Coup De Grâce

by Lani Lynn Vale

  The pretty purple carpet that Nikki just ‘had to have’ when we were at Lowe’s one weekend looking for paint thinner.

  And I thought to myself, ‘this’ll look good in the baby’s room.’

  “You need to choose, Michael. The killer and your duties, or me. Because I can’t do this anymore. I can’t put my life on hold, wondering how long it’ll be before you come back. Wonder if you’ll make it to the birth of our little girl. Wondering if this killer will take you from us. I just can’t Michael. So choose. Them, or us.”

  I closed my eyes, and made the easiest decision of my life.

  “I gotta go.”

  Chapter 17

  Run like Dean just saw you crash the Impala.

  -T-shirt

  Nikki

  My emotions were swirling around me like a black funnel cloud of doom.

  I’d given him my ultimatum, and he’d chosen.

  It hadn’t been what I thought he’d choose, but he’d chosen, nonetheless.

  I walked up to the elevator from the parking garage, and depressed the button that would take me down to the ground level, allowing me to the cross the breezeway to my destination.

  Another doctor’s appointment.

  This would be my four month checkup, and the gender reveal.

  Even though I’d technically had that two weeks ago when I’d gone to Georgia who’d insisted on doing an ultrasound.

  See, it turned out, that we saw each other quite a bit, working in the same hospital.

  I’d started my job on the labor and delivery floor a little over a month ago, and I’d had a freakin’ blast doing it.

  So far, I’d delivered twelve babies.

  All of them happy and healthy.

  The elevator dinged when the doors open, but I was in my own little world thinking about my job, which meant I didn’t see the man standing in the elevator until he spoke.

  “Going down?” An amused male voice asked.

  I looked up, and my heart started to race.

  “Michael,” I breathed, tears starting to form in my eyes.

  He smiled, and held out his hand.

  “Come on, or we’ll be late,” he said laughingly.

  I blinked, but took his hand and made my way into the elevator.

  “How’d you know where I would be?” I asked softly.

  My eyes stayed firmly planted on the floor, though.

  Because I didn’t want to believe he was here, and look up to see that I’d imagined it all.

  That would be cruel, but life was a bitch like that.

  “Your best friend,” he said.

  I could hear the smile in his voice, and if Georgia had been in the room with me right then, I’d have punched her for not telling me.

  We rode the elevator in silence.

  Me not saying anything because I just didn’t know what to say.

  Him not saying anything because I was sure he was waiting for me to flip out on him.

  Something I wouldn’t do at my place of business.

  When the elevator doors opened, I made my way out with Michael directly at my back.

  I could feel his warmth from the top of my shoulders to the backs of my thighs.

  “Nikki, wait,” he said softly.

  The pain in his voice had me turning sharply, looking at him in worry.

  “What?” I asked.

  He closed his eyes, and I realized just how tired he looked.

  “I told them I couldn’t do it. And I’m sorry. I knew if I stayed there with you last night, I’d put it off, and I needed to get it done,” he answered.

  “Michael, I wouldn’t say what you did didn’t hurt, but I understand. I gave you the night to think it over, and I meant it. I knew you’d make the right decision,” I told him.

  He nodded, his eyes shifting from my eyes to my lips where I was currently worrying the bottom one with my teeth.

  “I love you,” he said again.

  My heart melted at those words.

  The same ones that had come out of his mouth last night.

  The ones I hadn’t returned because I couldn’t.

  Today, though, knowing he would be staying with us. Giving us a chance.

  I said it back to him.

  Meaning it with all my heart.

  “I love you more,” I said simply.

  His rumbled laugh warmed my insides when he pulled me into his arms.

  “I’m gonna fuck up,” he promised.

  I snorted.

  “You and me both, big boy,” I shot back.

  “I don’t know anything about kids.” He informed me.

  I looked up into his eyes and said, “Really? You’re pulling that card?”

  I turned on my heel and started walking inside, very aware of the man at my back.

  “Yeah, that card. I don’t, though. I really don’t,” he said.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Michael, you make it your mission in life to save kids. Trust me, you know how to handle kids even if you think you don’t,” I told him gently.

  Michael smiled.

  “Whatever. So tell me about your doctor. I feel like I’ve missed a lot,” he changed the subject.

  I smiled. “Dr. Mead is my doctor, but we’ll be seeing the PA, Joanie Dooley, today. I have to see them all just in case my doctor is out of town or at a birth or something when I go into labor.”

  Michael nodded, but his eyes had clouded like he did when he was concentrating on something.

  “What?” I asked.

  He shook his head, and when the elevators dinged, signaling we’d arrived at the floor I needed for the doctor’s office, he froze.

  I’d already walked out and turned the corner before I realized he wasn’t following me.

  “Michael?” I called, turning around and looking for him.

  I found him still inside the elevator, his hands on the doors to hold the door’s open.

  “What doctor’s office do you use?” He hissed.

  I reeled back at the vehemence in his tone.

  Blinking, I said, “Women’s Center. Why?”

  Michael yanked me to him, then further pulled me to the stairwell.

