Reborn (Shadow Falls: After Dark #1)(112)

“No,” Della said. “Holiday?”

When the camp leader didn’t answer, Della tuned her hearing, ignored the cries of the baby, and finally heard an erratic heartbeat still pumping in Holiday’s chest.

She looked at the cord still connecting the baby to Holiday. She remembered how they’d cut the cord in the show she’d watched. Grabbing Holiday’s purse again, she found some floss and used it to tie the cord. Then she used another piece and twisted it so tight it severed the cord. When Holiday still wasn’t moving, Della knew she had to get her help. And fast.

She tucked the crying baby beside her unconscious mom and shut the door. Racing around the car, she got in the front seat and drove like a bat out of hell straight to Dr. Whitman’s office.

As the tires hummed against the street, and with Holiday’s blood on her hands and making the steering wheel sticky, Della’s breaths shuddered in her chest and she prayed aloud, “Look, God, let’s make a deal. If you’re missing your weekly quota of souls, take me. But don’t take Holiday. Please.”

Della sat in the vet’s office, feet tapping on the floor, wringing her hands. She’d called Burnett as soon as the doctor and Steve took mother and child to the back. When Burnett answered, Della’s throat was so tight from emotion, she could hardly explain. The only thing she got out was “Dr. Whitman’s office.”

“Holiday?” he asked.

“Yes,” she muttered.

“Is everything okay?”

“No,” Della said. “Not okay at all.”

Then she called Kylie, thinking her healing powers might be needed. Della hissed. Of all the times for Kylie not to pick up. She left a message: “Holiday needs you,” she said. “We’re at Dr. Whitman’s office.”

The office door swung open less than two minutes later. Pain filled Burnett’s expression. And all she could think about was how romantic it had been when he stood up for Holiday in front of the FRU committee. The love he had for his wife was so much a part of him that if he lost her, it would no doubt be like losing a limb.

Or maybe even worse, his heart.

The tears Della held at bay fell then. Big fat tears, rolling one after another. Burnett didn’t ask for details. No doubt he saw the gravity of the situation in her expression. He took off for the back of the office.

Voices ordering him to get out echoed from behind the door. Orders Della knew wouldn’t be heeded. Burnett would never leave. He’d never leave Holiday.

But dear God, did Holiday have a choice not to leave him?

Della pulled her knees to her chest, hugged them, and continued to cry. “Take me instead. Take me instead,” she kept muttering.

“Hey,” a voice said. Steve’s voice. She’d seen him briefly when they took Holiday and the baby, but they hadn’t spoken yet.

Della wiped the tears from her face and looked up. “Are they okay?”

“The baby is going to be fine.”

“And Holiday?” she asked, her breath a big bubble of pain in her lungs.

Steve’s expression didn’t look promising, and more tears slipped from her lashes.

Chapter Thirty-four

“She’s still unconscious,” Steve said. “She’s lost a lot of blood. But Dr. Whitman has given her some now and he’s hoping she responds.”

“Hoping? He’s hoping.” Her voice shook. “Isn’t there something else he can do? She can’t die,” Della said. “She can’t! You go back in there and tell him to do something!”

Steve dropped down beside her and put his arm around her. She buried her face in his shoulder.

“You did an amazing job delivering the baby and getting them here so quickly. They are both still alive because of you,” he said. “Maybe your parents are right about you becoming a doctor.”

“No, I hated every second of it. If she dies, it’s my fault. Oh, God. It’s my fault.”

“No it’s not.” His words came so close to her ear, she could feel his breath. “Don’t give up on Holiday yet.”

Della choked on a sob.

“Shh,” Steve said. “Holiday is a fighter. She’s going to pull through.”

“What if she doesn’t?” Della asked, her chest a big knot of pain. “Do you know how excited she was about this baby? Now there’s a chance the baby will never know her! And Burnett … Holiday is his life.” Della buried her head in Steve’s chest so he couldn’t see her cry, but she couldn’t stop the sobs that racked her body.

Steve stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head. “We just have to hope and pray—and trust that Holiday’s going to wake up. Like you said, she wants this baby so badly and she adores Burnett. So she has a lot to live for.”

Della closed her eyes against Steve’s shoulder, her sobs subsiding. Her breath evened out and she let his warmth surround her.

In the back of her mind, she knew they needed to talk about their own issues, but that seemed so trivial with Holiday’s life hanging on the line. Closing her eyes, she prayed again for Holiday. Harder than she’d ever prayed for anything in her life. Dear God, she’d already lost Chan; she couldn’t lose Holiday.

Della wasn’t sure how much time had passed—ten minutes or thirty—when Dr. Whitman walked out. She sat up. The smile on his face put her instantly at ease.