by Liz Bradford
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I called your name first.”
Jocelyn stared at the woods in the direction Gavin had gone. “He ran that way.”
“We’ve got it covered.”
A radio crackled in the distance. Several squad cars, along with Jared’s truck, lined the street in front of the house. Huge lights were being set up.
Jocelyn wandered around the car and stared at the front of the house. Spray-paint writing streaked across the siding and the door. Windows were smashed in. Several plants were uprooted. Her knees felt weak beneath her.
“Hey.” Becca came up next to Jocelyn and rubbed her back. “Gavin got the guy. They’re taking him in.”
Jocelyn nodded. “Why is there always one more thing?”
“I wish—”
“I don’t expect an answer. I’m just tired of this. When will we get a break? And how on earth is Patrick doing this from prison? Aren’t there safeguards to prevent this sort of communication?”
“There should be.”
“And before you ask, yes. I’m sure this is from him.”
A squad car pulled up behind Gavin. Will Cooper appeared beside him and handed Gavin a set of cuffs. “The honor is all yours.”
Gavin holstered his gun. He approached the suspect and yanked his arm back. While telling the man his rights, Gavin slapped the cuffs on and pulled back the other arm. With a jerk, Gavin turned the vandal. “Now, tell me—why did you vandalize my house on my wedding night?”
The suspect’s eyes blinked rapidly.
“Tell me. Do I know you? Did I do something to you?”
The man shook his head back and forth slightly.
“No? You don’t even know me? Did someone pay you to do this?”
His eyes grew wide. He shook his head harder.
“Then”—Gavin paused and searched his mind for any possible reason other than Patrick but there wasn’t one—“it must have been blackmail.”
The suspect’s eyes shut.
Gavin put his hand on the man’s shoulder and spoke softly. “What does he have on you?”
The suspect’s eyes opened, and fear flashed through them. “He let me off when I held up a convenience store.”
Gavin could hardly believe it. Not that a cop had let him off, but that the man admitted it so freely. “I’m going to need you to tell me who—”
“No!” He pushed himself back against the fence. “You sounded like you knew.”
“I do. But I need to know how he got the message to you.”
“I get it. It’s not like he wrote me a letter and sent it from prison, but if I tell you—I don’t know what he’ll do.”
“Trust me, I understand.” Gavin turned to Will, who had heard everything. “Take him in, so I can go home to my wife.”
Will chuckled. “Of course. We’ll drop you off on the way in.”
Gavin straightened his suit jacket. “That would be preferred to traipsing back through the woods.”
Hours had passed, and Jocelyn was exhausted. When Gavin had come back, he had held her for a few minutes, but he was still in cop mode. They had all dug in to help process the scene. Jocelyn and Mike had joined forces on the photography, but she had only lasted an hour before she was too tired to keep moving around. Now she waited in Jared’s truck, bored.
She’d played on her phone, and it had been wonderful to flip through the pictures her friends had posted from the wedding and reception. But she wanted to be with Gavin.
Knock. Knock. She didn’t scream this time. She smiled at her new husband and powered down the window for him.
“We’re done.” His grin spread across his face.
“Don’t you have to go into the station?”
“Nope. Becca’s got it covered. I’m all yours.”
She slid out of the truck. They said goodbye to everyone and walked toward the house. The broken window had been boarded up. “Will we be safe here?”
“I don’t want to risk it. Who knows what else Patrick has planned. Let’s get a hotel room for the night.”
She nodded.
The last of the cars pulled away, and Gavin opened their front door. He leaned over, swept her off her feet, and carried her over the threshold.
She giggled. “What are you doing?”
He kicked the door shut. “I thought that was obvious.” He put her down in the living room and drew her close.
She squeezed him and pulled away. She wanted to see his face.
Gavin took her by her shoulders. “Let’s grab what we need for tonight and head to the hotel.”
She went up on her toes and kissed him before turning away. They gathered what they needed and, within the hour, were settled into their hotel room and Jocelyn was in Gavin’s arms. He held her for a moment, then she leaned back and met his eyes.
He cupped the side of her head and looked deep into her eyes. “Jocelyn”—his voice was sweet and quiet—“we don’t have to have sex tonight.”
Her jaw dropped. “What?”
“I’m not saying I don’t want to, but I didn’t marry you so we could have sex. I married you because I love you.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. “I know.”
He ran his fingers along her face. “Good. But more than that, I know there will be times when I want to, but you don’t feel like it. It’s okay to tell me no. I never want to make you have sex if you aren’t feeling it. Does that make sense?”
She blinked away the tears pushing their way out of her eyes. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him toward the bed. She went up on her toes. He leaned down, and their lips met.
Patrick chucked the rubber ball against the wall. For a week and a half he’d been in solitary confinement. That stupid man had to go and confess to everything. But Patrick laughed to himself. Little did they know he had something even bigger on the guard who worked this part of the prison, so Patrick’s communication line was amplified rather than silenced. He caught the ball and hurled it again.
A knock sounded on the door. Speaking of his megaphone.
“What do you have for me?”
“Chet saw them leaving the doctor’s office. Looks like the baby should be coming soon.”