  “What, Michael? What is it?” I asked in alarm.

  He didn’t stop until we were three floors up, and I was breathing hard from exertion.

  He yanked the door open to the sixth floor, and pulled me right along with him.

  Once he saw that the coast was clear, he visibly relaxed.

  He let me go almost immediately, then pulled out his phone and placed a call.

  “Yeah, my woman’s been going to the Women’s Center for months now!” He hissed quietly into the phone, looking around him as he inspected the empty hallway. “Why didn’t one of you fucking catch that?”

  I blinked in surprise.

  “Yes, she’s fine. And no, you told me you had the place under surveillance. You should’ve known!” He half yelled.

  I refrained from saying, ‘You should’ve known.’

  Instead, I kept my mouth shut and pulled out my phone, taking a seat at a small chair that was next to a potted plant.

  I immediately saw that I’d be late if he didn’t hurry up, but I figured whatever it was was important if he had reacted the way he had at realizing I was going to a certain center.

  Then realization dawned.

  He’d only care about where I was going if the place was dangerous.

  And there’d only been one case he’d been working on lately that would’ve made sense to warrant this reaction from him.

  And I had a feeling I knew exactly what it was.

  And I was nauseous again.

  Mother fucker!

  A cold sweat started to pepper my skin, and I visibly started to shiver as I jumped to conclusions.

  Michael continued his seething conversation with the person on the other end of the line, and I started to let my m
ind wander.

  Had I let some killer get close to my baby?

  What would happen to us now?

  Would the baby and I be in danger?

  Could I switch doctors?

  I’d have to drive out of town to go.

  The Women’s Center dominated the entire Ark-La-Tex. There was only one company in the area that worked with my insurance, and I had a feeling I’d be finding out what panic felt like very soon.

  Then sorrow started to fill me.

  Had all those women come here, given their trust to one of the doctors or nurses, then had their faith ripped away when they’d shot those poor women and their husbands?

  “This is it. We do this today, and tomorrow she finds another doctor. Do you hear me? I’m being one hundred percent serious. If anything happens to her, there’s not one thing on this goddamn earth that’ll save you from me. And no, I don’t fucking care that I’m threatening an FBI agent,” Michael growled.

  Then slammed his phone shut.

  When he turned to me, his eyes immediately went soft.

  “I’m so sorry, Nik. Had I known, I would’ve never let you come. I swear on my life I’ll protect you,” he promised, dropping down to his knees beside me and wrapping his arms around my midsection.

  I moved my head, resting it on the top of his.

  “What’s in the past is in the past. Let’s look forward from now on. You, me, and this baby,” I told him.

  He squeezed me a little tighter, and I felt the now familiar flutter in my belly signaling our unborn child’s movement.

  “I love you,” he said, looking up at me with his heart in his eyes.

  I leaned down and smashed my lips against his.

  Our tongues dueled as he thrust his tongue into my mouth. His tongue slid along mine as his hands moved up my back, burrowing under the loose shirt I’d stolen from him.

  The one I wore to every doctor appointment because I liked to think that he was there with me.

  “You’re wearing my shirt,” he said against my mouth.

  I leaned my forehead down to his.

  “Yeah,” I said simply.

  “It’s a little big on you,” he surmised.

  I laughed.

  “Yeah, you could say that,” I agreed.

  It was big.

  Really big.

  I’d tied it into a knot at my waist, at least making it somewhat flattering.

  I didn’t really care what I looked like, though.

  It was all for sentimentality.

  And by the look in Michael’s eyes, he knew why I wore it, too.

  “You ready to get this shit over with?” He asked quietly.

  I nodded.

  “Michael,” I hesitated. “There are some good doctors in this office. I’ve seen a doctor and a nurse practitioner so far, and my regular doctor, well he’s a sweetheart. His name is Doctor Mead. Him and his wife are the creators of this practice. Even Memphis works here.”

  His eyes widened.

  “Does Downy know Memphis works here?” I asked carefully. “The place that y’all are investigating?”

  He shook his head. “Nobody knows. But he’ll know within ten minutes of me leaving the office. And I’m taking Memphis with me until they’ve discussed it.”

  I snorted.

  “Yeah right,” I laughed. “She won’t go with you.”

  “We’ll see about that,” he muttered, tugging me along to the elevator.

  Thank God.

  I didn’t think I could do those stairs again.

  Even if I was only going down them.

  ***

  “Michael!” Memphis said, clapping excitedly. “You’re here!”

  Michael grinned at Memphis, his face lighting up with pleasure.

  “Yeah, I’m here,” he nodded.

  “Well, how’d the appointment go?” Memphis asked, patting the table.

  I handed Michael my purse, and he tossed it onto the chair. Something I could’ve done.

  “I had a coke in there,” I muttered darkly.

  He winked. “You shouldn’t be drinking coke. That’s what the doctor just said.”

  “Michael, you’re not my doctor. Dr. Mead is. He hasn’t said a word about my caffeine intake,” I growled.

  He was insufferable!

