City of Sin

by Ford, Mia

  “What do you mean, gone? Jenny, I don’t understand what you’re saying to me.”

  “It’s Hayley, she came to take him. She said you knew that she was coming and that I couldn’t stop her. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t want to panic in front of Alex and wind him up, but she’s his mother so I didn’t know what to do. The police would have let her take him I think, I don’t know…”

  Holy fuck. I can’t breathe as I try to take this in, it’s too much. Alex… Hayley has Alex.

  “Did she say anything? Do you know where she’s taken him?”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know, I’m so sorry, Noah. I don’t know what to do.”

  “It isn’t your fault, Jenny, I get it. Now I just need to get him back, that’s all.”

  Anger circles me, it pumps hot blood through my veins, but it isn’t at Jenny. I understand, she only did what she thought was right. Hayley is a manipulative bitch and I know she would easily talk Jenny around. She knows what she’s doing and it’s all to torture me, this is solely my punishment.

  “I… I have to go, Jenny. I have to find him. I need to work out where Alex is.”

  “What do want me to do?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll call you.”

  I scream loudly as I hang up the phone, Hayley’s warnings now becoming much more severe. I ignored her, I thought it was all just drunken ranting, but now I can see that she meant it. every fucking word.

  “Fucking hell.” I shake my head. My whole body trembling. “Fucking, Hayley.”

  There’s a light knocking at the door and Josh peeks his head around the door. “Boss, are you okay?”

  I nod frantically, then the truth comes flying out my mouth. “My fucking ex has my son.”

  “Oh, right…” He doesn’t get it. I don’t ever share my past.

  “She isn’t allowed to see him, she left him years ago and hasn’t bothered. She wants money…”

  “I… I don’t know what to say about that, boss, I’m sorry. But I can take control here if you need to go.”

  He isn’t the manager, but fuck that for a moment. I doubt anything will go wrong. I don’t care anyway. My son comes first and I can’t do anything to save him from here.

  “You take control, Josh, until Foster gets in. Thank you so much.”

  As I push past him, putting him in charge, and I run outside. Once the fresh air hits me, I press my phone to my ear, needing to at least try to speak to Hayley before this gets wild. It’s hard to get through the streets, crowds fill the whole place, this fucking marathon will be the death of me.

  “Oh, I see, now you respond to me.” Her manipulative voice sends a chill through me.

  “Hayley, where is Alex? What the fuck are you playing at?” I can hear crying in the background. My child.

  “I just want you to give me what I need.”

  “Is this still about money? Are you fucking kidding me? That’s your child. He sounds terrified.”

  “He’s fine. He’s just having a tantrum.” She doesn’t know her child at all. Alex hasn’t thrown tantrums for ages. And that is him afraid. “I couldn’t make you listen to me in any other way.”

  “So, you kidnapped your own child for money?”

  “Do you finally understand how desperate I am?”

  I rake my fingers violently through my hair. “Do you understand how psycho you are?”

  “Look, I need money. Me and my man are in the middle of a sticky situation and we need cash…”

  “The guy you left me for? You want me to give him money?”

  “I want you to give me money to save my life. You loved me once.”

  “And what happens if I don’t?”

  She pauses for long enough for my heart to beat loudly about ten times. “Then you won’t see Alex again.”

  “You can’t do that to me. I’m his father.”

  “I’m his mother. You kept me away from him.”

  “No, you walked off. Don’t put this on me.”

  “What do you think a court of law will say? I’m pretty sure they always favor the mother.”

  I fucking know that she’s right and I’m about ready to flip my fucking lid. It’s really hard for me to keep my cool but I know that I need to if I don’t want something to wreck all of this.

  “So, are you ready to hear me out now, Noah?”

  “I don’t have any fucking choice, do I?”

  “Ooh, I don’t know if I like that language. You might have to be a bit more polite with me.”

  “Don’t wind me up, Hayley.”

  “Just say sorry, then we can move on.”

  She’s pulling a power play and since she has the most ammo I don’t know what the hell I can do aside from go along with her bullshit. There isn’t anyone else in the world I would do this for.

  “Sorry, Hayley,” I spit out. “Now can you tell me what the hell is going on?”

  “I want you to bring me money, obviously.”

  “How much?”

  “I need ten million dollars.”

  “Ten million?” My heart stops dead. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  “I know you can afford it, Noah, I know the gym does well. You are minted.”

  “What the fuck do you need that much for?”

  “Language. I let it slide once. Not again.”

  I squeeze my fist by my side. “What do you need that much for?”

  “To get us out of debt and also for us to start again,” she says as if it’s obvious.

  “What does that mean?”

  “We want to leave.” Her words fill me with hope. “To get out of Vegas, maybe even America.”

  “So, you will be leaving the country?”

  “Hopefully.”

  “So, you wouldn’t ever trouble me or Alex again?”

  “This isn’t about you. Don’t be so fucking selfish.”

  “Oh right, I’m terribly sorry. So, you would start a new amazing life?”

  “That’s the plan yes.”

