by J. M. Madden
Alex coughed and felt pressure in her mid section, then a release and the small, T-shaped device was out.
“Now, you may encounter some light bleeding and cramping, but that’s entirely normal. If you feel it’s going beyond normal, call me. I’ll give you my cell phone number and you can call me direct.”
Then, just a few minutes later, her life irrevocably changed, she was back out on the street and heading toward home, feeling achy, dazed and confused.
Alex walked up to her apartment very carefully. For some reason she felt like she needed to tiptoe, just to be extra careful.
Of the baby. Could it even be called a baby this early? She could only be a few weeks along.
Oh, hell…
Though she’d wanted kids very much, she hadn’t planned on it happening so soon. It had been kind of a theoretical thing. The IUD had worked exactly the way it was supposed to for many years. Why had it chosen now to fuck up? Maybe because this scenario was the most difficult she could ever imagine being in.
There was no doubt it was Duncan’s child. She hadn’t been with anyone else in a long time. Would he believe her, though? When should she tell him?
As a doctor, she knew that things did not always progress smoothly. For now, she would continue on as if nothing had changed. If she made it beyond a couple of weeks’ gestation she would think about talking to Duncan.
That night she slept like the dead and woke feeling almost refreshed. She showered and made her morning cup of coffee, then everything stalled out. No more coffee. No more pop. She’d need to start eating better rather than grabbing power bars and pizza in the cafeteria.
The doctor had given her a prescription for iron pills she would need to get filled.
She needed to start taking care of the tiny little person inside her.
Resting her hand over her belly, Alex took a moment to savor the excitement. She and Duncan had created a child together. Granted, he was super tiny right now but if he could make it to term, he would be an amazing child.
Look at her, already calling it him.
Alex headed to work that day very conscious she carried a huge secret. But it was her secret. She’d just have to make it work out.
* * *
Alex worked two days of regular shifts, no overtime. There were a few people giving her strange looks, but she didn’t care. Her life had changed, both perceptibly and imperceptibly. The broken heart was the least easy to see, but people seemed to sense it. The guys she worked with didn’t hit on her as much, and the women seemed friendlier. Alex wasn’t sure why things had changed, but she wasn’t going to complain.
Three days after she’d found out about the baby, she headed home. On the way, she stopped at the convenience store on the corner and bought what fruits and vegetables they had. It felt hypocritical, but she would try to eat them before they dissolved into mush. She also bought two microwave meals, knowing she wouldn’t be able to cook anything edible with the vegetables. But at least she was trying.
Dropping the groceries beside the fridge, she headed to the bedroom to change, then padded back out to put things away. For dinner that night she created some kind of stir-fry with packaged chicken and broccoli and rice. Wasn’t too bad. A little bland.
Once her tummy was full her eyelids began to get heavier, so with a final glass of water, she headed to bed and well-needed sleep.
Alex wasn’t sure what woke her. She turned her head to look at the alarm clock. Three fifteen a.m. A cramp twisted her stomach, hard enough to make her gasp, and she sat up in bed.
There was a wash of fluid between her thighs, and her breath stalled in her throat. For a timeless moment, everything stilled. Oh, God. No. Reaching for the bedside lamp, she snapped it on. In spite of herself, she cried out when she saw the blood on the sheets. Pushing up with her arms she lunged out of bed and to the bathroom.
She steamed in the shower, watching the water around the drain turn pink. In her heart, she knew the pregnancy was over. There was too much blood for it to still be viable. When she left the shower she called the answering service of her ob/gyn. Dr. Tripiti agreed to meet her at his office, though it was hours before regular office hours.
Oh, the perks of professional courtesy.
Alex walked into the office knowing she would not have the chance to be a mother in the near future, and, with a kind smile, Dr. Tripiti confirmed her supposition.
“I’m sorry,” the man told her softly. “We knew this was a possibility, though. Pregnancies conceived with an IUD in the cervix are always higher risk.”
