Page 121 of His Surrender

Brady filters nearly everything before it ever reaches me, and anyone who knows me well enough to have my personal number usually texts.

So, when Aubrey’s name flashes across my screen in the middle of a budget meeting, every instinct tells me something is wrong.

I don’t even excuse myself.

“I’m sorry,” I say, already reaching for my phone. “I need to take this.”

Three executives stare at me as I step into the hallway, but I barely notice them.

“Aubrey?” I answer quickly.

“Hey.” Her soft voice comes through the receiver.

It doesn’t sound scared or frantic. But it is missing the lightness that’s become so familiar over the last month.

The knot in my stomach tightens.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

There’s a pause. I hear a faint rustling through the speaker, followed by the quiet rhythm of someone shushing a baby.

“I think so.”

My feet begin pacing outside the conference room. “What happened?”

“I don’t want you to panic.”

A humorless laugh escapes me before I can stop it. “You’re already too late.”

“I think Liana might be coming down with something.”

The hallway suddenly feels much too warm.

“What do you mean?”

“She’s been fussier than normal all morning.”

I close my eyes, leaning one hand against the wall outside the conference room.

“She didn’t finish her nap, which isn’t like her.”

I can picture it immediately.

Liana usually wakes from naps, stretching both tiny arms over her head before flashing that gummy little smile she’s recently discovered. The thought of her crying instead twists something deep in my chest.

“I picked her up after her bottle and noticed she felt warmer than usual,” Aubrey continues. “Then I started hearing a little congestion.”

My heart begins pounding. “Congestion?”

“Just in her chest.”

My heart is now racing. “Can she breathe?”

“Yes.”

I pull at the tension in my neck. “Is she struggling?”

“No.”