  I gasp a few times, trying to catch my breath, trying to sort my head out. I don’t want to do this, to give Hayley what she wants, she doesn’t deserve a penny of it. We were never married so she didn’t get anything when we split, which is a good thing. She doesn’t deserve any of it. But it will help me to get Alex back. It will also help her to leave and we’ll never have to see her again.

  I might not like it, but it gives us a good end result.

  “You’re taking too long to answer, Noah, I don’t like that. Do you need time to think? In fact, don’t worry, you can have some time to think. Meet me tonight at eight PM at the address I will send you in a moment. Give me the money and you can have Alex back.”

  “Eight PM…” I ask, but it’s too late, she’s already gone.

  I spin and punch a wall, causing blood to scrape along my hand. I feel like I’m about to explode with anger, this is the worst thing that could happen, but the worst part of it all is the fact that until I can sort out this money, until eight PM, my poor boy is stuck with his vile, horrible mother.

  I hate the image my brain concocts, I need to take action to stop anything bad from happening, I need this to end.

  “Fuck!” I scream out in despair, not caring who’s listening to me. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

  18

  Mia

  “I honestly can’t come out, Kayleigh, I’m so sorry,” I groan as she tries to pull me towards one of the hippest night clubs in the city. “My body is rebelling. I’m exhausted.”

  “But I just met some really nice guys. We should hang out with them, first day of the rest of your life and all that.” She tugs at my hand. “Come on, for one drink? You’ll get a second wind in a moment,”

  “I’m sorry, I honestly can’t. I need to rest. Maybe another time. I don’t see any second wind coming.”

  Sensing that she really can’t get me to go along with it, she finally frees me and steps towards the guys who I’m pretty sure but have their eyes on her anyway.
She doesn’t need me. I hope she can see how worn out I am too. I’m not trying to be a loser, I just don’t have it in me.

  “Okay, well I will call you tomorrow then.” She pouts out her bottom lip at me. “Speak soon.”

  “Love you, Kayleigh.” I give her a grateful smile, silently thanking her for freeing me. “Have fun!”

  I feel good in my decision as I walk away. I know it’ll be a fun night tonight, the Las Vegas strip is absolutely buzzing, but I need to get home to rest. I have a bath at home that’s waiting to be filled with bubbles for me to climb my aching weary body into it. I can almost feel the bubbles around me now and it’s awesome.

  “Excuse me.” I try to gently move people out the way. “Excuse me, I’m just trying to get past…”

  No one wants to let me get past, they crowd jealously around the bar entrances as if I want to get inside. That’s the last thing I want, I can’t imagine anything worse right now.

  “I don’t want to go in, I just… No, I’m not trying to jump the queue, I just need…”

  In the end, I give up and fall into an alleyway. I don’t know where it will take me but I need to get away from the balling crowds of people. As I walk down the strange pathway, I rub my medal happily. I’m still proud of myself, I still cannot believe that I achieved this. It’s awesome. I really can take on the world now.

  Actually, I kind of want to turn around to visit Mom’s grave, to show her. If I wasn’t so tired and the crowds weren’t so intense, I might turn around and go back. But I can visit her tomorrow after work.

  The sad thing is there isn’t really anyone else that I want to share the information with. I don’t have anyone close enough to me to care. I suppose I do have a little urge to tell Noah but I shut that down.

  He’s a part of my past, I remind myself. Purged and gone forever. Never to think of again.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” The gruff male voice shocks me. “Fucking hell, fuck.”

  Whoever it is sounds furious, and now as I look around I can’t see any other person. I followed this alleyway to get away from people, but now I desperately wish there was someone else around. I’m so scared.

  “I will fucking kill someone, this is nuts, it’s insane. How could she do this?”

  The idea of someone on a murderous rampage terrifies me. I need to turn, to run away, to escape this hell, but my body is frozen, I can’t do anything but stand here and wait for death. Even as I hear foot steps…

  “Noah?” The iciness flows away as I see who the voice belongs to. “Is that you?”

  The cold becomes burning heat, a redness rushes all the way through me. He doesn’t really look at me, he’s more staring through me while rage circles all the way through his body. I’ve never seen him like this.

  “What’s going on, Noah? You seem really…”

  “It’s fucking her. That fucking bitch. I will kill her, how can she do this to me?”

  “Erm… who?” I shouldn’t be here, I know I shouldn’t be here. “Who has done what to you?”

  “Fucking Hayley, she’s fucking stolen him.” He grips onto my shoulders and looks at me desperately. “She has stolen my son, Mia, she’s taken him and she won’t give him back.”

  His son… the child I saw him with. It’s all starting to piece together now…

  “The nanny?” She doesn’t look like the type, but I might be wrong. “Has she stolen him?”

  “No, not the nanny. His fucking mother. That fucking bitch has just… just taken him.”

  Okay, now this has taken another complicated turn. I don’t understand what to think about it. “His mom?”

  He snatches away from me and punches the wall again and again. Unbridled terror encases me, freaking me the hell out. The urge to run is still there, very powerfully within me, but I don’t give in to it. I can’t stop myself from still wanting to help him because we did have good times together.

  I step closer and gently touch his arm. He snatches away and I see a fire in his eyes which scares me. I don’t think the punches are going to start coming my way all of a sudden, but the yelling might.

