Ultimate Surrender: The Surrender Series, Book 2 (21 page)

“You.” He gathered her close and kissed her mouth. “Everything okay with the troops out there?”

“Yes, actually. One of the women went into labor last night. She had a healthy baby boy this morning about seven thirty. And her parents showed up at the hospital even though they said she was on her own. They fell in love with the little guy just like the mom did. They’re taking both back home with them as soon as they’re released.”

“That’s awesome. Does that happen often?”

She shook her head. “I wish. So we were all super excited to hear it. How was your phone call?”

“Wyatt was a bit grouchy.”

“Woke him up, didn’t you?”

Campbell smiled. “Yep. Poor guy worked a double yesterday with more fun on the docket for today.”

“He have a chance to look at the footage?”

Campbell rubbed his eyes. “Yep.” There was no smile with that one.

“That good, huh?”

“He said it looks a lot like Braden but he’s not completely positive and even if they can ID him, which I think they can, he’s not doing anything illegal. He’s on a public street, doing nothing more than window shopping and trying the door.”

Disgusted didn’t come close to what was running through her system. “It’s him.”

“I know.”

“And he was window shopping at a store that doesn’t sell anything.”

“Agreed.”

“Late at night when we were clearly not open.”

“Not arguing.”

“You’re not but somehow you are.”

He leaned against her desk and brushed his knuckles against her cheek. “I don’t like it either but I knows Wyatt’s right. And I checked your PC while Wyatt and I were talking. Nothing else popped up from the old files and nothing new is there either.”

“That’s good I guess.” She latched on to the back of her neck.

Campbell tugged her around to stand between his legs and he moved her hand to rub her neck himself. “I’ve instructed Jay to keep an eye out for your office and keep checking the cameras outside. Feels like something’s about to give, but I just don’t know what.”

“I give you a month to stop that.” Warmth and luxurious desire spiraled inside her, spawning from her now loose shoulder muscles and neck.

“Feel good?”

“Mmhmm. You’re working that Domly Dom magic of yours to distract me from the current shitstorm.”

“Whatever works and we still have your desk to try out.” He nibbled her neck eliciting goosebumps to travel down her arms.

“Yes we do.” She stretched her neck and felt as if she were actually almost ready to get started on the day again. “But first I have to work, and you have sleuthing to do.”

“Sleuthing? Seriously, who says things like that?”

“Awesome people.” She kissed him and tried to walk away but he pulled her close.

“A list of one.” His mouth on hers stole her breath. Sooner than she wanted, he backed her away and stood. “I’m gonna have to get away from you,” he mumbled. “Or that desk is going to get a workout.”

“What are you planning to do this morning?”

“Wyatt gave me another angle I wanted to check out and I also think I’d like to load the viewing software on Greta’s computer.”

“Why, since we have it on ours?”

“She can use it to view who’s at the door before they even come inside. Another measure of safety and any of them up there can yell for us if there’s a problem.”

“Great idea.” Natalie moved around her desk and sat down. “How proficient are you with Windows 10?”

“Oh. Shoot me.”

“I’m not familiar with that OS.”

“Just had to go and ruin my joojoo, didn’t you?”

“I aim to please.”

“Oh, Jay, I have a job for you to help me with,” Campbell called out as he walked outside her door and turned toward Jay’s office.

Natalie ran her hand over the surface of her desk and wondered again when they’d find out just how sturdy it was. She looked at her watch. After-everybody-left o’clock sounded perfect to her.

Chapter Nineteen

Campbell

Another week passed.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

Just busy as all hell
, Campbell thought to himself as he walked down the hall to the reception area.

Natalie and two of the three nurses were in the back dealing with an emergency of some kind.

Campbell scowled.

Raised voices were coming from the front area, one of them in a near panic.

“No. I’m sorry, ma’am, but you can’t come back here right now.”

“I have to see Natalie. I have to see her now. This can’t wait.”

