by A. M. Mahler
Eighteen
ERIC WALKED UP to the reception desk at Grayson Falls Hospital. It was an old Victorian building, and the inside had been renovated to accommodate observation rooms, an emergency room, a reception area, an office, and several patient rooms on the top two floors. He figured, at full capacity, it probably held twelve or fifteen patients. He imagined that anything that was real bad probably got transported or flown out to bigger medical centers. This operation, however, seemed like it could handle most of the bumps, bruises, and scrapes the good people of Grayson Falls got themselves into.
Nurse Ratchet was sitting behind the reception desk today. Nevertheless, Eric confidently made his way up to her, Emma’s little hand clutched in his.
“I’m here to see Jackie,” he announced. “She’s expecting me.”
“If you’re here on a social visit, you’re going to have to wait a spell. The doctor doesn’t go on break for another two hours at lunch time.”
“Isn’t she your boss?” he asked, arching a brow and instantly landing himself on the nurse’s bad side.
“I run an efficient hospital with strict rules, sir. Come back in two hours.”
“This isn’t really a social call,” he said quickly. “She told me to come by this morning and she’d give my daughter a physical.”
The nurse looked skeptical but handed him a clipboard full of papers.
“Fill these out and bring them back. I’ll go see what her schedule is like this morning.”
As she walked away, he glanced down at Emma. “I don’t think she likes me much, baby girl.”
“She doesn’t really like anybody,” a soft voice said from behind him.
Eric turned around, and looking back at him was a petite, brown-haired, blue-eyed beauty with wide doe eyes. She looked both terrified and intrigued to see him.
“Are you Eric Davis?”
“I am,” Eric confirmed, noticing she was dressed in scrubs.
“I’m Natalie, Dr. Reilly’s nurse today. I’m to bring you back and get you started.”
“I haven’t filled out all of Nurse Ratchet’s paperwork yet, though,” Eric grinned.
“That’s okay,” she replied. “You can work on it while you wait for the doctor.”
He nodded, noting that Natalie hadn’t grinned at his quip. He hoped he hadn’t offended her with the Nurse Ratchet comment.
“Up, Daddy! Up!” Emma called, raising her arms.
He instantly bent over and tossed his daughter onto his shoulders. When she squealed in delight, Eric finally saw a grin from Natalie. He followed along behind her, checking out her curves the best he could through her scrubs. She looked like she had a tight little body. She wasn’t the type of woman he usually went for, but oddly enough, that didn’t seem to bother him.
“All right, come on in here,” she directed, leading him into an exam room and closing the door. She stood at a computer and began typing in information. “Patient’s full name?”
“Emma Grace Davis,” Eric replied, then gave her birth date.
“Medical history?”
“Beats me,” he shrugged, as Emma clung to his chest and looked around the room suspiciously.
“I’m sorry,” Natalie said looking up. “I thought you were a parent? If you’re not, we’ll need an authorization form signed by her parent or guardian to treat her.”
“I am her father,” he assured her. “But I just got her last week.”
“Oh. Is she adopted?”
“No, she’s not.” He covered Emma’s ears and lowered his voice. “Her mother not only didn’t tell me she was pregnant but failed to mention I had a daughter at all until she dropped her on my doorstep last week. We had a DNA test done, and she’s definitely mine. I don’t know her mother’s family history or Emma’s medical situation. I have no idea if she’s allergic to anything, if she’s had any major infections, or whether or not she’s ever been vaccinated for anything. My money is on no. All I can say is that I’ve found no surgical scars on her.”
“Oh,” Natalie said slowly. “That’s so good of you to step up for her. Not many men would do that.”
“Any man that’s not a complete piece of shit would,” he responded.
Natalie blinked a few times, then immediately turned back to her computer monitor.
He swore under his breath. “Listen, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be such a jerk about it. The whole situation is a little overwhelming. Her mother didn’t leave anything for her. I know shit about kids, so I’ve had to just figure it out for myself. It’s been a rough week. All I know is, in the past seven days, this little girl has become my life. I had to change her name because the name her mother gave her was ridiculous, and I still have to find a store where I can get her more clothes and toys and whatever. I don’t know what you need for that form. Sorry.”
Natalie paused, amazed at the outburst of emotion from this man. She was a quiet, shy girl. Her last boyfriend had been verbally abusive to her, completely annihilating any shred of self-confidence she had. In her life, she had slept with exactly two men, and neither had anything too complimentary to say to her afterward. Now, here was another man who seemed larger than life to her, mad at pretty much everything, and yet, the gentle way he held his daughter and swung her up onto his shoulders fascinated her.
“Well, um, let’s start with your address,” Natalie said.
“Right now, I’m staying with the good doctor, but I’m looking to rent a place here for a little while.”
“So, you don’t live here?”
“This is a small town,” he smiled. “I think you knew when I walked in here that I didn’t live here.”
She blushed and looked back at her computer screen.
“I live in Manhattan.”
“Profession?”
“I’m a police officer with NYPD, but I’m currently on a six-month paternity leave.”
