Saving Emily

Miracle 7

~ Miracle 7 ~

Emily

   “I’m not exactly following,” Ronnie said.  I smiled to him and said, “I know it won’t be the easiest thing to pull off, but I’m thinking…”

   “Yeah?” he asked. 

   “We’re gonna have a baby,” I said.

   Ronnie threw his arms and said, “Oh no!  Emily, I’m not ready to be a dad.” I laughed and shook my head.  “No,” I chuckled. “Not our baby.  Hannah’s baby.”

   Ronnie’s eyes widened.  “You don’t mean…?”

   I nodded.  “Yes,” I said. “I do.  We’re going to take Noah.”

   Ronnie stood up from the bed and began pacing the room.  “How the hell can we pull that off?” he asked, “Hannah’s got that baby with her at all times.  There’s no way she’ll misplace him.  It’s impossible, I tell you.”

   “Not really,” I said. “Here’s the plan.  We go pay her a visit while Cameron’s gone.  While I talk to her, you sneak in and take Noah off in the carrier.  It’s simple.  She’ll never notice, I swear.  She may be observant, but she’s not that smart.”

   Ronnie nodded slowly.  Smirking, he said, “So no baby?”

   I threw the pillow at him, laughing, and said, “Only if you agree to have it!”

***

   Ronnie and I sat in the rental car that day outside of the hotel that Hannah was staying at.  Earlier that day, she’d texted me the address, saying that she wanted to talk to me.  I nodded to Ronnie and stepped out of the car. 

   “I’ll go up first,” I said, leaning through the window. “Then you can follow and sneak in while I have her distracted.”

   “How do you expect to distract her?” he asked.  I shrugged.  “I don’t know,” I said. “Take her for a walk or something.”

   I stepped away from the car and looked back at Ronnie.  He nodded to me.  I took a deep breath and entered the doors of the hotel.  I took a right down the hallway and, there at the end of the hall, lied a room with the number 115. 

   Slowly, I reached up and knocked on the door.  “Hannah, it’s Emily!” I called. 

   The door creaked open just slightly and I looked around the corner.  “Hannah?” I asked. 

   Suddenly, the door flew open and an arm reached out and grabbed me by the shirt.  I gasped as the door slammed behind me.  I was staring up at the face of Cameron. 

   He held his hand over my mouth and said, “Shh, don’t move.”

   I tried to wriggle away from him, but he got a grip on my arm and dug his nails into my skin.  I squeezed my eyes shut in pain and bit down my lip.  I threw my face to the side, breaking free of his hand. 

   “Let me go!” I screamed.  I ran to the bathroom and shut the door as quickly as possible, turning the lock.  Cameron pounded on the door and said, “Emily, babe, I know you’re not stupid enough to run.  If I were you, I’d do what I say.”

   “No!” I screamed. “Go to hell, you bastard!”

   I looked around for a window, but it was useless.  I was trapped. 

   I sank down in the corner of the bathroom and pulled my knees to my chest.  Pulling my cell phone out of my pocket, I dialed Ronnie’s number. 

   “Hello?”

   “Ronnie!” I whispered. “You have to get me out of here.  It was a trap.  It was Cam –”

   I let out a scream as the door flew open and Cameron grabbed me by the waist.  He took my phone and hung up, shoving it in his pocket.  Dragging me from the bathroom, I went kicking and screaming. 

   He put his hand over my mouth and jerked up, my eyes widening as I clawed at his hand, gasping for breath. 

   “Just listen to me,” he said. “And this will all be over soon.”

   He walked over to his suitcase and pulled out a needle filled with a clear liquid.  I gasped and shook my head fiercely.  I started sobbing as I thought, No, Cameron, please don’t…

   I felt the sharp pain in my arm where he’d poked me, and all too soon, I fell back into his arms, more relaxed than ever. 

   “Now,” he said. “Follow me out the back door of the hotel.  We’re going for a ride, princess.”

   I walked beside of him, unaware of what was happening around me, until we reached the back door to the hotel.  Out back was a car parked in the alley.  He shoved me into the passenger seat and buckled me up. 

   Climbing into the driver’s seat, he said, “I’m not sorry, babe.  I have to do this.”

   And within moments, I lost sense of everything.