Someone To Believe In (36 page)

Suze, Joe and Rob were waiting for her. She
stopped abruptly in the doorway to her office. “What’s up? Somebody
win the lottery?”

“You, maybe.”

“What do you mean, Suze?”

Joe said, “There was a big bust last night.
Apparently, that little altercation Taz had with the girl from
Anthrax spiraled into an outright turf war. The police got wind of
it, and were in place just as a big brawl broke out. They rounded
key members up of both Anthrax and the GGs. Mazie Lennon was among
them.”

“Oh my God. Then we got Taz out just in
time.”

“We did.” Rob shook his head. Usually
unflappable, he seemed enervated. His brown eyes shone with
delight. “She would have gone down with them, Bay. We saved
her.”

“I’m speechless.” And she couldn’t wait to
tell Clay. “So, do the cops think this will disable both
gangs?”

“Pretty much.” Even Joe’s perpetually dark
gaze had lightened. “Of course, others’ll pop up, but they think
these two are diluted enough to scatter like leaves in the
wind.”

“Whew!” Bailey sank into a chair and removed
her jacket.

“So,” Rob asked nonchalantly. “What does this
mean for you and your senator?”

She stared at her three friends. “A lot. If
that gang is gone, and the press finds out about me, I’ll be safer
now.” She studied them. “Particularly if I just run Guardian and
you guys take over here.”

Rob folded his arms over his chest. “You’d
have to retire the Street Angel.”

“I know.”

Joe shook his head, turned, and left.

She looked at the other two. “What was that
all about?”

“He doesn’t like the shit Wainwright pulled
on you all those years ago, especially sending you to jail. Now,
you’re hooking up with him.” Rob sighed. “We were worried he was
just using you, to...get you to do exactly what you’ve done. Leave
ESCAPE.”

She could feel her face flush. “He wouldn’t
do that. Besides, ESCAPE will continue without me.”

At Rob’s skeptical look, she added, “I’m in
love with him, Rob.”

As always, Rob thought before he spoke. “And
he feels the same way?”

“Yes.”

“You’re sure?”

“I believe in Clay. I know in my heart we
have a future together. This was not some big ploy to get me out
of ESCAPE.”

“Okay, okay, I just had to say it out loud.
I’ll go talk to Joey.”

After he left, she turned to Suze, who was
rummaging in her desk. “Do you suspect Clay’s motives, Suze?”

She didn’t look up. “I suspect everybody.”
She yanked out another drawer.

Bailey just watched her.

Suze glanced over her shoulder. “Listen girl,
you’re the best judge of how he feels. I’m more upset that you’d be
leaving us.” She closed the drawer. “And that I can’t find a damn
tampon.”

“I have some.” Bailey stood, crossed to her
desk, and pulled out a bag. “Here.”

Suze took the bag. “You’re a lifesaver.” She
drew out the pack. “It isn’t open.”

Bailey frowned. “I guess I didn’t need them
when I bought them.”

Suze went to the john and Bailey frowned. She
hadn’t used the tampons because her period never came. Which wasn’t
unusual. Bailey’s cycle was about as predictable as February
weather. Because of that, she kept track on her calendar when she’d
last menstruated.

Her heart beating a bit faster, she sat down
at her desk. She flipped the calendar from November to October.
Looked for the little checks in the bottom of each box. None, as
she suspected. She paged back to September and found the checks in
the first four days of the month.

She hadn’t had her period since early
September? And she’d been sleeping with Clay since just after that.
Hmm. It probably didn’t mean anything. She’d gone two months
before without her period. Hadn’t she? Well, worrying wouldn’t
help.

Turning to her computer, she called up the
tracking system they kept on youth gang activity and she entered
the new information about Anthrax and the GGs. She thought about
what it meant that Mazie and her set had been picked up. Only good
things, for Taz. For her and Clay. For the city.

Her gaze strayed back to the calendar. It was
hard to believe she and Clay had been sleeping together only two
months. She remembered vividly that first time that had begun in
her foyer. Had they used precautions every time? She thought so.
Hadn’t they? No, this was dumb. She was the most irregular woman
she knew. Her girlfriends used to tease her about it.

