Chapter 16 #2
Heading to the back of the car, I balance on one leg, extending the other out so that it triggers the sensor and opens the boot. Quickly, I set the baby down and make my way to the front passenger seat.
With both of them in the car, I rush back to my discarded shirt and awkwardly pull it over her head, threading her arms through the holes as I catalogue her injuries.
Swallowing down my concern and anger, I buckle her in and close the door before heading back for the baby. Sighing, I run a hand over my face and look down at the now awake baby who is happily munching on their tiny fist.
The sight pulls my lips into a smile, and I roll my eyes before gently pulling the hand out of their mouth and click my tongue, mentally adding baby formula to my now growing list of things I need to get tonight.
Digging through my bad, I grab the only ‘baby’ item I do keep in my car, baby wipes. I quickly wipe off the little bits off blood from the baby’s cheek and look for any injuries. Finding none, I let out a relieved breath and remove the nappy, wiping her clean.
Digging through my bag, I pull out two clean shirts and haphazardly put one on myself before ripping the other one into smaller pieces so I can use it around the baby as a makeshift nappy.
She coos happily as I tie it off and I lift her up, making sure to support her neck and head before closing the boot and getting in the car.
As I pull out onto the road with the baby in my arm, I make a quick call, adjusting the volume as the first dial tone sounds through the car so as to not wake either of my passengers.
“Hello?” the voice on the other end of the line croaks out tiredly after the third ring.
“It’s me,” I respond, checking my mirrors before changing lanes.
“What do you need?” he immediately answers, sounding more awake.
“I have a young woman in need of medical attention. I’m gonna send you an address. Meet me there as soon as possible.”
“Is she okay?”
“She’s unconscious at the moment but she’s going to freak out again when she wakes. I’d give her a mild sedative to help keep her calm but she’s severely underweight and I don't know how bad her injuries are. I don’t want to risk it.”
"Yeah, don't. I’ll grab my medical bag and leave now. Is there anything I should know before I leave?”
“She has a newborn. Can’t be more than a few days to a week old. Bring anything you think they might need.”
He curses under his breath, and I frown, looking down at the sleeping baby for a moment before refocusing on the road. “Is the baby okay?”
“I don’t exactly know much about babies but yes, I think she’s alright all things considered.
Isn’t that right?” I coo down at the baby as we stop at a red light.
I pause when I realise what I’m doing and say a quick goodbye, ending the call.
After, I send him the address to the safe house we're heading to, greatful I don't have to worry about anything else.
This isn't the first phone call he's gotten from me in the middle of the night. He knows to grab anything and everything he might need and I will reimburse him.
Rubbing at my chest, I shake the memory away and continue reading the post, frowning as she talks about her first two loves.
Would she appreciate if I broke my promise to not look into her past so I can track them down and give her the answers she desperately wants to know?
I may not know their full names, but this isn’t the first I’m hearing about them, I’ve heard the stories she tells her daughter whenever she asks about her mother’s childhood.
I’ve heard the longing in her voice; the wistful way she speaks of them. What would she think if I took an extra few days away to hunt them down and deliver them to her doorstep?
I’ll add it to my list of things to consider.
I pay for my parking and I settle in for the long drive home, my mind stuck in the past. I was right about her panicking the moment she woke and realised her baby wasn't in her arms. If I hadn't put the knife in my bag in the boot, I have no doubt she would have tried to use it on me in her state.
I tried to calm her down, to reassure her that she was safe, but it took all of my concentration to keep us on the road.
It wasn't until the baby startled awake with a particularly hard jerk of the wheel, that she calmed enough I could pass the fussing newborn to her.
As soon as she had her daughter, she calmed down, though I could feel her eyes warily glued to me the entire drive. I didn’t call her out on it, though. If it made her feel safer to watch my every move, then she was more than welcome to do so.
I kept my eyes on the road and my posture relaxed as I introduced myself and explained that I was having a doctor meet us to check her over. She instantly refused but when I asked her about her baby’s last check up, she went quiet.
It was a low blow, using her baby’s health to get her to agree and I felt guilty about doing it, especially when I heard her sniffling as she fought off tears, but not so guilty I took it back. They both needed to see a doctor and I was determined to make it happen.
She didn’t speak the rest of the drive, her body trembling and her breathing uneven with the vestiges of her panic. I kept my eyes firmly on the road, giving her the space she ended to work things out in her mind.
Thankfully, when Mark checked them over, despite the baby being slightly underweight, she was otherwise healthy.
Her mother on the other hand, was severely underweight and malnourished.
She had more cuts and bruises than I could count.
Some of which had healed poorly, including broken bones that needed to be reset.
It took several months for her to heal, and longer still to trust me. I ended up staying with them, refusing to take on any other jobs until she her body healed and she was healthy.
Normally, I'm not involved in my clients' rehabilitations and recoveries.
I entrust their care to doctors, social workers and law enforcement that I trust. But with them…
I just couldn't bring myself to leave. So, I stayed.
When the time came to set her up with a new location with a new identity…
I went with her. I relocated my homebase, made several adjustments in my life to ensure they remained hidden and protected.