Patrick drew a breath in. He still sometimes forgot she was having that dog’s baby. He let it out slowly. “All right. I have something I need to happen.”
“Dude, I can’t—”
“Yes, you can, and if you don’t, I’ll make sure the world knows wha—”
“Fine. What?”
“I need Chet to keep watching them. When it seems like she’s going into labor, I want this”—Patrick grabbed a note off of his shelf—“to be called in.”
“A wild goose chase?”
“Better.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Jocelyn grabbed her belly and curled up tighter in bed. Pain radiated through her abdomen and into her thighs. This was the worst one she’d ever had, but she needed to breathe through it. Every time she’d had a contraction in the last two weeks—ever since they went to that birthing class—Gavin had freaked out that it was time to go. She shook her head slightly as the contraction lessened.
Gavin shifted in the bed next to her. She smiled. Three and a half weeks later, and she still couldn’t believe they were actually married. It was the most beautiful thing to wake up next to the man of her dreams without feeling guilty. His arm wrapped around her, but before she could snuggle in closer to him, his alarm sounded. He groaned, then kissed her before pushing himself out of the bed. She stayed cuddled under the covers until she heard the shower cut off.
She pushed herself up, and another contraction hit. As she sat on the edge of the bed, the contraction seized her whole body. She steadily breathed through it. These were rougher today. Maybe this baby would come sooner than she thought. Probably not, though—she still had over a week until her due date. She probably needed to go to the bathroom and get some water. She’d be fine.
She padded into the hallway as
Gavin exited the bathroom. “Morning, beautiful!” He took her by the shoulders and kissed her on the forehead.
“Mornin’.” She gave him a sleepy smile and wandered into the bathroom. Gavin went to the kitchen. Once she was done, she joined him. She turned the corner, and another contraction hit. She casually leaned against the wall next to the fridge and breathed through it, hoping Gavin wouldn’t notice.
“You okay?”
Darn it! “I’m… fine…”
“Contraction?”
It was over. “Yeah, but it’s nothing. Eat your breakfast, and go to work.”
“Aren’t you going in today?”
“I think I’ll work from here and come in if I’m needed.”
“You sure?”
The worry lines on Gavin’s forehead made Jocelyn chuckle. “Don’t worry so much. It’s part of the process. We’ve still got time before baby comes.”
He came across the room and pulled her into his arms. “I can’t help it, you know that.”
“I know. But you know I’ll call if I need you. I won’t hesitate.”
“Promise?”
“Yes!” She reached up and took his face between her hands. “I promise, I will call if I think it’s time, or there’s a problem, or if I need to hear your voice. So, keep your phone on you at all times.”
“You better believe it.”
She went up on her toes and planted a kiss on his lips.
“Gavin!”
Gavin’s head snapped toward his partner at the desk across from him. “What?”
“Get your head in the game.”
“My wife is going to have a baby any day! I’m sorry I’m a little distracted.” His voice lacked an apologetic tone.
“No excuse!” Becca chuckled. “But seriously, she’s probably not having the baby today. It’s not uncommon for first babies to come late. So stop worrying. And you know she’ll call.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard it all, but it doesn’t change anything.”
Becca smiled at him and shook her head. “Well, maybe you need a distraction then. We need a case.”
“No, we don’t. Don’t you go talking like that. I don’t want to be tied up in something when Jocelyn goes into labor. She was having contractions this morning.”
“She’s been having contractions for weeks. It’s normal. Doesn’t mean she’s going into labor.”
Becca’s phone rang, stopping their conversation.
“Sure,” she said into the receiver. “Riley and I are on it.” Becca grabbed a pen and paper and scrawled something. “That address is technically out of our jurisdiction. I’ll confer with our captain and call in Martinsville PD.” She paused as she listened. “Yes. Okay, thank you.”
As soon as she hung up, he said, “What did you agree to without consulting me?”
“We got an anonymous tip that there’s a body.”
“Seriously? Remember what happened the last time we got an anonymous tip about a body? I almost died.”
“You’re overreacting. Patrick’s in solitary, and we get anonymous tips all the time.”
“Not about dead bodies. And did I hear you say Martinsville? That doesn’t sound like staying close for my wife.”
“Riley, Martinsville is only about a half hour away. Get over it. First baby, remember. She’ll labor long enough for you to get back. We’ll take extra precautions, take a different sedan than normal, and what not. Plus, what’s the likelihood this will be anything much?”
“High, just because you said that…”
Becca swatted the air and went over to Jared.
He double-checked the magazine in his gun and re-holstered it. He wanted to call Jocelyn and check on her, but that would drive her nuts. He couldn’t help being overbearing. His nerves were on edge. The last thing he wanted to do was chase down a bad guy. Hopefully, this would turn into a hoax, and they’d be back before dinner. And long before Jocelyn went into labor.
Jocelyn leaned over onto the couch from where she knelt on the floor. This contraction was the hardest one yet. It hurt. She tried to think through what she’d learned in class, but her brain didn’t want to work. The pain was too overwhelming.
