G-Men: The Series

by ANDREA SMITH

  “Absolutely,” she said, grinning.

  “Thank you.”

  “So, when is your due date?”

  “December 18th.”

  “I’m so excited,” she said, giggling. “Can I tell Jill?”

  “Have you even talked to Jill?”

  “Yeah, we keep in touch. You know she’s engaged to Gabe, right?”

  “Yeah, have they set a date yet?”

  “Next summer. She’s moved in with him. Now that you’re taking the rest of your schooling on-line, it sure is lonely around the old place.”

  “For crying out loud, why don’t you finish your degree on line? I mean, really, you’d be closer to Darin.”

  “I’m thinking about it,” she replied. “It’s just a little harder to bribe male professors when you’re not smack dab in front of them with a push-up bra and low-cut sweater on.”

  “Or you could just opt to do your assignments on time and study for your tests.”

  “Yeah, I guess that’s an option as well.”

  “So, when do you think you and Taz will get married?”

  “Marriage?”

  Now it was my turn to whip my sunglasses off and gape at her. “Who said anything about marriage?”

  “Well, gee,” she replied, rolling her eyes, “with the baby coming and all, I just assumed that would be the natural progression of things.”

  “Marriage has not been discussed between Taz and me up to this point and I don’t see why that should change.”

  “I don’t know,” Darcy replied, “Taz may feel differently about that. He is supporting you and all.”

  Now Darcy had clearly hit a nerve.

  “Hey, I have my own funds. I have the money Mom put away for my college once she sold the house in Indy. My tuition is cheaper taking these on-line classes, so I contribute. He’s not paying my way.”

  “Okay, maybe not right now, but what about after you graduate or the money runs out?”

  “My grandmother wants me to take a position at Banion.”

  “I see, so you’ll be in Indianapolis, and Taz will be here. May I ask where the baby will be?”

  “Darcy,” I said, plainly irritated, “we have plenty of time to work out the kinks.”

  The truth was, I hadn’t given a thought to those “kinks” myself, other than to brush them from my mind whenever they popped in.

  “Hey,” she said, interrupting my thoughts, “what about Taz’s family? Are they close by?”

  Taz was fairly closed-mouthed about his family. I hadn’t seen or heard him talk to them on the phone. It seemed as if they simply didn’t keep in touch.

  I’d questioned him a few times on the subject. He claimed they simply weren’t close. There was no estrangement. He had one older brother and a younger sister. His parents ran a business of some sort in Napa Valley, California.

  “His family lives in Northern California. I gather they’re not close.”

  “Well, that’s good. At least you won’t have any in-laws interfering in the mix.”

  “Hey, how’s your mom doing?”

  “I talked to her this morning. Other than feeling like a beached whale, all’s good.”

  “So, like, you haven’t shared the news with her?”

  “No, just you up to this point. Remember your promise.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Not to worry.”

  My cell phone sounded. I picked it up, glancing at the screen and smiled. Darcy’s phone was now ringing too. Our G-men were coming home.

  “Hey,” I said into the phone, my butterflies fluttering.

  “Hey, baby girl, I’m on my way home and I’m horny.”

  “Oh, Taz,” I gushed, “you’re so romantic.”

  I winked at Darcy. There was no need for her to know what he said. Darcy was giggling at her end with Darin. He’d probably told her the exact same thing.

  “I’ll be there before you get there,” I said.

  Darcy ended her call, sitting up and putting her sandals on.

  “Shit, I’ve got to head home. I need to get that romantic dinner started before Taz hits the door. He’s on his way already.”

  “Yeah, I’ve got to wax,” she replied, smiling.

  I gathered my all my stuff, shoving it into my knapsack. I pulled a T-shirt on over my skimpy bikini.

  “Thanks for the gift, Darce. Taz will love it.”

  “Call me tomorrow and give me the all-clear to run my mouth, okay?”

  “You got it,” I said, putting my flip-flops on and heading towards her driveway.

  By the time I got home, I had exactly twenty minutes to get dinner going. I put a salad together, heated up some left-over mac and cheese, and put a couple of pork chops under the broiler on low heat.

  I set the table in the kitchen and was pouring ice-water into the tumblers when I heard him come through the front door.

  “Hey babe,” he called out, coming down the hallway.

  “I’m in the kitchen,” I hollered back, checking the pork chops.

  “Mmm, something smells good,” he said, coming into the kitchen. He saw me wearing nothing but the T-shirt I’d thrown on over my suit, and the flip flops.

  “Where were you when I called?” he asked, popping a cherry tomato from the salad into his mouth.

  “Oh, I was swimming at Darcy’s,” I replied. “Give me a minute to change.”

  I went into the bedroom, shrugging the T-shirt off and over my head, not realizing Taz had followed me in there until I heard the long, low cat whistle he gave me when he saw my gift from Darcy.

  “That’s some skimpy suit,” he said, walking towards me, the intent in his eyes very clear.

  “Taz,” I started, as he reached over and untied the strings in the back, my top falling to the floor.

  “What?” he asked, right up on me, his hands, pulling at the strings on each side of the bottom, releasing the small, triangular pieces of material that covered the front, and barely the back of my ass.

