by S. L. Adams
“Why don’t we all go down to the cafeteria and grab a cup of coffee?” Dr. Grieco suggests. “Talk this all out. What do you say, Lucy?”
“Do you think I’m fucking stupid, doctor?” she screams.
He flinches. “No. I just think maybe you need help.”
“You’re right. I do. That’s why I’m here. I need your help to remove her uterus without killing her. I want her alive so she can experience the pain of being rejected because she can’t bear children.”
“I can’t perform surgery on her today. She would need to fast for eight hours and I need an anesthetist and operating room nurses.”
“We’ll wait then. I’ve got nowhere to be.”
My mind is reeling. Alex kept pictures of us. He watched my YouTube videos repeatedly. He never stopped loving me. I’m upset that he didn’t tell me he was still married, but it’s pretty apparent the marriage has been over for a long time. And now, when it’s finally our time to be together, this crazy woman wants to cut out my uterus. Somehow, I have to get out of here. I glance up at Dr. Grieco. He shoots me a quick smile and shakes his head slightly. He has no intention of performing this surgery on me. I’m sure of it. But if Lucinda puts the gun to his head, what choice will he have? Eight hours is a long time. Plenty time for someone to rescue us.
Chapter 33
Alex
I pace back and forth in front of the floor to ceiling windows facing the beach. Dark clouds are rolling in and the palm trees are swaying in the wind. A storm is coming. Where is Shelby? She didn’t take her purse or her phone. God damn Lucinda. Why did she have to show up here? I just want that crazy bitch out of my life.
“Hey man.”
I look up to see Bart coming down the stairs.
“Hey.”
“Where’s Shelby? Is everything ok?”
“No. My wife showed up here this morning. Shelby and I had an argument and she took off.”
Bart scratches his chin thoughtfully. “Did you try texting her or calling her?”
I glare at him and roll my eyes. “She didn’t take her phone.”
“How long has she been gone?”
“An hour.”
“C’mon,” he says grabbing a jacket from the closet. “I’ll help you look for her.”
After we let the others know what’s going on, Bart and I head down the beach just as the rain starts coming down. By the time we reach the end of the private beach, the wind is slashing us with wet, powerful slaps in the face.
“I don’t think she would stay on the beach when she saw the storm coming in,” I yell, pushing wet hair from my face.
“Where would she go without a phone or purse?” Bart asks as we run back toward the house.
“I don’t know. Fuck. I’m getting worried. What if something happened to her?” I run my hands over my face. “I could never live with myself.”
Sally and Joanne are in the living room when we get back. My gut clenches with fear when I see their faces. “What’s wrong? Did she come back? Did she call?”
“We heard on the radio that there’s a woman holding three people hostage at the hospital. They described the two women that came in together. One sounded like Shelby.”
Dread courses through my veins. This is not happening. Lucinda isn’t crazy enough to pull a stunt like this, is she?
“What did they say about them?” I ask even though deep down in my gut I already know. My wife kidnapped my girlfriend.
“They said they were both late twenties or early thirties. The taller woman had her brown hair up in a bun and she was wearing a yellow sundress. The other one had long brown hair and she was wearing a pink t-shirt and white denim shorts.”
Rage bubbles up inside me. I grab the arm of the chair to steady myself. If she touches even one hair on Shelby’s head, I swear I’ll kill her with my bare hands. I can’t believe I married that woman. I can’t lose Shelby after I waited so long to get her back. And she could be carrying my child.
“Can someone drive me there?” I ask, my voice hoarse.
“Absolutely,” Bart says. “Let’s go.”
“Do you know how to get to the hospital?” I ask, grabbing the holy shit handle when Bart tears out of the driveway. “Jesus, Bart. Let’s get there in one piece.”
“Take us to the hospital,” he says. The GPS system responds with directions, taking us toward downtown Oahu. The rain is coming down in heavy sheets now. Bart slows down, squinting to see out the windshield.
“Thanks for all your help today, Bart,” I say. “I really appreciate it. I didn't want to bother Blake and Gretchen. But I had to text them when I found out that Shelby had been kidnapped. They’re going to meet us at the hospital.”
“I like Shelby,” he says, glancing over at me. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to her. Sorry for coming on to her at the beginning of the trip. I had no idea you guys had a history.”
“It’s okay, man. She’s hot. What red-blooded man wouldn’t hit on her?” My throat catches. Tears burn behind my eyelids as I stare out the window, watching the palm trees bending against the strong gusts. I won’t cry. That won’t save Shelby. I have to remain strong for her.
When we reach the hospital, it’s surrounded by cops. “I can’t believe this is happening,” I whisper, taking in the scene. Police cars line the street. A SWAT van is parked in the circular driveway in front of the main entrance. Tents have been set up in the parking lot. Just like on tv. Except this isn’t a tv show. It’s real. The woman I love is inside.
I leap out of the car and run toward the building. A female officer stops me before I can jump over the police barricade. “You don’t understand. My girlfriend is in there! I have to save her!”
