Take You Away

by Kira Hillins

  “I want you to pay for ruining my life.”

  “You brought it on yourself.”

  “Well, then…” He chortled. “Guess you won’t mind me putting a bullet in Miss Millie’s skull. I’m looking at her right now. She’s getting up from the table. Hank. Renji. Drema. They all look worried for some reason.”

  “Please.” She whimpered. “Don’t do this.”

  “You owe me everything. Now stop being a bitch and get back to your apartment. And don’t bother calling Fred. Wouldn’t want pretty Millie to have an accident. Those poor little boys need their mother.”

  The phone beeped. Zoe set her phone down on the floor. It chimed. Text message. She opened the attachment to find a photo of Millie sitting at the table inside the restaurant.

  “Zoe?” Millie’s voice echoed from the other side of the stall door. “You okay, honey?”

  “I’m so sick,” Zoe replied, hands shaking. What was she going to do?

  “Just a few more weeks, sweetie.”

  “I know.” Zoe flushed the toilet. “I’m looking forward to it.”

  When Zoe came out, Millie touched her arm. “Want us to take you home?” Zoe cried as she ran cool water into the palms of her shaking hands. “Oh, honey. You don’t look so good.”

  Zoe gazed in the mirror stretched across the entire wall. Her reflection looked terrible next to beautiful Millie, who stood beside her, staring. The dimples in Millie’s tanned cheeks showed when those pink lips pursed.

  “I’m so scared, Millie,” Zoe whispered. “Nicholas just called me.”

  “What?”

  “He said if I don’t go to him now, he’ll kill you.”

  Millie’s eyes widened. She shook her head and then pulled out her cell phone.

  “What are you doing?” Zoe asked, covering Millie’s hand with hers. “You can’t call the police.”

  “Why not?”

  “He’s watching us.”

  Zoe lifted her cell phone. When she showed Millie the picture he’d sent, Millie dialed.

  “Millie!”

  “I’m calling Fred.”

  As Millie talked to Fred, Zoe shivered. She couldn’t stop shaking, worried that Nicholas would do what he said. It took Zoe’s fear to a new level.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  After the police combed the apartment for clues of Nicholas’s whereabouts, they deemed she was safe to return home. All Zoe wanted to do was lie down and cry herself to sleep, but her apartment was a mess.

  Nicholas had indeed been there, rummaging through her filing cabinet and dresser drawers. Papers and undergarments were scattered all over her room. He’d written a message on her wall with black spray paint.

  Die bitch!

  Renji stayed with her. He cleaned the apartment and covered the message with a coat of paint. He was hesitant to leave her alone, but Zoe insisted he go home to Drema.

  Fred had ordered a squad car to sit right outside her door. After she promised Renji she’d call if she needed him, didn’t matter what for, he finally left.

  After locking all the doors and double-checking bedroom windows, she ate her nightly bowl of fudge-ripple ice cream. It was the only food she could eat that never came back up. With a few shakes of shredded cheddar, the dessert was heavenly.

  She got in the shower. She breathed deeply, closing her eyes, letting her mind wander through the roses in Ben’s backyard.

  It was a daydream she’d carried for months. It comforted her and usually made her happy. This time she saw Nicholas standing by the fence line, roses trampled beneath his black-booted feet.

  She quickly opened her eyes and twisted the valve. A chill crawled over her skin as she stepped out of the shower. She wrapped the towel around her plump body and then went to the mirror.

  A ragged, frightened woman stared back. Wet hair hung to her midsection. Colorless lips curved downward. Mascara blended with the dark circles below her eyes.

  How did she become so miserable in just a few months’ time?

  She drew in a deep breath. Concentrate on something else. Nicholas couldn’t hurt her now. Surely he wouldn’t be stupid enough to waltz up to her apartment with a cop sitting outside and every uniform in Kansas on a statewide manhunt for the jerk.

  Zoe palmed her huge stomach. It was time for a change.

  She got the hair scissors out of the drawer below the bathroom sink. For a good minute she searched her hair for the right spot to cut. Deciding on just below her shoulder, she held her wet locks in her hand, opened the scissors wide, and then squeezed.

