Heaven's Embrace

by ERIN BEDFORD

  “Almost twenty-five weeks.” He gave a small smile, his eyes starting to water. “We were going to find out the sex of the baby this week.”

  “It’s okay, I’m sure she’s fine.” I patted him on the back, while Mandy finished calling in the lookout for Clarissa.

  “Is there anywhere else you think she might have gone?” O’Connor asked, shifting uncomfortably. Apparently, babies were not his thing or maybe it was the crying man in my arms.

  Dr. Marshall shook his head. “She’s been on bed rest. She wouldn’t leave unless she had to.”

  Or forced to. A thought came to my mind.

  “The parents,” I suddenly said. “She’s with her parents.”

  “What?” Mandy asked, putting her walkie up. “Why would you think that?”

  “Well,” I started and then pointed to the bag that was hidden beneath the coffee table. “She left her purse. Why would she do that? Even if she went to the hospital, most women would bring it with them.”

  Looking to Dr. Marshall, O’Connor asked, “Do her parents know where you live?”

  Dr. Marshall shook his head. “Not that I know of. Not unless Clarissa contacted them, which she told me she wouldn’t do until the baby was born.”

  “Maybe she had a change of heart?” Mandy offered up, and we all exchanged a look. If Clarissa had told her parents where she was, they wouldn’t have been happy with her based on their previous treatment of her. Not for any reason. It was possible they had taken her home, even against her will.

  “Let’s go.” O’Connor stomped toward the door a determined look on his face. “If she’s a high risk as you say, then I have a feeling she’s not going to be pregnant for very long.”

  We barreled out of the house and jumped into Mandy’s car. I left my car at the doctor’s house in favor of the police escort. We sped through the streets, the siren attached to the top of Mandy’s car ringing our presence. People moved their vehicles out of our ways so quickly, it only took a few minutes to get back to the gated community.

  “I need to get one of those.” I gaped at the little red light attached to the top of the car. “It could really cut down on my commute time.”

  “I will arrest you if I see you with one.” O’Connor snapped as we started up the Granes’ yard. A crash from inside turned our speed walk into a sprint. We burst through the door and immediately heard the yelling.

  “You can’t keep me here,” a voice I didn’t recognize yelled from upstairs. “I’m a grown woman. I have rights.”

  “Clarissa, calm down. We are only trying to help you.” Mrs. Granes said as we started up the stairs.

  Dr. Marshall got there before we did, proving how much he cared for her. “Let her go!”

  We crowded in around the landing. The sounds were coming from Clarissa’s bedroom. Rushing over to the door, I found the pretty blonde girl from the photo Mandy laying on her bed. You could clearly see her baby bump in the thin nightgown she wore, even as she fought against her parents as they tried to tie her down to her bed.

  Dr. Marshall yelled her name again, and they glanced up from Clarissa.

  Mr. Granes’ face reddened, and he pointed a finger at the doctor. “You, you did this. Taking advantage of our poor daughter this way. How dare you show your face here!” He started toward the doctor, and O’Connor had the good sense to step in front of him. Mr. Granes tried to get around the detective but couldn’t. Instead, he demanded, “Detective, arrest this man. He kidnapped our daughter and put that abomination in her.”

  O’Connor crossed his arms over his chest. “As far as I’m concerned, this man has done nothing wrong. It’s you and your wife who have some explaining to do. Starting with why you are restraining a pregnant woman, who is clearly in distress.”

  Mandy and I rushed into the room once O’Connor had Mr. Granes out of the way. Mrs. Granes tried to stop us, an anxious look on her face. “You can’t take her. She needs to be here. With her father and me. We are the only ones who can take care of her.”

  I got in her face, making her back up a step. “She’s a grown adult who can make her own choices. She might have some problems, but it seems to be that the biggest problem she has is you. Now, move before I make you move.”

  Mrs. Granes did the smart thing and moved out of the way. She hurried over to her husband who was still yelling at O’Connor. Mandy and I untied Clarissa and helped her up. Suddenly, Clarissa doubled over, crying out in pain. Water spewed from her and coated my shoes.

