Second Chances: A PAVAD Duet (14 page)

The girls’ mother spun
around, in an almost comical move. Her hands went to her face and
her eyes widened dramatically, filling with fear. “Oh my God!
You!”

Dan had never wanted to
physically hurt someone as much in his life. This was the woman
responsible for so many of his years of pain. She’d taken his very
life away from him, and now she stood there staring at him like he
was the monster. “I suggest you both turn around and walk away,
right now.”

If they didn’t get out of
his sight, he didn’t know what he would do.

The little doc shook
Phillips’ arm, still trying to dislodge the man’s grip. That sight
made Dan just as angry as the sight of his ex-wife standing over
his injured daughter as if she had every right to. Phillips had no
right to touch the doc. Ever. He glared at Phillips until the man
got the message. The other man had two seconds to let go of the
doc...

“
These are my children.”
Beth spat the words at him, but she kept distance between herself
and Dan.

“
I think you gave that
right up years ago.” Dan put himself between the doc and Phillips,
wrapped his own hand around the man he’d thought was his friend’s
arm. It took every bit of his control to keep from ripping the
man’s arm out of socket. “Phillips, take Beth and get out of here.
I’m giving you fifteen minutes before I call the police about
outstanding warrants against Beth. These are my children, and you
will never harm them again! J.T., take Kelly and her sisters to the
car. I want you all to wait for me outside.”

There were things Beth was
a long time in needing to hear. And by the look in her eyes as the
girls and J.T. followed his instructions, she knew it. The little
doc wrapped her fingers in his sleeve and paused a moment as she
passed him. “Dan, for Kelly’s sake…”

Dan patted her fingers,
squeezed them gently. Resisted the urge to drop a kiss on her sweet
lips. She was such a contrast to Beth, sweetness to Beth’s
brassiness. Beautiful. “Don’t worry, doc. No scene, today. Just
take care of my girls for me, ok?”

“
Of course. Don’t take too
long. Kelly needs to rest.”

***

Beth watched the doc walk
away, derision in her eyes. “My replacement? A bit young for you,
isn’t she?”

“
She’s perfect. And four
times the woman you will be or have ever been.” Dan bit back all
the things he’d always wanted to say to Beth. Now wasn’t the time
or the place. And he knew his girls were watching; he could almost
feel their eyes on him from where the car waited.

“
Here’s how it’s going to
be. Gracie stays with me. I have custody and always have. You are
not to contact her without going through me first. It’s up to Kelly
and Emma how they want to handle their relationships with you. If
you so much as think to circumvent me in any way, I’ll have some
friends of mine serve the warrant for your arrest. Phillips, same
goes for you—I will have Martin Santiago issue a warrant for you on
custodial interference. Other than that, I never want to see,
speak, or hear from you again. For any reason. Beth—I want all the
girls’ things shipped to the St. Louis division of the FBI, care of
myself or Kelly. Now, I am taking my family home.”

Phillips stared at Dan a
moment, and Dan held his gaze, wanting nothing more than to rip the
man to shreds. His ex-partner. Why had he done it? “Phillips, tell
me one thing? Why?”

Phillips looked at Dan then
at Beth. “It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I’ve
regretted it, and I am sorry.”

“
Sorry can never adequately
address it. You stole my life from me. I hope you’re happy with the
results. Get out of St. Louis and don’t ever come back. Either of
you.”

***

Dan didn’t bother looking
back at the two people who’d destroyed his life. His future waited
in his SUV with his girls. J.T. slid out of the driver’s seat and
climbed into the back. Dan took his place. The doc sat in the
passenger seat, worry clear on her pretty face. Dan squeezed her
hand quickly, without thought to the girls in the backseat. “It’s
ok, doc. No scene, just like I promised.”

Emma popped her head
between their seats. She smiled at their joined hands. “Still, it
would have been nice to see you clean their clocks.”

“
But a public hospital is
not the place for that.” The doc pulled her hand free, her cheeks
slightly reddened. “So what did they say?”

“
They really couldn’t say
much of anything. The law is on my side.” Dan checked the review
mirror, checking on each of his girls before he pulled the SUV into
gear. “From this point on, we are all finished with her. Unless you
girls want otherwise, then that’s up to you.”

Ally missed him. She
couldn’t explain it, but since she and the children—and Kelly—had
returned to their home two weeks after Kelly was shot she had
missed being with him. They had developed a good routine during
those days, and she’d enjoyed it. They would ride to work together,
leaving Kelly in Emma’s care, drop Gracie, Ryan, and Aislin off at
their schools and preschools, then head over to the Bureau. Just
the two of them on the ten minute drive. Then he would walk her to
the lab, and if he remained in town, would meet her at her office
at five.

It was nice.

Now six weeks after she and
Kelly had returned to the little house they rented, Ally still
almost wished for it again. The house just didn’t feel like home
anymore, and it definitely didn’t feel safe and secure. Not since
the break-in. No leads had been found, either for the break-in or
for who had shot Kelly, and Ally had a hard time forgetting that.
Ed Dennis had ordered someone to patrol the neighborhood. That did
little to alleviate Ally’s fear.

She also knew from Kelly
that Dan was still searching for the people responsible, but she
saw very little of him. Only the Monday morning briefings when his
team was still in town. And then he sat with his team and she sat
with hers.

He spent most of his free
time—from what she’d heard from Kelly—with Gracie and Emma. And
Kelly when she visited.

Ally sighed as she sorted
the packages and documents that had been sent to the lab for
processing from the various teams. It would just take her time to
get resettled and adjusted.

