Derrick sped into action, jumping off the bed and gathering her in arms. “Shh. I’ve got you, sweetheart. I’ve got you.”
His voice remained calm, steady—the complete opposite to her panic-stricken cries seconds before. But she could feel his rapid heartbeat against her cheek as he lifted her in his arms and raced from the room.
“Saunders!” he bellowed down the hall.
The pain didn’t subside. It was excruciating and relentless. Eva’s arms tightened around Derrick’s neck. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She was losing her baby.
“Saunders!” Derrick called again. “Help me!”
She sobbed because of the pain. Sobbed because of her fears. This wasn’t supposed to happen. This was her miracle baby.
****
She must have passed out.
When she regained consciousness, she found herself bundled in a blanket in the back of one of the cars, cradled in Derrick’s arms. Outside the tinted windows, the lights of the city sped past as they raced up the highway.
Derrick would take care of everything.
That was her last thought before she closed her eyes and passed out again.
Chapter Fourteen
Derrick rose from the chair beside Eva’s bed when the doctor motioned him outside the VIP delivery suite at the hospital. She rested now, hooked up to beeping machines with an IV drip attached to one arm. The drugs had sedated her enough so she could get some relief from the pain.
In the hall, the doctor’s sympathetic gaze behind horn-rimmed spectacles made his stomach twist uneasily.
“Derrick!” A female voice came down the hall. Matthew and Cassidy rushed toward him with concern etched in their faces. “How is she? How’s the baby?”
“I don’t know. The doctor’s about to give me an update now.” He didn’t feel like himself. Maybe that’s why his voice sounded like he’d chewed and swallowed a plateful of rocks. He’d never felt so helpless in his life.
“Mr. Hoffman,” the doctor began in a soothing tone, “after examining your wife, we’ve determined there’s been a placental abruption.”
“A what?”
“A placental abruption. What that means is that the placenta has separated from the wall of the uterus. It doesn’t happen very often, and usually when it does occur, the effects are not serious and can be contained. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with your wife. Her condition is very problematic. She’s lost a lot of blood and continues to bleed, and the baby is not getting the necessary oxygen and nutrients it needs.”
“Violet,” Derrick said, feeling dazed.
“Excuse me?”
“Violet,” he repeated. “Her name is Violet. We named her after Eva’s mother.”
“Violet.” The doctor directed his gaze at the three of them. “Violet is experiencing what we call fetal distress. It’s too dangerous to induce labor. If we want to save her, we’ll have to take her immediately.”
A soft sound of dismay came from Cassidy. She brought her hand to her mouth, and her fear-filled eyes looked up at Derrick.
All of his senses seemed heightened and concentrated to form a stiffening tension from his neck up into his head. The lights were too bright, the air too thin, and the hospital sounds around him were too loud.
“Did we do something wrong?” he asked, thinking back to him and Eva in the kitchen.
“There are risk factors, none of which pertain to your wife. It’s one of those things that can happen, and it can’t be prevented. All we can do is limit the damage at this point.”
“Is that safe to take Violet now? She’s got almost two months left. Will she be all right?”
“Violet’s gestated for more than seven months. The chances of survival are very good.”
Very good was not good enough.
He needed to stay calm, but the doctor needed to understand what was at stake. Drawing on the steely restraint that had carried him through other difficulties, he laid his left hand on the doctor’s shoulder.