Chapter 23 - Shadows over Lake Michigan
"We can't move her to Northwestern Memorial," Keller barked over the sound of the howling wind. "The press is already swarming the courthouse, and Vance’s private security details are monitoring every major hospital in Chicago. If Lena checks into a public facility under her real name, Judge Miller’s warrant will be served before she even delivers!"
"Then where do we go?!" Dante roared, holding me against his chest as another wave of agonizing pain ripped through my pelvis. "She needs an operating room! The twins are breech, Keller! We knew this three weeks ago!"
Dr. Evans was already packing his medical bag, his hands steady despite the chaos. "I have a private surgical suite at a specialized fertility and maternity clinic in Lake Forest. It's ten miles from here, heavily secured, off the grid. It’s owned by an old colleague who owes me his life. No records will be entered into the state database until we give the order."
"Get the convoy moving," Dante commanded, lifting me into his arms as if I weighed nothing. "Keller, you ride with us. Sterling, get your legal team in front of the chief appellate judge tonight. Break Miller’s jurisdiction before dawn."
We rushed out into the driving storm. The rain had turned to freezing sleet, pelting against our faces like shards of glass. Dante shielded my body with his own, tucking me into the back of the armored Suburban. The engine roared to life, and the three-car convoy tore out of the hangar gates, kicking up plumes of freezing slush.
I lay across the leather seat, my head in Dante's lap, clenching his hand until my knuckles turned white. Each contraction was a vice crushing my hips, pulling the air from my chest.
"Breathe, my love," Dante whispered, brushing the damp strands of hair from my forehead. "Look at me. Look at my eyes, Lena. Stay with me."
"Dante... if something happens..." I sobbed, tears cutting through the sweat on my face. "If they take them... don't let Julianna touch them. Promise me!"
"Nothing is going to happen to you or our children," he vowed, his voice vibrating with absolute conviction. "I will die before anyone lays a hand on this family. You hear me? We survive this. We survived the penthouse, we survived the board, we survive tonight."
Through the tinted window, the dark outline of Lake Michigan churned with black, violent waves. The highway was desolate, swallowed by the storm.
Suddenly, the Suburban lurched violently to the left. The screech of tires tore through the cabin as Keller grabbed the dashboard.
"Ambush!" Keller shouted into his radio. "Rear vehicle has been tagged! Black SUV, no plates, coming up fast on our six!"
A loud *CRACK* echoed through the night. The rear reinforced glass spiderwebbed with white fractures.
"They’re using armor-piercing rounds!" the driver yelled, fighting the steering wheel as the heavy vehicle fishtailed across the icy asphalt.
I screamed as another contraction hit me, a brutal, paralyzing cramp that made my vision blur into blackness. Dante pushed me down onto the floorboards, covering me entirely with his massive body, unholstering a black semiautomatic pistol from his shoulder harness.
"Dante, no!" I wept, clutching his coat.
"Keller, clear the road!" Dante ordered, his voice cold, devoid of fear, transformed into the ruthless protector he had always suppressed. "We do not stop until Lena is in that operating room!"
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Through the frosted side mirror, I caught a glimpse of the pursuers: two black heavy-duty trucks boxing us in against the guardrail, sparks flying into the frozen night as metal ground against metal.
***
