When she peeked out the window this time, she saw a girl walking to her front door.
“Well, I’ll be.” A smile spread across her face. “You’re about ready to pop, ain’t ya?”
The girl’s round belly tented the oversized NASCAR sweatshirt she wore with swollen boobs bouncing underneath. She had on a faded ball cap, pulled down low. And a dark pair of sunglasses hid her plain-looking face. Getting knocked up was obviously an embarrassment.
Before her visitor rang the bell, she trudged for the door. When she opened it, the girl stood with one hand raised, ready to knock, with the other on her belly.
“You must be Michelle.” She forced a smile and opened the screen door. “I recognized you from your pictures on MySpace. You’re even prettier in person.”
The girl was taller than she expected. And her pregnant belly looked to be filled with more than one kid. After she stepped inside the door, she took off her sunglasses, revealing a noticeable scar over her eye. Intense dark eyes stared back at her, and she wondered, for the first time, why such a woman would have anything to do with her son. A momma’s gut reaction. Something didn’t sit right, but before she said anything, Michelle beat her to it.
“You said Eddie would be here.” Her eyes searched the room and peered down the hall toward the bedrooms. “So where is he?”
The way Michelle glared made her think twice about her chances at tricking the girl out of her baby. Something in her eyes wasn’t right.
“If you were lying to me, I’m out.” The girl turned to go, not waiting for her answer. She meant business.
“No…wait.” She reached for Michelle’s arm. “He’s here. I just gotta get him up, that’s all. You stay right there. Don’t move.”
She held both hands up as she headed for the hallway. A part of her didn’t want to leave the girl alone, unsure whether she’d bolt or steal something.
“Eddie? We got us a visitor,” she yelled. “Get your ass out here.”
At the sound of her voice, the dog next door started to bark. But it took a while for Eddie to get moving. Eventually, he stumbled down the hall, his face scrunched, his eyes squinting from the light. And his reddish blond hair looked more like sunbleached tumbleweed.
All he had on was a pair of boxers, ones she’d given him last Christmas with the Superman logo on them. His trucker’s tan made his skin look like a cotton tee—and with him scratching his bare belly with greasy nails—he looked a far cry from the man of steel, even through a momma’s eyes.
“Where the hell are your manners, boy?” As he walked by, she smacked him upside the head and kept talking, “Get yourself dressed.”
“Ow.” He winced. “What did you do that for?”
But when he spotted the girl, his face blotched red. And his eyes flared in anger.
“Momma, what the hell did you do?”
“Hello, Eddie.” The girl smiled, rubbing a hand over her swollen belly. “I’m fixin’ to send Junior to college. What do you say? Care to make a contribution to our boy’s college fund?”
What happened next took Wilhelmina by complete surprise. Michelle pulled a shiny silver gun from under her baby bump and leveled it at her son’s face. That little girl was packing heat. And she’d brought this trouble to her own doorstep. All things considered, her day was swirling down the crapper. And she had no desire to find out what would come next.
“Now hold on, honey. What’s going on?” She raised both hands, careful not to get between her son and the crazed girl holding him at gunpoint. After all, if that thing went off, she didn’t want to get hit by mistake.
“She’s a damned bounty hunter, Momma. Her name’s Beckett.”
“Jessica Beckett, ma’am.” The girl pulled out something from around her neck that had been covered by her oversized sweatshirt—a badge as shiny as her gun. “And I prefer Fugitive Recovery Agent.” To Eddie, she said, “You up for playin’ nice, or are you gonna piss me off again?”
With a downright lethal glare, Eddie raised his hands, but faster than Wilhelmina knew he could move, her son bolted down the hall toward his bedroom. A half-naked Superman moved faster than a speeding bullet, his version of it.
“Oh, hell!” The bounty hunter lowered her weapon and chased after him, pregnant belly and all.
The girl ran by her, full tilt.
“What are you doin’?” she cried after her. “You’re gonna hurt the baby.”
CHAPTER 3
Chasing Eddie Smart, Jessica Beckett hit the deja vu zone, remembering the last time this guy pulled a rabbit on her. She tucked her new .357 Magnum Colt Python away under her fake baby bump, knowing this would be another footrace. But this time, seeing his butt jiggling in Superman boxers would leave her scarred for life.
Another hazard not covered by workman’s comp.
“Shut ’er down, NASCAR. You’re only making me mad,” she yelled, only seconds behind him.
But the guy slammed his bedroom door in her face. In stride and not stopping, she hit wood with her shoulder, hurling open the door. It hit a wall with a loud crack. And the dog next door went into a frenzy. Close on Eddie’s heels, Jess had burst into the room and grappled him onto the mattress before he crashed through the nearest window.
“Oh, God.” She winced as she pinned him to the bed.
His whole room smelled like feet.
“Get off me, damn it!” He drooled on the bedsheets. “Watch it!”
With his nose mashed to one side, it was a definite improvement. She straddled his body, fumbling to keep Junior out of the way. Her fake pregnancy gear had worn out its usefulness, leaving only one purpose now. It kept Eddie’s hot sweaty skin at a distance.
“Eddie, come on, man.” She bent his arm back and slapped on a cuff. “You skipped on bail. Did you honestly think Momma would be an asset?”
After she secured his other arm, she backed off him, heaving for air. She caught a peek from a dresser mirror. Eddie’s momma stood in the doorway, her skin flushed.
“Honey, are you okay?” She shook her head. “You ought to not jostle the baby like that.”
Jess stared for a long moment, taking in the absurdity of her situation. She glanced in the mirror again, seeing herself in NASCAR gear and baby bump. And a slow rumble of laughter started deep in her belly, her real one.
“I’m not kidding, honey. You maybe ought to go to a doctor or something.”
And Momma Smart made it worse. She fought to keep her laughter to a minimum, but the harder she worked at it, the more maniacal she sounded. Jess knew Eddie’s momma needed to see things for herself. As the woman’s son lay sprawled on the bed, whining and complaining, Jess stripped off the fake pregnancy belly, a suffocating outer layer when worn with her Kevlar vest underneath. She tucked the phony belly under her arm and pulled her weapon again, not sure Eddie’s momma would let her pass.
“Your son skipped on bail, and he’s under arrest. You got anything more to say?” She stood over Eddie, waiting for his mother to register the truth on her face.
“So you ain’t Michelle?”
“Not today.” Jess rolled her eyes and pulled Eddie to his feet, heading him for the door.
The name Michelle had been a random pick. Jess had taken a chance with it, but she doubted Eddie would ever remember a woman’s name, even if he’d slept with her.
“But your blog…the NASCAR. And your picture with my boy,” the woman’s voice trailed off as realization hit her between the eyes. Luckily, the woman kept her distance, allowing Jess to haul Eddie’s ass safely to the curb.
“I heard Eddie used to be on MySpace. I figured it was worth a shot to set up a page with his picture on it… to see if someone recognized him.”
Jess didn’t explain the marvels of Photoshop, the only place where dismemberment wasn’t against the law.
