“Help Copper,” she gritted out with her arms wrapped around her belly.
“Baby?” he asked.
“Her water broke,” I supplied as I stood from my crouched position to give the paramedics room to work on Copper. “She’s in labor.”
“All right, let’s go,” he said and scooped Annabelle into his arms bridal style.
I startled when an extremely large hand landed on my shoulder. “Come on, Layla. Let’s get you to the hospital,” Batta said.
I nodded. “Okay, just one second.”
I leaned over the stretcher the paramedics were strapping Copper to and placed a soft kiss on his pale lips. “I love you. Please be okay,” I whispered and quickly stepped back.
Batta led me to an SUV and helped me into the passenger seat. As he started to pull onto the street, I finally took in my surroundings. “Where are we?”
Batta snorted. “The Disciples of Death’s warehouse.”
“How did you guys find us so fast?”
“Aim had the warehouse wired to help with the undercover investigation. Once he shared that information, we had our tech guys tap into the feed and saw Copper hanging from the ceiling. We didn’t know he had you and Annabelle until Phoenix called and told us. By that time, we were already on our way.”
“You knew he had Copper, but not me and Annabelle?” I asked, feeling a bit confused.
“You were supposedly at the safe house, so we had no idea you were missing. When Annabelle didn’t return from her doctor’s appointment, it didn’t take Phoenix long to figure out something was wrong. He started making calls, and one of those calls was to Luke. When Luke couldn’t get in touch with the guards at the safe house, they put two and two together.”
I was suddenly pissed. “So, you guys waited for Phoenix to get here before you attempted to rescue your President?” If they hadn’t waited, my man might not be knocking on death’s door.
Batta pointed to the left, and I followed his finger. “See that helicopter over there? That belongs to Phoenix’s Road Captain. They flew here. We saw them landing as we were coming down the road with the cops hot on our tails. We wouldn’t have waited for Phoenix, and he wouldn’t have wanted us to.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed. I’m just so damn worried about him,” I said and then burst into tears.
Batta reached over and grabbed my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “We all are, sweetheart.”
We rode the rest of the way in silence. I couldn’t stop replaying Copper getting shot over and over in my mind. The way his body jerked when the bullet entered his chest. The spray of blood that hit the wall. The way his body slumped. The blood pooling on the concrete floor below his feet. The paleness of his skin. The coolness of his lips.
“We’re here,” Batta said, bringing me out of my continuous nightmare.
I stepped out of the SUV and immediately clutched my side as a sharp pain seared through my left torso. I bent forward and cried out in pain.
Batta was in front of me in a flash. “Layla, what’s wrong?”
“My side,” I gasped out. I tried to straighten, but it hurt too much. Hell, it hurt to even breathe.
I did let out a piercing scream when Batta unceremoniously scooped me into his arms and sprinted into the hospital. “Help me! She needs help!” he bellowed.
Splint materialized out of thin air. “What’s going on?”
“Something with her left side, man,” Batta said.
I felt hands tugging at my shirt, but I was more concerned with trying to breathe than anything else.
“Yo, I need a stretcher! We’ve got a woman with rib fractures and severe dyspnea, possible pneumothorax,” Splint shouted.
Seconds later, Batta gently placed me on what I assumed was a stretcher, and they started to wheel me away. I met Batta’s eyes and mouthed, “Copper,” before he was out of sight. At his nod, I closed my eyes and succumbed to the pain.
33
Abubbling water sound woke me. When I opened my eyes and glanced around the room, it all came back to me in a rush. I knew I was in a hospital, but I wasn’t sure why. Copper was the one who was hurt, not me.