Chapter 14 - The Foreman's Office
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The door gave way with a loud crunch, and Daniel burst into the small, freezing office. The room smelled heavily of dust and old cigarette smoke. In the center of the room, lying on a filthy, stained mattress, was Emma.
She was pale as a ghost, her skin clammy and covered in sweat. Her eyes were tightly shut, her breathing coming in ragged, shallow gasps. A cheap space heater was plugged into the corner, doing little to combat the freezing temperatures.
“Emma!” Daniel dropped to his knees, throwing his gun aside to grab her hands. Her fingers were ice cold.
Her eyes fluttered open, glassy and unfocused. When she saw him, a weak, trembling sob escaped her lips. “Daniel… you shouldn't be here. They’ll kill you.”
“Nobody is dying today,” Daniel said fiercely, stripping off his heavy winter coat and wrapping it tightly around her shivering body. “I'm getting you out of here. We’re going to a real hospital.”
Emma gripped his wrist with surprising strength, her nails digging into his skin. She let out a sudden, agonizing scream, her body arching off the mattress.
“It’s coming, Daniel,” she gasped, tears streaming down her face. “The baby… the baby is coming now. Something is wrong. I can't feel my legs.”
Daniel’s heart stopped. He remembered the doctor’s warning. The high blood pressure could cause a stroke or a seizure at any moment. The stress of the kidnapping had pushed her body past its absolute breaking point.
Gunfire erupted downstairs, much closer this time. Silas’s men were moving toward the stairs.
“Elias!” Daniel screamed out the broken door. “I need you down here! She’s having the baby!”
A heavy thud sounded on the metal walkway outside, followed by a groan of pain. Elias staggered into the doorway, clutching his side. He had taken a grazing bullet to the ribs, but he still had his shotgun tightly gripped in his right hand.
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“I’ll hold the stairs,” Elias rasped, spitting blood onto the floor. “You deliver that kid, Carter. Because if you let my sister die, I'll shoot you myself.”
Elias turned around, placing himself firmly in the doorway, a human shield between Emma and the cartel.
