Willing Sacrifice (Knights of the Board Room) (2 page)

“Just a feeling,” he murmured. “I’ll take you back by the office and then run her home. Maybe hang around a while.”

Janet debated whether to ask him for more details, but then—unfortunately—she didn’t have to ask.

There was a sudden indrawn breath from the back, followed by a sharper, startled gasp. When her head snapped around, Janet saw Savannah had gone from a relaxed position to one where she was hunched forward, both arms curled around her belly. “
Janet…
”

From Matt, Janet knew Savannah was stoic about pain, barely made a whimper about anything. Now a cry wrenched from her lips, strangled back with the greatest of effort. “Oh…Oh God…this…”

“Get in the back,” Max ordered, flipping the console out of Janet’s way. “Now.”

Janet was already in motion, abandoning her heels so they wouldn’t slow her down as she navigated between the front seats. The moment she was seated next to Savannah in the roomy back area, the limo leaped forward. Max was buzzing the office, using the steering wheel controls to activate his hands-free.

“Randall, I’m en route to the hospital with Mrs. Kensington.” He glanced at the GPS, and Janet saw the ETA was approximately thirty minutes with traffic. His jaw tightened. “Her ob-gyn needs to be contacted.”

“Her pager and cell numbers are on my desk, right next to the phone.” Janet jumped in immediately. Max’s gaze caught hers in the mirror. “Tell them she’s experiencing constant pain and…” Janet laid her hands over Savannah’s, gripping her stomach. The area was hard. Really hard.
Oh God.
“Her stomach is rigid.”

“In short, prepare them for an emergency, in case that’s what this is.” Janet was impressed by how calm Max sounded, looked. There was no doubt it was definitely an emergency, but he had the presence of mind to make it seem like anything else was a possibility. She’d never seen Savannah look frightened before. It flipped the same switch for Janet, taking her to a cool place in her head, a place where everything else shut down.

“Max is going to get us there,” she said firmly. “Hang on.”

“It hurts. Oh God…this doesn’t feel like labor. There’s no…end…to it. Oh God…”

“I’m here. Hold on to me.” Feeling wetness, Janet looked down, bit back an oath. Blood was dripping down Savannah’s legs. She pulled off her trim suit jacket, balled it up. “Open your legs, honey. It’s okay. Let’s just press this here.”

“My water?”

“Yes. No.” She changed her mind. Matt Kensington could scent a lie, but his wife’s radar was just as sharp, perhaps even more so in this state. The kid wouldn’t get anything past either one of them. “Savannah, you’re hemorrhaging. Let’s see if we can get that slowed down. Press your legs together, tight. I’m going to lay you down, get your hips propped up. I know it hurts, but try to stay as still as you can.”

Thank God the limo had backseats like wide couches. Janet had no idea if the change in position would help, but she couldn’t imagine Savannah being upright when blood was dripping out of her would be helpful. As she helped her maneuver, she saw Savannah’s gaze latch on to the front of Janet’s blouse. In changing her grip on the coat between Savannah’s legs, she’d smeared herself with a liberal amount of blood.

“No.” Savannah’s jaw firmed. Shuddering with pain, she curled her arms tighter around her stomach. “I’m not losing you, angel. You stay with me. Matt…”

“Randall will call him first thing after the doctor. He’ll be on his way. It’s all right. Women can handle everything, remember? By the time Daddy gets there, the universe will be aligned, everything will be in balance. We’ll be sharing a latté and cooing over your new baby.”
God willing.

“Unh…” Savannah’s cry wrenched everything inside Janet, but she quelled it, keeping her hands steady over the woman’s. Her stomach was like a stale egg, no sense of movement or life, and she knew Savannah registered it as well. Janet met her gaze. “It’s going to be okay. The baby’s in there fighting. You can’t be scared. You don’t want to scare her.”

Savannah nodded. She closed her eyes, tears of stress on her face, her lips pressed together tight. She tried to hum a little, like she had when she was on the park bench, and Janet joined her, smoothing her hands over her stomach, very lightly, since everything seemed to be causing Savannah pain.

