Guarding His Fake Family

by Knight, Katie

  “I’m sorry,” he said, hugging her tighter.

  “It’s okay. I mean, I wasn’t abused or anything. And Mike was there, but it just wasn’t the same. I always knew her career came first, and that made me feel…small. And unimportant.” She buried her face in his chest. “What if I do the same thing to our child? What if I can’t balance my career and being a mom? What if I try my best and it’s not good enough?”

  Simon kissed the top of her head again and whispered, “We’ll be good enough because we’ve got each other for support. We’re a team, remember? We’ve gotten this far together through this scary situation, right? I’ve got your back, Alisha. You’re not alone.”

  She didn’t say anything for a long moment, and he lived and died in those few seconds. Then, finally, Alisha rose up on one elbow to peer down at him. “Thank you. And know that I’ve got your back too, Simon. Always.”

  Fifteen

  The next morning, Alisha felt happier than she had in a long time. Especially when she awoke to the delicious smells of freshly brewed coffee and bacon. She got up, got ready, then headed downstairs to find Simon busy at the stove in the kitchen, making breakfast. Amy was in her high chair already, happily playing with a pair of spoons she was banging on the tray of the high chair.

  Alisha yawned and went over to wrap her arms around Simon’s waist from behind, rising on tiptoes to kiss the side of his neck, then resting her chin on his shoulder while peering down into the pan of scrambled eggs he was making. “Good morning. Sorry I overslept.”

  “Morning.” He turned his head to give her a quick kiss, then returned his attention to his cooking. “And don’t apologize at all. You need your rest, with the baby and all. Besides, Amy and I have had a fine old time, just the two of us. Haven’t we, Amy?”

  The baby gave a tiny squeal of joy from behind them and Alisha grinned. He really was a natural when it came to fatherhood. Maybe some of that would rub off on her in time. A good team, indeed.

  “Anything I can help with?” she asked, letting him go to pour herself a cup of coffee.

  Simon dished up the eggs into a serving bowl nearby and set the empty pan in the sink. “You can help me carry this stuff outside. There’s a nice table and chairs on the patio under the pergola and it’s all fenced in, so we don’t have to worry about anyone seeing us.”

  “Won’t they hear us?” Alisha asked.

  “I doubt we’ll be noisy enough to be heard all the way across the street,” Simon replied. “And the house right next door seems empty—I’ve been doing regular perimeter checks, and there’s no sign that anyone’s there. I think they’re out of town. So we can enjoy the backyard as much as we want.”

  “Sounds awesome!” She set her coffee mug aside to grab plates and silverware and napkins, then headed out on to the patio to set the table. It was a bright sunny morning, with blue skies for miles and a slight breeze to offset the warmer temperatures. Perfect, basically. She smiled as she set out the stuff, then walked back in to help Simon carry the food. Once they were all set up and he’d moved Amy’s high chair outside, they sat down to eat. Alisha filled her plate laid her napkin across her lap. “Has the baby been fed already?”

  “Yep,” Simon answered around a bite of eggs. “She woke me up about five, so I got her bottle, changed her diaper, and then got her dressed before doing the same for myself. Well, minus the bottle and diaper.”

  Alisha laughed. “Glad you added that.” She bit off a piece of bacon, loving the salty flavour of it. “This all tastes great. Thanks for cooking breakfast.”

  “My pleasure. I like to cook, especially when it’s for more than just me.”

  “Well, that makes one of us, then.” She winked. “What’s on our agenda today?”

  “We need to figure out where the Andronettos have taken Amy’s dad. Don’t we, sweetie?” he said, reaching over to gently pinch one of the baby’s chubby cheeks before returning to his meal. “The clock’s ticking and the longer they have him, the lower his chance of survival.”

  “Agreed.” Alisha helped herself to more eggs and took another sip of coffee.

  “After we’re done eating, I’m going to call Rick—my friend in private security,” Simon said, over the rim of his own mug. “He’s got some trustworthy contacts on the local police force, including a brother-in-law who should be able to tell us who’s been investigating cases related to the Andronetto brothers.”

