Page 68 of Ready or Not

“Yes, actually. Fallon Pierce—we’ve not been able to find a single piece of information on her. No birth certificate, driver’s license, or any of those records that should be easy enough to dig up.” Mercy adjusts the cuff on his shirt. “I wanted to see if it would be possible to send someone to speak to your informant to determine if there might be any other information that we missed. With Merrick out of communication, we’re working with B Team.”

I scratch my jaw. “Yeah, let me see who would be least likely to spook him, and I’ll send someone to make contact.”

“Sounds good.” Mercy nods, looking back at Garza and smiling brightly. “That’s incredible news.”

Vale’s next checkup goes well. She’s having pretty consistent Braxton Hicks contractions, but Dr. Sanderson assures us that’s normal for this stage.

We’ve got a full day today. We need to wrap up the hospital tour. Then Mercy is meeting with his family again before they leave town. I know he’s seen them twice since the dinner with Garza and Vale, but things are looking less than optimistic.

It’s a damn shame, considering how much the inheritance would help accomplish our goals. There’s not a whole lot we can do to force them, so it is what it is.

The hospital coordinator is an older woman with salt-and-pepper hair and thick black-frame glasses. She’s friendly enough but very no nonsense in her delivery of the information.

“The average cost of delivery is fifteen to twenty-six thousand dollars, depending on if you have a vaginal delivery or a C-section.” The coordinator grabs the file folder from under her arm and starts flipping through. “We do have a flat rate for uninsured patients that must be paid prior to delivery.”

“That’s some bullshit,” Holt says under his breath. “They’re what? Going to turn away a pregnant lady in the middle of giving birth because they can’t pay?”

“They won’t plan an induction or a C-section, but the hospital in DC told me they wouldn’t turn away anyone in active labor. Maybe it’s like that?” Vale says, shrugging. She’s got her face buried in my side, but she stretches a hand out, grabbing Holt’s.

Mercy talks in hushed tones with the coordinator as he studies the paper she handed him.

Garza frowns, glancing around the room. “I’m sorry they don’t have birthing nests. It seems like this hospital is on the small side.”

Vale chuckles. “That’s okay. I’m not picky. I definitely wasn’t going for the nest upgrade, even if I was in DC.”

I sigh, running my hand up and down her spine. “You’re good with delivering here?”

“I really am. It’s where Dr. Garza and Dr. Sanderson have privileges. It’s also the only hospital with a labor and delivery department within a thirty-minute drive.” Vale smiles playfully. “All that means it’s perfect. Although, I won’t lie. I’ve genuinely said prayers the last few nights that Dr. Sanderson is the one on call when I go into labor.”

Garza snorts. “Yeah, having Pat as your doctor might be weird.”

“All right, I’m going to head down to the registrar’s office and pay the delivery costs.” Mercy extends an arm. “Vale, would you like to come with me?”

“We might as well all come,” Holt says, eyeing Vale, who is now tucked under Mercy’s arm.

Poor Holton is still very much losing his shit about how and when to declare his love.

I clap him on the back. “Yup, we’ll all come. Might as well make it a family affair.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Vale

Our never-ending day spills into a late lunch with Mercy’s family pack. They seem surprised when the five of us show up, but Mercy needed the support. Also, we only brought one vehicle to check out the hospital. Having to head back to the house and then have him drive to meet them would have made him late.

Luckily, the hotel restaurant is dead this time of the day, and they quickly changed the reservation to a booth to accommodate all of us.

Holt and Garza make small talk, but other than that, it’s ridiculously quiet.

“Do you know how badly I wish I could scoop you up and get us the hell out of here?” Bishop murmurs close to my ear. His warm breath fans over my neck, and it makes me shiver.

My phone rings as I lean deeper into his side. It’s so unexpected that I jolt, grabbing my purse and yanking out the device.

I frown at the screen. “I don’t recognize the number, but it’s a DC area code. I guess I should answer it.”

Bishop nods and slides out of the booth. He helps me to my feet. “Excuse us. It might be her previous doctor’s office.”

It feels like heavy misdirection, but I guess it could be. We aim for the hallway I’ve already visited for a bathroom break when we arrived.

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