  Her hand trembled on the first snip. First time in six years she’d cut her hair. Didn’t take long to work around to the other side, clipping a good several inches off the length. She pulled her long bangs forward. Five more inches of blonde dropped into the sink.

  With her bangs cut below her brow, she felt lighter. Not so ragged. The stoop she’d been in all morning melted away. The world seemed a little brighter. After a good face wash, her cheeks turned pink. The dark circles stayed. She slipped on her black sleeveless pajamas and made her way to the bed.

  When she climbed in, she gently squeezed the teddy bear Ben had sent last week. The lights glowed, pastel colors changing before her eyes. Soon, her baby—her and Ben’s baby—would be mesmerized by it too.

  She clutched the bear in her hands and curled up in bed. It was ten fifteen. She closed her eyes, thinking about Ben’s house. She envisioned the room across from his painted a light shade of blue. A mobile made with little guitars and picks hung from the ceiling, entertaining the baby lying beneath it in a wooden crib.

  * * * *

  Ben drove fast down the interstate, determined to get to Zoe. Careful not to swerve off the road, he glanced at his phone.

  Damn it. He’d missed a message from her. It’d chimed earlier, but he couldn’t check to see who it was from. He’d had to quickly retrieve his bag from the carousel at the Wichita airport and then hurry to his rental car waiting outside.

  A picture popped up in the message field.

  The photo was of Zoe, lying in bed on her side, arms around her pillow. The teddy bear he’d sent lay beside her with a greenish glow. With no blankets over her, her rounded stomach was prominent, and her gown bunched up to her thighs.

  Beautiful. His eyes blurred as he glanced at the photo again. Smooth, pale skin. Blonde locks fanned out in slight curls on the pillow beneath her head. She’d cut her hair to her shoulders and her bangs just below the inner corners of her brows.

  He tossed his phone on the seat. He couldn’t wait to get to her. To see her long, dark eyelashes flutter. To see his sleeping beauty stir. He longed to hear her soft moan resonate from her throat as her faded pink lips curved into a smile. Then her eyes would open, stopping his heart.

  He stepped on the accelerator. Right now, he didn’t want Zoe to feel scared or panicked. Nicholas was out there somewhere plotting his revenge, and Ben had to do everything in his power to stop him.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  It’d been a long while since she’d dreamed about anything but holding her baby in her arms. Rocking him to sleep, singing a song of stars in the sky. Maybe it was the fudge-ripple ice cream that made the nightmare come.

  Nicholas’s face floated before her on a cloud. His skin was red. Demonic. Horns protruded on each side of his head. He opened his mouth. Baby rattles spilled out with his wicked laughter. A gun flew across the sky. The blast exploded in her ears.

  Zoe woke with a jolt.

  Tears crept into her eyes, but she blinked them back. Had she screamed out loud?

  Zoe’s stomach roiled. She’d eaten too much ice cream. The baby kicked like crazy. Probably on a sugar rush. Poor little guy was a party animal. He wanted out. She wanted him out.

  Zoe yawned as she rose to her aching feet. Rubbing her rounded belly, she shuffled down the hall to the kitchen. She must’ve been so out of it that she’d left the light on.

  She drew in a deep breath and strode qui
etly to the window in the living room. The squad car was still parked outside. The street lamp was out, so she couldn’t see the policeman inside. The only light came from the neighbor’s Christmas lights that still hung from the window in her apartment.

  All was silent. A frigid draft brushed her skin. The brown curtains waved, sending an awful chill across her spine.

  The window was open?

  Spooked, Zoe folded her arms over her chest and rested them against her stomach. A thud came from the bedroom. Her skin crawled. Her legs wouldn’t move. Another thud and the slide of her dresser drawers brought tears to her eyes.

  What was she to do? Her cell phone was in her purse in the bedroom. She couldn’t move very fast, but the only option she had was to unlock the front door and run.

  Drawing a deep breath into her lungs, she headed for the stairs. She crept downward, trying not to make a sound. Her eyes blurred as she looked behind her to the kitchen, the dining room. Pitch black enveloped her as she unlocked the door. When she opened it, something hard touched her back. She didn’t move.

