Sam’s eyes watered. “Oh, don’t you dare turn this around on me. I’m mad. You know I can’t stand being ignored.” She sniffed. Taking the mug, she said, “Oh, hell, I’m madder at the Steelers than I am at you. It’s out now. I understand.”
“So tell me you didn’t come over here just to yell at me. You must have found something about John, right?”
Sam made a sorrowful shrug.
“Nothing on the dark web?” Sid asked.
“They abandoned that funeral home you were partying in,” Guppy said. “At least, it’s got a new sign and all. Aw, barnacles! Tomlin just went for two again!”
“Stop reliving it, Guppy! Shut it down. We can’t keep torturing ourselves when we know the outcome. Sorry, Sid. Look, I don’t know what to say. I’m sick about my brother too. All we can do is keep looking. Did you have any luck at the FBI?”
“Have you been tailing me?”
“Tailing you, no. Tracking you, yes. It’s what we do.”
“Cyrus had nothing. The entire operation’s gone dark. I don’t know what to make of any of it. It’s like we’re chasing ghosts. I figured Allison would have showed up among DC’s debaucherous media enclaves, but even that hasn’t happened. It’s been so bad that I’ve considered approaching Senator Wilhelm.”
“You saved him. I’d say he owes you,” Sam said.
“True, but I can’t stand that pig of a man.”
“No, but maybe the pig of a man you knew was the clone.”
“I’ve considered that. I just find it hard to believe I’m that desperate.” Sid sat down on the stool. Sam joined her. “I am that desperate.”
“Sorry to change the subject, but what about the baby?”
“You’ve been talking to Mal, haven’t you.”
“Asia, mostly. She’s one hungry chatterbox.” The beautiful woman rubbed Sid’s arm. “You really need to make sure everything is all right. If there’s something wrong, then there might be something we can do. We don’t want to lose you.”
“I don’t believe them. I’m fine.”
“I think you’re scared. If you’re fine, then know for certain. Mal’s got a place set up to see you tomorrow. You need to meet him there. I’ll be there with you if you want.”
“It doesn’t matter what he learns. I’m going to see this through. I have faith that things will be just fine.” She took a long draw from her coffee. “Besides, what do you think women did before we had all of this technology?”
“Many died in childbirth, with normal babies.”
CHAPTER 21
The next evening, Sid was parked outside a closed urgent-care facility. She’d texted Mal and said she’d go through with it. With some prodding from Sam, she had managed to convince herself to make sure that not she but the baby was safe. Her hand rested on her middle, which had started to pop out a little. The baby wriggled inside.
She said a prayer.
The back door popped open, and a little woman poked her head out. It was Asia. She yelled at Sid, “Shut down that rumbling dragon and get your tail inside. It’s cold out here!”
Sid shut off the engine, grabbed a bag, and hopped out. She handed Asia the hefty bag of Chinese takeout. “Here.”
Asia inspected the bag. “You didn’t forget the scallion pancakes, did you?”
“No.” Sid slipped inside the building. The lights were partially lit in the halls. The atmosphere was clean but dreary. Asia passed Sid, saying, “Follow me.”
Mal stood inside the exam room, wearing a white lab coat over scrubs. His expression was warm. “Hi, Sid. I’m glad you came. Please, make yourself comfortable.”
She removed her jacket and set it aside. “How comfortable?”
“Comfortable enough where I can see your entire abdomen.”
Sid stripped down to her sports bra and low-rider jeans. She sat down in the chair and reclined, putting her feet up. The vinyl was chilly on her back. Mal pushed the ultrasound machine to her bedside. The monitor was on. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Asia sucking in a noodle that flicked her nose.
“Do you have to eat while we do this?”
With a moaning sound, Asia set down her oyster pail of food. “Sorry. I’m hungry.”
“Maybe you have a tapeworm.”
“Maybe you have a demon inside you,” Asia fired back.
“Asia, given the circumstances, that’s beyond impolite.”
“So, I’m cranky when I’m hungry. You both know that.”
“Just eat!” Sid said.
