Chapter 9 - The Brink of Life
"Caroline!" Declan cried out, pulling her heavy body into his lap on the cold rug.
Her skin was clammy and deathly pale. Her lips had taken on a faint blue tint, and her chest was heaving in rapid, shallow spasms. Declan pressed his hand over her heart—he could feel it hammering inside her chest like a trapped bird, racing at an impossible, terrifying speed.
"Marcus! Get the medical kit! Call the ambulance!" Declan shouted, his composure shattering entirely as he cradled her head in his lap.
"The snow... the roads are blocked..." Sarah said, stumbling over from the couch, her hands trembling as she felt Caroline’s forehead. "An ambulance will never get through this storm in time!"
"Then we take her in the armored SUV!" Declan yelled. "Marcus! NOW!"
Marcus rushed into the house, helping Declan lift Caroline off the floor. Declan carried her in his arms, holding her close against his chest to protect her from the freezing wind as he ran down the porch steps and placed her gently into the back seat of the heated vehicle.
"Leave Russell for the police," Declan ordered Marcus sharply as he climbed into the back beside Caroline. "Get us to the South Bend hospital. Drive like hell."
"Yes, boss!" Marcus shouted, jumping into the driver’s seat and slamming the SUV into gear. The heavy vehicle roared to life, its four-wheel drive plowing through the deep snowdrifts as it sped down the dark gravel driveway toward the highway.
Inside the back seat, Declan held Caroline tight against his body. He wrapped his wool suit jacket around her shoulders, rubbing her cold hands with his own.
"Stay with me, Caroline," Declan wept, tears spilling freely down his face, unashamed of the security guard watching in the rearview mirror. "Please, baby. Stay with me. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for everything."
Caroline opened her eyes weakly, looking up into his tear-streaked face. Her breathing was faint, her voice barely a whisper.
"Declan..." she gasped, her fingers weakly clutching his white shirt sleeve. "Our daughter..."
"She’s going to be okay," Declan sobbed, pressing his forehead against hers. "You’re both going to be okay. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise you. I promise."
"You... you came..." she whispered, a faint, sad smile touching her blue-tinted lips.
"I’ll always come for you," Declan said, kissing her cold forehead, her cheeks, her nose. "I was an idiot, Caroline. I was a blind, arrogant fool who didn't deserve you. But please... don't leave me. I can't live in this world without you."
Caroline’s eyes slowly fluttered shut, her body going limp in his arms as her consciousness slipped away under the extreme strain on her heart.
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"CAROLINE!" Declan screamed, pressing his ear to her chest. Her heart was still beating, but it was dangerously weak, fluttering erraticly. "Drive faster, Marcus! DRIVE FASTER!"
The armored SUV raced through the blinding blizzard, cutting through the snow-covered highways of northern Indiana like an iron bullet, racing against time to save two lives.