Alex nodded, staring at the wadded tissues in her hands. Yes, they’d gone over that. There’d been that tiny, flickering, hopeful spark though…
The doctor cautioned her to continue to take the iron pills he had prescribed her, but that she could return to normal activity when she felt up to it. The bleeding had almost stopped now, she could tell. And the cramps had stopped. That made her the saddest because it meant her body was done expelling the tiny life it had housed for such a short time.
The taxi dropped her off in front of her apartment building and she didn’t want to go in. It had begun to flurry snow and she was already shuddering with cold. Letting herself into the apartment, she avoided looking at her bedroom, but it couldn’t be avoided forever. Finally, she walked into the room and surveyed the mess. As a doctor, she knew she had lost a lot of blood. Even now weariness dragged at her and she needed to sleep, but she couldn’t sleep here. As she bundled the sheets in her arms, then the mattress pad, sobs shook her body. Stuffing everything into the washer with bleach and extra soap, she slammed the door and poked at buttons, her emotions shredded.
She would have to replace the mattress tomorrow, but for tonight she threw a couple of towels over the stains. The bathroom was an easier cleanup, but still gruesome and heartrending.
Heading back out to the couch, she fell into an exhausted heap, dragging a throw over top of her shuddering self. She wished she had arms to wrap around her.
* * *
Chapter Eighteen
Shannon looked up when Lora slid into the chair across from her. Ember joined them just a few minutes later, sliding in beside Shannon in the booth to give her a hug.
“You look good. Willow is parking now.”
Nodding, Shannon took a sip of her lemon water. “Hope you don’t mind Mexican. I started craving this place recently.”
The Mexican restaurant was just a few blocks from the LNF office, which made it a popular stop for the guys as well. John had gotten her hooked on it within months of their dating.
“I don’t mind it at all,” Ember admitted. “Anything other than our own food.”
Lora gave her a sharp glance. “I love your food. You better not change anything on the new menu. It’s all delicious.”
Ember blushed a little and it looked very becoming on her creamy skin. “Really? I wasn’t sure about some of the new, healthier items, but they seem to be selling really well.”
Lora nodded. “I knew they would.”
Willow walked into the restaurant, her skin flushed and dark hair flying around her face as she whipped off her toboggan. She crossed the room more easily than one would expect, considering she was eight months pregnant. She slid into the booth and Shannon could see the table was almost against her belly. She tugged on the wood and it slid closer, giving Willow a couple of extra inches.
“That’s much better, thank you,” she sighed. “Have you been waiting long?”
They all shook their heads and Shannon was struck with how much she truly enjoyed all of these women. They were her friends for many reasons, not the least of which that they loved incredibly diverse men.
A waiter stopped at the table to drop off a basket of chips and two bowls of salsa and take drink orders. Once he left, Willow grinned at Shannon. “How are you feeling?”
With a grimace, Shannon shook her head. “Like aliens have invaded my body. Nothing is the same as it was before.”
/> The three other women nodded, smiling. “And it will only get better as the pregnancy progresses,” Ember told her with a grin.
“That’s what I’ve heard. I’m trying to get everything planned out, but my brain is completely muddled with little tiny things. It’s driving me nuts. I’m normally on the ball with things, but I feel like there’s so much to deal with that I can’t just pick one thing to worry about.”
The waiter interrupted them then to take their food orders. But as soon as he left Lora told her, “We have something for you.” She reached under the table for her purse. “We think this will help.”
She handed over a book-sized package, wrapped in blue paper. Shannon unwrapped it carefully, loving the little elephants on the wrapping paper. Inside was a book.
“I had something similar when I was going through my pregnancy,” Lora told her, “because I had no one to ask. This tells you exactly what is happening with your baby, week by week, and it gives you advice on literally everything. Clothes to decorating to what to do when your breasts start to leak.”
Horrified, Shannon stared at Lora in shock. “Your breasts leak?”
