Secure Location - By Beverly Long Page 0,57

him know her plans. She planned on sleeping in her own bed tonight. And she was going to tell Scott that it wasn’t necessary for Tim Burtiss to sit outside her office any longer.

When the cab parked in front of her doctor’s office, Meg handed the driver a ten-dollar bill and got out. The sun was hot and she immediately felt dizzy. She balanced herself with the tips of her fingers on the sun-warmed roof of the cab and took two deeps breaths of dry, hot air. When the cab pulled away, she forced herself to walk.

The inside of the building was blissfully cool and she started to feel better. She registered at the desk and had time to read most of the current People magazine before the nurse called her name. When the woman weighed her, Meg was startled to realize that she’d lost three pounds.

She definitely needed to start eating better.

The nurse didn’t appear concerned. “Doctor Hussein wanted us to start with some labs. Just a simple blood draw and a urine screen,” she said.

CRUZ STARED AT HIS beer glass. Across the table, his long-time partner and friend, Sam Vernelli, was staring at him. “Want to talk about it?” Sam asked.

Cruz shook his head. “Nothing to talk about. You know everything. Meg had a little trouble, I tried to help, and she basically told me to pack up my stuff and take a hike. We went over this three weeks ago.”

“Have you had any contact with her?”

“No.” Cruz swirled the beer in his glass. “I did call Detective Myers yesterday. Unfortunately, no luck in tracking down the clothing transactions.”

“It was a good idea but a long shot,” Sam said. “The guy could have had the stuff in his closet for months with the tags still on.”

Cruz nodded and took a sip of his beer. “I know. Myers said it’s been quiet, no new threats, no new violence.”

“That’s good, right?” Sam asked.

Cruz shrugged. “I think so. But I have to tell you, I didn’t end the call feeling much better. There was something the man wasn’t saying. He was picking his words really carefully.”

“What could it be?”

“I don’t know. And I probably should just stop worrying about it.” Cruz picked up his glass and drained it. “Meg made her choice.”

“If you love her, Cruz, don’t give up. Keep fighting for her. That was advice you gave me once.”

And it had worked out for his partner. It was crazy to be jealous of that. Cruz forced a smile. “Speaking of your lovely wife, you better get going. Claire will be waiting.”

Sam shook his head. “Her parents are in town. Her mother wanted to help pick out the baby furniture. I’m meeting them for dinner later.”

“How’s Claire feeling?”

“Better now that she’s a few months along. This pregnancy thing is really something.”

Feeling more alone than ever, Cruz pushed back his chair and stood up. “Can’t wait to see how well you do with midnight feedings and dirty diapers.”

Sam stood up, too. “If my brother Jake can handle it, it can’t be that tough. By the way, Joanna’s pregnant again. It’s a boy.”

“That’s great, Sam. Damn. You Vernelli boys are doing some good work.” Cruz toasted Sam with his glass.

Sam leaned close. “You’ll have your chance someday,” he said encouragingly. “Don’t think it can’t happen for you.”

Once again, Cruz just smiled. It was so much easier.

* * *

Pregnant.

“There must be some mistake,” Meg said. She snapped and unsnapped her purse, needing to do something with the nervous energy that had exploded in her body with the doctor’s announcement.

“No mistake,” the doctor said. “Both the blood test and the urine test show the same result. You’re going to have a baby.”

“That’s impossible,” Meg said.

Now the doctor frowned. “You have had sexual intercourse?”

Meg was feeling hot and slightly dizzy. “I...uh...well, yes. But we used birth control.”

“Birth control can fail,” the doctor said.

With a sudden flash, Meg remembered the first frantic sex with Cruz. The condom had come on but late in the game. “I think I need to throw up,” she said. “Now.”

The doctor smiled. “Of course,” she said, as she handed her a small, pink plastic bucket. “Then we can talk about next steps.”

A half hour later, Meg left the office with a prescription for prenatal vitamins and a whole folder full of information for the expectant parent.

She walked outside the office and realized that everything was different. The air smelled different, the warm sun felt different, the traffic sounded different. Because she was