  Forcing back a grimace, I shouted to Dr. Marshall, “Call the hospital now!”

  “Oh my god, my baby,” Clarissa gasped, grabbing her stomach.

  “It’s okay,” I hushed, rubbing her back and exchanging a look with Mandy. “We’re gonna get you some help.”

  Mandy helped me get her toward the bedroom door. O’Connor had put the dad in cuffs while the mother cried at his side. When Mrs. Granes tried to help us, I shrugged her off. “Haven’t you done enough?”

  After that, she dropped her hands, a look of shame covering her face. Good, she should be. I suddenly felt so thankful for my own mother. She might be quirky and a bit inappropriate at points, but she and dad would have never done anything like this to me.

  We slowly made our way down the stairs with Dr. Marshall close at our backs. I grabbed a set of keys off the table on our way out the door. “Are these your car keys?” I asked Mrs. Granes. When she nodded, I continued, “Good, you can start making up for your actions by driving us to the hospital.”

  Mrs. Granes took the keys and rushed to her sedan. Opening the back door, she watched as we loaded Clarissa in the back. O’Connor took the still enraged father in the back of Mandy’s vehicle. Mandy let Dr. Marshall replace her and got in the car with O’Connor. I slid into the front seat of Mrs. Granes’ car, twisting around to keep an eye on Clarissa.

  “Get going,” I told Mrs. Granes. “And don’t even think about going anywhere but the hospital.”

  Mrs. Granes started up the car, and we were on our way. We followed close behind Mandy and O’Connor as we sped toward the hospital. When we arrived, a nurse came out with a wheelchair and helped Dr. Marshall get Clarissa out of the car.

  I watched from the waiting room as they took Clarissa to the maternity ward, Mandy at my side. We took a seat in the hard chairs that always filled places like this. For a hospital, you’d think they would want you to feel comfortable waiting, but the literal pain-in-the-butt chairs said otherwise. It implied more of an if-you’re-not-dying-get-out kind of mentality. Like the dying didn’t want a nice soft seat to sit their butt on while they waited for the All Mighty. I glanced over at Mandy. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”

  Mandy patted my shoulder. “I don’t know. Babies aren’t my specialty. Maybe you should ask your guys to put in a special request to the big guy.”

  I gave her a look. “I don’t think it works that way.”

  “Can’t hurt to try.” She shrugged.

  “Where’d O’Connor go?” I glanced around the waiting room but didn’t see him or Mr. Granes in sight.

  “He went ahead to the precinct to book Mr. Granes. Mrs. Granes will be following shortly after. We have officers coming to take her in now.” Mandy nodded toward where Mrs. Granes had disappeared with her daughter before.

  “Can you even book them with anything?”

  “Well, lying to the police for one and impeding the investigation,” Mandy explained. “Holding their daughter against her will for another. I’m sure there are a few more things we can add on once Clarissa is fit to talk.”

  “You know what I don’t get?” I asked. “She’s only been missing for like a week. How did she hide her pregnancy from her parents this long?”

  Mandy shrugged. “It’s easier than you think. She’s a thin girl, she probably didn’t start showing until recently, and even that can be hidden by baggy clothes. How she kept calm in her condition though?” Mandy shook her head. “She must really want her baby.”

&nb
sp; “Yeah,” I mused. Some people were meant to be parents. Clarissa’s folks weren’t among them. I just hoped she would learn from her parent’s mistakes with her own child.

  We waited downstairs for what seemed like forever when Dr. Marshall finally came back down. Mandy and I jumped to our feet. When he saw us, he diverted from the hospital door to walk towards us.

  “How is she?” Mandy asked, a look of concern on her face.

  “Did the baby live?” I blurted out, earning me a chastising look from Mandy. What? I wanted to know.

  Dr. Marshall grinned, relief etched on his face. “She’s fine. The baby’s fine. While they had to put him in the NICU, the doctor says we shouldn’t have anything to worry about.”

  “So, it’s a boy?” I arched a brow.

  Nodding, Dr. Marshall seemed like he might burst at the seams with joy at any moment. “Yes, we’re calling him Michael.”