Once it eased, she checked the phone app she was using to track her contractions. Though she was having quite a few today, they weren’t regular at all. Wasn’t it time to go to the hospital once they were five minutes apart? These weren’t even close. Some had been only ten minutes apart, but the last two had been an entire twenty minutes. Nothing to call anyone about. And as much as she would like to have Gavin with her right now, he needed to work. He’d only fuss over her anyway. Would he actually be helpful? She smiled. He probably would be. He’d at least rub her back.
He would annoy her too. It was inevitable.
Jocelyn settled back onto the floor cushions in front of the coffee table that held her laptop. She wasn’t getting much accomplished today. She wished she could start her maternity leave, but it was better to work now before the baby was born. Then she could spend as much time as possible snuggling her precious little boy.
After five minutes more of work, though, another contraction hit. Once it was over, she went to the bathroom, then the kitchen. While she was filling her water glass from the fridge, another contraction hit. The glass slipped from her hand and crashed on the floor, shattering into a hundred pieces. She couldn’t do anything about it, though, as the contraction seized her whole body.
When she could move again, she carefully stepped away from the glass and took off her wet socks before she left the kitchen. She picked up her phone and dialed Gavin’s number. Her eyes welled up with tears. She couldn’t handle this by herself anymore. The contractions were too intense and definitely getting closer.
The phone rang. And rang. But no answer. Gavin’s voicemail picked up. She hung up and dialed again. No answer. “Gavin, call me.”
Tears started to flow. She needed him.
She dialed Becca’s number. Straight to voicemail. Where were they that they couldn’t answer their phones? They both always answered if she called. She dialed Becca again. When it didn’t even ring, she knew Becca wasn’t hearing it. Did Becca turn her phone off? That didn’t make sense.
Jesus, where are they? I need them. I need Gavin. I need help.
Her phone rang. Without looking, she answered it. “Gavin!”
“Nope. Sorry, Joc. It’s Ella.”
“Oh, hey. I called Gavin, but he didn’t answer. Hoped he was calling back. Sorry.”
“It’s okay. What’s up? I was texting with Adam, and he said you didn’t come in today, so I thought I’d check on you.”
Jocelyn stifled a sniffle.
“Are you okay?”
“I dropped a glass on the floor, and it shattered. Plus, I’m having a bunch of contractions, hard ones.”
“Think it’s time?”
“I don’t know… maybe.”
“Want me to come over?”
“You don’t have to… Aren’t you supposed to be at school?”
“It’s Columbus Day. Do you need me?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I’ll be over in a jiffy. I’ll call Adam too, and see if he can find Gavin. You hang tight. I’ll be right there. And I’ll take care of the glass.”
“Thank you.”
“No sweat.”
Jocelyn hung up and sank into the couch just in time for another contraction.
Gavin huffed as he climbed over a fallen tree. Becca had failed to mention that the reported body was supposedly in the middle of the forest. They had been trekking through the forest for almost an hour looking for evidence. As much as he didn’t want this to be a pointless expedition, he did not want to get caught up in a murder case right now.
“Then you shouldn’t have become a homicide detective.”
He looked over at Becca. “I did not say that out loud.”
“Ha. I was right. You didn’t need to say anything.” She lifted her hands and did some funky wig
gly thing with her fingers around her head. “I can read your mind.”
He rolled his eyes, and she laughed. As much as she was keeping him steady today, she was also driving him mad. His mind wandered back to Jocelyn, but he kept his eyes peeled for anything suspicious around him.
“These are the coordinates.”
“I see nothing.”
Becca raised the shovel in her hand. “I’ll take a wild guess and suggest we’ll have to dig.”
“But wher—” He spotted a stick standing up out of the earth. Another stick was tied to it making the shape of a cross. “Here.”
He took the shovel from Becca and dug.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Jocelyn stepped out of the bathroom, her heart pounding in her chest. “Ella?” Her voice shook. Her breathing was rapid and shallow.
Ella appeared in a quick moment. She took one look at Jocelyn and said, “What’s wrong?”
“Blood. There’s blood. The baby.” Her lungs seized. The ability to breathe left her body as the fear took over.
Ella’s arms were around Jocelyn in a split second. “Breathe. Deep breath in. Now, let it out. Good. Do it again.”
Jocelyn obeyed, and Ella rubbed her back. Slowly, her breathing returned almost to normal. Ella had been over for an hour. She had cleaned up the glass and water and had helped Jocelyn through a handful of contractions. They still hadn’t been able to reach Gavin or Becca but had learned they’d left for Martinsville about two hours ago. Adam had called the station in Martinsville and had them put out a call to the officers working with Gavin. But she still hadn’t heard from him.
“How much blood, Jocelyn?”
“I don’t know… more than I want to see. I’m scared. The contractions are so hard. What if something’s wrong?”
“I think you’re in labor, hun. And we’re going to the hospital. I called Dr. Thomas while you were in the bathroom. He said to come in since the contractions have been at five minutes for the last hour. It’s time. Baby boy wants to see his momma.”
Jocelyn gave Ella a shaky smile. “Okay. We’ve got to get Gavin.”
“We will. He’ll be there. He’ll meet us at the hospital.”