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Chapter Nine
Leo screamed, “Come with me or prepare to bail me out of jail!” Then he ran for the front door bellowing for Baylor. His bodyguard skidded into the foyer with his weapon pointed at the floor. “Follow me.”
“I’ll drive you, Leo. You’re in no condition.” By the time Leo and Baylor were in the SUV, his parents were racing from the house to join them. “Where first, Leo?”
“Amelia’s house. Hurry. Break all the speed limits.”
“Done.”
Leo was out of the car before it fully stopped. His repeated banging on the door finally brought a groggy Mr. Whitehall downstairs.
“Leo? What in the world…”
Unable to contain himself, Leo grabbed the older man by his robe and slammed him against his open door. “Where is Amelia, Mr. Whitehall? Where is she?”
Confused, her father answered without hesitation, “They went to visit a new agent in the city. Augusta said they’d be back tomorrow.”
Leo brought the man forward and slammed him into the door again. “Wrong, sir. You are so fucking wrong. I think your bitch of a wife just aborted my child. I got a call from Amelia and she’s puking and bleeding. She sounded drugged out of her mind.” He released Amelia’s father in disgust. “If I find out you had anything to do with this, I’ll be back to beat you within an inch of your life.”
Gil clapped a hand over his mouth. “She wouldn’t. She wouldn’t sink to such…evil. I know Augusta. At heart, she’s still a good person. She wouldn’t end a pregnancy when you’re both so obviously in love and capable of taking care of a child. No, she wouldn’t do that. I can’t believe that.”
Leo wanted Amelia and he wanted her now. His insides were boiling in barely contained rage. “Then find out where they are, Mr. Whitehall. Do it now. Amelia was bleeding and confused and very afraid. Do it right fucking now.”
Mr. Whitehall ran to get the phone and paged his wife 911. She called the house phone a few minutes later.
Voice shaking, Gil asked, “Honey, where are you?” He listened for a long moment and a frown appeared between his brows. “You’re lying to me, Augusta. You just repeated the same sentence twice in a row. You’re lying. Where are you? Where is Amy?”
There was rambling on the other end of the line as Augusta tried to explain. Gil listened for almost a minute and Leo watched as all the color drained from his face.
“Tell me where to come get my daughter right now, Augusta. Oh my sweet Jesus, I want a divorce.” They heard pleading on the other end of the line and he cut her off in disgust, “Tell me where you are or I’m calling the police, Augusta.”
Another ten seconds and he disconnected the call. He threw the phone against the wall, shattering it. Then Amelia’s father turned and threw up in the umbrella stand next to the door.
Wiping his mouth on his pajama sleeve, he whispered hoarsely, “Let me get my wallet.”
He rejoined them thirty seconds later and climbed in the back with Leo’s parents. He said numbly, “She’s at an all-night clinic outside of town about ten miles.” He gave Baylor directions and began to sob. “I’m so sorry. I never thought…I kept thinking she’d see the insanity. Amy seemed not to mind most of the time. I-I can’t ever make this right.”
The rest of the drive was made in shocked silence.
Leo found himself held captive between overwhelming rage at Augusta and terror for Amelia, knowing she was bleeding and afraid.
When Baylor rocked to a stop in the parking lot of a rundown clinic, Leo was storming through the doors in seconds. “Amelia Whitehall, where is she?”
The nurse looked terrified. “I-I can’t…”
“I’m her father!” Gil shouted. “I demand to see my daughter immediately.”
The nurse pointed through double doors. Leo didn’t wait for more. Baylor stayed on his heels as he slammed the doors hard enough to crack on the walls.
The place was dark and cold. In the back of the building, there were several private exam rooms. A whimper then a scream made Leo take off at a run.
He exploded through the doors of the only room with lights on. Stumbling to a stop, he took in the sight of his Amelia bleeding out on a gurney.
Nothing else mattered. He had to get her to a real hospital. Moving further into the room, Amelia was in so much pain she barely registered his presence.
“We have to get her to a hospital!” he screamed.
Gil used a wall phone to call the police. Explaining the situation and location in under ten seconds, he said, “We will be speeding and we will not stop for any reason until we reach a hospital.”
