Page 76 of Deadly Force

Fifteen minutes.

She should’ve been out five minutes ago.

I check the hallway clock again. Double-check. Time hasn’t stopped; it’s just dragging its feet, mocking me.

I stand. Chair legs scrape the linoleum, loud in the hush. The receptionist glances up, wary.

“Relax, sweetheart,” I say, voice low. “Just using the restroom.”

She exhales, tension pouring out of her shoulders. Nods. Looks back down.

I don’t break stride.

I move quiet. Deliberate. Not fast. Fast draws attention. But every nerve in my body is already running point.

The hallway stretches dim ahead. Lights overhead hum like old ballast, one flickering at the end like a coded warning.

I scan each door I pass. Patient consult. Storage. Exam room. Nothing. No sound.

The unease tightens in my gut. I know what it feels like when something’s wrong. This is it. That hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck warning that doesn’t come with sirens but never lies.

She should’ve checked in. A signal. A text. Something.

Either she’s gone rogue or she’s in danger.

I slow near the last set of rooms. Sound bleeds into the corridor. A woman. Controlled. Coiled. Defending the indefensible.

“They were just clumps of cells. Tissue. Noise. You call them babies to make yourselves feel righteous.”

I stop. Instinct kicks in. Back to the wall. One boot planted just outside the door. Every sense sharp.

Inside, I hear Brooke.

“That’s not what I’ve seen.”

I press in closer, angle my body toward the doorframe.

“They have their own DNA. A separate heartbeat.”

She pauses. The passion evident in her voice. “A human life doesn’t become valuable because it’s convenient.”

I shake my head in disbelief. She’s picking a fight? In an abortion clinic?

Inside, the woman’s voice dips colder. Smooth, but now with an edge.

“I’m calling the police.”

That does it. I’m calling time on whatever this is.

I thump on the door. “Amanda? It’s time to go.”

I push the door open with my foot, hand close to my weapon, revealing a furious nurse and Brooke, looking like she’s about to wail on the woman.

“This isn’t over,” she says.

The nurse chokes a laugh, a snide expression on her face. “It never is with you people. Good thing we have the law on our side.”

I grab Brooke and yank her away before she starts a fight we can never win.