“How do you know that?” she asks, waving to a couple guys in suits covered with rain ponchos.
“She’s missing and she fits the description on the radio.”
“I’m Detective McDonald and this is Detective Pho.” One of the suits holds out a hand. The balding middle-aged man with a seventies moustache, smiles sympathetically.
“Please. My girlfriend is in there. You have to let me go in.”
“Why don’t you come with us, sir,” Detective Pho suggests, gesturing toward the tent.
I follow the detectives, sinking into the lawn chair they offer.
“What’s your name, son?’ Detective McDonald asks as he takes a seat across from me.
“Alex Benson.”
“Why don’t you tell us what happened this morning, Alex.”
“My soon to be ex-wife showed up at the door of the beach house we are staying in. My girlfriend didn’t know that our divorce wasn’t final. When Lucinda told her, we fought and she took off.”
“So you came to Hawaii with your girlfriend?”
“Yes, well no.” I sigh heavily. “We came in a group with the entire wedding party. So, we didn’t come together. But we used to go out when we were kids and we rekindled our romance on this trip.”
“And how did your wife end up here?”
“I don’t know. I guess she bought a plane ticket and flew here. She said she came for the wedding. Even though it was yesterday and she showed up this morning.”
“What can you tell us about your wife, Alex?”
“Well, her name is Lucinda. And she’s obviously crazy. She kidnapped my girlfriend!”
“We are going to do everything we can to ensure that nobody gets hurt. But we need as much information as you can give us. It will help the negotiator tremendously if he has some insight into what might be going on in your wife’s mind today.”
I scrub my hands over my face. “What do you want to know?”
“Does Lucinda have any mental health issues?”
“She’s been taking antidepressants and she’s supposed to be seeing a shrink. Apparently, she has battled depression since she was a teenager. But I only learned that at the end of our marriage. She kept her meds hidden, among other things.”
“What kind of thing
s?”
“She can't have children. But she kept that from me until we went to a fertility specialist. That’s when I found out she was born without a uterus.”
The detectives exchange curious glances.
“What?” I look back and forth between them.
Detective Pho clears his throat. “Your wife is holding your girlfriend at gunpoint in the maternity ward operating suite. She has also taken a gynecologist and a nurse hostage.”
“What?” I shake my head. Why would she take Shelby to the maternity floor of a hospital? What is she up to?
“Do you have any idea why she might have done this, Alex?”
“No. I have no fucking clue!” I jump up and start pacing around the tent. “Let me go in. I can talk Lucy down off the ledge. I know I can if you just give me the chance.”
“We’ve tried calling her on the phone. She won’t pick up.”
“Please. Let me go in. I’m your best chance. I know her.”
The detectives discuss it with the SWAT captain. After two hours of no communication with Lucinda, they decide to take me inside. I don a bulletproof vest and a helmet, and they lead me through the empty corridors and up the stairs to the floor where Lucinda is holding Shelby.
My heart pounds against my chest wall as we enter the double doors that lead to the operating rooms. Several SWAT officers are lined up along the hallway with machine guns raised. How the fuck did I end up in this situation?
One of the SWAT guys that brought me up points to a door at the end of the hall. I know what I’m supposed to do. They briefed me before we came up. I make my way to the last operating room and knock lightly on the door, my hands trembling as sweat pours down my back.
“Who’s there?” Lucinda asks, anger and annoyance radiating through her sharp tone.
“It’s Alex. Let me in, Lucy. We need to talk.”
Silence. I suck in my breath and wait. “Too late. Go away,” she finally snaps.
“I can’t do that, Lucy. Whatever you’re planning to do, you aren’t going to get away with it. Now drop the gun and come out.”
“Not until I’m finished with her.”
“This has nothing to do with Shelby. It’s between you and I, Lucy.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Alex,” she laughs. “It has everything to do with your little girlfriend. I’m leveling the playing field.”
Blood roars through my ears. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Fuck. She’s lost her goddamn mind. I need to try a different tactic. “This is all just a giant misunderstanding, Lucy. I love you and I know you don’t really want to hurt Shelby or the doctor and nurse. You could never hurt someone.”
“I’m not gonna kill anyone. As soon as the doctor performs the surgery, I will surrender.”
“What surgery?”
“You’ll find out later.”
“Lucy, I don’t love Shelby. I love you. So there’s no reason to hurt her. Just come out and we can talk this through.”
“You think I’m stupid, Alex? You honestly expect me to believe that you don’t want her. It’s always been her. Why did you even marry me?”
“Lucy, just put the gun down. Please.”
“And then what? I go to jail and you get to live happily ever after. I don’t think so.”
“You won’t go to jail. I will make sure that doesn’t happen. We will get you the help that you need.”
“I’m sorry, Alex. I never meant to hurt you. I really did love you. I still do.”
I’m finally making headway. I take a deep breath and forge on. “If you love me, then let Shelby go. If you hurt her, I will never forgive you. She didn’t do anything wrong, Lucy.”