“Your next appointment isn’t for two more days. Ms. Grant is in the middle of something else with another patient and she can’t be disturbed.” It was Greta speaking with someone who wasn’t taking no for an answer and she sounded familiar.

Campbell stepped up to the back area of the front counter. Greta stood there trying to talk some sense into a very pregnant Wren.

“You don’t understand,” the tiny woman pleaded. She glanced behind her and Campbell followed her gaze. Hazel played in the corner on the wall but kept looking at her mother. The little girl looked scared, which didn’t sit well with Campbell at all. “It’s a matter of life and death,” she added before glancing back at Greta.

“Honey, everything is these days and I wish I could help but Natalie’s helping another soon-to-be mom. She’s in the first stages of labor and not doing well.”

“Can’t she just talk to me for a couple minutes? Please. Just ask her.” Wren had what could have been tears or panic in her eyes.

“Everything all right out here?” Campbell finally spoke up and both women turned to face him.

Greta motioned at Wren with a sympathetic gesture. “She says she needs to speak with Natalie but I know the nightmare they’re dealing with in the back.” She took a couple steps toward Campbell and pleaded with him in a low tone. “I don’t know what else to tell her. I don’t want to just tell her to go away and come back in a couple days, but I know we’re completely booked tomorrow too. I can’t squeeze anybody else in or we’re going to be more than a bit overbooked and Natalie will never get out of here on time.”

“No problem. Let me see if I can help.” Campbell moved to the side, pushing through the door into the front waiting area. “Can I help?” He stared at the woman, nibbling her lip.

Indecision rolled through her.

“We can step into the break room to have some privacy.” He knew no one was in there since he’d just come from there after downing a cup of coffee.

She took a deep breath and acquiesced. “Okay.” Moving a couple steps closer to him, Hazel ran at her mama.

“Don’t leave me.” Hazel crashed into her mama’s legs, nearly taking her down in the process.

Grabbing the counter to keep her balance, Wren patted her back. “I’ll be right back, princess. I’m not leaving you ever ever ever.”

“Promise?” the little girl asked as she scrubbed a fist across her tear-streaked cheek.

Wren made an x-mark over her chest and held up her hand. “Promise.”

“She can come with while we talk if that’s okay with you.” Campbell thought it was a good suggestion but Wren shook her head.

Looking back down at the little girl, she nodded toward the play area. “Less than five minutes and we’ll go home.”

Hazel opened her mouth with the look of arguing and her mama raised her eyebrows at her. The little girl deflated and said, “Okay,” before trudging back to the wall as if it were the gallows.

Wren seemed to droop a bit as well as she headed Campbell’s way. He moved to the side and gestured for her to walk through. As she stepped past he looked up at Debbie in the front area with a couple other kids. She nodded and pointed at Hazel. “I’ll keep an eye on her,” she whispered.

With that settled, Campbell ushered Wren down the hall and around a corner, then into the first door on the left. There were vending machines in there. A fridge, counter, storage, coffee machine, and microwave. Typical break room. “Here, have a seat.” He pulled a chair out for her and she gladly sat down in it.

She looked tired. Like bone weary kind of tired. She seemed young though he wondered how old she really was. Looks could be deceiving and he knew it in his line of work.

Whether or not she had any family flitted through his mind as well. Hard situation to be in. Pregnant, with a toddler, and she looked thin. Not that Campbell knew a heck of a lot about pregnant women, but he knew enough to see that healthy glow wasn’t exactly on at the moment for the woman in front of him. “Would you like some water?”

“Please.” Her voice was low, quiet, and she kept rubbing her hands together as if she were nervous or cold. It was pretty warm in the room they were in, which pointed him in the other direction.

“How can I help?” Campbell asked as he set her cup of water in front of her.

She took a sip and then set it down, avoiding his eyes. “I don’t think you can. I don’t think anyone but Natalie can.”

In the chair opposite her across the table, Campbell sat down and studied the woman some more. “What can Natalie do?”

She whispered, “She can stop him.”