As she did that, a part of her stayed aware of other things. The world was flashing by, the limo moving in a zigzag pattern that was remarkably smooth, though constant. Constant movement didn’t happen in New Orleans traffic. When she tuned in to what was happening, she felt like she was perched on a roller coaster car, careening through a minefield.

Max was maneuvering the limo between cars as if they were orange cones on a professional course. He never touched the horn, knowing New Orleans drivers were cantankerous enough to slam on brakes at such an insult, but Janet suspected he didn’t need the warning signal. All they had to do was look up in their mirror, see that black behemoth bearing down on them with no intent of stopping. If they weren’t fast enough to shift out of the way before he got there, he was already around them. He barely braked at the stoplights, not checking green or red, merely whether he had an access to get through them.

She’d heard that Max knew combat driving, part of his SEAL training, but she’d had no idea what it meant until now. Though she was a pretty adventurous driver herself, she wondered if it was the better part of valor to keep her full attention on Savannah. The decision was made when he dodged a traffic snarl by roaring up an alley, narrowly missing an officer on horseback. The cop shouted, but Janet would be surprised if he got anything more than two letters of the back plate before Max screeched around the next turn.

“So…did Matt make you come with me today?”

She looked back down. Savannah had gritted out the words, though she appeared to be concentrating for all she was worth on something deep inside of her. Though she’d never been one comfortable with intimate gestures, intuition had Janet stroking the woman’s hair back, then locking her hand with hers once again, all while keeping the other hand busy pressing the compress between Savannah’s legs.

“No. You gave me the perfect opportunity to make my move with Max. I was just about to jump him in the front seat before you interrupted us.”

“Damn it, I thought it was my day to jump him. Dana shouldn’t have all the fun.” Savannah gave her a grimace that passed as a smile, then she jacked forward over Janet’s hand “
Oh…”

“Hold on, honey. You make any noise that helps.”

Savannah shook her head, but the moans kept vibrating in her throat. Janet hummed the lullaby, rocking with Savannah, tiny movements that might help mitigate the pain, but not nearly enough.

“Dr. Rosen’s on the other line,” Randall barked through the speakers, because Max had kept the connection open with him. “She wants to know—”

“She’s bleeding badly, and her stomach is still hard. The pain is constant, going on six minutes now.”

Janet leaned forward to be sure Randall could hear her. The coat was getting heavier, telling Janet blood was soaking it. She could feel it trickling down her arm. When Max’s eyes coursed over her bloody blouse, his expression reflected her own reaction. “Fuck,” he muttered.

She heard garbled voices, Randall communicating with the doctor on another line, then he was back. “Max, where are you?”

Janet saw the GPS had realized what kind of driver it had. The ETA was now ten minutes out, even though for a normal driver it would be twenty. Max merged onto the interstate, the limo shooting into the middle lane. As he did, the speedometer tipped past a hundred. Janet was aware of the cars flashing by outside, but that wasn’t her concern. Everything was blood and pain, Savannah gasping.

“About eight to ten minutes,” Max responded.

“What—” Randall began.

“
Matt…
” Savannah’s cry of agony blasted through the limo, bringing the security chief up short. Randall’s stomach had probably jumped into his throat, same as Janet’s had.

“Has Matt been called?” Janet asked sharply, squeezing Savannah’s leg.
Hold on, honey…

“He was already on his way back. He left the meeting early. He’s about thirty minutes away. Don’t crash into each other in the hospital parking lot.”

“He knew… Janet…”

“Of course he did. The man’s omniscient. You know that. It’s okay. It’s okay. You just focus on breathing, and getting you and that baby there. Dr. Rosen will make it right. Matt put the best baby doctor on the Eastern seaboard up in a penthouse apartment, just for you. Remember? He’s not going to let anything happen to this child, or to you.
Savannah
.”

Janet sharpened her tone, bringing Savannah’s attention back to her. “He takes care of you. You’re
his
. He’d expect you to remember that.”