Thankfully, Ryan and Aislin
didn’t seem aware of what had happened. She and Marianna had
managed to get the house cleaned up without the kids noticing. They
were finally settling in to a good routine and adjusting to the
move, and that made her happy. How could it not? They had seemed to
enjoy being at Dan’s, playing in his huge backyard and with Paige’s
dog Cletus, but they were glad to be back at home with their own
things and toys.

But Ally wasn’t sleeping at
night, and the exhaustion was starting to wear her down. She rubbed
a hand against her eyes. Twenty minutes and she could go home. And
nap. Marianna was taking the kids for the evening, and Kelly had
made plans with her sisters. It would give Ally much needed time
alone. And all she planned to do was sleep.

She hadn’t been this tired
since she was pregnant with Aislin five years ago. And before
that…when she was pregnant with Ryan.

When she was pregnant...
Ally was always like clockwork; even stress and illness wouldn’t
mess with her cycle. Had she had a period since moving to St.
Louis? The week of the move. That was ten weeks ago. She should
have had a period. At least one. It was past time for
another.

Ally had only been late
twice in her lifetime, and both of those times had been because of
pregnancy. Ally’s hands clenched on the edge of the desk. Oh,
God.

She’d not renewed her birth
control shot because her doctor had recommended she not at the
checkup she’d had a few weeks before the move. There had been
evidence of some bone density issues for Ally at her last checkup,
and Ally hadn’t felt the need since she and Jack had been
divorcing. Still, there should have been enough hormones left in
her system when she and Dan had been together to prevent pregnancy.
At least a month’s worth, as the shot lasted for up to fourteen
weeks! It was stress, pure and simple.

There was no way she was
pregnant with Dan’s baby. Fate would not be that cruel.

What if she was? She was
thirty-six years old; risk factors for birth defects were greater
for her age bracket now. Shouldn’t she find out as early as
possible? Just to be on the safe side? And what would it hurt? She
would take it, it would be negative, and then she wouldn’t have to
worry about it at all. She could get herself settled into her home
and continue building her new life. Put what happened between her
and Dan behind her. Forget about it, really.

But…what if she was? What
would she do? How would she tell him or the kids? God, how would
she tell Kelly? It would break Kelly’s heart to know Ally had
betrayed her that way. You didn’t sleep with your best friend’s
father. That was just not done. No matter what the
circumstances.

Ally felt sick.

There was only thing she
could do; stop off at the drugstore and buy a test. Or two, though
she knew the accuracy rates for home pregnancy tests were pretty
high. She would take two just to be certain.

The house was quiet for the
first time in weeks, and Dan hated it. Having his girls around was
all he’d hoped it would be, and then some. There were problems, of
course. But he’d expected that. And he’d discussed with Hellbrook
and Georgia, both psychologists, what to expect from the weeks
following the reunion. So far, everything his friends had said
would happen had.

Dan’s biggest worries were
his relationship with Kelly, Emma’s seemingly obliviousness to any
problems or resistance in her life, and Gracie’s introvert
tendencies. He knew things would just take time. All three of his
girls were out, leaving him alone in the house with his thoughts.
Cletus, the mastiff Paige had found during a recent case, was
keeping him company while Paige was on assignment, but it didn’t
help. The house was too damned quiet.

He welcomed the knock on
the door when it came, and he chased Cletus to the door. He
refrained from barking like a madman, though. It surprised him to
see the little doc on his doorstep.

“
Doc? What can I help you
with? Kelly’s taken the girls to a movie, if you’re needing
something from her.”

She was pale, and her eyes
were worried. It had him frowning and motioning her inside, out of
the rain. She said nothing as she pulled her coat off and put it on
the hook behind the door; the same place it had rested during those
two weeks she’d stayed with him. Tempting him every time he’d
turned around. God, she had tempted him.

She pulled in a deep breath
and twisted her fingers together. “I’m not here to see Kelly. I
knew she was at the movies.”

“
So what’s the matter? Tell
me and I’ll do my damnedest to fix it.” Dan dropped his hands to
her bony shoulders and massaged gently. Damn, it felt good to get
his hands on her again, even through the soft knit.

“
We need to
talk.”

“
About?” Now he was
puzzled, for sure. What was the matter? “Doc, just spit it
out.”

“
That night. When Kelly was
shot. And I told you I was on birth control? Apparently, there
wasn’t enough in my system. There should have been.” Tears leaked
out of pretty blue eyes and landed on his forearm. He wiped them
away.

Then what she’d said sunk
in. “Birth control. You’re telling me there was a problem with your
birth control. And that means…”

She nodded, her lower lip
trembling, nerves and fear in her eyes. Her words were a soft
whisper that he almost had trouble hearing. “Yes,
I’m…pregnant.”

“
Shit!”

She flinched and pulled
away. “I’m sorry! This ruins everything!”

She grabbed her coat and
had her hand on the door before Dan even realized she was running
away.

Running from him, upset and
obviously afraid.

He had her around the waist
before she even had the knob turned. He pulled her back against his
chest then turned her to face him. Her sobs were the only sound in
the room. She trembled in his arms. So scared.

Dan lowered his chin to
rest on her hair as he rubbed his hands up and down her back. A
question occurred to him, and he suddenly needed the answer before
he could even think what to do next. “Doc? How long have you
known?”

She sniffled, buried her
face in his chest. Skinny arms were around his waist. Her words
were muffled but he had no difficulty understanding. “An hour. I
bought a test at the drugstore three blocks from the lab and took
it in the rest room. I couldn’t risk Kelly seeing the box. Or
Ryan.”

He closed his eyes, not
wanting her to see how her words hit him. He could barely put into
words how it made him feel knowing she’d come straight to him. No
thought of not telling him had ever been in her mind. It hadn’t
even occurred to her to hide this child from him, to keep him out
of its life. A swell of emotion hit him, and he had to choke his
next words out. “So you’ve not been to a doctor, yet?”