  “Don’t hurt yourself, Noah,” I say quietly. “If you’re injured, you can’t help anyone.”

  He crumples, the angry mask on his face slides away and he falls towards me. I catch him in my arms, hugging him, helping him through all of this. I don’t have a clue what’s going on, but it’s got to be bad to take this strong and powerful man down. I suppose someone taking his son is as bad as it gets.

  “Noah, you need to tell me what’s going on so I can help you. Please. I know it isn’t easy because we aren’t… well, you know, close anymore, but I need to know what’s going on with you.”

  He pulls back and stares at me desperately. “It’s a mess, Mia, I don’t know what to do.”

  “Start from the beginning. Tell me everything, please. However bad it is. Whatever it is. Tell me.”

  He nods slowly, the cogs ticking in his brain as he tries to organize his thoughts. “Me and Hayley were together years ago, we were in a long term relationship which resulted in us having a son. Only Hayley didn’t really care about him. I didn’t know it at the time, but looking back, it’s obvious.”

  “So, Hayley is your boy’s mother?” I need to clear it all up. “Is that right?”

  “Alex’s mother, yes. But she left me a while back for another man. She walked out on me and Alex for the guy she was cheating on me with and she hasn’t looked back since. She hasn’t seen Alex at all.”

  Okay, so I guess that explains the need for the nanny. I’m slowly trying to put this all together.

  “She hasn’t even bothered with him, Mia, not at all. She hasn’t been to see him even once. She’s only doing this now because she wants money. She needs ten million dollars and it fucking sucks.”

  “Woah…” That’s an amount of money that I don’t even understand. I can’t even comprehend it. “What for?”

  “The guy that she left me for has got himself into debt and trouble too, she needs to get them out of it. Then she’s also going to leave the country apparently, which is the only good thing.”

  “That’s messed up. Why should you have to pay for it? It’s not your problem.”

  “I know it isn’t. That’s what is getting to me. I’m also really freaked out because if I give her money will she think that it’s okay to do this again? I can’t have Alex traumatized.”

  His phone bleeps and he stares at the screen. I see a very haunted familiar face come out and it makes me realize that all of the messages have been from her. I was worried they were, but I didn’t get the gist of it. I didn’t realize that they were bad messages, threatening their child.

  “Okay, she’s given me an address now to meet her at eight o clock. I don’t recognize it, so it’s probably somewhere dodgy. I need to take the ten million there to get my child back.”

  I glance around, now panicking that whoever these dangerous people might be could be here, after Noah, tracking him viz his cell phone or something. That might be a bit spy movie to be the truth, but then all of this feels incredibly unreal to me. I don’t know what the hell is going on inside my head.

  “I think we need to get away from here, Noah, while we try to figure out what we’re doing.”

  “I can’t go anywhere, I need to… to get some money out…”

  “How are you going to get ten million out of your account? I don’t think they will take a check.”

  “Hayley knows me. She knows that I can get my hands on it.”

  God, who is this man? I made him take me to a tacky pizza shop to eat and he can ‘get his hands on ten million dollars’. I don’t understand him. Maybe I didn’t ever know him at all. I thought that he was rich, that much is obvious, but I didn’t know how wealthy. Why the hell did he ever even look my way?

  “Okay, so we need to get some space away from all the crowds of people. You need to think…”

  “I don’t need to think, this is my child! I need h
im back.”

  I gup noisily, trying to suck back all my fear. “I know you do, and I’m going to help you with that?”

  “You are? This is a pretty fucked up situation, I don’t expect you to get involved.”

  “I know, but I am involved and I want to help you.”

  I think I will always want to help him, no matter what is going on. So much for the first day of the rest of my life. I’m here with Noah, prepared to leave with him. But he needs me. I will be there for him.

  “You are something else, Mia, I don’t understand why you would do this for me. You’re amazing.”

  I wrap and arm around him and lead him away, thinking about a cheating ex, a huge debt, ten million dollars, and a kidnapping. Christ, I thought that my issues were huge, I assumed that I had baggage, but he’s got lots more. He’s got so much it’s amazing that he’s even standing up straight under the weight of it all.

  “Let’s get somewhere we can make all the calls we need to.”

  “I don’t live far from here. Let’s go to my place. I think Jenny might still be there so I can reassure her.”

  As we walk, I try not to get blown away by the houses that we’re passing. I suppose if he can get his hands on ten million dollars he must live in a grand, extravagant place like this. I will just need to get used to the fact that he comes from a completely different world to me.

  A world where the mother of his child kidnaps the kid for money… so probably not a better world. A world where mothers don’t actually care for their children, instead they use them as pawns in a messed up game. My family situation wasn’t ever perfect but it wasn’t ever like this. It was definitely normal. But I better not get too wrapped up in how messed up all of it is, because I need my head on straight to assist him.

  He needs me and I will do whatever I can to help him get through this.

  19

  Noah

  Jenny rocks in the corner, her face paler than I’ve ever seen her before, guilt crushing through her the entire time. I have tried to convince her that I don’t blame her at all but she won’t accept it. I don’t think she’ll accept it until Alex is back here. She’s going to be a mess all night long.