It was something they never talked about directly, but of course Janet knew that Matt Kensington was a sexual Dominant. All five of the K&A top management team were. Their wives, including Savannah, were strong, fascinating and accomplished women, and every one of them was her respective Master’s submissive soulmate. Now, in this moment, where pain threatened to take away Savannah’s strength and courage, Janet reminded her she’d surrendered herself to Matt Kensington, trusting him utterly.

Mission accomplished. Savannah’s blue eyes flickered as if Janet had thrown her a lifeline. The pregnant woman was wearing the delicate collar he’d given her, and her fingers went to it now, bloodying the rose quartz and silver. Her eyes closed against the pain, but the words she spoke were fierce.

“I won’t let him down. I won’t let either of them down.”

“He knows that. They both do. We’ve got you. You keep thinking about that, honey.”

Savannah’s eyes opened once more. Janet saw the strength of character that either impressed or scared the hell out of everyone who met Matt’s wife. “I’m going to fight, Janet, but if something happens, you tell them to save this little girl.”

“I will, but a baby needs a mother. You fight, honey. Fight like you’ve never fought before. You survived over thirty years with that brute of a father of yours. This is a piece of cake.”

“You always…know…so much. I’m glad Matt…has you.” Savannah’s head jerked back abruptly, her body contorting.

“I’m here, I’m here.” Janet clung to her. “You listen to me. I’m not taking your place, I can damn sure tell you that. Working for him’s bad enough. Doesn’t matter how much money he has or what he can do to a woman with his dick. So you better not go anywhere.”

Savannah was well beyond smiling, but Janet’s resort to the shocking language made her strangle on a chuckle. “Can’t wait…to tell…him you said that.”

“I’ll deny it. Tell him you were delirious.” Glancing up, Janet was relieved to see the hospital sign flash by. The limo skidded to a halt at the emergency entrance. Underlining how serious the situation was, Dr. Rosen was already waiting with a gurney and a small army of medical personnel.

Before Max had brought the limo to a full halt, the ob-gyn surgeon had her hand on the door handle. Janet backed up, squeezing Savannah’s hand with one last reassurance before the medical staff swarmed into the limo like ants. She found the door behind her open, Max helping her out of the way, his hand on her elbow. He had his eyes fastened on what they were doing, the shocking pool of blood on the seat and floor.

Seeing it herself, her knees started to wobble. No, she couldn’t do that. She had to listen to what they were saying, do what needed to be done, be ready to tell Matt everything he needed to know when he arrived. There would be paperwork to handle inside, because there always was. Most important, she needed to stay as close to Savannah as she could, as long as they would let her.

“Go with her,” Max said, reading her mind as the medical team got Savannah out of the limo. “I’ll park and come find you. I’ll take care of everything. Go.”

She nodded, following the gurney and Dr. Rosen. His sudden absence felt like an amputation, as if what had happened in the limo had fused them together. Savannah was whisked away, the staff headed for the surgical wing. It left Janet swaying in front of the ER admitting desk. The stout, silver-haired nurse she faced looked like she regularly handled the worst that NOLA could deliver. Now she gave Janet a once-over. “Let’s get the basics, then we’ll get you some scrubs and a sink.”

Janet glanced down. Things had gone far beyond that initial smear to her blouse. She was soaked in Savannah’s blood. On her clothes, her hands and arms. It was probably even smeared on her face. Oh God, if Matt…

“
Janet.
”

She closed her eyes. Damn the man’s timing. Giving the nurse a look she hoped conveyed the possible need for a second gurney, she turned to face Matt as he came through the emergency doors. Had he conjured a winged horse to get here right on Max’s heels? It wouldn’t surprise her if he had. Matt Kensington’s abilities exceeded that of a mortal man’s. Most of the time.

His piercing gaze took in her appearance. In the next moment, Matt Kensington turned pale as a ghost, his face gripped with an anguish and fear that tore her heart from its framework.

Once, a long time ago, Matt Kensington had stood between Janet and the loss of her soul. She’d do everything she could to return the favor now.
Fight like a tiger, honey. Fight for him, because he needs you so much more than you realize. And we all need him.