Chapter 21 #2
“I’ll admit I have done some stupid things. We don’t have time for mistakes. Sparky’s choice might put her life or someone else’s on the line. I didn’t say her skills weren’t needed,” he argued. “Sometimes we must let the better man have the last word.”
Victoria’s eyes widened as she ran her tongue across her lip as if already planning Patch’s demise.
Claire groaned. “And to think I wanted another child,” she said, rubbing her stomach. “It’s all Daddy’s fault.”
Patch put his hands up in surrender. “I meant man or woman. She didn’t listen to her boss.”
“Claire, darling, congratulations on the new baby. When you get settled, I’m giving you use of my private plane and a nanny. You can go wherever you wish for your honeymoon. In your case, I’d highly suggest taking it with the baby and leaving Patch at home.”
“Thank you, Victoria, for bringing him home,” Claire said, patting the woman’s hand.
Her chin went up as she gave Patch the stink eye as she left the room.
“Sometimes, Patch, you really stick your foot in your mouth,” Claire said, shaking her head.
“She’s taking it the wrong way. When Knight got shot, we sent him home,” he argued. “He became the weakest link.”
“Sparky came home, too. Plus, you insulted Victoria by saying she left the search for Irish coffee. Putting the two together doesn’t help your defense. You owe her an apology. She’s right. You haven’t always done what you’re told. Maybe Sparky felt the same way.”
“If I got caught in enemy territory, they might torture me. If Sparky gets caught, they’ll torture her, and most likely rape her. How do you think the team would feel about that?” he asked sincerely.
“Sparky took this job knowing the risks. Leo believed in her enough to take her with you. She knows what they might do. Exactly how you know. It sounds a little sexist. No one wants to think it’ll happen, but Sparky doesn’t act impulsively.
Something told her to go back. You need to give her the benefit of the doubt,” Claire said softly.
“I see what you’re saying. It doesn’t mean I like it. I’ll apologize to Sparky and Victoria,” he said. “What a great wedding present. Where do you want to go?”
“I’d love to go to England. I want to see Shakespeare’s and Jane Austen’s graves. They have a ton of literary memorials there. I can get a new book for my collection. What about you?”
“Anywhere you’ll be sounds great to me,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of the world. It doesn’t matter to me as long as we’re together.”
Patch’s phone rang, and Gabby’s name popped up on the screen.
“Hey, sweetheart. Do you need me to come and bury Knight’s body?”
“He hasn’t returned, and he’s not picking up his phone,” Gabby told him. “I’ve said some cranky things to him all night. I think he’s left me,” she cried. “These damn hormones.”
Patch glanced at his watch. Knight left thirty minutes ago, and he seemed too nervous to leave Gabby alone for too long.
“I’m sure he got stopped in the hallway with people congratulating him and welcoming him back.
I’ll go check on him for you,” he assured her.
“I’m sure you didn’t scare him off. No doubt he’s raiding the kitchen. ”
“Thank you,” Gabby said. “The contractions seem stronger. I prefer he be here.”
“No worries. I’ll find him,” he said before hanging up the call.
“What’s the matter?” Claire asked.
“Knight must have set down his phone and lost track of time. He went to get Gabby popsicles from the kitchen and didn’t return. I’ll run down to the kitchen and get his ass back up here.”
“We’re not going anywhere. Can you bring me one, too? I’m hungry,” she said, watching the monitor.
“Absolutely,” he said, calling Knight’s number. It rang and went straight to voicemail. Patch left the room, trekked down the hall, and took the elevator to the hospital’s kitchen. He went around the assembly line and didn’t see his best friend.
Frustrated, he sighed and went to the freezer to grab the box for both women.
“What an idiot. Doesn’t he understand she’ll hold this over his head forever?
” he muttered as he jerked on the freezer door and stepped inside.
“What the hell?” he exclaimed, seeing Knight sitting on a pallet with a burlap sack around his shoulders.
“Wait,” Knight exclaimed. “Don’t let the…” The door shut behind Patch as he moved toward his friend.
“Aww, shit,” Knight muttered, beating his head with his fists.
“What’s wrong with you? Gabby’s worried sick you ran away,” he demanded, grabbing the box from the corner. “Get your ass up and let’s go.”
“Don’t you think I tried already? The door’s jammed and it won’t open,” Knight told him, sounding frustrated.
Patch tried the door. He shoved and rammed it while holding the handle down. “We have to get out of here. No one will be here for hours and our wives are in labor.”
“Thanks, I never noticed,” Knight said sarcastically. “I beat on the door, and my phone won’t work down here.”
Patch hit the door. “We can’t stop. Claire and Gabby need us.”
“I’ve tried everything, man. It’s freezing in here. We’ll die before we even get a chance to see the kids,” Knight muttered. “I’ve failed Gabby again.”
“Oh, shut up and stop acting like a drama queen. We gotta put our heads together and figure it out. I refuse to become a Leo story about how he barely made it to his kids’ births.
” Glancing at the small square, he noticed the vent at the top.
“Maybe if we can remove the cover, we can crawl through it and get help.”
“How do you plan on removing it? I left my KBAR in the truck. It’s not like I planned on severing the umbilical cord with it,” Knight snapped.
Shaking his head, he said, “You never go anywhere without your KBAR. How many times do I tell you to keep it on you?” He reached to his side, realizing he left it on the dresser when he got dressed for the wedding. “Well, crap.”
“Yeah, Mr. Know-it-All. What’s your plan now?” Knight bit out smugly.
“We’re SEALs. Surely we can find a way out of a metal box. Let’s stack these crates and see if we can at least reach it,” Patch said, searching in the boxes. “Maybe Randy left a knife in here for cutting the inventory open.”
“I already checked. Unless you know how to get frozen chicken, steak, fish, or beef to act as a knife, we’re fucked,” he said, sounding tense.
Feeling his own panic rising to the surface, Patch beat on the door.
He didn’t plan to let Claire down at the birth of his first child.
* * *
Thirty minutes later, Claire called Gabby. “Did Knight ever return?”
“No,” Gabby said, sounding worried. “Did Patch return?”
“No. I hoped to find him talking with you and Knight. I wonder where they can be.”
“My contractions have started coming seven minutes apart. I want Knight,” Gabby said, sounding stressed.
“Don’t worry. Victoria came by a little while ago. I’ll ask her if she’s seen them.”
“Let me know. It’s not like Knight to leave me this long,” Gabby said.
“I’ll call her now,” Claire promised and hung up. She dialed Victoria’s number.
“Hello, darling. Did you call to tell me the sex of my newest grandchild?” she asked.
“Uh, no. Have you seen Patch or Knight? They’re missing,” she blurted out.
“Gabby’s contractions have gotten closer together, and she can’t find him.
He went to the kitchen to grab her a popsicle over an hour ago.
I sent Patch to get him. He hasn’t returned.
It’s been half an hour. What can be keeping them? ”
“I’m in the parking lot. I’ll see if I can find them,” she assured Claire. “I’ll send them straight to you.”
“I appreciate it,” Claire said. “Thanks.”
* * *
Victoria entered the hospital and took the elevator to the kitchen area. Seeing nothing amiss, she started to turn away when she heard thumping.
She walked behind the counters and listened. She heard a muffling sound coming from the freezer.
“Hello?” she called out. “Anyone down here?” She waited a second as everything went silent. “Hello?”
Suddenly she heard frantic beating on the freezer door and a smile spread across her face.
Leaning against the door, she called out, “Patch, are you there?”