Page 16 of Mafia Doctor's Secret Baby

She directs me the short distance to her apartment building, and sure enough, when we get there, a cluster of irritated neighbors are huddled outside as workmen trail in and out of the house. The girl who was with Katie at the birth is there too, cradling a sleeping Polly in her arms, and she waves Katie over at once. I follow her.

Her eyes dart up to meet mine for a moment, but she clearly thinks better of asking anything about my presence here. Instead, she hands Polly to a worried Katie, and shakes her head.

“It all happened so fast,” she murmurs. “I got Polly down for a nap, and then there was this big crack, and the building was being evacuated…”

“Are you okay?” Katie asks with concern as she tugs the blanket up to cover Polly a little better. The baby seems wiped out—probably exhausted after all the excitement, especially if it manifested in the middle of her nap time.

“Yeah, I’m good,” she replies. “They said they were going to send someone down here to get you settled into a new home while they’re doing repairs, but…”

“Shit,” Katie mutters, sighing. “I hoped it wouldn’t come to that. You think they’ll have everything Polly needs…?”

“If they don’t,” I cut in. “I’ll make sure she does. You have my word on that.”

Katie’s head darts around to look up at me. I can tell she’s surprised by my presence here—not least because I told her to stay away from me, only to insist on coming with her when things went wrong. Anyone would be baffled by that.

And now that I’m here, I can see that there’s nothing crazy going down here. It seems like an honest-to-God fault in the line, and I guess that should be enough to soothe me and send me on my way. But I can’t help but feel as though someone is still watching us, and I will not be comfortable walking away from her until I’m sure she is safely ensconced at this new place.

“I should get out of here before they try to re-home me too,” Cara remarks, her eyes sliding in my direction once again. “You sure you’re going to be alright, Katie…?”

“I’m sure,” Katie replies. “Thank you, Cara. You’re a lifesaver.”

Her friend leaves without demanding to know too much more about my presence here—much to my relief. I don’t want to have that conversation if I can avoid it. I’m sure she’s going to demand an explanation from Katie as soon as she gets the chance, but that’s not my problem—not right now, anyway.

Cara leaves, and Katie tends to Polly, fussing over her and checking that she’s fed and changed. I stand off to the side, my eyes pinned to my daughter—it’s the first time I’ve seen her since I discovered she exists, and it seems like she’s growing well. Her eyes are a little bleary as she blinks and looks around, taking in the fact that she’s not in her room, and she begins to cry.

“Oh, sweetheart, it’s okay,” Katie tries to soothe her. “Don’t cry, we’ll be somewhere else soon…”

“Let me hold her,” I ask, my demand catching even me off guard. There’s a certainty to my voice that surprises her, but as she turns to face me and I reach out my arms for Polly, she doesn’t try to resist.

The girl slides into my arms with ease, and I marvel for a moment at how well she seems to fit there. It’s not like I don’t come across a lot of babies in my line of work, but it’s gotten to the point where I’m inoculated against them now—I see them as a collection of problems that need to be solved, not a little human being in their own right. But Polly? As the corners of her mouth uncurl from the frown they were in and she looks up at me, I can see her taking me in, judging me, as though she’s making sure that I really exist.

“She’s beautiful,” I breathe before I can stop myself, gently rocking her in my arms. I can see Katie smiling out of the corner of my eye, even though my own gaze is stuck on the little girl before me.

“Yeah,” she agrees. “Yeah, she is…”

Before I can say another word, a woman comes striding over to us, letting out an annoyed sigh as though she wishes she could be anywhere else in the world right now.

“Apart 4-B?” she barks at Katie, and Katie nods—the woman holds out a set of keys to her and presses them into her hand.

“What’s this…?”

“The keys to your new place,” the woman replies, as though she can barely believe she’s being questioned on this. “Weren’t you listening?—”

“Hey, don’t speak to her like that,” I cut in, and I take a step forward, handing Polly back to her mother. “Where’s the new apartment?”

The woman stares at me for a moment—it’s clear she’s not used to being spoken to like this.

“Uh, Franklin Street,” she burbles. “The address is printed on the keys. You’ll be staying there until?—”

“Come on, Katie,” I tell her, glancing over my shoulder. “I’ll drive you there now.”

“Does it have baby stuff?” Katie asks, and the woman nods.

“Everything you’ll need?—”

“Then let’s go,” she says, and she turns to face me, heading over to the car with Polly in her arms.

I don’t have a child seat in the car, so we ride slowly, Polly cradled in Katie’s arms—the rumble of the car beneath herseems to soothe the baby somewhat, and I can’t help but steal glances at her out of the corner of my eye.

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