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TWENTY-ONE

NICOLE

W hen I pressed my cheek to the baby’s, I could feel the heat. There was no doubt he had a fever.

“Here,” Paul pulled out a Tylenol and used the bottom of his glass to crush it, “put this in his cup.”

I looked at him like he had two heads. “He can’t swallow that. That’s for an adult.” He looked down and removed a little of the white powder.

“There.”

“No, Paul, he needs baby Tylenol. He would never swallow that. Besides, it could kill him.”

He brushed the whole thing onto the floor and headed for the bathroom. “Nothing in here. Let me check the other.”

Chase stuck out his bottom lip, looking insanely pathetic but unbelievably cute. “ Mamá ,” he cried helplessly. I swore Paul could hear my heart break from the other room.

“I know. I’m sorry, sweetie, Mamá isn’t here.” I hated that he could feel what I had growing up. The empty feeling of not having a parent to hold you when you were sick or sad. Those were the times that left a scar that could never truly be healed.

“There’s nothing here,” he ran his fingers through his hair as he looked through his phone, “but I think there’s a place I can get some down the road a little way.

” I looked at him nervously, and he seemed to read my face and gave me a worried nod.

“I hate to be split up, but it would be a risk taking him out in public, plus he could be quite sick.”

Paul rubbed his face, and the stress lines from earlier deepened around his eyes. He studied Chase, then me, and Chase again. “It’s against everything I’ve been trained for, but I think I should go.”

“Oh, God.” I started to panic but I knew he was right.

“Look, it’ll be okay. Just stay here, lock the doors, and stay quiet.” He seemed to run things through his mind. “Just in case, if anything happens and you need to run, you have my number and Cole’s. Do you remember the plan and where we’re supposed to meet up for the chopper?”

I nodded. “I do.” I had to show him I knew how to handle myself.

“Good.” He patted Chase’s back, turned, and gave me a quick kiss. “I’ll come through the front door. If you hear anyone, or if someone tries to come in from any other way, grab him and run.”

“I promise.”

He checked his gun, grabbed his rucksack, and headed for the door. “Nicole?”

“Yeah?”

“Promise me, if anything happens, use whatever means necessary to get him over the border.”

“Of course.”

“Promise me.”

“I promise.” I watched him hesitate, then he stepped out the front door and closed it.

I quickly locked it and went back to the bedroom and locked that door behind me too.

I balanced Chase on my hip and began to fill the sink with lukewarm water to try to cool him down.

I peeled him out of his jammies and couldn’t believe how hot he was.

“You need to sit, sweetie.” I tried to get him to sit in the water, but his legs went stiff and refused to bend and he started to wail.

“Okay, okay, you can stand. I held him close with one arm and cupped my hand to scoop some water up over his back.

He looked so miserable I changed my mind, and I patted him dry then quickly got him dressed again then sat and held him.

I popped a straw in a drink box and held it to his lips and was happy when he drank some.

As I soothed him, I thought I heard a clicking sound. “Paul?” I called and listened, but he didn’t answer. I stood and struggled to keep my grip on Chase. I heard another click. Was it someone trying to turn the knob? My heart raced, and I knew immediately something wasn’t right.

I snatched Paul’s hoodie and remade the sling.

Footsteps outside the bedroom had me rethinking that idea, as the intruder was already inside the house.

Chase was fussing in my arms, and I knew he was about to cry.

If we were going to survive, I’d have to lure whoever it was to him and hope I could overpower them.

I felt physically sick when I put the baby on the floor on top of Paul’s hoodie.

I tucked his bunny beside him and looked around the room for a weapon.

A heavy glass candle holder shaped like a lotus flower caught my eye.

It had nice, pointy tips. It would do. I glanced back at Chase, who was upset that I had put him down, but he wasn’t crying too loudly.

The handle of the bedroom door started to turn, and I dashed into the closet and watched in horror as a man burst through the door.

The loud sound scared Chase, and the little guy began to scream at the top of his lungs.

The man caught his balance and rubbed his shoulder then glanced around the room.

He moved toward Chase and leaned over him as if to pick him up, and I flew out behind him and swung the candle holder at his head as hard as I could.

He must have sensed something because he started to turn at the last second and deflected the hit with his hand.