Turning back to her computer, she called up
the Internet sites she’d bookmarked for shelters since Clay had
told her he’d okayed her Guardian money. She smiled about it. As
she was waiting for one site to download, her hand drifted to her
stomach. Pressed. Would she be happy or sad if she was pregnant
with Clay’s child? “Dumb, dumb, dumb.” She had no symptoms. None.
Nada.

She’d worked for fifteen minutes before she
remembered she’d had no symptoms with Rory either. Not one single
sign. Wow, could this possibly be a reality? She couldn’t believe
it.

CLAY STIRRED THE pasta sauce in his kitchen,
humming along to an oldie goldie. “I got you babe...” he sang, a
bit off-key. He’d just heard the news about the capture of the GGs.
He’d phoned Bailey right away to tell her, but her cell was off,
and when he called ESCAPE, Rob had said she’d left early.

Maybe she went home to change into something
comfortable. And sexy. Not that he gave a damn. He didn’t care
what she wore, though he himself had put on a red long-sleeved Polo
shirt that she said did great things for his eyes.

He went into the dining room to put the
finishing touches on the table. He’d found good china and crystal
he’d forgotten he had and used it, scrounged up some candles, and
had just set the CD for some easy listening when the doorbell
rang.

Hurrying to the foyer, he whipped open the
door. “Hello, love.” He drew her inside, shrugged her out of her
jacket and kissed her soundly. She held on tight. Tighter than
usual. Maybe she already knew how their future had changed
irrevocably today. He drew back, noting the way her blue sweater
accented her eyes. “Do you know?”

Her face was flushed and her eyes rounded.
“Know?”

“About the GGs?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s wonderful news. We got Taz
out in time.”

A little stung, he said, “That’s the only
reason it’s wonderful?”

“What?”

He peered down at her, wishing ESCAPE didn’t
always come first. “I thought maybe you’d be happy about the
significance of this arrest for us.”

She looked up at him. “I’m sorry, I’m
distracted

He didn’t know why that pissed him off.
He guessed he expected more enthusiasm for
them
as a couple, for their future. Since the
GGs had been caught, secrecy was no longer so vital. He turned away
from her and crossed to the bar, trying not to go off half-cocked
about what could be an imagined slight—something he was prone to do
with this woman! “Want some wine?”

“I don’t think so. Not just yet.”

He wished she didn’t muddle his brain so
much; he busied himself trying to clear his head, quell his pique.
It leaked out anyway. “So you don’t see this GG’s thing as any more
significant than its effect on Taz?” he said with more edge to his
voice than he intended.

“Um, yeah, of course I do.”

Ice clinked into his glass. “Don’t be so
enthusiastic about it.”

He felt her come up behind him, lean slightly
into his back. “You’re angry about my reaction?” Hell, she sounded
amused.

He shrugged, feeling like a little boy
sulking.

“I’m sorry. Something more important came
up.”

He opened a new bottle of scotch. “As usual.”
He was pouring his drink when she reached around him and dropped
something on the sideboard. “What’s that?”

“Look at the box.”

He picked it up. EPT. He scowled. “EPT—what’s
that stand—” His heart stopped in his chest. “An early pregnancy
test?”

“Uh-huh.”

Whirling around, he clutched the box. Blindly
he stared down at it. Then he peered up at her. “It’s not
open.”

“No.” She had a smile on her face.

“I take it this is for you.”

“Never let it be said the voters elected
somebody slow on the uptake.”

He didn’t smile. “What...what’s going
on?”

Her gaze was direct. “I haven’t had a period
since the beginning of September.”

“It’s November.” He frowned. “You never had
your period when we were together, but I just assumed you’d
menstruated the times we were apart.” His frown turned to a scowl.
“You’ve suspected something and didn’t tell me?”

She shook her head, long black locks going
everywhere. “No, actually until about an hour ago, I suspected
nothing.”

He arched a brow. “Talk about slow on the
uptake.”

Chuckling, she reached out as if she had to
touch him. She laid her palm near his heart. “My period’s erratic.
It always has been. I never know when it’s going to come.”

He just stared at her. “That means you never
know when you...”

“Ovulate. That’s right.” She drew in a deep
breath. “Suze wanted to borrow tampons. I went to get mine,
realized I’d never opened that particular box, checked my calendar,
and saw how late I was.”