  “You think the cops on the case are covering things up?”

  “I do. Or at least keeping things quiet. Hopefully with a little digging, we can get a clearer picture of the parties involved and who we can and can’t trust.”

  Alisha nodded, swallowing her last bite of toast. “Sounds like a plan. I can check with my sources as well and see if any of them can give us clues as to Thomas Warren’s whereabouts.”

  “Good.”

  Little Amy squealed again, growing more restless in her high chair. Simon started to get up, but Alisha stopped him. After their conversation last night, she was feeling a bit braver. “I’ll get her.”

  “Are you sure?” Simon sounded about as shocked as Alisha felt, but yeah. She could do this.

  “I am.” She set her napkin on the table, then picked the baby up out of her high chair and carried her over to a nearby swing set. She took a seat in one of the swings and slowly pushed them back and forth with her feet, remembering that babies liked to rock. Amy curled up against her and was soon sleeping on her shoulder. The warm, cuddly weight felt nice, way nicer than she’d expected. Alisha closed her eyes and just enjoyed the moment. Well, at least until a sharp twinge of pain shot through her abdomen. Her eyes flew open and panic flooded her system. “Uh, Simon?”

  “Yeah?” he called from the patio, where he was cleaning up their dishes. “What’s wr…?”

  His voice tapered off as he turned toward Alisha. Her alarm must have shown in her face, because as soon as their eyes met, he dropped the dishes in his hands back onto the table with a clatter and rushed over to her. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know.” Another cramp struck, this one stronger and shooting down her lower back and legs, like menstrual cramps but worse.

  No. No, no, no.

  “The baby—I think…I need to get to the bathroom,” she said, handing Amy over to him before running for the house.

  * * *

  Simon carried the baby in after Alisha, doing his best to stay calm so he didn’t upset little Amy, even though he felt sick with worry. He put her in the makeshift playpen they’d constructed by arranging an end table to block off some space in front of the sectional couch, then rushed to the guest bath in the hall where Alisha was inside with the door closed. He knocked softly, his heart in his throat. “Alisha, honey. Is everything okay?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, the fear in her voice driving his own anxiety through the roof. “I’m cramping, and there’s blood. Not a lot, but some. Oh, God. Simon…”

  She sounded scared. And while he hadn’t known her that long, Simon had never known Alisha to sound that terrified before, not even when bullets were flying toward her. An odd mix of fear and a sense of failure filled his chest. He was supposed to protect Alisha and the baby—but in this moment, there was nothing he could do, especially through a closed door.

  “Can I come in?” he asked, his forehead pressed against the wood.

  Slowly, the door creaked open to reveal an ashen-faced Alisha sitting on the toilet. There were a few crimson splotches on her underwear that he could see, but his main focus was on the woman with the huge dark eyes staring back at him with a silent plea for help.

  “Okay,” he said, crouching beside her and cupping her cheeks. “This is going to be okay. Whatever happens.” He stroked his thumbs over her cheekbones, keeping eye contact and his words soft and soothing. “We’re a team, remember? How are you feeling now? Still cramping?”

  “Some,” she said, her voice quavering. His own stomach lurched at that. “Not as bad as be
fore, though.”

  “Good. All right.” He stood and helped her up, waiting while she cleaned up and fastened her jeans before flushing the toilet and washing her hands. “Maybe you should lie down for a while?”

  Alisha nodded, more subdued than he’d ever seen her. He held her hand as they went upstairs to the bedroom, him checking on Amy before returning to sit on the bed beside Alisha. “I’ll check on you again in half an hour. If you still have cramps and spotting, we should probably call a doctor.”

  “But we’re supposed to be in hiding,” she said, her tone fragile. “I can’t go to a clinic. Someone might see us.” She shook her head. “And what about Amy? She’d have to come with us and if the Andronettos or their thugs find us…” Alisha covered her face with her hands. “Dammit. No. We can’t endanger Amy’s life like that.”

  What she said made sense, but what choice did they have? If Alisha and their baby needed medical care, then that was what they were going to get. “Let’s see how you feel in a little while and go from there, okay?”