Campbell leaned forward with the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. “Who can she stop?”

“My husband.”

So she was married. “Is your husband hurting you?” Every protective instinct in Campbell’s body lit up. You didn’t hurt women. Ever. And hurting a pregnant woman made him want to punch something. Namely the aforementioned asshole.

“Not yet.” He could barely make out the words as she glanced up at him and then back down to the table.

“You can trust me. I know you don’t know me. I get that, but you can trust me with whatever you were going to talk to Natalie about. I’ll help however I can.”

It seemed like forever that they sat there in silence. Wren never stopped fidgeting. She glanced up again and then back down. “My husband. He can’t be.”

“Can’t be what?”

Her eyes teared up. “Trusted.”

“Let me help you. Let me help Hazel and the little one you’re carrying. Let me—”

The door opened and in walked Jay. Well, walked was probably a misnomer. He took one step in, froze, glanced at each of them a couple times with his mouth open. “Didn’t know anyone was in here using the room. Sorry. Uhh, ’scuse me.” Then he backed out the same way he came and shut the door behind him.

Campbell would fix that later. “Wren?”

The woman jumped, the calm of the moments before they were interrupted clearly vanished in the presence of another person. “I don’t know what I’m doing here. I’m so sorry for wasting your time.” She got to her feet and spilled the rest of her water on the table. “Shoot.” She looked around in a panic.

Campbell grabbed some paper towels and reached toward the table.

Wren snatched them out of his hand and started mopping up the mess. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s water. It’s no biggie.” He grabbed a couple more and dried up a line of water getting away from her. “Now, what were you telling me?”

“Nothing. I’ll just get Hazel and we’ll be on our way. I haven’t been getting a lot of sleep lately with being pregnant and all. My mind gets carried away with me sometimes. I’m fine. We’re fine. Fine.”

Campbell could see through that reasoning from a mile away. She clearly wasn’t comfortable talking with him and he couldn’t blame her. Especially if she were having trouble with her husband, not to mention if she were being threatened or something worse. “How about I go see if Natalie is free now? Maybe you could speak with her.”

Wren continued to dry up the mess but she slowed down, weighing her options maybe. She didn’t say anything at first, but she chewed on the inside of her cheek.

Campbell grabbed the paper towels and got them in the trash.

“What about Hazel?” She glanced at the door as if she could see through it.

“Debbie’s watching her for you and she’s a doll. Nothing will hurt her while you talk with me. Will you wait? If I go see if I can get Natalie, will you wait here?”

Nibbling her lip, she shoved her hands into her thin coat. “I’ll try.”

Campbell knew that was all he was going to get and he was thankful for it. “Sit back down, or grab another glass of water. I’ll be right back, okay? Right back.” He waited for her to nod and then he was out the door.

Down the hall, Campbell opened his mouth to call for Natalie when she yelled his name. Around a corner, Campbell’s heart stopped beating for a second. At the end of the hall a woman with red hair had collapsed and the staff surrounded her. “Natalie,” he bellowed, but then a woman stepped in front of him.

He grabbed her shoulders to move her out of the way, but the woman’s voice stopped him in his tracks.

“It’s me.”

Natalie.

He didn’t wait for her to speak.

Gathering her close, he hugged her to his chest and kissed her mouth.

“What was that for?”

“I thought you were hurt.”

“Oh gawd.” She pushed out of his hold and shook her head while grabbing his hand. “You distracted me. Mary passed out. We have an ambulance on the way but I need your help.”

“Anything.” Her needing his help was one thing. Her asking for it was something altogether different.

“I need you to pick her up and carry her out front. The ambulance is only a couple minutes away, but the faster we can get her in and secure, the faster they can get her to the hospital. Everybody back up, please.”

Campbell stepped to the side of the woman lying on her side. She was clearly breathing, which was a very good sign. He scooped her up and settled her against his chest. Natalie arranged her arms in her lap and then Campbell carried her through the clinic.