  I burst out laughing. Mandy hit me in the stomach with her elbow causing me to wince.

  Dr. Marshall raised a curious brow.

  “Ignore her,” Mandy reassured him. “Ex-boyfriend issues.”

  “I see.” Dr. Marshall adjusted his glasses. “Would you ladies like to see him? It was you who made this all possible after all.”

  Before Mandy could protest, I answered, “Of course!”

  Mandy glared at me behind Dr. Marshall’s back as he led us upstairs. See, Mandy had a thing about babies. She thought they were cute in theory, but she had a perpetual fear of holding them. Something about dropping them. Crazy, right? She handles guns every day and didn’t drop those. I thought keeping a hold of a baby would be a hell of a lot easier.

  We stopped in front of a window where they had several plastic-shielded basins. Inside were what I hoped were the babies.

  Leaning over toward Mandy, I whispered, “Why do they look like a bunch of wrinkly old men?”

  “Shh!” Mandy glanced toward Dr. Marshall, but he was too absorbed in looking at his baby boy to notice my comment.

  Baby Michael didn’t look much cuter than the rest of the babies, but I had to admit I still felt good to see the child safe and sound. Sure, I might have started out this little consulting job simply for money, but to know that I, well, the guys and I, had done some real good here …

  Mandy interrupted my goody-goody feelings by telling Dr. Marshall, “He’s adorable. Thank you for sharing him with us.”

  Nodding distractedly, he didn’t notice much when we snuck away. Out of view of the babies and their adoring parents, we sagged. Chuckling, I turned to Mandy. “Is it just me or were some of those babies verging on gorilla territory?”

  Mandy laughed and shoved me. “That’s not nice. They’re cute.”

  “To their parents maybe.” I sniffed. “My kid won’t be like that. She’ll have a perfectly rounded bald head and her poop will come out in perfect little cupcake-sized packages.”

  “You’re delusional.” Mandy rolled her eyes as we entered the waiting room once more.

  “So, what now?” I turned away from Mandy and back toward the hospital exit.

  “What do you mean?” Mandy raised an eyebrow at me.

  “We found Clarissa, saved the day, and arrested the bad guy. I get paid now, right?” I rubbed my thumb and fingers together. “Mama needs some scratch.”

  Mandy laughed. “Yeah, you’ll get paid, but probably not for a few days.” She lowered her voice, but even that wasn’t enough to mask the glee in her eyes. “I also think you need to fill out some more paperwork.” She let the words hang in the air while I tried to decide how much I liked money just then, especially when I wouldn’t even be getting paid today. “I’m going to get a ride back with one of the officers. You’re free to come along,” she added unhelpfully.

  I grimaced. I’d had about enough excitement for one day. I just wanted to spend the rest of my day off in my own house. Preferably with a bottle of wine and binge watching my favorite show. Doing paperwork definitely wasn’t in that equation.

  “Can you just drop me off at Dr. Marshall’s?”

  “You don’t want to do paperwork?” Mandy practically exploded with laughter.

  “That’s a hard pass.” I shook my head. “Helping out has been fun, but I need a little me time.”

  Mandy gave me a sly grin. “Don’t you mean you need a little angel time?”

  My face heated, and I shoved her shoulder. “No, I don’t.”

  “Fine, I’ll let you have your day off.” She glanced up at the darkening sky. “Or what’s left of it.”

  I sighed. “If there’s another emergency, just leave me out of it. At least for today.” A worn-out feeling sunk into my bones. “Or make that for the rest of the year.”

  “It wasn’t that bad.” Mandy smiled at me.

  “I don’t know. I tempted to leave the crime solving to the professionals. Right now, I’d rather be serving alcohol to the drunkards of Blessed Falls than listening to irate parents.”

  Mandy laughed. “Just wait until you have a kid of your own.”

  “Oh god no,” I groaned. “That’s not going to happen for a very long time.” If ever. The guys were immortal, I didn’t see how I would ever want to give them up for a normal life. After all, who was going to be able to compare once you’ve had mind-blowing orgasms with a real-life archangel?