  “I wouldn’t go out there, if I were you.” Nicholas’s deep voice was loud in her ears.

  Zoe cringed. She swayed slightly, turning to see her intruder.

  Nicholas held a small black pistol in his trembling hand. Tequila was strong on his breath. He tossed the hood of his black sweatshirt to the back of his head and motioned with his gun for her to get back inside.

  Her legs shook as she slowly made her way inside the apartment. The knot in her stomach tightened. The baby kicked hard and she lost her breath.

  She stopped in the doorway. “Why are you doing this?”

  “You left me no choice but to come get you.”

  Fluid gushed down her legs. “Oh my God!” she said, holding her stomach.

  “That’s disgusting.” He waved the gun again. “Move your ass to the bathroom and clean yourself up.”

  “My water just broke, Nicholas. I need to get to the hospital.”

  “So you can call the cops?” He laughed. “I don’t think so. We’ll have the baby in the bathroom. Just…tell me what to do.”

  “I don’t know what to do! That’s why I need to go to the hospital.”

  “Not going to happen.”

  Sharp pain resonated through her as she stepped up the stairs. “At least call Renji.”

  “Ha!” He grabbed her arm and jerked her up the last stair. She cried out in pain. “That idiot clings to you like a fucking magnet.” With his free hand around her throat, he shoved her back against the hallway wall. “He interferes and he’s dead! Understand?”

  Unable to breathe, she nodded.

  “Good.” He let go. She gasped for breath as he paced the room, hands on top of his head. “After you’re done having the baby, we’re leaving.”

  She massaged her neck. “Where are we going?”

  “Mexico or something,” he muttered. He pointed the gun at her stomach. “That’s my baby. No way am I going to let some other prick raise him. Now get in the bathroom.” He looked down at her legs. “Fucking hurry it up. You’re dripping all over the place.”

  Zoe used the wall as a crutch to get to the bathroom. She flipped the switch to the side. The globe bulbs above the mirror on the wall fluttered on.

  Nicholas stood in the doorway, aiming his gun at her as she pulled the hand towel off the towel ring. She soaked the cloth in hot water and then leaned down as far as she could.

  “You don’t have to point the gun at me,” she said, back turned to him. She wiped her legs with the warm towel. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  He paused for a moment and then lowered the gun to his side. “Whatever.”

  “If you love me, Nick, you won’t shoot me.”

  “I don’t love you.” He snorted a laugh. “Not anymore.”

  Chills clawed at her spine. “Then why are you doing this?”

  “Two years of my life, Zoe. Shot to hell. My parents disowned me.” He growled. “I lost my job…my career. When I got out, nobody would hire me. If it wasn’t for my pansy-ass brother, I don’t know how I would’ve survived. Everyone else said I was a bad guy. Now you’re trying to hand my child over to some asshole.”

  Her gaze stayed on the gun as he wandered into the room. He turned down the toilet lid and sat. He leaned back against the tank, knees out, gun dangling between his legs. His right knee bounced vigorously.

  “I saw Renji in the back room of Holetzer’s doing the nasty with that blonde from the bar. Man, that guy needs a good beating.”

  Pain crawled across her abdomen again. Zoe buckled over. After a long moan and a few deep breaths, she let the towel slide to the floor. She sat on the edge of the tub and breathed in and out.

  “Can I feel my baby kick?”

  “He’s not your baby.” Zoe hummed from the pain.

  He fisted the knees of his pants, causing the barrel of the gun to turn toward her.

  The knee kept bouncing. The gun moved back and forth. He gritted his teeth.

  “It’s his kid, isn’t it?” He stood, eyes shut tight. “You cheated on me! Slut! You’re ruined!”

  “I can still go with you.” She reached out to touch him, but he slapped her hand away.

  “Cheating bitch!”

  If only the pain in her stomach would cease, she could fight him. God, why’d the baby have to be on his way now? It was too early.

  Tears welled in her eyes. Another contraction began as soon as the last one stopped. Her lips trembled as she cried out. His arm swung around his front. He struck her eye with the back of his hand. Pain shot down her face and neck. Zoe shrieked. She kept screaming in hopes someone would hear her.

