Divorce Me Before Death Takes Me, CEO novel Chapter 406

Chapter 406

Audrey’s POV

Blood on marble. That’s what registered first – Blake’s blood dripping onto the polished Parker Group lobby floor. Medical personnel rushed his stretcher through the entrance from the parking garage, their movements urgent.

What’s happening?

Didn’t Michael just tell me Blake was resting?

Why is he being carried out covered in blood?

How did he get injured?

My brain couldn’t process what my eyes were seeing. Blake Parker – covered in blood, unconscious, his face ghostly pale against the crimson stains. I ran forward without thinking.

“What happened?” I grabbed the nearest paramedic’s arm. “What’s wrong with him?”

The medical personnel barely looked up, focused on moving. “We don’t know.”

His colleague glanced at my panicked face. “You family?”

“I… I am.” The lie came easy when it mattered. My voice betrayed more worry than I wanted to show.

“Good. Come with us then. We might need someone to sign for blood transfusions or emergency surgery.”

I followed them out to the waiting ambulance, my stomach in knots, mind racing with possibilities.

Inside the ambulance, I pressed myself against the wall, watching them work on Blake. They hooked him up to monitors and slipped an oxygen mask over his face. His skin looked ghostly under the harsh ambulance lights, his breathing irregular and shallow.

What caught my eye was the burlap sack clutched against his chest. Even unconscious, his arms locked around it like a vise, protecting whatever was inside despite his injuries.

“What’s with the death grip?” A paramedic tugged at Blake’s arms. “He won’t let go of whatever’s in there.”

They tried to move his hands, but his grip only tightened. After a few attempts, they worked around it, finding ways to connect equipment without disturbing his hold on the mysterious sack.

“It’s a little girl.”

I jumped at the voice behind me. A blood-covered man stood at the ambulance entrance – Blake’s bodyguard, the one I’d seen in the hotel security footage.

“Look at the shape,” he said, like he was discussing the weather instead of standing there covered in blood. “That’s a kid in there.”

“Emma…” I tried to push past the paramedic toward him, panic rising in my chest.

“She’s right there.” He nodded at the sack. “In his arms.”

1 stared at the burlap bundle, now seeing the unmistakable outline of a small body. My heart slammed against my ribs as realization hit me.

“A kid?” The paramedic’s eyes widened.

i lunged forward, grabbing the sack. “Blake, let go!” I shouted, not caring how desperate I sounded.

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Like magic, his arms relaxed. The paramedics jaws dropped as they watched his grip loosen at just the sound of my voice.

I tore open the sack and nearly collapsed. Emma lay inside, sleeping peacefully like she was taking a nap at home. I checked her quickly for injuries but found none. Despite all the blood on Blake and his bodyguard, not a single drop had touched her. She’d been perfectly protected.

“Damn,” the paramedic muttered, watching Blake’s now-slack arms. “Guy’s out cold but still does what you say. You must be special to him.”

He gave me a curious look. ‘Wife?”

‘Ex,’ I said, with a bitter half-smile that felt like it might crack my face.

I touched Emma’s cheek, her skin warm and soft. “Emma? Sweetie, wake up.”

Nothing. Just steady breathing, her small chest rising and falling peacefully.

‘Sleeping pills, the bodyguard said, climbing into the ambulance while pressing a cloth against a nasty knife wound on his arm. “Just one, though. She’ll be fine.”

A paramedic pushed him into a seat and examined the wound. “Jesus. What happened out there?”

Some people are in worse shape. The bodyguard’s laugh was empty, his eyes cold. “Not that they’ll need ambulances. Maybe hearses.”

I pulled Emma closer as the ambulance doors closed and we pulled away from the curb. The sirens wailed overhead while I tried to make sense of everything. Emma’s small weight in my arms was the only thing keeping me grounded.

“What the hell happened?” I finally asked, barely audible over the noise.

The bodyguard winced as the paramedic cleaned his cut. “You recognize me, right?”

“Yeah,” I nodded, holding Emma tight. “You’re the guy Blake hired to follow me. I saw you in the hotel security footage today.”

He looked surprised. “You knew about me?”

‘For a while now.”

“Name’s Jett Rhodes. Ex-Special Forces, then private security for about ten years. He talked like he was giving a job interview while getting stitched up. “Blake paid me crazy money last month to keep an eye on you without being spotted.”

“When you came back to New York, he switched my assignment. Said you could handle yourself here, but wanted me watching your kid 24/7.

Jett grimaced as the paramedic dug something from his arm. “This kidnapping wasn’t random. They’d been planning it, watching for a chance. Knew your schedule too well.”

‘I spotted them early but couldn’t figure out their game. Then your kid wanted garden time, and they jumped when your friend checked her texts.”

“They only went after Hartford’s guys and your friend.” He shrugged. “I was farther back, looked dangerous, so they left me alone. Followed them straight to Parker Group’s underground garage.”

My stomach dropped. “Wait – they took Emma to Parker Group?”

“Yeah. Car had Parker plates. Guards waved them through like they belonged there.” Jett frowned. “I told Blake in real-time. He swore they weren’t his people.”

If Blake had Jett protecting Emma, why would he arrange a kidnapping? And if those cars got into Parker’s garage without questions…

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