The women laughed and nodded. “Sometimes at very inopportune times,” Willow admitted.
Shannon paged through the book. There were diagrams and schedules, and lists of popular baby names. There was a huge amount of information here. “Thank you so much! I’m going to go home and read this tonight. And I know John will read it too.”
Giggling, they all exchanged skeptical looks.
The food was brought then and conversation faded away as they began to eat.
“How are you feeling, Willow?” Ember asked.
“Like I swallowed a baby elephant,” she said deadpan. “I don’t know how I’m going to get through the next two months.”
Shannon snorted and Willow gave her a look with a raised eyebrow. “Just you wait, little girl. You’re going to have two baby elephants dancing on your bladder soon.”
Shannon groaned. “You’re cursing me,” she moaned.
She’d never clicked with a group of women like she had with these ladies. Though they were all very different, they all meshed, much like the men themselves did. Although another doctor would have been nice to add to the group.
As if sensing her thoughts, Ember glanced at her. “Any word from Alex?”
She shook her head. “I haven’t talked to her for a couple of weeks, not since I told her about Duncan’s cake.”
“Duncan’s a bear these days,” Lora said.
“Yes, he is,” Willow said. “And have you noticed he’s been limping more? I brought Flynn lunch the other day and they were working out in the rec room. Duncan could barely get up from the weight bench without his cane.”
“John asked him about it the other day and Dunc about snapped his head off,” Shannon admitted.
They continued to eat, not knowing how to help their friend.
“Any chance we can call Alex back?”
Shannon frowned at Lora. “I don’t think so. That has to be something they figure out themselves.”
As they finished lunch and parted ways, Shannon continued to worry about Duncan. Even though he’d hurt her feelings before his birthday, she’d known he’d been speaking out of his own pain. The words had sliced through her heart like knives, though.
Whether he realized it or not, Alex was the perfect woman for him, no matter how much he argued to the contrary. Physically, they looked great together. They both had sharp, smart personalities and Duncan had been incredibly drawn to her. John had told her about the sex in the office incident, and she still couldn’t believe it. Not that it wasn’t good, quite the opposite actually. That was exactly the kind of undisciplined thing Duncan needed to spice up his life.
Shannon had taken a little longer than expected and needed to get back to work, but Duncan had been such a grouch recently he was making everybody foul.
As she turned to head down Quebec Street toward the office, she realized there was a car following her very closely. The road was busy—it was lunchtime, after all—but they should have been able to leave a little room. Turning her right blinker on she merged over into a turn lane. She could circle through a lot and just let him pass.
When she glanced up into the rearview mirror to watch him pass, she was startled to see the car directly in her rear window. What the hell?
For a moment, icy fear trickled down her spine, flashes of being kidnapped from her home ripping through her mind. No, she wouldn’t go there.
The dark car behind her suddenly accelerated forward and Shannon’s head snapped back as her car lurched. They were heading into a construction area, so there wasn’t as much traffic. She glanced at her center console, and her cell phone she had plugged in there. Should she try to call John?
The car smashed into her again and Shannon cried out, clutching the steering wheel in her hands. This time, the driver of the car behind her didn’t let up, and Shannon found herself being forced up over a curb and into a grassy area. The only advantage she apparently had was that her Explorer was bigger than the crossover vehicle bashing into her. Hitting her brakes, she guided her car into a loop and tried to see into the car behind her. There was a man behind the wheel with dark hair, but she couldn’t make out his features.
Heart pounding she scanned the area, looking for police or a security car or something, but as always they were never around when needed. Her car lurched as it was struck again, and this time she couldn’t keep the grip on the steering wheel. The front wheel of her truck bounced into a hole, then against something unmoving. Shannon’s head bounced against the steering wheel hard enough to knock her out.
