Baby For The Mountain Man

by Nicole Elliot

  “Anderson,” the investigator said, uttering my name like a warning.

  “I’m not going to intervene,” I insisted. “I’m paying you top dollar, so I just want to make sure you’re doing your job, if you don’t mind.”

  He sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get snarky with you.”

  “Apology accepted. Now tell me, any recent sightings of that bastard or not?”

  “We have reason to think he’s still somewhere in Chicago, or at least in a nearby suburb. He’s likely biding his time. I don’t know much about his intelligence level yet, but often criminals of his caliber don’t give up on their victims so easily. He’s clearly obsessed with Ms. Gentry and he will stop at nothing to get her back under his control. So I’m pretty sure he’s waiting for the opportunity to strike again.”

  “So what do we do until then?”

  “Be careful. Be watchful. I know it’s hard since she’s not a child, but if she can help it, make sure she’s not alone too often, because that’s obviously when he’s more likely to strike. If we don’t find him quickly though, we may have to use her as bait to draw him out. Under controlled circumstances, of course.”

  “Of course,” I said, although I thoroughly hated the sound of using Joanna as bait. She was carrying precious cargo. “I’ve actually got another question though.”

  “Go for it.”

  “When we find Zander, what next? What charges can we put against him? I mean, we can get him put away for life, right? Breaking and entering? Battery. Causing mortal danger to a pregnant woman—”

  “Anderson, come on. You know the law, and you know you’re not being reasonable.”

  I sighed in frustration. “So what are you trying to tell me? All we’re going to be able to do is give him a slap on the wrist? A restraining order that he’ll undoubtedly break? That’s not going to work for me.”

  “Well, let’s just look at what you want to accuse him of. First of all, breaking and entering isn’t exactly accurate, is it? Based on the statement Joanna already gave the cops, she opened the door for him.”

  “She thought he was a Chinese food delivery guy!”

  “Okay fine, let’s say we go with that. Then what?”

  “Domestic abuse for one. He’s been beating her for how long? And we all know that just because there’s no paper trail doesn’t mean she doesn’t have witness testimonies, or maybe took days off from old jobs because of incidents. Listen I get it. She acted stupidly because she was afraid. And okay—so we can’t call it breaking and entering. But it was forcible entry. She didn’t want to let him in. He pushed passed her.”

  “Valid point. So we get him on the abuse charge, and she’s pregnant right? If she said that at anytime to him, a jury would lose their minds.”

  “Well this is going a bit better.”

  “Yeah if we can find the bastard and get a conviction. Those are big IFs Anderson.”

  “Yeah well, I’ll talk to you later, Mike,” I said, having grown tired of the conversation, especially since he wasn’t telling me what I wanted to hear anymore. We’d have to do this the long way.

  But I was prepared to play that game.

  Anything for Joanna, and our child

  CHAPTER 29

  Anderson

  “So, what do you want to watch tonight?” I asked, placing the bowl of popcorn on the table.

  Joanna sat on the couch with her arms wrapped around her legs. She smiled at me, positively glowing. Although she wasn’t showing yet, pregnancy had already made her even more beautiful than normal.

  “I’m in the mood for a comedy,” she said.

  “All right. Just don’t laugh so hard that you pee on my couch or anything like that.”

  “Ha ha,” Joanna said. “I don’t think I’m quite at that stage of pregnancy yet, if you must know.”

  I chuckled and flopped down on the couch beside her, giving her a quick peck on the lips as I reached for the remote to start the movie.

  And as I expected, she fell asleep only a half hour in.

  I simply sat there for a moment, smiling as I watched her sleep, trying to envision what life would be like in less than a year when there were three of us…

  Ever since finding out Joanna was pregnant, I’d been elated—surprised by how exciting the thought of having a family had become for me. It hadn’t ever been something I’d given much thought to before, but now, it felt like everything I’d always wanted.

  I was just about to pick Joanna up and put her in bed when my cell phone suddenly buzzed.

  I grabbed it instantly, seeing that it was Mike.

  “What’s up?” I said, keeping my voice low until I was far enough away to not disturb Joanna.

  “Where’s Joanna?” he asked.

  “Here with me. Why? What is it? Has Zander been spotted?”

  “Yes,” Mike said.

  The single word sent my heart pounding into overdrive. My ears prickled, waiting to hear more.

  “He’s been spotted at some dive bar near you. More than likely, he plans on paying a visit. But he might be scared off if he knows you’re there.”

  I grit my teeth. “The bar two miles down from my place?”

  “Yep, that’s the one,” Mike said. “I’m sending some police officers out that way. They won’t come to your door, but they’ll trail the area, watching and waiting to see if he’ll come by. This might be our chance to get him. Do you think you can leave your place for a second? Just to move your car off the premises so that he can think Joanna is there alone? That way, we can get a hold of him to serve him a restraining order.”

  I walked back toward the living room, looking at Joanna sleeping peacefully. “Yeah, I can do that,” I said, although different plans were stirring in my head.

  “Good. I’ll call you back,” Mike said, and then hung up.