  A few tense seconds passed before Alisha nodded.

  “All right.” He got up and made sure she was comfortable before walking back to the door. “I’m going downstairs with Amy. If you need anything at all, call me. Understand?”

  She nodded again before rolling over, away from him.

  Simon went back down to the kitchen to finish cleaning up from breakfast. His mind raced while he worked. What if she lost their baby? No. He couldn’t let that happen. Regardless of the danger, they needed to see a doctor. Make sure there wasn’t anything seriously wrong. Screw the Andronettos and their goons. If they showed up, Simon would deal with them. Period. End of story.

  Thirty minutes later, Simon had Amy ready to go and the diaper bag packed, just in case. He went back upstairs to find Alisha sitting on the edge of the bed, looking even more scared. He didn’t ask this time, he just helped her up and headed for the door. “We’re going to the ER. Now.”

  Sixteen

  “And when did the cramping start?” a nurse at the hospital asked a long while later. Too long, in Simon’s opinion. It felt like they’d been waiting forever, and he was so on edge that he thought he’d vibrate out of his skin. It was funny, since he’d always been the cool head on his SEAL team, the go-to guy in a crisis. But when it came to the welfare of his own child, calmness went right out the door.

  “About two hours ago,” Alisha said, glancing Simon’s way. For her part, she seemed to be handling this a lot better than he was, though she kept a tight hold on his free hand. “There was some blood too.”

  “Okay. Try not to worry too much. It’s not uncommon to have some bleeding this early in pregnancy,” the nurse said, smiling reassuringly and glancing from Alisha to Simon and then Amy. “The tech should be in shortly to do an ultrasound, along with the doctor. Your husband can stay in the room, if you like. And your daughter is adorable.”

  Simon started to say they weren’t married, but Alisha gave his fingers a bone-crushing squeeze to shut him up. “Thank you. We appreciate you getting us in unscheduled.”

  “Of course. And I’ll make sure your regular OB/GYN is notified as well.”

  “Thanks,” Alisha said again as the nurse left, then turned to Simon. “Only family is allowed back here with the patients, so let them think you’re my husband. And we don’t want them to know Amy’s not ours, right?”

  “Right.” Simon knew that. Frankly, he should have thought of that before Alisha did, but his rational brain had gone on the fritz the minute Alisha had rushed from the backyard with that first cramp. God, he hated being this scared and helpless. But Alisha, Amy, and the unborn baby were depending on him to be strong and he refused to let any of them down. They trusted him, and fuck if that didn’t feel like the most precious thing in the world at the moment. Thankfully, the tech bustled in moments later with an ultrasound machine, followed by an ER physician who introduced herself as Doctor Cho.

  “Let’s see if we can’t put your minds at rest, folks,” Doctor Cho said, checking Alisha’s vitals again and doing a brief abdominal exam before having Alisha lie back and put her feet in the stirrups. “And now for a quick pelvic exam before the ultrasound.” The doctor flashed Simon a brief smile. “How long have you been married?”

  “A year,” he said, shooting Alisha a quick look. “Right after we found out about baby Amy.”

  “She’s so cute,” Doctor Cho said, finishing her exam and snapping off her gloves before moving out of the way for the tech. “Well, everything checks out okay on the exam. Let’s see what the ultrasound shows.”

  Simon swallowed hard and pressed closer to Alisha’s side, wishing he could take this burden away from her, but wanting her to know he’d stand by her no matter what.

  I’ve got your back too, Simon. Always.

  The words she’d said last night meant more to him than he could say. He wouldn’t let her down. Not now. Not ever.

  The pelvic ultrasound began, but Simon couldn’t tell anything from the fuzzy images on the screen. The doctor and the tech discussed things in hushed tones, pointing at the screen, but he couldn’t follow anything they said until finally, Doctor Cho turned to grin at him.

  She pointed at a tiny, peanut-sized dot on the monitor. “See that?”

  He nodded and swallowed hard against the lump in his throat.

  “That’s your baby. Safe and sound.”