* * *
Aiden slammed on his brakes behind the woman’s vehicle. It sat oddly, one wheel up over a mound of snow-covered dirt. The vehicle that attacked her had spun away and raced down the street. Aiden was faced with rescuing the woman or chasing down the mercenary who’d been watching them all these months, just waiting to draw Aiden out. This was his chance to finally catch the bastard, but Aiden was more concerned about Shannon.
It was his fault she was in this position.
Cursing a blue streak, he headed to the vehicle with the woman behind the wheel. She was slumped over, blood leaking from a cut on her temple. Even as she watched she began to rouse, one hand going to the cut on her head.
“You need to stay still,” he told her softly. Reaching past her he grabbed her phone. The damn thing wasn’t even locked—what kind of security was that?—and paged through her contacts.
John Palmer came up as her primary contact. Pressing the dial button he waited patiently, then held it to her ear when the line connected. The woman straightened even more when she heard her fiancé’s voice.
“John? Hey, babe, not to stress you out or anything but I think you need to come get me. I’ve had a bit of an accident.”
At that point she looked up at Aiden and he saw the fear slam through her. He held up his hands in the palm up, ‘I’m not going to hurt you’ pose and she seemed to relax. “No,” she murmured into the phone. “There’s a guy here with me. I’m fine. Just shook up.”
She glanced up into the rearview mirror, grimacing when she saw the blood. “Yes, babe, please just come get me and we’ll talk about it. I’m in the construction lot behind the Lowes on Quebec Street. I love you.”
She dropped the phone back into the center console and rested her head back against the headrest, then she rocked it to look at him. “Thank you so much for stopping. You didn’t get that license plate by chance, did you?”
Aiden shook his head. The plate had been removed. “There was no plate on the back.”
She frowned, spreading her hand over her eyes. “What the hell?
He glanced up the street, wondering how long he had to get out of here. It took approximately seven minutes to get to the LNF offices from here. Probably only five for the men coming now. They would break every law they could to get to Palmer’s w
oman.
Shannon made a move to get out of the car, but he forestalled her. “Why don’t you wait? I called an EMT squad when I pulled up. They should be here any minute.”
As if in answer to his words, they heard the wail of a siren. Shannon grimaced. “I don’t think I’m hurt that badly. If anything, my fiancé can drive me.”
“I think to be safe you should let the squad haul you. You’d rather be safe than sorry, right?”
She nodded her head, then grabbed it with a hand. “Oh, that hurts,” she moaned.
Aiden didn’t think she’d hit too hard. The front of the car seemed fine mechanically, other than being stuck on the dirty snow hill. He wanted to go to the back, though, and look at the damage the other car had done.
No, he would wait here with her, protect her in case LeBoutin returned. There was nothing else to do.
The ambulance arrived and he told them what happened. He got a shock, though, when Shannon advised them she was pregnant. He had to stop and stare, the stakes suddenly much higher. The ambulance personnel immediately began to bundle her onto the stretcher. Before she could notice he was missing, Aiden had taken off.
The old truck started with a rumble, but leapt to life as he pressed the accelerator, going in the same direction as the other car. It had been dark gray or charcoal and had left visible damage to the back of her Ford. The bumper was partially ripped off and the lift gate crunched. Aiden hoped John and his men would have a little luck tracking the guy down, but he knew they wouldn’t. Shannon’s aggressor had been too good. He’d waited until she was frazzled and in a worried state before taking action, and he’d almost lost control jouncing through that field. But the man had done exactly what he’d planned to do—he’d drawn John Palmer out into the open.
* * *
John raced out of the office building, Chad right on his heels. As soon as he reached the parking lot he pressed the remote to unlock the truck and engaged the lift, as well as the remote start. The wheels of the wheelchair skidded sideways on a patch of ice, but he controlled it and kept going, weaving through the other cars in the lot. Shannon’s normal parking space right in front of John’s was conspicuously empty. Chad jumped into the passenger side and snapped on his seatbelt as John was lifted into place by the hydraulic. He slammed the end of the seatbelt into the latch and shifted the truck into gear.
