Finding Grace: The Guardian Chronicles Book One

Chapter 67. Labor*

Chapter 67. Turn the Car Around by OAR

Jean had driven only a block when he heard the conversation between Emil and the voices he knew to be Steele and Luther. While it did not seem to be a violent conflict, he was able to discern that the others were misinformed about what was going on. Jean was disheartened at hearing that two fine Guardians had been led astray. He knew the plan; if encountered and found to be untrustworthy, they were to be eliminated.

Soon the music came on loud in the background and with each passing block the signal on the transmitters became weaker. When all he heard was static in his ear, Jean removed the earpiece.

"I don't feel right leaving them behind tonight, Mal," Jean admitted.

"Neither do I, but this is part of the plan. If one of us was exposed, we would leave to give the others a chance to go unnoticed," Malachi answered.

"But that's just it, we've all been discovered. They should be getting out too. This was only supposed to be a recon, not an all out confrontation."

"We planned for this though, Tourneau. Let's just do as Emil ordered and get home to his family, so that we can at least be doing something productive."

Jean drove on, with each passing mile the urge to turn the car around growing stronger, to return to the club and help with an escape. Emil was not the only one on his mind, though he had not put voice to his worry for Hawk. This was a new worry. There was a difference between concerns for brothers-at-arms and for those one truly loved, Jean realized.

They drove on in silence until they reached Emil's building. As Jean pressed the button for the garage, he pulled his cell out of his pocket to let Xavier know they were back. The phone rang several times before it was answered. Initially, Jean was confused by garbled voices and background sounds on the other end. He heard moaning and Xavier saying, "Hush Evan. It's going to be alright."

"Hello?" Nathan's voice said over the other words.

"Nathan, is everything okay?" Jean asked, immediately concerned.

"No. Evan is in labor. She can't get the baby out."

Jean pulled the car quickly into the parking space and said to Malachi, "Evan is in labor. We've got to hurry." Then to Nathan he said, "We are here. Let Xavier know that we will be coming up the stairs."

"Okay."

With that the phone went dead.

"This is too soon," Malachi stated as Tourneau pocketed his phone. Nodding, Jean took his key to the stair door from his pocket. He and Malachi sped to Emil's floor, where he unlocked another door, sure to lock it behind them.

Upstairs, as Nathan folded the cell shut, he said to Xavier, "Jean and Malachi are back. They might be able to help with Evan."

Relief poured through Xavier. Evan had become incoherent in her pain. It seemed as if her contractions were constant now. There was no time for her to rest between them. He was concerned that she'd already lost all the blood she'd been given and he hadn't yet been able to leave her to go to the freezer to get more. Maybe now that the others had arrived, he would be able to. Xavier's experience with childbirth had been centuries ago. In the last hundred and fifty years he'd had no occasion to attend a birth. Prior to that the births he had witnessed were because he was either a captive audience or was looking for a meal from a dying mother. Births in his youngest years were those of his siblings. They had all seemed violent and messy, but Evan's labor seemed to be far worse than he could have imagined.

"Evan," he whispered near her ear, "Jean is here. He will help us. Just hold on."

She heard him. While Evan did not say anything to Xavier, she registered his words. It took too much energy to make words now. Despite being wracked with pain, Evan had been trying to think of ways they might get the baby out of her. Her mind simply was not working well under the strain of blood loss and pain.