Mimi's Mix - A Book From Each Series! Hot Suspense & Active Spirits! by Mimi Barbour

her eyes nonstop. First he patted her shoulder. Then he cleared the damp mass of wild curls away from her face.
    Behind him, Liam heard the Spanish torrent of pleas, and because he was multi-lingual in four different languages, Spanish being his best, he knew immediately from the one-sided conversation that the midwife couldn’t be reached. Son of a bitch! He had no idea how to birth a baby, and he wasn’t sure her husband did, either. He’d seen the look of horror and fear on the other man’s face.
    “Look Mr. Ruiz, this is an emergency. Your wife needs a doctor, and I have no idea of how to help her. Do you?”
    “Yes. I can look after her if you’ll help. There’s no time to argue. The baby will come quickly if she has the same delivery as she did with Pedro. Go to the kitchen, boil the kettle, and take the boy with you.” Saying this, he forcefully held out the boy, who’d been twisted around him like ivy growing on the north side of a building. “Bring the clean towels from the drawer. Pedro, you show the hombre where mamá keeps them.” Ruiz ran to kneel beside his woman and began to position pillows under her back from the nearby sofa.
    Shocked to his core, Liam felt as if a brick had been slammed into his face. The guy couldn’t be serious. “Hey, bud. She needs a doctor.”
    “No, she needs help. Now go!” Ruiz pointed to a doorway, then began loosening her clothing and removing her pants. When he realized that Liam stood glued to the spot, he yelled again, louder and made a move, as if to threaten. “Go!” This time the man bellowed and Liam felt an unknown force push him forward.
    Liam went.
    Being separated from both his parents, the boy screamed with ferocity, the decibels rising. Oh god, where the hell was the angel when he needed him? He’d rather face a battalion of rioting enemy soldiers than deal with a hysterical brat.
    “Shush, big guy. We need to help your mom now, okay?” Once in the kitchen, he lowered the boy and knelt in front of him. The wet cheeks and big terrified eyes got to him, and he swiped gently at the tears and gave a quick reassuring hug. “Your dad gave us a job to do, so we need to follow orders. You go get me the towels your papa wants, and I’ll fill the kettle.”
    Giving the boy a little push to start him off, he quickly ran to the stove, turned it on high, and grabbed the kettle. He let the hot water run until it steamed, filled the thing, and placed it on the red burner.
    Spying the washroom, he flew in and checked out the medicine cabinet. Happier than a pig in shit, he found what he wanted, a big bottle of hydrogen peroxide. It stopped infection. He knew it worked. During his childhood, when he’d collected the cuts and scrapes of an active child, his father had used this as an effective treatment.
    His dad! Funny how the thought popped into his head just then, as if he needed to think of things like that now. But the truth was it had always been his father who’d kept his head in moments of stress. Unlike his mother, who’d normally screech for her husband.
    “Señor. Here are the towels.” The little guy held so many in his chubby arms that they trailed on the floor behind him and the weight almost toppled him over.
    “Good boy.” Liam lifted them from him. “Now you go in the kitchen, watch the kettle, and yell when it’s boiling, okay? And don’t touch anything.” Liam remembered to add that last bit. Who knew what went through a child’s mind when he wanted to help.
    Pedro nodded and ran over to stand guard in front of the stove.
    Liam hightailed it back into the living room and saw that Ruiz had gotten his wife undressed and covered with a blanket. He was crouched down between her knees.
    As soon as he heard Liam, he looked up, his expression calm while his eyes screamed “ Help! ”
    “I found the disinfectant; you should clean your hands.” Liam flung the towels down next the man and steered clear of the working area.
    “Where is