished,” Grace said pointedly. “Leave.”

The doctor didn’t care for being dismissed, but Grace leaned her head back and closed her eyes with relief once he was gone. “He won a coin toss to be the one in here because rumor has it I’m a psychic. Two of his comrades are hiding in the latrine to make sure they don’t have to come near me just in case I’m a witch.”

“In that case, I’m glad you threw him out.”

There were still things to do. Kalin attended to her patient as Grace rested. The baby was sleeping in the warming bed as time slowly passed. Kalin brought the warming bed up to Grace’s bedside so the new mother could touch her baby.

It gave her a moment to savor the feeling of being back in the job she loved. Somehow, she’d forgotten how much she enjoyed it. Being needed. It washed through her, filling her with a joy she realized she’d missed.

“Devon feels the same way when he’s with you.”

Kalin looked up and found Grace watching her. The woman’s emerald eyes really were stunning. Her coal-black hair complimented her eyes to perfection.

“He only recovered because you touched his feelings. Something he hasn’t allowed in a long time. Don’t let him push you away. I was just as stubborn once.”

The door opened and another doctor entered. Grace made a low sound of disgust.

“I’ll ring if we need help,” Kalin informed him.

The doctor had a mask on and gloves. He stopped and nodded. Kalin looked back at Grace with a smile but the warming bed the baby was in had moved.

“What are you doing?” Kalin snapped into county-hospital nurse mode like she’d never missed a day.

“Taking the baby to the nursery.”

He had hold of the warming bed and was pulling it away from the bedside. “The baby isn’t banded—” Kalin came around the delivery bed as she spoke.

Grace sat up, reaching for the warming bed. The doctor reached behind him and pulled out a gun.

“Get down!” Grace yelled.

Kalin threw herself to the floor as the doctor pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger. The gun only made a soft sound because of a silencer on it. Kalin rolled, feeling the bite of the bullet through her left arm. There was a hard grunt as Grace hit the floor on the other side of the bed. She started to pull her legs up but her body shook before she slumped into a boneless heap.

Kalin gasped, blood was oozing down her shoulder as the gunman looked at Grace. Kalin rolled over, making sure her wound was visible and forced herself to fix her eyes and stare frozen into the air. She held her breath as the gunman looked back at her, the muzzle of the weapon pointed at her chest.

God damn it. Why had she let Gennaro take the tracking bracelet off her wrist?

She reached out with her thoughts and screamed at Devon.

She was happy.

Devon felt the glow radiating inside Kalin and realized it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever felt.

But he couldn’t give her that feeling.

His world would surround her with nothing but gray.

No, the best thing for them both was to take away the fact they had both recovered.

He walked past the quarters she’d been assigned and headed across the tarmac toward his room.

“Devon!”

He jerked and whipped around to face the medical facility. He was running before he pulled his communication link out of his pocket and pressed the panic buttons.

His heart was pounding as he jerked his gun out of its holster.

He couldn’t be too late again.

“Perfect.” The gunman looked at the slumped form of Grace on the floor, dismissing Kalin. The female Operative had passed out from hitting the floor but she wasn’t completely still, her eyelids fluttering as she fought for consciousness.

The gunman stuck his gun back into the waistband behind his back and reached into the warming bed to pick the baby up with gentle hands.

“Come on, little fellow.” The baby let out a sound, making the man hesitate. “I didn’t hurt ya none.”

Kalin had ended up near the chair where Grace’s clothing had been tossed. Since she was the nurse in the room and Grace hadn’t let the doctor near her, the clothing was still sitting there.

So was the gun she’d been wearing. Kalin reached for it, yanked it out of the holster and pushed the safety off before she pointed it at the gunman and pulled the trigger.

The man jerked, the force of the impact flinging him away from the warming bed. The baby dropped back into it and started whimpering. Crimson began to spread out over the gunman’s shoulder. He snarled and reached back for his gun.

Kalin fired again, this time hitting him in the chest. Blood splattered across the wall behind him. He looked down in shock before collapsing against the wall and sliding down to land on his butt.

“Good shot,” Grace grunted, watching her from beneath the delivery bed. She was blinking rapidly, fighting to hold on to consciousness. Her eyes were glassy with pain but she flattened her hands on the floor and pushed herself up anyway, grinding her teeth as she moved.

The gun was suddenly too heavy. Kalin let it drop to the floor as she felt Devon reaching out for her.

He was yelling, the force of the connection almost unbearable. She flattened her hand against her forehead as the doors burst in.

“Kalin!”

The scent of blood was strong. Devon almost puked but slid to his knees beside Kalin. Her scrub top was wet and glistening with blood. He shook as he reached for her and pulled her into his embrace. She was as limp as a rag doll.

“I can’t lose you.” He pulled her closer, trying to squeeze life back into her. “Don’t leave me.” He was begging and he didn’t give a shit.

“I love you.”

“You knocked her out, Ross.”

Devon lifted his head, looking across the room to where Grace was sitting on her knees. She was cradling her baby as Jacobs hovered.

“You made me see stars,” she bit out before baring her teeth at a doctor who made the mistake of trying to touch the baby.

“She’s breathing. Devon, you need to let her go.” Garrick was there, cupping his shoulder and pushing him back so that another doctor could reach in to touch Kalin. Devon wasn’t willing to let her go. He stood up, cradling her and carrying her into the hallway.

He was never going to let her go again.

She wasn’t sure what hurt more, her head or her shoulder. Kalin opened her eyes but everything was blurry.

“She’s coming around.”

Her sight cleared and so did her brain.

“Devon…”

It was just a statement because she knew he was there. His thoughts merged with hers as firmly as the hold he had on her hand.

“Kalin, can you tell me where you are?”

The doctor was following a routine she knew by heart, but all she was interested in was enjoying the way Devon was holding her, no walls between them.

“Ms. Smith? I’m Dr. Goodwyn. Can you tell me what happened?”

The doctor was pressing on her shoulder wound and pain knifed through her. She groaned, losing contact with Devon.

“Give her some morphine,” Devon snapped.

“No.” Kalin pulled him closer. “I get really…weird on morphine. You don’t want to see it.”

His lips twitched, curving up as his eyes filled with pleasure. “I want to see everything, Kalin. Everything.”

“But—”

He pressed his finger against her lips. But it wasn’t the end of their conversation. He was flooding her with things she’d only had hints of from him before. Those stolen moments in the dark, when he’d reached for her and she’d clung to him because of the sheer perfection she felt in his embrace.

“I love you.”

Did she think it or did he? There was no way to be sure, only that it was there and he wasn’t sliding a wall between them.

Dresner picked up his phone. “Yes?”

“Sir, we have a trace-back hit coming through on a mole line. Someone is searching for the source.” One of his tech engineers advised, “We need to kill it before they complete the trace.”

His computer screen lit up with the information. For a moment, he hesitated, not wanting to see what the computer was showing him.

“Sir? Two minutes.”

“Kill it.”

Dresner found himself battling the rise of an emotion. He set his phone down, stood up and walked across his office to dispel the sensation.

Emotions had no place in his world. Even something as important as a mole in such a critical position being lost was no cause for emotional responses.

Still, it was a huge loss. One that he might never be able to replace. He tapped one of the oversized touch screens mounted on the far side of his office and pulled up the pictures of Grace Campbell, Devon Ross and Kalin Smith. There were other pictures, of Operatives he had little information about.

So rare. So coveted.

He uttered a single profane word before closing out the file and moving on to another project.

The time would come.