  “Shut the fuck up!” Nicholas struck the top of her head with the butt of the gun.

  The crunch of her skull silenced her scream. Vision bobbing in and out of focus, she slid down to the floor. This was just a nightmare. Nicholas wasn’t here. The baby wasn’t coming.

  He pressed the barrel against her temple and then exhaled a slow sigh. “You’re nothing to me now. Just another bitch that deserves to die.”

  “Please.” She slouched against the wall of the tub, arms protecting her aching stomach. “My baby…”

  “I wish it didn’t have to end this way. I really believed you were the one. Once. A long time ago. All the suffering you caused me. I just wanted to ruin your life like you ruined mine.” He wiped tears from his face. “Look at you now. Pathetic little Zoe.”

  Movement caught the corner of her eye. Zoe turned her head toward the figure standing in the bathroom doorway.

  “Ben?”

  He bounded into the room. His hands wrapped around Nicholas’s arm, forcing his aim away from her head. The gun went off. Zoe covered her ringing ears as he took Nicholas down to the floor.

  The contractions held nothing on the pain shooting down her neck and shoulders. He’d shot her! Nicholas had actually shot her! This couldn’t be happening. She’d fallen asleep and was having a horrifying, vivid nightmare.

  Zoe slid off the tub and sat. Tears blinded her. Breathe. Don’t let panic win over reason. Endure the pain. Stay conscious.

  She grabbed the hand towel beside her and pressed it against her shoulder. Her gown had already stained dark red. Blood was quickly spreading down her chest. A metal taste in her mouth nauseated her. Sticky warmth stung her eyes.

  The room spun as she tried to focus on the struggle in front of her. Being helpless to aid the man she loved was the worst feeling in the world.

  The gun went off again. She screamed as she covered her ears. Every fiber in her body burned as Ben scooted toward her. He lifted the towel from her shoulder and inspected the wound. “Fuck! Fuck!” he shouted as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket.

  “There’s not enough time to wait for an ambulance. The baby’s coming. I need to get to the hospital now.”

  “I don’t want to risk moving you.”

  Searing pain hit below her navel. She fisted Ben’s sl
eeve. She shut her eyes tight, trying to stifle the intense scream building in her throat, but she couldn’t. It came out in a long cry of words. “Just get me to the hospital!”

  “All right.” He pressed the towel against the wound on her shoulder. “Hold it tight.”

  He quickly scooped her in his arms and left the bathroom.

  She cried out. “It hurts!”

  “I know, baby,” he said as he carried her down the hall. “Damn it! His teeth were bared as he clenched his jaw.

  Two policemen burst through the front door, arms stretched out, guns in their hands. Ben maneuvered around them. “She’s been shot and needs to get to the hospital!” he said as he carried her outside. He set her in the passenger seat of a car and buckled her in.

  In no time, they were driving through town at top speed, out onto the highway, heading toward Wichita. Zoe stared out the window. At least she was conscious enough to see the bright flashing police lights pull forward to the front.

  She woozily turned and caught Ben’s gaze. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “I’m so sorry, Zoe.” He grasped her hand. “I should’ve been here sooner!” Tears were in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away to concentrate on the road.

  She scooted back in the seat, worried how this wound would affect the baby. Pain shot through her chest and arm and then down to her stomach. She cried out, drawing in deep breaths.

  She closed her eyes. Remember the Lamaze video at Millie’s last week. One long inhale through the nose. Three short exhales out the mouth.

  She cleared her mind of all thoughts until the pain subsided. The wound in her shoulder didn’t hurt so bad anymore. In fact, she couldn’t feel much at all. That probably wasn’t a good thing.

  Ben drove fast down the highway, quietly concentrating on the traffic. He passed in the left lane every chance he got, following the police car as close as possible.

  “Oh.” She moaned. Another contraction was coming, but this one felt different. It was lower in the gut.

  She pulled her knees together, fearing the baby would come out here and now. She screamed. It sounded like a song, a horrible off-key tune that oddly made her laugh and cry at the same time.