“Geez, cranky woman sounds like she’s in labor already.” Asia retrieved her oyster pail and had at it. “Mmm, still hot. Still good.”
Mal lubed up the ultrasound probe with clear gel. “Believe it or not, she’s truly thankful for what you did. Just think of her eating as a way of showing it.”
Sid nodded. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Of course. This might feel a little cold at first.”
The probe was cool but not icy as Mal slowly moved it over her abdomen. Sid hadn’t seen an ultrasound being done since her sister had Megan. She knew the drill. With her head to the side, she studied the screen. After several seconds, an image of a baby formed. “Is that…”
“Yes, that’s your baby. A nice steady heartbeat.”
Sid listened to the magnified heartbeat that came across the machine. It warmed her soul. “How old?”
“I’d say you’re twenty weeks along. Either that, or you have a very large child inside, or you’re going to give birth to a banana.”
Asia cozied up to the screen. “That looks like a tail. Babies don’t have tails.”
Sid’s eyes got big.
“It’s probably the umbilical cord, Sid,” Mal assured her. “No worries.”
Sid backtracked twenty weeks to where she was and what she was doing. A smile crossed her face. I was with John. I know it! “Can you tell me the sex?”
“I think so. Are you sure you want to know?”
“I can answer that,” Asia said. “You’re having a boy. I can tell by how you walk and your hips are spreading. You’re going to be big. Big like a bull. You’ll never be skinny again.”
Mal scanned Sid’s abdomen, froze at a certain point, and said, “She’s right. It’s a boy.”
Sid smiled but contained her excitement. She wanted to share the joy with Smoke. As thrilled as she was, it still hurt that he wasn’t here. She wiped her eyes. “So, everything is healthy.”
“Well, to be sure, I’d like to take a sample of amniotic fluid. It’s the only way to rule everything out.”
“How long will it take to get the results back?”
“I have everything I need right here. You don’t have an issue with needles, do you?”
“No.”
“Let me stick her,” Asia said. “I’m great with needles.”
“I don’t think so,” Sid objected.
Mal lifted up a large syringe. “Actually, Asia is more qualified to do this.”
“You have to be kidding me.”
“Nope.” Mal swabbed a patch of Sid’s skin with an alcohol pad. “She’ll do you right. I met her in med school, you know.”
“Asia’s a physician? I thought she was a food critic. Either that or a mutated garbage disposal.”
Snatching the syringe from Mal’s hand, Asia said, “Let’s get this over with, wise guy, so I can get back to eating. Now be still.”
Sid froze.
Asia stuck the needle into Sid’s belly.
Sid watched the screen. The needle’s tip was dangerously close to the baby’s body. She started to speak, fearing the baby might be harmed, but as she opened up her mouth, Asia pulled the needle free.
The little woman eyed the fluid in the syringe and said, “Bad color. You have a demon baby inside.”
Mal eased the syringe out of Asia’s hand and said to Sid, “No you don’t. The color is normal, so relax. It’s going to take a few hours for me to run my panels.” He smoothed Sid’s hai
r back. “Just rest if you plan on sticking around.”
“Oh, I’m not going anywhere.”
“I didn’t think so. See you soon.”
Mal left. Asia ate. Sid put her shirt back on and said to Asia, “Feel like sharing? We’re hungry too.”
“Help yourself, but I’m not sharing my chopsticks.”
CHAPTER 22
Sid ran at full speed, but she couldn’t escape. It was nighttime. The surrounding trees were a web of dreary leaves on one side of her. The Reflecting Pool was a sheet of black ice on the other. Blood-red leaves littered the walk. No matter how fast she ran, she could not get to the other end of the pool. Behind her, a shadow chased.
Panting and straining, she ran harder, stretching her legs to their limits. She couldn’t escape what was coming after her like a cold cloud of darkness. The shadow would engulf her whole. It wanted her. It wanted her baby, the bundle clutched tightly to her chest.
