Mafia: Neo Zone ► Lucas Wong ◄

Chapter 18 - Highway to Heaven → Elevator (127F) ✔

They took me to a more private area of the hospital where the chemical smell and intercom noises weren't so present. Telling me the doctor would be there shortly, the nurses withdrew. Lucas made me sit down on the hospital bed while we waited, but he didn't let go of my hand even when Johnny walked into the room.

"We may have some other problems..." Johnny looked cautiously from me to Lucas. "Do want to step outside for a moment?"

My grip tightened on Lucas's hand at the thought of being separated from him even for a few moments. Acutely aware of how ridiculous my emotions were, I still couldn't let him go. Even if I'd wanted to, I didn't think I could command my brain to loosen my fingers from his.

As if he understood my thoughts, Lucas gently squeezed my hand. " can tell me here." He said.

Shooting another glance in my direction, Johnny cleared his throat. "We still can't find Heidi." He said quietly. "We had some...help hacking the hallway cameras at the apartment complex, so we know she was alive when they came and took her, but whoever they were, they knew exactly where the cameras were and how to avoid being in a recognizable position. We're going to keep looking, but from all appearances, Aaron was only a minion sent to toy with us."

Lucas swore quietly, raking his free hand through his hair. "Why did she even call him anyway? It should have been one of us."

"Apparently, he called her, she didn't have any plans to seek outside assistance." Johnny said slowly. "I think we wouldn't have gotten this far without his help."

"I assume he wants to be involved from here on out?" Lucas raised a brow.

"Presumably."

"Fine. Do whatever it takes to find her. I never should have sent her off alone."

"I'll mobilize the other teams." Johnny nodded. "For now, focus on this, and we'll take care of everything else."

A silent conversation passed between the two of them, but my exhaustion was finally catching up with me, so I hardly noticed until Johnny left the room. A ng nurse entered after he was gone with a pair of dry, hospital clothes for me to change into. When he'd gone again, Lucas looked down at me and smiled.

"Do want me to leave, or do need some help?" I could tell he was trying to make light conversation to distract himself from the news he'd just heard.

"Just turn r back." I didn't know what else to say.

"How can I do that when have a death grip on my hand? I think subconsciously want me to help ." He smirked.

I looked down at our joined hands. " won't leave?" Again, I knew logically that my fears were groundless, but it was hard to properly align my emotions with that mentality.

He went quiet for a moment, and then he stooped slightly and pressed his forehead to mine. "I'm not going anywhere. You can't get rid of me now no matter how hard you try, got it?" I shifted my gaze away from him to hide the tears that had formed in my eyes and nodded, unable to trust my voice to speak. "Now, hurry and change before you catch a chill." He pressed his lips to my forehead quickly and turned away.

Quieting the fluttering beat of my heart, I changed my clothes as fast as my shaking limbs would allow. I'd been so caught up in everything else that I hadn't realized just how chilled I'd become, but the soft material rubbing over my skin reminded me how good it felt to wear dry clothing. When I'd finished buttoning the last button, a light tap on the door informed me that one of the nurses had returned.

Shooting a glance in my direction, Lucas turned to face the door. "Come in."

The door opened, and a man with bright, youthful features stepped into the room with a few nurses following after him. "Sorry it took so long. I had a terrible time escaping the ER." He shot a quick smile toward me, but I didn't miss the brief glance he exchanged with Lucas. "We'll get started with all the examinations now."