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CHAPTER 25

FORTUNATELY, THE FIRST member of staff I saw was Dr. Beech, my favourite death-certificate-signing, press-conference-holding ER doctor.

“Hey, Doc.”

“Hi, Emerson. You’re looking in remarkably good health for a corpse.” He laughed at his own joke. “Great funeral, by the way. Bradley really pushed the boat out. Even had a live band at the wake. It was a shame you missed it.”

Flipping Bradley. Honestly, he’d use anything as an excuse for a party. I needed to have a word with him.

“It might have looked odd if I’d turned up, don’t you think?”

“Oh. Yes, I guess it would.”

“I’ve got two people who need to be checked out. Can you help? The receptionist out there’s convinced I’m dead, and she’s acting like Cerberus. Goodness knows how anybody ever gets medical treatment around here.”

“She can be a bit of a jobsworth, can’t she? I’ll come right out. What are we dealing with?”

“One pregnant lady, might well be about to pop, and one man who needs a thorough check over.”

“No problem. Did I tell you about our new fundraising campaign? We want to put in a sensory room for some of the long-term patients.”

“I’m sure I can be persuaded to make a donation.”

“Excellent. Nurses! Come with me.”

It was amazing how much red tape could be bypassed when a person had just been press-ganged into buying another addition to the children’s unit. Within a couple of hours, Black had been tested for everything under the sun, including glaucoma and West Nile Virus, “just to be on the safe side.” He’d been CAT-scanned and MRI-ed, and the nurse took so much blood he threatened to report her under the Geneva Conventions. And at the end of it all, thankfully, Dr. Beech pronounced him in good health, apart from a mild case of anaemia and a vitamin D deficiency.

After that, we went to find Akari, who was in a private room with a midwife sitting by her side.

“Miss Takeda here is in labour, isn’t that great news?”

It appeared Akari didn’t share the midwife’s sentiment. In fact, she looked downright terrified.

“Are you Daddy?” the midwife asked Black.

He looked as scared as Akari. “No! I’m...well...Uncle, I guess. The baby’s father isn’t around.”

“Never mind, at least she’s got someone to help. Have you been going to ante-natal classes with her?”

“No, no classes.”

“That’s not ideal.” She shook her head and tutted. “But not to worry, I can help you to prepare for the birth.”

Honestly, Black went white. I’d seen him in gunfights and I’d seen him in knife fights, but I’d never seen him look worried like he did when the nurse mentioned childbirth.

“I need some water.” He dashed from the room. Wimp.

Then the nurse turned on me. “Men! Just haven’t got the stomach for it. You’ll be staying though?”

“Me? F...er, no!”

“Well, somebody should really be with her. Does she have any other family?”

“Yes.” Thank goodness. “Her brother and parents are on their way.” Sloane had arranged everything. The Takedas were in the air right now.

“Well, that’s great. Do they have far to come?”

“Uh, from Japan.”

“I hate to tell you this, missy, but the baby won’t wait for them to arrive all the way from there.”

Oh, shiznits. Right, I could do this. Childbirth was supposed to be a natural, beautiful thing, wasn’t it? I thought back to when Carmen’s son was born. Afterwards, she’d told Nate if he ever got her pregnant again, she was going to castrate him. Maybe not so beautiful, then.

Akari started panting, and the nurse reached out to hold her hand. She screamed and batted the woman away then grabbed mine instead. Oh, this was horrible. And Black had abandoned me, the big coward.

The midwife peered under the sheet covering Akari’s bottom half and muttered something about dilation. With my free hand, I got my phone out and checked the calendar. My last contraceptive shot was a month ago. I’d be good for another eight weeks. No way was I ever going through this.

Akari shrieked again as another contraction came, and I dropped my phone. The doctor dashed through the door, ran around the bed, and trod on it. Little bits of screen scattered across the floor. Rats.

The midwife encouraged Akari to push, and she nearly broke all the bones in my hand. Would it be frowned upon if I asked for some painkillers?

Akari relaxed enough for me to wriggle free, and I moved my fingers, checking they still worked. The contractions must have been coming thick and fast because then she grabbed my arm instead, cutting off all circulation. The scream that followed probably reached Tokyo, and my ears were still ringing long after she shut her mouth.

There was a flurry of activity from the medical staff. Akari’s face went a disturbing shade of purple, and then I heard crying. Was it over? Please say it was over.

The midwife held up a gunk-covered baby, which was bawling its eyes out. “It’s a beautiful baby boy.”

Thank goodness for that. I wouldn’t have cared if it was a baby Frankenstein as long as I could get out of there.

The midwife wrapped him in a towel and placed him in Akari’s arms, and she gazed at him with love-filled eyes. It was kind of cute, I guess, but my heartbeat still hadn’t calmed down. I needed a drink. Gin, preferably, but water would have to do. After muttering a hasty, “Congratulations,” I made a swift exit and found Black leaning against the wall outside.

