“Yeah, we’ll take it. Thanks, Marc.” Ryker turned toward her. “Good news. One of the FBI agents in Madison is arranging for a hotel suite. It’s not far, roughly ten minutes from here.”
“I’m glad.” She couldn’t deny feeling relieved. “Does that mean Aaron can join us?”
Ryker hesitated. “Maybe. Let’s get you settled there first, then we can discuss our options with Mike.”
She nodded. The nurse entered the room with her usual cheery smile. “I’m going to discontinue the monitor on your belly and take your IV out, okay?”
Liv wanted to protest about the monitor. She’d enjoyed seeing the reassuring beat of her baby’s heart on the screen.
The IV came out first, then the monitor. Free of cables and IV tubing, she swung her feet around to sit up at the side of the bed.
“Do you need help getting dressed?” The nurse glanced at her, then Ryker.
Ryker made a coughing-choking sound. “I need to talk to Tony for a moment. Why don’t you help Olivia get dressed?”
The nurse looked surprised when Ryker slipped out the door, but didn’t seem to mind helping Olivia off the bed and into her own clothes. Oddly enough, Olivia felt stronger now than she had before she’d been put in the hospital bed. Clearly, she needed to stay hydrated, even if that meant frequent trips to the bathroom.
“Sit down. I’ll be back with a wheelchair.” The nurse left and Olivia quickly used the restroom while Ryker was outside. He came back with the nurse.
“Duncan is going to pick us up in the corner of the parking structure not far from the doorway,” he informed her as she took a seat in the wheelchair. “We’ll need to give him about five minutes to get here.”
“Five minutes?” The nurse frowned and looked at her watch. “I’ll take you down to the lobby. You can wait for your ride there.”
“No need. I can take care of pushing Olivia in the wheelchair.” Ryker didn’t seem to like the idea of going to the lobby. “Just give her the discharge paperwork.”
“If you’re sure.” The nurse hesitated, then shrugged. “Okay, that should be fine. Here are your discharge instructions, Olivia. Dr. Regner wants to see you in her clinic next week, so we made an appointment for you on Wednesday at one o’clock in the afternoon.”
“Wednesday at one is fine.” At least, she hoped this nightmare would be over by then. She took the proffered paperwork with a smile. “And I know I’m to call if the contractions start up again.”
“Exactly.”
“Thanks again.” Liv meant it. She was grateful for the labor-and-delivery team’s expertise and knew she wanted to return to this hospital when it was time to have her baby.
“You’re welcome.” The nurse hurried out of the room, obviously in a rush to check on her other patients. Olivia didn’t blame her.
She glanced at Ryker. “Is Agent Seavers going with us?”
“I think so. If not, he’ll hand us over to Agent Barnes. He’s the one who arranged the hotel.”
She smiled. “I’m glad Blake-Moore has no idea I’m here.”
A frown creased his brow. “I hope not, but we’re taking added precautions just in case.”
The minutes dragged by slowly as they waited for Duncan’s call. When it finally came, the shrill ringtone startled her.
She took a deep breath, reminding herself to stay calm. No Stress was her new mantra.
“Got it. See you soon.” Ryker put his phone away and came to stand behind her wheelchair. “Ready?”
“Yes.” Ignoring the pang she felt in leaving the safety of the hospital room, Liv kept her gaze focused straight ahead. As they passed Tony in the hall, he nodded and fell in step behind them.
Ryker pushed her into the elevator, hitting the button labeled Lobby.
“I thought we were avoiding the lobby?”
“Originally, but there’s a connection from the lobby level to the parking garage. That’s where Duncan is meeting us.”
Her entry into the hospital through the emergency department was nothing but a blur so she didn’t question his knowledge.
They made it through the lobby and into the parking garage within the promised five minutes. When Agent Seavers’s phone rang, he looked at his screen and grimaced. “My boss, likely mad at the way I let Seth get to Olivia. Give me a minute, okay?” Seavers brought the phone to his ear, turning away to speak in private.
“I think I see Duncan.” She gestured to the black SUV. “Stop, Ryker. I’ll walk from here.”
Ryker set the brakes on the wheelchair, putting his hand beneath her elbow to help her to her feet.
She’d only made it a few steps when a blur of movement caught the corner of her eye. She turned her gaze in time to see a man she recognized as one of the bosses Tim had introduced her to at the Fourth of July party. He stepped out from behind a concrete pillar, holding a gun trained on them.
“Don’t move.” His tone was terse.
She froze, her hands splayed protectively over her belly.
“What do you want, Moore? Or is it Blake?” Ryker’s question was mild, as if he wasn’t the least bit worried about the armed man standing there.
“Moore. And you know what I want.” He waved the gun. “Give me the account numbers now!”
“B-but, I don’t have them.” Olivia couldn’t seem to drag her gaze from the muzzle of his gun. If he pulled the trigger, she and her baby would die. Thankfully, Aaron was safe, but she didn’t want her son to become an orphan.
“I have them,” Ryker said. “But I want Olivia safe first.”
“No deal.” Moore lifted the gun a bit higher.
Ryker began to recite the numbers by memory, then stopped abruptly, narrowing his gaze on Harper Moore. “If you want the entire account number, you’ll let me send Olivia off with my friend. You don’t need her when you have me.”
“No!” She didn’t want to leave Ryker behind. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him.
She loved him. More than she thought possible.
And she knew, deep in