  “Well I’ll be damned,” he said, a wide grin spreading across his face. He was checking out my new tat, and I knew he loved it. “What have you been up to, baby girl?”

  I turned around to face him, showing off my new piercing.

  “Just wanting to look sexy for my man,” I replied, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing myself into him.

  “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” he asked, his hands framing my face as he lowered his lips to mine, kissing them over and over very softly.

  “Umm,” he moaned, “I have missed you so much, baby. You have no idea. Maybe you should shut the broiler off. This might take a while.”

  chapter 52

  An hour and two mind-blowing orgasms later, Taz and I rolled away from each other.

  “Tell Darcy I totally approve of your birthday gift,” he said, giving me his sexy grin, “and let her know that I loved the surprises.”

  “Did that work for you, Agent Matthews?”

  “Oh, absolutely, baby.”

  “And I still have one more surprise left for you.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, but you know, it can wait. Our pork chops are probably dried out.”

  “Who cares,” he replied, pulling me against him. “You want to take a shower before dinner?”

  “Yeah, in a minute, honey. I need to tell you something.”

  He was on his back, his head perched up on his elbow. I scooted closer on my belly and laid my head on his chest.

  “Yeah, okay, sweetie. Is there a problem?”

  “It’s about the last surprise I have for you. It’s not a problem for me at all. I’m not sure about you, though.”

  He cocked an eyebrow at me in confusion.

  Here goes, I guess.

  “You’re going to be a daddy in mid-December and I hope like hell you’re happy about it.”

  There, I’d blurted it out, swiftly and concisely. Now I needed
to wait for the reaction.

  I watched his expression as it went from shock to surprise to a wall-to-wall smile.

  He pulled me on top of him, gathering my hair at the nape of my neck and pulling my face to his, smothering me with kisses.

  “Of course I’m happy, baby girl. Why wouldn’t I be happy? I’m just a little confused. I thought we were being careful.”

  “Well, statistically, we were. I figured it had to have happened just that one time when my going back on the pill had only taken place like two days before.”

  “Honey, you told me it wasn’t your fertile period.”

  I shrugged. “I didn’t think it was.”

  “Have you been to the doctor?”

  I nodded.

  “I went as soon as I missed a period. I stopped the pill and went to him to make sure if I was pregnant, having taking the pill wouldn’t have put my pregnancy at risk.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said not to take anymore and see if I missed another period, and I did.”

  “So, when is our baby due, exactly?”

  “December 18th. Right before Christmas.”

  “What a great Christmas present for us both,” he said, smiling.

  “I love you so much. I’m so glad you aren’t upset.”

  “Lindsey, honey, I love you, too. Why would you think I wouldn’t be happy? We just need to get our wedding date set.”

  Uh oh.

  “That discussion has no place at the moment. I like things the way they are, okay?”

  “So, are you saying you don’t want to get married?”

  “I’m just saying that the discussion hasn’t surfaced up to this point, and it’s not going to surface now just because I’m pregnant, okay? I want to finish college. I want to see where my career goes.”

  “I presumed you’d work somewhere in the area, do you have different plans?”

  “Well, not exactly, honey. But my grandmother does have a well-paying position as an executive at Banion waiting for me when I graduate, remember? I mean it’s a family business and I’m sure she would like to pass the legacy on.”

  “So, what are you saying—we’ll have some sort of a commuter relationship?”

  “Of course not, baby. We’ll work something out. We always do, don’t we?”

  He broke out into a smile again. “You totally have me wrapped around your finger and you know it.”

  “No way, baby. Everyone knows you’re the boss!”

  “Like hell,” he said, pulling me on top of him.

  We started kissing and getting ready for another round of love-making when Taz’s phone vibrated on the night stand.

  “Shit, it’s Slate. I’ve gotta get this, babe.”

  He grabbed his phone.

  “Yeah,” he said. There was a momentary pause.

  “Really? Right now? Okay, we’ll get ready and get over there.”

  He shut the phone off, pulling me with him off of the bed.

  “Let’s grab that shower quickly, sweetie. Slate said your mom went into labor. We’re going to the hospital.”

  Taz and I took a quick shower, threw clean clothes on, and headed out to Fairfax Hospital.

  By the time we arrived there, Mom had delivered a healthy baby boy: her single twin.

  He was beautiful. Slate was holding him while still dressed in scrubs. The baby had a mass of dark hair and dark blue eyes. He was so alert.

  Mom had delivered without any anesthesia. She said it had been a piece of cake. She was overwhelmed with joy. Still, I knew that she was thinking there should be two baby boys right now.

  “Can I hold him, Slate?”

  “Sure,” he said, carefully handing my new baby brother over to me. I cradled him in my arms, watching him watching me with his incredibly blue eyes.

  “Look, Taz,” I said. “Look at his perfect little fingers.” Taz was at my side, admiring the baby right along with me.

  “What have you decided to name him?” I asked.

  “Sidney Banion Slater,” Mom announced proudly. “After your granddaddy.”