She turned to him in surprise again. She knew she was gaping at him, but she just couldn’t help it.
“What?”
“Okay, this might be a little unprofessional, but can I just say I really admire what you’re doing? In my experience with men, usually they wouldn’t put forth this kind of effort in your situation, so what you’re doing is really admirable. If you want, I’d be happy to take you to the Target in Waterford when my shift is done and help you get what you need.”
Eric stared at her silently until she blushed again. One minute she looked like she was terrified, the next she was touting him as some kind of hero. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was going to take her up on her Target offer—for a variety of reasons. And just when had he started becoming desperate for a trip to Target?
“That sounds great,” he said slowly, just as the exam room door opened and Jackie appeared.
“I hear my favorite new friend is in here,” she said.
Emma threw her arms out toward Jackie and launched herself off Eric’s lap.
Jackie seemed oblivious to the way Natalie and Eric were staring at each other. She pulled her stethoscope from around her neck and plugged it into her ears.
“Okay, Emmy, love,” she smiled. “Let’s see what we’ve got here.”
“WELL, THAT WAS expensive,” Eric said as he buckled himself into his SUV in the Target parking lot.
“You did pretty well,” Natalie said, buckling into the passenger seat. Emma was safely in her car seat in the back, surrounded by everything her heart could desire. “Just wait until she wants designer clothes and electronics!”
“Oh, she’ll probably get them,” he replied. “She’s a cute kid, and I see myself saying yes a lot.”
“No!” Natalie said. “Please don’t spoil her. If you give her everything she asks for, then she’ll expect everyone else to as well. She also won’t know the value of hard work, and she won’t be able to appreciate other people’s hard work. She’s too sweet to become one of those plastic entitled women who think the world should fall at their feet.”
“But if her father treats her like she’s a smart woman who deserves to be treated like she’s the center of the world, then she’ll have high expectations for a husband and won’t end up with some dickhead.”
“I guess that’s a valid point,” Natalie conceded. “But that could backfire, too.”
“Well, I’ve got tons of books that are going to tell me what to do, so I guess I’ll read up on it.”
He pulled a device out of his center console and mounted it to his dashboard.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a jammer,” he replied. “Anyone trying to listen in to what we’re saying in the car just got a lot of static.”
“Why would you need that?”
“Because I have some questions for you, Sarah.”
“Who?”
He had to admit that she did a good job of playing confused, but some of the color drained from her face and her hand clutched the door handle.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he assured her. “And I’m not going to tell anyone who you are, but I know you’re Sarah Currie. You’re Jackie Reilly and Ryan Willis’ older sister. I know you were put into witness protection after witnessing an assassination by a drug cartel. What I don’t know is what you’re trying to accomplish by coming here.”
“Look, I don’t know who you are—” She tried for indignation, but he cut her off.
“I’m Eric Davis. I’m on paternity leave from the NYPD. I’m former Army counterintelligence, and occasionally, on the side, I—well, let’s just say if the price is right, I do a little moonlighting.”
“Is that even your kid?”
“Yes. I haven’t lied to you,” he said calmly. “I was hired by Danny McKenzie to look into Daisy Dolan’s background. He and Ryan are investigating the death of Jimmy Reilly. So, tell me: Why did you come to them?”
Natalie’s eyes darted all around the car.
He knew she was looking for an avenue of escape, so he reached over and gently squeezed her hand. “I’m really not going to hurt you,” he said again. “And I’m not going to blow your cover. Why did you come to them?”
“I don’t know.” Her voice was shaky and quiet. “I didn’t even know about them until I was being processed in WITSEC. I just wanted to know them. I wasn’t even sure I was going to stay, but I like them. Actually, I love them now. I’ve never had family. My father was drunk and abusive. I’d go days without eating, and I was in and out of foster care. I guess I just wanted to know what it was like to have family, even if that family didn’t know we were related.”
“Okay. I believe you.”
“I can’t stay here now, though,” she said in a panic. “If you’ve discovered my whereabouts, others can, too. I knew witness protection wasn’t going to be any better than going on my own.”
“It is,” he assured her. “And you are safe here; I promise. I can’t tell you how I found out about you, but there is no reason to believe the system is compromised. And you’re better off here because I can protect you. Danny can also protect you. He’ll do it because you work for Jackie. Your secret is safe with me unless you decide to tell them who you really are. Don’t take off, Natalie, if for no other reason than you’ve already proven to be an invaluable resource for me and Emma.”
“How do I know I can trust you?”
“You don’t,” he said. “But Danny and Jackie trust me. Danny and I served together. I carried his ass out of combat when he was shot. And I stayed with him when he was shot again recently. I’ve got his back, and he’s got mine. I just found myself to be a father, and this is where I came to work things out. You wanted to know what family looks like? It comes in all forms, and it looks like this. Let me ensure you’ve got all the safety precautions in place.”
“The Marshals Service supposedly took care of all that. They said no one in witness protection has ever been killed before.”
“And you won’t be the first, I promise. You can keep your new life. I wouldn’t have even approached you about it, but I have to protect Jackie.”