His heart began to catapult in his chest. “Do
you, um, think you’re pregnant?”

Biting her lip, she moved in close. “I think
it’s a possibility.”

“Have you had any symptoms?”

“No.” His heart slowed. “But I didn’t have
any with Rory either.”

“So...” Heart rate was double timing now.
“Why didn’t you do the test?”

“I wanted to wait until we were together.”
She swallowed hard. “Besides, I wanted to ask you something first.”
She watched him with those fathomless blue eyes. “Before we do it,
I need to know if you’d be happy or sad if the test is
positive.”

He waited until he could form a coherent
sentence. “I see. And do I get to ask you the same thing?”

“After you answer. I know how I feel. You
have to go first, then I’ll see if we match.”

Huge emotion battered at his chest. Cradling
her cheek in his palm, he smiled. “I would leap for joy if you were
carrying my baby, Bailey O’Neil.”

A grin split her face. “Me, too, Clayton
Wainwright.”

He dragged her to him, burying his face in
her hair. “Oh, honey.” He gripped her tightly, relishing the feel
of her, and the significance of this whole development. Then he
forced himself to think clearly. “We’re getting ahead of ourselves
here, though, aren’t we?”

“Uh-huh. I just had to know that first.”

Drawing back, he stared down at her. “What
did you think I’d say?”

“Clay, this whole relationship—everything
that’s happened between us—has been so unorthodox, and so
unexpected...I didn’t know what to think about this latest
thing.”

“I’d be really happy, love.”

“Well,” she said taking the box from him,
“let’s see if there’s anything to celebrate.”

She briefed him on the procedure as
they climbed the stairs to his bedroom. He couldn’t seem to stop
touching her; she could be having his child. His mind whirled with
a hundred thoughts all jumbling up together. She went directly to
the bathroom off his master suite, closed the door, then opened it
a short time later. She had a paper cup in her hand and a wand. “It
only takes a few minutes.” He stood in the doorway as she set the
cup on the vanity, inserted the wand. Then she faced him. “It’ll
say
pregnant
or
not pregnant
.”

“No wands turning pink or blue?”

She shook her head.

He stared at her and smiled. She smiled. He
checked his watch. She checked hers. Finally she said, “Time to
look.”

“All right.” He grabbed her arm as she turned
to the cup, and laced the fingers of both hands with hers. “I love
you, Bailey.”

Swallowing hard, she withdrew a hand;
it shook as she reached for the wand. Peered down. She closed her
eyes and passed it to him. It said simply,
pregnant
.

“Ah, love.” He pulled her to him. She held on
tight, then small tremors shook her. He felt his own eyes mist.
Finally she drew back.

“Clay.” She reached up and swiped her hands
over his face.

Trying to swallow the lump in his throat, he
whispered, “I’m happy.” After a moment, he took her hand and led
her to the bedroom. “I want to see.”

She giggled. “See what?”

“Your stomach. Is it bigger?”

“No, though I have no idea whether I’m two
weeks or two months along.”

Slowly he unzipped her jeans. Sliding them
over her hips, he found a pair of red bikini panties, cut below her
stomach. Reverently, he knelt down in front of her and placed his
cheek against her belly. Then he kissed her there, bringing a new
bout of moisture to Bailey’s eyes.

Finally he zipped and buttoned her pants and
stood. “So, what do we do now, Ms. O’Neil?”

“That’s easy. You’re going to marry me.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re going marry me, Senator.”

“Well,” he said dryly, “I guess that’s all
settled.”

Then he remembered something.

You didn’t marry Rory’s father?

No, he asked, but I wasn’t in love like I
should be.

Yet she wanted to marry
him
.

Reaching down, she grabbed the purse she’d
thrown on the bed. From it she drew out a little pouch and gave it
to him.

He asked, “What’s this?”

“Open it.”

He shook the contents into his hand. Out fell
two beautiful, gold wedding bands. Filagreed with some kind of
design. He looked up at her.

“The rings belonged to my grandparents. They
willed them to the only girl in the family. I know they’re not
fancy, though they are real gold; those are Celtic knots,
symbolizing Ireland, and the union of two entities. And they
probably won’t fit. But I’d like to use them.”