  He’d been going on and on, contradicting the nurse practitioner about damn near every piece of advice she’d given in the hour and a half we’d been here.

  Not one single thing had happened, thank God.

  But Michael must’ve been trying to provoke the woman.

  Whatever his reason, he’d done it.

  I could see the usually sweet tempered woman losing her cool before my eyes, so I’d put a stop to the questions and smiled apologetically at her before I’d left.

  “Well, I am a doctor. There’s no reason you can’t listen to my directions,” he said sarcastically.

  I shrugged and hopped up onto the table, leaning back and exposing my belly.

  “Michael, today we’re doing a scan to make sure the baby is growing alright. Come stand right here,” she said, indicating a spot near my head. “You’ll be able to see this screen or that one.”

  She pointed at the large flat screen on the wall, and Michael took them both in before he looked down at me.

  “Does he know what you’re having?” Memphis asked happily, squirting a generous amount of lube on my belly before she started to run the wand over my belly.

  I looked at the screen where the black and white grainy picture filled it.

  “Yeah, he knows,” I informed her. “He still wants a boy.”

  Memphis laughed.

  “Weellllll, it’s most definitely a girl!” Memphis said, gesturing to a point on the screen. “Hamburger means girl. And she wants you to see that she is.”

  Michael became transfixed with the screen as Memphis went along taking measurements, and showing us different parts of the baby’s anatomy.

  Then they showed the face, and I looked up to Michael to see his face avidly focused on the screen.

  His eyes scrutinizing her every feature.

  “She’s perfect,” he mumbled, knowing I was looking at him.

  He looked down, and I could tell he was on the verge of something big.

  Some huge emotion had a hold of him, and I had a feeling it was joy.

  “Well, let’s turn it to 3D,” Memphis said excitedly. “I can’t wait until mine’s big enough to see like this…oh shit!”

  Memphis eyes were wide. “Don’t tell Downy! I haven’t told him yet!”

  Michael laughed.

  “He already knows. He’s told everyone he can that you’re expecting again, darlin’,” Michael teased.

  Memphis’ eyes narrowed. “You’re kidding.”

  Michael shook his head. “No, we’ve known for weeks.”

  She turned back to the screen, clicked a few buttons, and then replaced the wand to my belly. “Oh, I’ll be getting him back. He’s such a shit!”

  Michael snorted, and I burst out laughing, making the screen flip with my belly’s movement.

  When I finally settled down, she ran the wand over my belly once more.

  The orange screen was captivating as we saw our child in more detail.

  “It looks like an alien,” I surmised. “Like a weird alien.”

  Michael’s mouth met mine, and I couldn’t help the butterflies that filled my insides at his unexpected touch.

  I was happy that he was happy.

  And right now, that was all that mattered.

  Thirty minutes later, we were out the door, with Memphis in tow.

  “I can’t believe you’re making me come,” Memphis said in awe. “I didn’t think anybody but Downy was that stubborn.”

  Michael, who was driving, pulled into the police station’s parking lot and parked in the back of the lot near the rear exit.

  “Believe it. T
his is beyond your capacity. And I have a feeling I’m about to be ripped a new asshole for not sharing this information before,” he muttered grumpily.

  Now that the excitement at seeing our baby had worn off, Michael was in protect mode.

  His sole focus was on the two of us, and what was about to come.

  He’d practically taken Memphis by force, and when Downy met us at the back door; I knew Dr. Mead had called him.

  Just like he’d said he would.

  Although Memphis had assured him that everything was alright, Dr. Mead still wanted to follow up just in case.

  Which was another reason I knew he was a good guy.

  I slid out of the seat, bending my knees to help with the impact as I dropped out of Michael’s massive truck, and landed on the balls of my feet.

  That wouldn’t work for much longer.

  I could just see myself now falling on my ass when I had another twenty pounds of baby added to my frame.

  “What the fuck’s going on?” Downy asked, holding out his arm for Memphis.

  Memphis walked into his arms, burrowing her face into his neck and hugging him tightly.

  Michael had given her the bare minimum of what’d been going on to get her to leave with him, and she was obviously freaked way the hell out about the prospect of her employer being involved in something so vicious.

  “Inside. To home base,” Michael ordered.

  Downy’s brows rose, but nonetheless turned and followed Michael and I to what I later learned was the SWAT team’s shared offices.

  The first person I saw was my brother with his legs propped up on the long table in the middle of the room.

  I walked up behind him and hugged him hard around the neck.

  “I love you,” I said to him.

  He raised his arm up and circled it around my back as best he could do from his current position.

  “Love you,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

  I gestured to Michael.

  “They’re killing our women.”

  Chapter 18

  Whiskey is my spirit animal.

  -T-shirt

  Nikki

  That announcement dropped like a bomb in the quiet room.

  “I need to call Trance. And we need to get Sam in here,” Michael announced.

  Trance was a police officer for Benton, Louisiana. And Sam was an ex- Army Ranger who lived in Kilgore with the rest of us. He was a badass, as was Trance. I couldn’t figure out why they needed to be here, though.