  Kissing Joanna softly, “I’ll be right back.” I grabbed my car keys, locked up the apartment, and headed out the door, my mind on Zander. As I got into my car and pulled off, I actually spotted a few of the police cars heading toward my apartment. I quickly turned out of their view, praying that they wouldn’t deduce what I was up to. Losing track of them, I practically began to drive on auto-pilot, my body knowing precisely where to go to find Zander, as if he was a magnet that I was being pulled to.

  I got there in what felt like record speed.

  I practically spotted him the instant I walked through the bar’s door, despite not having previous knowledge of what he looked like.

  He was big, sloppy, and looked like trouble even from a distance as he sat at the bar, chugging down what looked like several shots too many.

  My blood coursing angrily through my veins, I approached the bar, and came to a stop right beside him.

  “Can I help you, sir?” the bartender said.

  I forced a polite smile. “Sure. Scotch, please.”

  “Coming right up,” she said.

  It took everything within me to not turn around and knock Zander’s lights out. But instead, I glanced sideways and smiled. “What’s up, buddy?” I said, careful to keep my voice light and friendly.

  “Nothing much, my man,” he said, his words slurred.

  I tilted my head sideways. “You from around here? You don’t look familiar.”

  He laughed. “Nope. I’m an out-of-towner. That obvious, huh?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. You’ve got an accent that I can’t quite place. Where’re you from?”

  He laughed again. “Oh, if I tell you that, I’d have to kill ya!” he said, thumping me a little too heavy-handedly on the back.

  “Oh really?” I said. “So what brings you into town?”

  He sighed. “I’m here for my girl.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. She thought she could get away from me, but what can I say? I can’t let her go. Gotta make sure she knows it.” He grinned, under the impression that his words sounded romantic. But I could see the sinister stirrings behind his eyes. I could see the
cockiness in the way he held his mouth. I could hear the hidden threat beneath his words…

  “Women,” I said, just as the bartender returned with my Scotch. I took a sip and then thumped Zander on the back myself. “Hey, step outside with me for a smoke, will ya?”

  “Sure thing, partner,” Zander said. “Then I can just head on my way afterwards. Check to see what she’s up to.”

  “Cool,” I said, and stood from the bar. I walked a pace ahead of Zander as we made our way through the door. “Let’s go around to the side. You know, these damned buildings got all these regulations on smoking and stuff now.”

  “Yeah! The world’s turned into such a wuss! People get all up in arms about a little smoke. It’s bullshit, man!”

  The second we had rounded the building, my hand balled into a fist that caught Zander right in the gut.

  “Umph!” he groaned, doubling over. He looked up at me, his face full of surprise. “Hey? What the f—”

  But before he could say anything more, I punched him again, landing another one in his stomach, and one to the side of his jaw, knocking him clean off his drunken feet.

  “Hey, man!” he cried.

  I leaned over, grabbing him by the collar. “That woman you speak of, wouldn’t happen to be Joanna Gentry, would it?”

  “Hey, how do you—” But his words were cut off by my fist again.

  “Listen to me, I’m only going to say this once you sick mother fucker, you come anywhere near her again, you’re dead. I will sue your pathetic ass for everything you’re worth, and then when you think you’re done with me, I will hire the best hitman in the city and kill you. So don’t you dare try me, Zander, so help me God…” I leaned in close to his ear. “And be warned if you somehow land yourself in prison before I can finish you, I know some guys on the inside. They don’t take too kindly to women-bashers. I’ll make sure they know just what a pathetic piece of woman-beating shit you are, and in return, they’ll show you precisely what they think of you. Catch my drift?”

  And just to drive home my point, I gave him a square kick in the ribs.

  He looked up at me, fearfully. “Who are you?” he asked, blood spilling from his mouth.

  “Your worst nightmare, and the wrong guy to be messing with. If you’re smart, you’ll get out of town. You’ll get out of town and never show your face around here again. Because like I said, you come anywhere near Joanna…” I balled my fists once more.

  “All right! All right!” Zander cried. “I’m leaving,” he said as he crawled away.

  “For good? Never coming back?”

  He shook his head. “No. Never.”

  CHAPTER 30

  Joanna

  Four months later

  “Oh my goodness, Tobias. You really went all out for this,” I said, glancing around the office, dumbfounded. I had initially planned a baby shower, but then fell in love with the idea of having a gender reveal party instead. And Tobias had happily offered to let me hold it at the office.

  “That way, all our co-workers can attend,” he’d said.

  What I hadn’t expected was for him to completely transform the place. Decorations practically lined every inch of the walls, there was an enormous and gorgeous cake in the corner, and banners hung everywhere, teasing, ‘Boy or Girl.’

  It brought tears to my eyes.

  Tobias laughed. “You sure are an emotional little thing these days, aren’t you?”

  I playfully slapped his arm and then hugged him. “It’s the hormones!” I said.

  He kissed the top of my head. “Ahh, that’s right. I’d forgotten about that.”

  Moments later, Anderson rounded the corner. “Okay, the food should be here soon,” he announced. “But I have a little early treat for you.” Grinning, he produced a tub of strawberry ice cream from behind his back.

  “You are too good to me,” I said, smiling.