Natalie sighed and looked out the front windshield into the darkness. “Sarah Currie didn’t have a criminal record. She left an abusive home at eighteen and never looked back. She worked her way through school. It took her six years to finish a nursing degree because she worked full-time on top of going to school. She was entirely self-sufficient, but she had two shitty relationships. She didn’t leave anyone behind that cared about her. She found out that she had five siblings by a mother she never knew. And she knew that she could never tell them.
“Natalie Shepherd doesn’t have a Facebook page or a Twitter account. I have an email account, but it’s only used to buy things on Amazon, and I don’t have any friends to communicate with right now. I didn’t get a library card or a newspaper subscription. I don’t look like Jackie at all, and not enough like Ryan for anyone to make a connection.”
“I know a thing or two about leading a double life,” he said as he pulled into the hospital parking lot to retrieve her car. “I won’t come after you if you decide to skip town, but Jackie’s always going to wonder and worry about what happened to you. She’s just like that. Stay, and you have protection. Do you work tomorrow?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll be by in the morning to check out your setup and make sure it’s secure. Stick around, Natalie. I promise you won’t regret it.”
She just shook her head and got out of the car.
He watched as she looked all around her before getting into her own car. He knew about going through life looking over your shoulder. He’d told Danny that he’d come up here to figure things out, but the truth was, he already had. He knew he’d have to make a permanent move; he had a kid to worry about now.
Strangers stuck out more in small towns than they did in big cities. Here, he had resources. He thought he might be able to convince his sister to move up here, but he didn’t want to broach that subject yet. She was a writer, and she could do that from anywhere. He didn’t like the idea of her being so far away in New York. He was like Ryan in that way. He wanted to keep his family close.
He found himself wanting to keep Natalie close as well, but he’d think about that another time. One thing was for sure. Big changes were coming.
Nineteen
NATALIE LOOKED AROUND her house with a heavy heart. She liked Grayson Falls. No, she loved it here. She didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want to spend her life on the run. True, the town hadn’t been one of the options on WITSEC’s list to choose from, but she’d convinced them that it would be just as safe here as any of their other choices. After a thorough investigation, they had agreed. However, they impressed upon her the importance of not telling her long-lost family who she was, and she had accepted that. She wasn’t sure if Jackie and Ryan would be accepting of her as a sister, anyway. At least as a friend and coworker, she could still know them. She just hadn’t anticipated an investigation into their shared mother.
She had no memory of Daisy Dolan at all. Apparently, she’d left her father not long after Natalie was born. Her father had no other children. When Daisy left, Natalie and her father had moved in with her grandmother to save on expenses. Her grandmother wasn’t much better than her father, however, and Natalie had landed in and out of foster care.
Why her father never just let her go was always a mystery to her. He never missed an opportunity to remind her that she was a burden and that she came from an unstable mother who didn’t want her. Despite Natalie’s many pleas to social services and judges, she kept having to go back to her father. He always seemed to clean up his act and show some feeling toward her at the last minute. But inevitably, it wouldn’t last long, and the whole cycle would start again.
She had worked hard in college and didn’t make much time for friends. When she wasn’t working, she was in class or studying. She didn’t have time for parties. After college, the two men she had dated ended up just like her father—and one was even physically abusive. After that secon
d relationship, Natalie figured she just wasn’t a good judge of men.
She escaped by signing up as a relief worker in South America. That was when she’d witnessed the murder committed by Juan Espinoza, a drug kingpin the U.S. Marshals Service was investigating and working to bring down. She’d doubted their ability to keep her safe during the trial, but they had. The price on Natalie’s head was high, yet they had smuggled her into the courthouse three days before the trial started and kept her under constant guard. Despite testifying from behind a screen, a long-distance image of her was captured by a reporter outside the courthouse. It was a little blurry, but it had enough to form a physical description of her.
When the Marshals Service presented her with witness protection, she was too scared not to accept. She was given all new paperwork, a social security number, a birth certificate, a passport, and a driver’s license. She also had a new backstory for her life.
She was now Natalie Shepherd, from Reading, Pennsylvania. The Marshals Service even went so far as to keep her in Reading for six months, so she could explore the town and area and be able to speak with authority about it if anyone asked about her background.
She also had new parents—fictional ones, of course—Douglas and Carol Shepherd. Dad was a lawyer and Mom a kindergarten teacher. If anyone asked why she never visited them, she would say that they died in a car crash a few years ago.
When she’d agreed to witness protection, she’d been taken back to her apartment immediately and permitted to pack just one suitcase. Deciding what possessions were most important to her wasn’t easy. In the end, she just brought the clothes and toiletries she would need to get by for a bit. The rest of her belongings were packed up. Anything that could identify her from her previous life was destroyed, but everything else eventually made its way to her in Grayson Falls.
She’d received a stipend from the Marshals Service to help her pay for housing, a car, and other expenses until she found a job. She was prepared to drive to a hospital in a bigger town for work, but as luck would have it, a position at Grayson Falls Hospital had opened up. She’d get better pay at a bigger hospital, but she didn’t have many expenses, so she decided to stay close to her new home.