“You’re a git.” I thumped him in the chest as I walked past.

“Yeah, sorry about that. What are those marks on your arm?”

“Bruises. From Akari’s fingers. That’s what happens when you sit next to a woman in labour.”

“So you saw the baby being born?”

“No, I closed my eyes for the gruesome part. And let me tell you now, I am never, ever putting myself through that.”

A twinge of regret crossed his face, but only for a second and then it was gone. Well, it was his own fault he’d missed the birth. He should have manned up and gone in there.

“Good. Yes, that’s good. Trying to find a replacement for you while you took maternity leave would be impossible.”

“I’m one of a kind, all right.”

Seconds later, reinforcements arrived in the form of Mack, Nate, Carmen, Nick, and Dan.

“Did we miss it? Did we miss it?” Carmen squealed.

“Yes. The baby came a few minutes ago.”

“Is it a boy or a girl?”

“A boy. He’s really tiny.”

“Sweet! Bradley’s gone out to buy a nursery, by the way.”

“Where’s he planning to put that?”

“I have no idea. I’m not sure he does either. He just saw a shopping opportunity that was too valuable to pass up.”

Shopping, parties. Oh, Bradley. “What’s all this I hear about a funeral?”

“You mean yours?” Dan asked.

“Yes, mine.”

“Bradley did an excellent job with that on such short notice. He even had one of those airplanes towing a banner that said ‘RIP Emerson.’ There was a great turnout too.”

I. Was. Going. To. Kill. Him.

Luckily for Bradley, Nate broke in. “Sloane called. She said Hiro Takeda’s plane just landed and you’d know what that meant. And she also said you’re not answering your phone?”

“I know what she means, and the doctor trod on my phone.”

“I’m not even going to ask.”

Probably for the best. I borrowed Nate’s phone to get Hiro redirected to the hospital then went to find Black. He was sitting next to Akari, looking down at the baby.

“He has my nose and jawline, don’t you think?” he asked me.

I stared at the tiny little person, who’d thankfully been cleaned up by now.

“Yeah, I can see that. He’s going to look a lot like you and Carlos when he grows up.”

“I can’t believe he’s here,” Akari whispered. “They were going to kill him.”

“Who?”

“Diego and Hector. I heard them talking. Diego said he didn’t want a crying child around the place.”

“Well, they can’t do that now. Things’ll be okay; I promise. Your brother’s just landed in the States, and he’s on his way here.”

“It will be strange to see him after so many years. What should I say? It was difficult talking to him on the phone.”

“I don’t think it matters. He loves you so much he’ll be happy if you simply sit there.”

The nurse came back with a doctor in tow. “We need to give you a checkup, Miss Takeda.”

She reached out, but Akari shrank away. “Don’t touch me. Please.”

The sheet shifted off her legs, and I saw what I’d missed earlier. Deep scars marred her flesh, all the way up her calf. She followed my gaze and quickly tugged the sheet back.

“Please don’t let them touch me.” She turned her eyes on Black, pleading.

“We won’t. I promise.” He focused on the medical staff. “Handle with care. Got it?”

The nurse gulped, and the doctor nodded and took a step backwards. Black had that effect on people.

We got Dan’s leg seen by a colleague of Dr. Beech’s and a reconstructive surgeon, and Hiro arrived half an hour later. He looked nervous, nothing like the ruthless cop the dossier Sloane had sent over suggested.

I met him in the corridor and shook his hand, then as an afterthought he bowed. “You will have to excuse my manners,” he said, speaking English this time. “I still can’t believe this is happening.”

“Yeah, sorry about the short notice. It’s been one crazy day. But congratulations, you’re an uncle now. And you must be the grandparents?” I spotted an elderly Japanese couple standing behind Hiro.

The woman nodded, clutching onto her husband’s arm for support, and I led them through to Akari. Tears flowed, as was only to be expected after so long apart, so Black and I left them alone to get used to being a family again.

When we got outside, the parking jobsworth had just finished writing my ticket. I gave him a hundred bucks and the finger as I walked to the driver’s door.

“I’ll drive,” Black said. “My heart might be healthy at the moment, but a few more trips like this morning’s and that could change.”

“I didn’t go that fast.”

“You left skid marks when you turned into the parking lot.” He held out his hand for the keys.

Fine. I had to message Hiro anyway, so I tossed them over and took the passenger seat. Dan’s muttered, “Thank goodness,” as she climbed into the back didn’t escape my notice.

As Black drove off, not much slower than me, I hasten to add, I borrowed his phone and told Hiro to call when he and his family were ready to leave. We’d find somewhere for them all to stay. Bradley would just have to interrupt whatever havoc he was busy wreaking and sort out rooms for them. It was going to be a full house at Riverley tonight.