  Anderson grinned and kissed me.

  “All right. I’m cool with it, but it doesn’t mean I want to actually see it,” Tobias said, giving a disgusted shudder that made both Anderson and I laugh.

  Slowly but surely, the office began to fill as our guests arrived.

  “So what time are we doing the big reveal?” Libby asked after the food had arrived.

  “When everyone is done eating, I guess,” I said, glancing toward Anderson.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, don’t look at me. You run the show,” he said.

  “Oh, Joanna, he is a keeper,” Libby said, laughing. “He already knows the rules!” She looped her arm through mine. “Come on, let’s mingle and then eat.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I said. “Even though I feel guilty. I ate another tub of ice cream already. I’m going to be big as a house when this is all over.” I rubbed my stomach, which had just started to show.

  Libby laughed. “Girl, this is the one time in your life when it is perfectly fine to eat what you want! Enjoy it!”

  I laughed, letting her walk me around the office to greet our guests. A time or two, I could have sworn she glanced over my shoulder, making eye contact with someone and winking.

  “Libby, what are you doing?” I asked, catching her in the act again. I tried to follow her gaze, but couldn’t determine who she was looking at. All I noticed was Anderson. He was wearing an equally goofy expression, making me think they were up to something.

  “Oh nothing,” she said. “So, what do you want to eat? Want me to fix your plate?”

  “Sure…”

  “Okay, I think it’s officially time,” Tobias announced. He had Libby had pulled two chairs to the middle of the room for me and Anderson, after everyone had eaten and mingled for a while. “Can we get our guests of honor over here to take their seats?”

  Anderson grabbed my hand, and we made our way over. He and I already knew the gender of our future bundle of joy, but it was exciting to watch everyone else eagerly waiting. He squeezed my hand as we sat, and Tobias and a couple of our co-workers began pushing a large box toward us.

  “You do the honors,” Anderson said.

  “Let’s do a countdown,” Libby said. “Ten…nine…eight…” she began, and everyone else joined in.

  When they got down to one, I stood and pulled the top off the box, grinning ear-to-ear as pink balloons floated out.

  “It’s a girl!” everyone shouted, and broke out into applause. I glanced around, my heart bursting with joy as people cheered and whistled.

  And then something caught my eye…

  One balloon in particular staggered behind, slow to rise with the others. There was a box attached to it. A small black box…

  “Anderson?” I said confused, “was that there when you ordered the balloons?”

  Suddenly, the room filled with gasps. I turned around, finding Anderson standing behind me on one knee. Grinning, he reached for the balloon with the box attached to it.

  “Oh my God…” I said, cupping my hand with my mouth.

  “I could think of no better time to do this. I can’t even put into words how happy you’ve made me.” He opened the box, and the biggest sparkling diamond I’d ever seen, surrounded by white gold, stared up at me. “Joanna, will you marry me?”

  “Oh my God! Yes!!! A million times yes.” This was all I ever asked for and much more. I leaned away and gave him a goofy smile. “I love you, Mr. Lawrence. You’re the man of my life.”

  “I love you too, future Mrs. Lawrence. You’re the love of my life.”

  “I can’t believe you’ve done this.” I glanced at the ring, already in love with it.

  Our lips met again, but this time our kiss was more passionate, both of us lost in each other despite being in the center of everyone’s attention.

  “How about we go for a quickie somewhere?” he whispered with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You know, to ‘celebrate’ this properly.”

  I winked at him. “I think that’s a great idea.”

  He caught me by my hand and led me away from the crowd.
“We’ll be right back,” he said to Tobias.

  I caught Tobias’s gaze, flushing when he shook his head. He knew exactly what was cooking, just like Libby, who gave me a satisfied grin.

  “We aren’t going anywhere,” Tobias replied before he continued his conversation with one of the managers next to him.

  “I feel we’re like teenagers who are sneaking around, trying to escape their parents,” I said, letting him take me to his office. Since everyone had gathered in the main office, the rest of the building was deserted, which provided us more privacy.

  “Well, at least we don’t have to hide anymore.”

  He locked the door behind him and backed me to his desk, already unbuttoning my blouse.

  “We have to be really quick about this,” I said and unfastened his belt.

  “Yeah. Really quick.”

  He pressed me against the table and took off my shirt, which left me in my bra.

  “Do you think they know what we’re doing now?” I asked before I pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside.

  “I don’t really care about that at the moment.” He pressed his head against my chest, kissing my skin frantically. “Right now, all I care about is being in you.”

  I moaned when he continued leaving kisses down my belly. He stopped before he reached the waistline of my skirt, looking at my stomach with adoration. “I can’t believe our girl is in there right now.” He caressed my bump. “We created a new life.”

  I laced my fingers into his hair, returning his loving gaze. “Yeah. It’s amazing.”

  He left a soft kiss on my bump, which caused flutters in the pit of my stomach. He continued undressing me until I was left only in my pumps.

  “Naked and mine. The perfect combination.”

  He stepped out of his pants and boxers before he brought me on top of the desk, stopping in between my legs. I wrapped them around his waist and ground against him, inviting him to take me right now.