Unseen (Will Trent / Atlanta Series)

at Dr. Benedict’s office. Her head was elevated, but her legs dangled uncomfortably over the end. She tried to keep the paper gown from riding up. It was no use. She was quickly learning that you had to choose between being pregnant and being modest. This was the first of many compromises Lena saw in her future. She already had the sensation of her body being taken over. She was peeing more. Sleeping more. Hell, she was even breathing more. The weird part was that instead of feeling invaded, Lena felt happier than she’d ever been in her life.
    “You decent?” Jared peered around the door. He saw Lena and gave a low whistle as he walked over to the table. “Babe, I’m seeing some bedroom opportunities here.”
    She rolled her eyes, even though she felt a strange thrill when he talked like this. And he was talking like this a lot lately.
    She asked, “What’d you say to get out of work?”
    “Told them I needed some personal time. They think I’m having an affair.”
    She slapped his arm. “That’s not funny.”
    He laughed good-naturedly as he looked around the room. “What is all this crap?”
    “Got me,” Lena said, though she recognized the ultrasound machine. Just looking at it made her nervous. She didn’t knowwhat she would do if something was wrong. No heartbeat. The baby’s brain growing outside of its head. Horror stories were all over the Internet. She’d turned off the computer last night and thrown up in the hall bathroom.
    Jared pulled out one of the stirrups. “You think they sell these tables at Costco?”
    “Can you not be disgusting?” She slid the stirrup back in with her heel. “It’s bad enough I’m gonna be poked and prodded for the next eight months.”
    “Seven and a half.” He picked up the plastic model of a uterus. The pieces fell apart in his hands. “Shit, the baby went under the table.”
    Lena watched him get down on his hands and knees to retrieve the plastic fetus. His ass was in the air. His uniform pants stretched in a not unpleasant way. They worked out at the gym together almost every morning. Sometimes, Lena watched him doing squats while she ran on the treadmill.
    “Found it.” Jared stood up, holding the fetus like a toothpick between his thumb and forefinger. “You okay? Your face is red.”
    Lena put her hand to her cheek. She changed the subject. “I saw this pregnant woman at the store yesterday. The checkout lady patted her stomach like she was a dog. Then she said, ‘Good job, Mom,’ like it takes a special skill to get knocked up.”
    Jared grinned. “You think people are gonna pat my crotch and tell me good job?”
    “Not unless they want my Glock up their ass.”
    He laughed, putting the plastic baby in the uterus, snapping the pieces back together. “You know my mom’s gonna wanna be here when it happens.”
    Lena didn’t want to talk about that. Today was supposed to be happy.
    “I’m just warning you,” Jared said. “And telling you that I want her here.”
    “Do I have a choice?”
    “Your skeevy uncle will probably come, too.”
    “At least Hank will have the decency to stay in a motel and leave the next day.”
    Jared couldn’t argue with that. Hank had visited a few times since they got married. He was very mindful of outstaying his welcome.
    She said, “It’s bad luck to talk about any of this now.” Lena couldn’t help adding, “Like painting the nursery. And looking at cribs. We need to wait another couple of weeks.”
    He put the uterus back on the counter with a thud.
    She tried, “Besides, if you’re going to work around the house, you should finish the kitchen.”
    “It’ll be finished before the baby comes.”
    “It’d better be.” Lena felt a fight brewing. She pulled back, not wanting the day ruined. All week, Jared had been talking about seeing the baby for the first time. She couldn’t mess this up for him.
    Lena asked, “You’re never late. What kept you?”
    “They put in the marker for Lonnie’s son this morning. Some of us rode by to pay our respects.”
    “That’s nice.” Lena felt a swell of sympathy for the chief. His son had died after a long illness. Lonnie wouldn’t let him go, even when it was clear that nothing could be done to save him. In the end, they’d hooked him up to every machine in the ICU.
    Jared said, “Something bad like that happens to me, promise me you’ll pull the plug.”
    “I’ll pull it right now.”
    “I mean it,” he said. “Don’t let me hang