Deadly Games - Cate Noble [91]
She was also worried about Travis. That he had come for her made her heart swell. But not knowing if he’d gotten Luc’s message ate at her. The thought of Travis and his team getting ambushed and possibly killed was unbearable.
The motorbike hit a bump. She groaned.
“You okay?” Luc shouted over his shoulder.
“Yes.” She wasn’t, but they had no choice except to keep going.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she acknowledged to herself that she’d miscarried. A friend of hers had suffered several miscarriages and Maddy recalled her friend’s grief.
“Maybe it’s meant to be,” Maddy had said, unintentionally offering what now seemed like cruel comfort. “You got pregnant once; it’ll happen again.”
And while her friend did eventually go full term, those thoughtless words didn’t acknowledge or honor the tiny spark of life that had started to grow inside her friend’s womb.
Maddy grieved for her own loss now.
“There is a village ahead,” Luc said. “We’ll see if we can get a car. It will be faster and smoother than this. But if I have to promise them money to buy silence, will Travis Franks back me?”
“Yes,” Maddy said. “Travis is an honorable man.”
“I love you, Maddy,” Travis had said the last time they spoke. “We will make this work.”
Luc suddenly turned off the road and slowed before signaling for her to be quiet. A fast-moving vehicle approached from the opposite direction. Minh Tran likely had patrols looking for them now.
Luc helped her off the bike and into the jungle. She sank down behind a thick-leafed plant and watched as two jeeps came into view. Each vehicle carried four heavily armed men dressed in black.
The driver of the first jeep was a fierce-looking Thai male. Maddy ducked, certain the guard had spotted her.
“It’s them!” Luc shouted as he sprang forward and waved his arms.
The second jeep halted as two guards jumped free and pointed their firearms at Luc.
Then Travis pushed into sight. “Stand down!” he ordered, hurrying toward Luc.
“Where is she?” Travis’s voice was raw. “Where is Maddy?”
She climbed to her feet and lurched forward, unsteady. “Travis! I’m here.”
He raced to get to her and wrapped her in a powerful hug. “God, you’re okay!” He loosened his hold and held her at arm’s length, his eyes holding hers. “You are okay, right?”
“Just take me home. Please.”
“She needs a hospital,” Luc interjected. “She has lost a lot of blood and is running a fever.”
Maddy felt Travis sweep her into his arms. She wanted to tell him something, but suddenly it took too much effort to think. To breathe. The thought that she wasn’t going to make it popped into her mind.
“I need to tell you—” Maddy’s words were lost as she started coughing.
“Hush. Save your strength. Riley, get your ass over here!” Travis lifted her into the jeep. “Riley’s a medic.”
She tried again. “Need to tell you—”
This time Travis silenced her with a kiss. “The only thing I want to hear is that you love me and that you forgive me for not getting here sooner.”
Another man moved in and pressed fingers to her carotid artery. “I’m Riley, ma’am. How far along was your pregnancy?”
“Seven weeks,” Travis said. “Right?”
She looked over Riley’s shoulder at Travis. “I didn’t have a chance to tell you.”
Travis nodded. “I know. Like I said, the only thing I want to hear is—”
“I love you, Travis and—”
A wave of cramps cut off the rest of her words as the reality of her loss slammed home.
Travis said something, but Riley’s response was muffled. She tried to speak, but a massive weight crushed her chest. Her vision blurred. That’s when Maddy realized she was passing out. Or passing over.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
A Private Hospital, Singapore
October 6, 4:30 P.M.
In the last six hours, Travis Franks’s world had shifted on its axis. He paced to the window of the private, third-floor waiting area. Below was a marble fountain surrounded by statues of seraphim, but the sight brought him no peace.
Maddy was in surgery.