He yelped in pain then whirled completely around as he reached for his gun.

“No!” I jumped over Chase and slammed my body into the guy.

We tumbled into the wall, and his gun flew across the room as we both cried out.

Before I could react, he shoved me to the side and my head hit a chair.

I saw stars. He jumped up and grabbed Chase roughly by the arm. I lost it as the baby screamed again.

Paul’s words echoed in my head. Use whatever means necessary.

With all my might, I scrambled to my feet, grabbed the candle holder again, and smashed the heavy thing with its sharp, pointy petals into the back of his head.

His body jerked, and he dropped Chase. Luckily, he landed on my bag.

Blood poured from the man’s head, and as he dropped like a stone, he hit the table hard with his head before he hit the floor.

I wasted no time and grabbed Chase and stuck him inside the homemade sling.

I searched around for the gun. It had slipped under the bed.

I tucked it in my bag and swung it over my free shoulder then grabbed Chase’s little black backpack and headed for the bathroom, afraid more would be coming through the front.

I locked the door and opened the window.

I bundled Chase in the hoodie, placed him out the window, and climbed out after him.

After I got Chase tied around me and the bags in place, I peered around in the dark.

I moved to look around the side of the house and saw a car a little way down the drive.

I figured it waited to hear from the guy inside, so I headed in the opposite direction.

I wondered if I’d killed him, but I wouldn’t waste a tear over him.

Without a flashlight, the ground was tricky. It was uneven and there were holes everywhere. My knees and ankles took a beating, but nothing registered. I lost track of where I needed to go, and when I hit the road, I almost cried with relief.

Chase had a death grip on his bunny with its ear shoved in his mouth.

His terrified eyes were huge, and tears streaked his cheeks, and I felt like the worst human ever that I was just happy he was quiet.

Headlights lit up the dusty road, and I ducked into some bushes.

I wondered if I should wait out Paul or try to get to where the chopper would be at daybreak.

I remembered my phone and pulled it out with shaky hands to call Cole.

“Nicole?” Concern was evident in his voice.

“Cole,” I didn’t wait for him to ask what was wrong, “the baby got sick. We made a call for Paul to go get meds, and after he left, a man broke in. I think I killed him.” I sucked in a deep breath.

“I’m running. I’m at the road trying to figure out what to do next.

I think I should go try to meet up with the chopper. There’s no sign of Paul.”

“Good, Nicole, that’s just what you need to do.” Then he went over a few contingency plans, should something go wrong there. “I’ll contact Paul and let him know what’s happened.”

“So, you haven’t heard from him?”

“Not yet, but I will. Your job now is to get you and the child to the rendezvous point for the chopper. We’ll find our way to you as soon as we can.

Nicole, listen to me carefully. If something happens and you can’t get to the chopper, your next move must be to get to the El Paso border.

Once there, look for a gray Toyota parked in lot two with a mismatched black trunk cover.

We have a guy there. His name’s Manuel, and he’s a paid border agent who helps us cross the border when we need him.

I’ll let him know there’s a small possibility you might need him, but hopefully all will go as planned if you get to that chopper.

Keep me in the loop, and I’ll help you navigate through this. ”

“Gray Toyota, black trunk, lot two, Manuel border agent,” I repeated.

“Good.”

“Okay, but Cole—” Silence. “Cole?” I pulled the phone away from my head and saw it had died. “No!” A new level of fear settled in my chest as I looked around at the darkened nothingness and quickly realized that it was now just the baby and me.

“Gray Toyota, black trunk, lot two, Manuel border agent. Gray Toyota, black trunk, lot two, Manuel border agent,” I repeated so it’d stick in my memory.

“All right, buddy, we need to focus on getting us out of here.” I spoke out loud to calm myself down and knew it would be good for Chase to hear my voice.

I’m sure my rapid heart was thumping against his little ear.

“I promise you’ll be safe with me,” I assured him.

“We’re going to get you to where you’ll be loved, and you can run free like a little boy should.

You’re not going to be a pawn in their chess game for power.

Those monsters aren’t going to get you as long as I’m alive. No way.”

“ Mamá. ” He whimpered so sadly I started to cry. It was my turn, after all.