  20

  Three days later, I signed the final form in front of me and handed it back to the policewoman behind the desk. The policewoman handed me an envelope that would have my very first paycheck as a consultant in it.

  “Thank you very much.” I grinned at her.

  She waved me off and turned back to her computer.

  Greedily, I ripped open the envelope and held my paycheck in my hand. The numbers on it made my eyes widen. This was more than I made at the bar in a week by far. Even with tips!

  “That didn’t take you long.” I turned toward the sound of Mandy’s voice and smiled.

  “Had to see if it was worth it.” I shrugged. I’d taken three days before I finally showed up at the precinct to collect my check. If I was honest, I needed a little space. I liked helping people, but combine that with horny angels, and it would wear on any person.

  “And was it?” Mandy nodded toward my check.

  Folding the paper over, I tucked it in my back pocket. “Maybe.”

  “Maybe?” Mandy cocked her head to the side. “So, you wouldn’t do it again?”

  I shook my head. “I wouldn’t say that.”

  “Good, because we have another case.” Mandy gestured toward the back with her head. “You in?”

  I pretended to think about it for a minute, tapping my chin and everything and then said, “Sure, I guess I could help out.”

  Mandy laughed. “So nice of you to fit us into your busy schedule.”

  I shrugged and followed Mandy to the back. “What can I say, I’m a giver.”

  I spent the next few hours getting debriefed on the next case. A diamond had been stolen from a vault. I was pretty sure it was an inside job. I didn’t need the angels to tell me that. It was too neat, but it was sure damned funny when Gabriel clued me into where the diamond was stashed. Take that pasty-faced manager.

  “What do you have planned now?” Mandy asked me afterward.

  Grinning like a fiend, I jerked my head toward the exit. “Come on, I’ve got something to show you.”

  Mandy followed me to my car, a curious look in her eyes.

  “Where are we going?” she asked but I shook my head not answering her.

  We drove down the street and toward the place I had in mind. I parked the car in front of the shop with a large window in the front. I’d found it online. It had office space and even a bathroom and kitchenette.

  One call to my dad and it had been mine. I tried not to bother my parents for money often. I wanted to be my own person, get by on my own. But this place? I couldn’t let it go because of a lack of collateral or credit.

  I brought Mandy to the front of the s
hop and swept an arm toward the window, a proud smile on my lips.

  “Gotcha?” Mandy arched a brow as she took in the green and white letters on the window. “Why didn’t you just say, ‘I’m pretending to be a psychic but really, I see angels, so let me help you out?’”

  I sighed and waved her off. “First, that name is way too big. These letters are like ten bucks a pop. Besides, what better way to get people to trust you than to tell them you’re lying?”

  “You are a crazy person.” Mandy shook her head. “What are you going to do? Tell fortunes?”

  “No,” I scoffed. “I’m going to be a private detective.”

  Mandy’s brow furrowed her hands on her hips. “Don’t you need a license for that?”

  “Nope,” I said with a pop of my lips. “Psychics are excluded from that little rule.”

  “But don’t you think people will figure out that you’re a fake?” Mandy said incredulously.

  “Nah, people believe what they want to believe.” I headed into the office, showing my new place off. “Plus, I’ve already got a few calls from people wanting my help.”

  “Really?” Mandy asked, taking in the desk and chair set up I had already put in. “So, how are you going to do this, the bar, and help with the cops?”

  “I’ll figure it out, and if it comes down to it, I’ll just quit the bar,” I smirked. Bill was just gonna love that.

  Mandy wandered around the office, opening and closing doors. Nodding her head, she seemed to approve. “You’ll need a coffee maker and business cards.”

  “Already ordered.” I plopped down into my chair and swiveled around.

  Sighing, Mandy sat on the edge of my desk. “Well, it seems like you’ve thought of everything.”

  “I still need a secretary.” I wagged my eyebrows at her.

  “Uh, no.” Mandy held a finger up. “I’m happy where I am, thank you very much. Besides, you can just make your guys take turns. They can turn corporeal, now, can’t they?”