It’s a clear day, and thankfully sunny, so I won’t look out of place wearing the sunglasses, though maybe the weather forecast factored into the plan for today’s outing. I don’t know if I’ll feel one hundred percent safe out in public ever again, but being escorted by these three men puts me as much at ease as I can possibly be.
Regardless, my nerves are humming when, exactly twenty minutes later, Atlas rolls into a quaint town, pretty as a picture, except for the graying piles of snow at the street corners and smaller piles along the curbs.
The various buildings that line both sides of the street look like they were transported here from a different time. A bank, a bakery, an office with real estate listings posted in the windows. All of it quaint and picturesque.
Atlas eases down the main street and pulls into the lot for a small brick building with a discreet sign announcing the Moon Ridge Medical Center. There’s an American flag out front, a couple of other cars and trucks in the lot, and a small ramp leading up to the front door.
After putting the truck in park, Atlas turns in his seat. “Grizz goes in with you. The truck will be parked right up the street where we’re picking up supplies.”
Grizz nods in a way that gives me the impression every detail of this mission has been carefully planned.
“Things should be fine at the clinic,” Atlas says, “but any problems, you walk out. You call me. Understood?”
My fingers tighten around the strap of the small purse Atlas bought for me. “Understood.”
Grizz gets out, then comes around to my side and opens the door before I can get to it. He offers his hand as if I’m something breakable and gives me a wink. “Ready, Jennifer?”
I suck in a breath, put on my big sunglasses, and step out into the wintry air. “Ready.”
CHAPTER 14
KIRA
The clinic looks clean, but lived-in. I’m shown into an exam room right away, where I tuck my sunglasses into my purse and change into the ubiquitous paper gown.
After only a few minutes, there’s a knock on the door, and a lean woman wearing dark scrubs comes into the room. She’s carrying a laptop, but she offers me her free hand. “Maria Navarro.”
“Nice to meet you, Dr. Navarro. Thank you for seeing me today.”
“Of course. Andrew is a good friend. Happy to help.” It takes me a moment to connect the name Andrew to Atlas. I don’t think I’ve heard it since Atlas first introduced himself to me.
During our small talk, Dr. Navarro assesses me in a way that reminds me of Viper’s thorough visual scans. Despite some weariness in her eyes, she’s clearly sharp. Her nearly black hair is streaked with gray and pulled back in a neat twist. There’s an old scar near her temple.
She perches on a stool and flips her computer open. “Andrew said you’d need discretion. I spent ten years patching people up in places that don’t officially exist, so I know how to keep my mouth shut.”
My shoulders relax. “Thank you.”
One side of her mouth lifts in a brief but comforting smile before she starts tapping away on the keyboard. “Do you know how far along you are?” Her eyes drop to the spot where my hands are folded in my lap as I sit on the exam table.
“Almost five months.” I tell her the due date that my old doctor worked out.
“What’s your pregnancy been like? Any symptoms?”
“I was exhausted the first couple of months, then had some nausea, but no vomiting. Lately, I’ve had more energy, and my appetite’s been growing.”
“Any bleeding, pain, fever?”
I shake my head. “No, none of that.”
“Good. Are you taking vitamins?”
I wince. “I was. I started taking them as soon as I found out I was pregnant. But I haven’t had any in the past few weeks.”
She stops typing and looks up at me. “Is there an issue with access?”
You could drive a truck as big as Atlas’s through the space between that question and all the things she’snotasking.
“I had to leave in a hurry,” I say, and I feel guilty because I could have asked Atlas to get a multivitamin for me if I’d thought about it.