Stride after stride, she shot toward the keyhole of light at the end of the Reflecting Pool. The ghostly shadow closed in. Dark tendrils stretched out to snare her. The gangling arms brought a hungry howl with them. A loud moaning. The shadow spoke terror. It awakened new fears.
“No!” Sid yelled. “No!”
She raced for the light. The glimmer grew ever so slowly. The closer she got to it, the farther back her pursuer fell. But panting icy breath, she was quickly growing exhausted. The door of light was there awaiting her at the end of the pool. She looked back. The shadow had vanished. She slowed to a trot then to a walk. Laboring for breath, she approached the warmth of the light.
“Thank you.”
A cracking caught her ear. The sheet of black ice that covered the Reflecting Pool had broken. Her limbs froze. A black monster erupted from the bile. Its tremendous arms engulfed her.
“Gah!”
Sid’s eyes snapped open. She was still in the hospital reclining chair. Her damp clothes clung to her body.
Asia—huddled in a chair in the corner—stirred. She blinked her sleepy eyes and rubbed them. Yawning, she said, “Bad dream?”
Sid pulled a lock of her hair from her mouth. “Yes.”
“Chinese food can do that to you. That and a demon baby.”
“Will you stop saying that?”
“What, Chinese food? Why would I stop saying that?”
Sid sat up in the seat and stretched her back. Her hands fell to her belly. She’d always had dreams. Most of them she didn’t remember, because none were particularly vivid. But this dream? It felt real. She rubbed the chill bumps on her arms, then fished her phone out of her back pocket and checked the time. It was 6:06 a.m.
“Morning Glory.”
“What?” Asia asked while picking through a carton of takeout.
“Are you eating again?”
“Time for breakfast.”
Sid sluffed out of the room. The urgent care opened at nine in the morning, but no doubt the staff would arrive between seven and eight. They needed to move on. Better yet, she needed to know the outcome of Mal’s tests. Was her son a boy or some kind of demon? Don’t think like that, Sid.
She called out softly, “Mal.”
There weren’t any signs of the man anywhere. The muscles between her shoulders clenched. She drew her Glock.
“Mal?”
There was no reply. Something was wrong. She crept through the facility, checking room after room after room. All of them were empty.
“No,” she grumbled, moving faster. Panic filled her. “No, no, no!” She raced back into the ultrasound room. “Where’s Mal?”
With a mouthful of food, Asia shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not his babysitter. Maybe you overlooked him.”
“I wouldn’t overlook a grown man.”
“You lost your husband, didn’t you?”
“I hate you, Asia.”
The little woman shrugged. “Hate fits you.”
Sid took off to the back of the building. I’m going to find that bastard. She flung the back door open. The door hit someone, knocking them over. It was Mal. A cardboard tray of coffee was spilled all over him.
“Hey, what’s the hurry? Geez, that’s hot!”
“Where have you been?”
“Getting breakfast. The both of you were out like a light, and I figured I’d slip out and grab everyone some breakfast. It’s been a long night.” He started cleaning himself up. “Why, what did you think happened?”
“The results, Mal. The results!”
“Oh, those.” He flicked the coffee from his fingers and began dabbing his clothing with napkins. “Sid, everything is one hundred percent normal. Your son’s just fine. Fine as a fiddle. Is that how the expression goes?”
Sid helped him up to his feet. “I think. So you’re certain?”
“I have it all packed up in my briefcase. Feel free to scour the results. I went to great length and detail. I’m sorry, Sid. I should have just woken you up. This is awful.”
“It’s not that bad.”
“Yes it is. Asia gets really nasty if she doesn’t get her coffee first thing in the morning.”
“Just load her up in the car. We’ll take her over to Sheetz and fill her up.”
***
Sid shared the news with Sam and Guppy. They were thrilled. She was excited too, and Guppy swore she had a beautiful glow that even he could feel. Still, there was emptiness. Smoke wasn’t here to share the moment. Last time she saw him, what had he said with a smile on his face? “Name him after me.”
That was the hard thing. As the days passed, she started to wonder if Smoke still lived. It didn’t seem possible he could be dead. He was an escape artist. A dodger of death. Now, however, his presence seemed to have drifted away.
