I lay frozen on the hospital bed, rigid as if lightning had split me open.

Eight years ago, in that pileup on the highway, Darrell had crawled through the wreckage to pull me free. He'd lost two fingers saving my life. That was why I fell in love with him.

But the crash itself had been a setup.

Cold sweat broke across my spine.

The sharp buzz of my phone cut through the haze. A message from that number.

We've landed at the capital's civilian airport. Two hours out.

I stared at the screen, and some small measure of calm returned. They were ahead of schedule. Much faster than planned.

I had barely finished typing my reply when Darrell burst through the door with the unfamiliar doctor in tow, panic carved across his face.

"Beverly."

He rushed to my side and seized my hand. His eyes were wide with alarm.

"Dr. Finch reviewed your scans. The baby's condition might be deteriorating. We need to move your surgery up."

My mind flashed to the moment just before the message arrived. Those faint, muffled sobs from Rebecca Simmons outside the door.

My heart clenched.

Rebecca must have pressed him. She wasn't willing to wait.

So Darrell moved the timeline up. For her.

This hospital belonged to Darrell's company. Every department, every nurse, every orderly answered to him. If I went into that operating room now, my baby and I were as good as dead.

I grabbed Darrell's wrist before he could wheel me toward the door.

When my eyes met his, the tears came on their own, spilling down my cheeks.

"Darrell."

I locked my other hand around the door handle and held on with everything I had.

"Every checkup has been perfect. You saw the scans yourself. Everything was fine. How could something go wrong all of a sudden?"

"Besides, the baby is inside my body. If something were wrong, I'd be the first to feel it. And right now, I feel fine."

I took Darrell's hand and gently placed it against my lower belly.

"Darrell, feel that. Our baby is perfectly fine in there."

The skin beneath his palm suddenly pushed outward in a tiny kick.

Something unreadable flickered in the depths of his eyes.

The hands that had been shoving me toward the door went slack.

I seized the opening immediately.

"Darrell, just wait three more days. Or if you're really that worried, we can monitor things for a few more hours. If you're still not at ease after that, I'll do whatever you say."

"Alright..."

"Darrell!"