Natalie walked in front of him, opening doors. They were a good team together.

Jay got to the front door first and opened it for them. “Natalie, lemme have her paperwork and things. You don’t need to be outside if Campbell’s got his hands full.”

“Agreed,” Campbell added before Natalie could utter a word.

“All right,” she grumbled and handed over the patient’s purse and file. “Maria?”

“Yes?” One of the nurses stepped forward.

“Go out with them, please. Give the paramedics a rundown of Ms. Baker and where her labor’s at.”

The woman in Campbell’s arms took a deeper breath and her arms flexed around her stomach. Protecting the baby maybe, even when she wasn’t fully back with them. That gesture warmed his heart as the ambulance pulled up in front of the clinic. Thankfully it wasn’t that busy out on the street, so they could pull up close. One of the guys stepped outside. “Do you want us to get the gurney out?”

“No. Just open the back and I can get in with her.”

“You got it.”

They transferred the woman into the back and Maria gave them the info they needed to take her to the hospital and get her admitted. She was coming around even more before he stepped down from the back of the bus.

“Dr. Scott Brazos is trying to wrap up his patients here and he’ll be on his way in just a little while. We’ve called one of the on-call OBs and told her to be on stand-by as well in case someone needs to get there in a hurry.” Maria was finishing up as he looked down both sides of the street to make sure all was clear.

Jay was doing the same thing.

“Hey, thanks for keeping Natalie inside earlier.”

The other man nodded. “No problem. Last thing she needs is to be attacked again. Especially being worried about one of the mothers and forgetting to protect herself.” He shook his head. “Ridiculous that she can’t just do her job.”

“Not to mention when she’s so busy Greta’s turning people away. Oh fuck.”

“What?” Jay asked but Campbell was already moving toward the front of the clinic.

As he opened the front door he scanned the front area. Hazel was gone.

“Campbell?” Natalie called his name but he didn’t stop.

“Gimme two seconds.” He made it back to the break room and it was empty. “Damn.” His hackles were raised with how Wren was acting and he just couldn’t shake the feeling whatever she was trying to tell Natalie had something to do with her safety. With the limited amount of info he had to go on though, short of tailing her and leaving Natalie alone and exposed, he probably wasn’t going to get close enough to get any more details.

He knew nothing about the woman, and the subpoena to clear the records hadn’t turned up anything the week before when he’d went through the files. Where Wren was living was missing, along with who she was living with or who her baby daddy was. Husband. She’d said husband.

He ran a hand over his hair and his stomach turned over.

Something bad was tied to that woman but he just couldn’t tell what.

She didn’t look like a junkie, but he knew too well how people with an addiction could hide it when they wanted to.

The video.

He left the break room and headed back toward the front to find Jay.

Natalie met him in the hallway. “Hey, you okay?”

The words to tell her what was going on were right there, but he didn’t want her to worry. There wasn’t really anything to get her worried over even, so he changed the subject.

“All good. Was just looking for someone. Is that mother in the ambulance going to be okay? She seemed to be coming to when I got out.” He opened his arms to her and thankfully she walked into them. He kissed the top of her head and held her. The fact she didn’t hesitate to seek comfort from him rocked him more than he thought.

Natalie nodded. “Maria said she woke up while they were trying to take her vitals. She was scared but she’s on the way to the hospital. Ready or not she’ll have a baby in the next couple days.

“Is she going to keep it?”

“Not certain yet. She’s undecided, which I think is adding to the panic. Been there. Done that.”

“You’re pretty awesome, you know that? For what you do. How you help these women. You’re a rock star.”

“No I’m not. I’m just a woman trying to make things right.”

“Penance. Is that how you see this place?”

She seemed to contemplate his question for a minute, looked around at the pictures of smiling babies and mamas on the wall. Her smile said it all. “No. It’s hope.” She grabbed a hold of his shoulders and kissed him, then pulled away to go back to work. Her wink at the end of the hall made him fall just a little bit more in love with her.