  “Oh, Mom,” I said, “I bet Granddaddy is looking down from heaven right now and is so proud of his namesake. I bet Grandma will be happy about your choice of names as well.”

  “Yep,” she said, chuckling, “she has another one to spoil. She’s bringing Bryce up for sibling visiting hours later.”

  I wondered how Bryce was going to take to having a new baby brother. He was used to being a one-man-show with everyone’s attention. This could prove to be interesting. We stayed for another half-hour and then left, telling them we’d be back tomorrow.

  Taz put his arm around me on the way to the car. “I’m surprised you didn’t tell your mom about our news,” he said.

  “I thought about it, but this is her and Slate’s day. We’ll have a better opportunity to tell them the good news another time.”

  “Hey,” I said, “I had this romantic dinner planned to give you the news and that all went astray. I’m hungry. Feed me, baby.”

  “You’ve got it.”

  We stopped at a Sonic restaurant on the way home and got curbside service. I ordered a triple burger, fries and a thick, chocolate shake.

  “Jesus Christ,” Taz commented, shaking his head, “I can see you’re going to be taking this ‘eating-for-two’ thing seriously.”

  “Shut up,” I said, laughing, stuffing another French fry into my mouth. “You’ll love me no matter what.”

  “You’ve got that right,” he sighed, leaning over to kiss me. “I love you so fucking much, Lindsey.”

  “I know you do, baby. It makes me so happy.”

  “So, are you really happy? Are things perfect for you now?”

  “I don’t believe in perfection, but I’d say that I’m happier now than I’ve ever been. I mean, the only thing that still bothers me is the not knowing where my dad is, or if he’s even alive.”

  “I know,” he said, shaking his head. “That story Susan gave is pretty sketchy. They supposedly got separated in Mexico and she ended up with all of his belongings when he didn’t return from his meeting with the ‘Federales’? I don’t buy that’s all she knows. I think she knows more. But, you have to understand how corrupt it is in Mexico. I hate to say this, babe, but you have to consider the fact your father may not be alive.”

  “I’ve thought of that often. I truly believe that if he’d come back into the U.S., I would’ve heard something from him somehow.”

  “I know that’s a hard thing to deal with.”

  “There are just so many answers that I’ll never have…explanations that I feel he owes me.”

  “I doubt if he could even explain it to himself, let alone to you. He got caught up in it. He wasn’t the person you thought he was.”

  “I know. It’s still difficult, though.”

  “Do you feel safe again, sweetie?”

  I nodded.

  “I do. Dr. Beatty made me realize that I couldn’t depend on you or anyone else to make me feel safe. It needed to come from within me, my own sense of security. I know I was pretty clingy to you right after all of this happened. I’m so glad you convinced me to get the therapy.”

  “I’m glad that it helped.”

  “I mean, I still worry when you’re out in the field, doing some covert stuff that you can’t even tell me about. I guess that’s the only fear I still have, but that’s a natural fear Dr. Beatty explained. I can live with that, as long as you promise me you’ll always come back to me.”

  “I’ll always do my very best. You know that.”

  “So, am I ever going to meet your family? Are they even going to know they have a grandchild on the way?”

  “I know I haven’t told you much about them. Obviously, we’re not a close family, but it’s not like we’re estranged either. I think we should think about taking a trip to California after the baby arrives. I’d like to surprise my folks wi
th their first grandbaby.”

  “I’d like that,” I said, smiling over at him. “You can never have too much family.”

  The thought of my father crossed through my mind once again. I wondered what type of a grandfather he might have been.

  Later that evening, as Taz and I were lying in our bed, listening to the fireworks being set off all over the neighborhood, he pulled me to him once again with a question.

  “Do you want our baby to be a boy or a girl?”

  I thought about it for a couple of seconds and then answered honestly.

  “I know the proper thing to say is that I don’t care, as long as the baby’s healthy, which of course, is my primary focus. But if I had my preference, I’d kind of like our first baby to be a girl.”

  “Me, too,” he said, smiling. “I want to spoil her rotten and then give her three younger brothers to keep an eye on her.”

  “Three more?”

  “Yep. You got a problem with that?”

  “We’re going to need a bigger place!”

  We laughed together, diving under the covers together and playing until we finally fell asleep, wrapped in each other’s arms.

  epilogue

  December 12th

  Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia

  I’d been pushing for what seemed like hours, even though the clock on the wall opposite me indicated it had been more like twenty minutes. My mom was there next to me, dabbing my sweaty forehead with a cold, damp cloth.

  “Where in the hell is Taz?” I was gritting my teeth as the next contraction came over me.

  “Slate finally found him, honey. He’s on his way.”

  “I don’t get it,” I hissed. “You delivered two babies and Slate made it both times.”

  “You know how it is, Lindsey; these things happen. You’re a little early, too.”

  I was clutching the rails of the hospital bed, my knuckles turning white. I wanted to cuss, but I wasn’t comfortable doing that in front of my mother.

  I’d have no such concerns doing that in front of Taz, if he was here like he should have been right now. I was mentally flipping him off at that moment, with love, of course.

  Just then my baby’s sperm donor popped in, dressed in his scrubs with a big smile on his face.