Silence. The clock ticks on the wall as I wait for her to say something. It’s too quiet. “Lucinda, I’m coming in.”
The SWAT guy next to me motions to the rest of the team.
Fear grips my stomach, bile rising up to my throat as I slowly push open the door. Shelby is laying on the table covered with a blanket. A doctor and a nurse are sitting on stools in the corner. I see movement out of the corner of my eye and something silver catches my attention. Lucinda is standing there with the gun pointed toward me.
“Just stay calm, Lucy. Drop the gun.” I have no idea how my voice is so strong and steady when I should be shitting my pants right about now.
“I can’t, Alex. I can’t live without you. And I can’t stand by and watch you have babies with someone else.”
I watch helplessly as she raises the gun and presses it against her temple.
“Lucy! No!”
I close my eyes as she pulls the trigger. The next few minutes are a blur as I try not to look at my wife’s dead body. The SWAT team pours into the room. Then Shelby is in my arms. The nurse hands me a warm blanket to wrap around her. I cradle her against me as she cries a river of tears. She doesn’t say anything. Just leans her head against me and sobs.
I listen as the doctor talks to the cops, telling them Lucinda wanted him to perform a hysterectomy on Shelby so I would dump her.
Jesus. Thank God I got here in time. I pull her in tighter, rocking her back and forth.
“It’s over, baby doll. You’re safe.”
Chapter 34
Shelby
Nine Months Later
The lights twinkle and dance, tiny red and green sparkles reflecting off the silver balls that adorn our Christmas tree. Away In A Manger plays softly in the background, a fitting song for this Christmas Eve.
I tuck my feet up under me and pull an Afghan from the back of the sofa, wrapping it around myself. As I take a sip of hot cocoa, I smile and sigh. I’ve never felt more content. For the first time in my life, I’m not dreading Christmas.
When I was a kid we never had a tree. And the only gifts we received were the pity presents from Social Services. The one highlight of Christmas Day was the hamper full of food. Christmas was the only day of the year that our little bellies were full.
During my undergraduate years at Columbia, I spent every Christmas alone in my room. I never went home. I couldn’t afford the plane ticket and there was no reason to go anyway.
When I met Fitz, he lavished me with expensive gifts. But I still spent the day alone. He had grown children and grandkids, and I wasn’t welcome at any of their homes. Christmas was a day for family, not fuck buddies half your age.
My phone buzzes. I smile when I see a photo of Gretchen and Blake’s baby girl on the screen, a beautiful blonde cherub in a red velvet dress with Merry Christmas from Remington's captioned underneath. I would have loved to go to Montana when she arrived six weeks ago, but I wasn’t allowed to fly.
The scraping of the shovel on the front walkway draws me out of my reverie. It snowed a couple of inches today. Just enough to make it feel like Christmas. The front door opens. I hear Alex taking off his coat and boots before he appears in the doorway. He smiles widely, his cheeks rosy red from the cold as he heads to the fireplace to warm his hands.
“Everything ok, baby doll,” he asks as he sits down and wraps his arms around me.
“Yep. All good.” I wince when a mild contraction rolls through me. The intensity has picked up over the last hour. I have a feeling our baby is going to be born on Christmas Day. But I don’t say anything yet. As soon as I tell Alex I’m in labor, he’ll freak out and descend into crazy town. I want to enjoy these last moments alone with him before we become parents.
I still can’t believe I got pregnant on the first try. Really, I shouldn’t be surprised. My mother had eight children. Apparently, fertility runs in the family. I have fifteen nieces and nephews already and I’m sure there will be many more to come. Sadly, I don’t know any of them. They all live in Montana in trailer parks or social housing. I keep in touch on social media. That’s it. Maybe it’s selfish, but I don’t want any part of that life. I have nothing in common with my siblings. Some of them make little effort to hide their feeli
ngs of resentment toward me.
I went with Alex to a couple of counselling sessions after I got settled in Michigan. He watched his wife take her own life. I know how easy it is to lose yourself in guilt and I didn’t want that to happen to him. Alex is strong. He dealt with Lucinda’s death with amazing strength. It’s not lost on me that two women were driven to commit suicide because Alex chose me over them. But I refuse to own that. I can’t control other people’s actions. What I can control, though, is how I react.
Alex and I bought a spacious two storey, five bedroom house in Ann Arbor. Four bedrooms sit empty, waiting to be filled with children. I’m glad I can give Alex the family that he never had as a kid. He’s so excited about this baby. From the moment we found out I was pregnant, he’s doted on me, catering to my every need.
We got married a few weeks after we returned from Hawaii. The only people in attendance were Blake and Gretchen and Alex’s mom. A simple church ceremony was all we needed and wanted. We had our honeymoon at Remington’s. It seemed fitting since that’s where we met and fell in love.
I smile up at my husband. He leans down, pressing his lips against mine with a soft kiss.
“I love you, Mrs. Benson.”
“I love you too, Mr. Benson.”
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