Sid pressed on. Perhaps the Drake was out of her life. After all, everything they’d told her was a lie. They’d lied about the baby. They’d lied about her dying. They had lied and lied and lied. Now, there was nothing to go on that would lead her in one direction or another. There was just silence. She missed the lies. She missed Smoke.
Where is he?
CHAPTER 23
“Oh Sid, I’m so excited. I wish you would let me put something in the paper. At least let me tell the church,” Sally said.
“No.” Sid avoided her mother’s eyes as she packed up her duffle bag in the garage apartment. “Besides, I’m pretty sure you’ve told somebody.”
“No one knows but me and your father,” Sally replied.
“And Frenchie,” Keith said, sitting on the sofa watching the morning news and glancing at the local paper.
“Frenchie is family. She won’t say anything.”
“Huh. It never ceases to amaze me how women think telling another woman that something is a secret somehow still keeps it a secret. It’s not a secret once you tell somebody else.” Keith crushed the can down on the coffee table. “Sid, do you recycle?”
“No.”
“Good. Sorting trash is one of the dumbest things man ever created.”
Sid’s parents went about their business as if nothing was wrong in the world. Keith watched TV. Sally tidied up the kitchen, humming a friendly tune. Having her parents around buffeted the pain she was feeling. She ran her hand over her big baby bump. She was full term. “You know, you could have met me at the hospital. I’ll be fine to drive myself.”
“Don’t be silly. You can’t drive yourself to the hospital and drive yourself back with the baby. That’s absurd.” Sally wrung out a wet dishrag into the sink and started wiping down the kitchenette. “Besides, I’m still kind of mad at you for waiting so long to tell me. You wait until the halfway point to tell me. That’s awful, Sid. Allison told me as soon as she knew.”
“No, I told you as soon as I knew.”
“Oh. Well, that’s beside the point. You’re the oldest. You should know better. I’m your mother, for heaven’s sake.”
“She knows that, Sally. You’ve told her fifty times since we got here.”
“You be qui
et. What kind of man drinks a beer at six in the morning?”
“It’s not beer, it’s root beer. Besides, I’m celebrating. Having a boy will carry on my legacy.”
Sally rolled her eyes.
Sid zipped up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “I’m ready.”
“Keith, get up. Help your daughter with that bag. Where’s a gentleman when you need one?”
“I’m fine, Mother. It’s not very heavy.”
“Do you have a car seat in that awful car of yours?” Sally asked. “You can always borrow our minivan until you get something more accommodating.”
Sid’s nostrils flared. “I’m not driving a minivan. Ever. Besides, my boy’s probably going to be a rambling man.”
“Why would you wish such a thing?”
Sid rubbed her stomach. “I just have a feeling.”
Sally dried her hands off and said as she looked around the apartment, “This doesn’t look like the best place to raise a baby. No offense, but I don’t even see any baby stuff. You needed to have a baby shower, Sid. It was awful that you didn’t have one.”
“I did have one, here, with Sam and Sadie. A quiet one. We’re going to be okay, Mom.”
“If you say so.” Sally hooked her daughter’s arm. “Come on now. Let’s load you up into the van.”
“I’m not a piece of luggage. Besides, I’m driving and we’re taking the Hellcat.”
Sally looked mortified.
Keith’s grin was as broad as a bridge. “Shotgun.”
***
One doctor, one nurse, and a lot of pain. The doctor had induced Sid’s labor in the morning, and now the time had come to deliver.
“Push, Mrs. Smoke. Breathe and push!”
Sid strained. “I don’t think he wants to come out yet. I told you not to induce me.” She huffed, puffed, and pushed. “This is ridiculous.”
“It’s still going to hurt the same, whether it’s now or later.” Doctor Endicott spoke in a calm but very stern voice. He was as skilled and professional as they came. “You’re full term. It’s go time.”
The Supernatural Bounty Hunter Files Collector's Set: Books 1-10: Urban Fantasy Shifter Series Page 112