  Alisha’s shaky fingers clutched his tightly and tears welled in her eyes. Simon’s pulse thundered loudly in his ears and his chest ached from holding his breath. He let it out in a whoosh and gave Alisha a tremulous smile. “Our baby.”

  “Yeah. Our baby,” Alisha echoed, her words drenched in wonder and her gaze locked on the screen. “Everything’s okay, doctor?”

  “Everything’s great.” Doctor Cho had the tech take some measurements and print out a few pictures to show to Simon and Alisha. “It’s hard to see at this point, but there’s the baby’s heart beating and from the measurements, everything’s moving along as it should at this point. Your exam was normal too. Just keep an eye out and take it easy. If you have any more cramping or see any more fresh blood or spotting, come back to the ER. Otherwise, keep your regularly scheduled OB appointment.”

  “Thank you, Doctor Cho,” Alisha said. There were tears in her eyes again, but this time they were happy ones.

  Simon felt pretty choked up himself at the moment, tearing his eyes away from the first picture of their kid to shake Doctor Cho’s hand. “Yes, thank you so much!”

  “My pleasure,” Doctor Cho said, heading out of the exam room. “Go ahead and get dressed while I get your discharge paperwork ready. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Alone again, Simon couldn’t resist leaning over and kissing Alisha again. “Man, I’m so glad everything’s okay.”

  “Me too.” Alisha sat up and began pulling on her pants beneath the paper gown draped over her lap, while Simon bounced a fussy Amy in his arms. “But this has made it clear that I need to find a regular OB ASAP. I didn’t tell them I haven’t seen one yet. I did that first pregnancy test on my own.”

  “We’ll get one set up when we get home.” His mind snagged briefly on the word “home” before moving on. The house where they were staying wasn’t really home, but it kind of seemed like it. It would do for now, anyway.

  Once Alisha was dressed, they went out into the hall to handle the paperwork and checkout before finally returning to their car in the parking garage. It was hard to believe that only two and a half hours ago, they’d been calmly having breakfast, talking about the case.

  Simon unlocked the door using his key fob, then got Amy into the car seat in the back before sliding in behind the wheel. What a day. And he hadn’t even had a chance to call Rick yet. He started the engine and shifted into reverse, checking the rear view mirror before backing out, then stopped short, his heartbeat tripping.

  A dark figure stood just behind the next row of cars, watching them.r />
  He whipped around to look again over his shoulder, but the watcher was gone.

  “What is it?” Alisha asked, shifting slightly to look behind them as well. “Is someone there?”

  “Uh.” He looked from the parking garage to her tired face and back again. Maybe he’d imagined it. Lord knew they’d both been through some shit the past few hours. Fear did funny things, including skewing your perceptions. He didn’t want to worry Alisha any more than she already was, not when he wasn’t entirely sure what he’d seen. He checked the rear-view mirror one more time, then started to back out of their spot. The coast was clear now, and that was what was important. If he still had a bad niggle in his gut that something wasn’t right, he’d deal with that himself. Still, he’d take the long way back to the house, just in case. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Let’s get you, Amy, and the peanut home, huh?”

  * * *

  Alisha put Amy down for a nap after they got back to the house, then went downstairs to the kitchen where Simon was making them some lunch. As she sat at the table, she took a deep breath and stock of everything that had happened. Physically, she felt much better. Mentally, she was still a mess.

  It was odd. Up until today, she’d not been sure about keeping the baby after it was born, but now this strange possessiveness had taken hold and Alisha didn’t know what to do with that. Maybe it was seeing the little peanut swimming around inside her on the ultrasound screen. Maybe it was the intense connection she and Simon had shared in that room, hearts in their throats and emotions raw. Whatever it was, the pregnancy felt way too real now.

  She sighed and rubbed her hands over her face. Then again, maybe she was reading these signs all wrong. Maybe they were pointing to the fact that she wasn’t ready. The best choice for the baby would be taking it easy, resting, recharging. But that wasn’t possible while she was on this story—sprinting around Seattle, hiding out in houses that didn’t belong to her, investigating dangerous criminals. Maybe this was a wakeup call to remind her that those two lifestyles didn’t make sense together.