Falling For The Mob

54 WHERE.IS.ZOË

Sam

Of all the sadistic games my mind can play on me, it chooses to loop my behavior towards Zoë from the last few weeks.

I endangered her, took the risk I swear I never would, yet I didn't respect her enough to give her the chance she deserved. If anything, I humiliated her, disrespected her, and destroyed her—something only the biggest monster on this planet could do.

I dial her phone again only to be instantly sent to voicemail, just like the last five times. There must be more to this, it can't be that I have so easily made the gravest mistake of my life. Her phone must be turned off, or she is ignoring me. She is safely asleep in her office, I have to believe this. It's the only thing stopping me from taking a sharp turn and burying the front of my car into oncoming traffic and finally finishing myself off.

All she ever did was care for me, and I rewarded it with mistreatment and lies. I never deserved her. If only I had stayed away from her months ago, she could have had a normal, happy life. She would undoubtedly be happily committed to Vincent Marino. The man may be a baboon, but he would be wise enough to never let her go again.

Having broken countless traffic laws and almost hitting two pedestrians, I arrive at the back entrance of the pediatrics wing.

Overcome by nausea, I run faster than I have in months, plagued by images of the times I have made her cry. I will find a way to fix this.

Her office door almost rips off the hinges as I kick it in. For just that last moment, I hope to find her asleep on the couch or with her face buried in a stack of papers. But I have done too many bad things in life for this one thing to work out well for me.

Inside, I am met with Joan Hollis, seeming as surprised as I am to be standing face to face.

Her wide eyes shamelessly run over my body, lingering too long on my stomach where soaking white fabric clings to my skin and bra. She has made no secret of her infatuation, but her mere presence at this moment is keeping me from the most important goal in my life.

"Where is she?" I demand, not caring about putting up a representable front.

"I-I don't know..." Her cheeks flush as again her eyes run over me. With everything happening, how can this imbecile only be focused on her depraved lust?

"WHERE.IS.ZOË." I scream.

Her eyes unfocused as she looks around the room. "I-I... don't know, Sam. She was supposed to meet me three hours ago." Lies, she is hiding something from me, she knows where Zoë is.

I step towards her, my hand reaching behind my back for the hunting knife strapped to the inside of my belt. I will gut the truth out of her if I have to.

As I grasp the handle, the door behind me swings open and Addy falls in, panting for air. Her eyes dart between us before resting on me.

"Sam, you're you again." Tears begin forming as she realizes our situation and quickly straightens herself.

"Are you okay? Talk to me." She seems too consumed by my well-being to notice the increasing discomfort of the other woman in the room.

Clearing her throat, Ms. Hollis steps away from the desk and begins heading toward the door, when Addy stops her. "Joan, have you seen Zoë? We have a bit of an emergency."

They both turn back to the empty desk. "No, I'm sorry. She was supposed to meet me in Dr. Parks' office to sign a few urgent documents, but she never showed. Her bag is still here, so it won't surprise me if she lost track of time reading a story to one of the kids or something. You know how she can get." Her smile is sincere as she heads out the door with her final words. "If you do find her, tell her to send these to my office as soon as possible. They need to be out by morning."

As soon as the woman is out of hearing range, Addy's eyes snap to mine. "She has to be around here somewhere." My phone buzzes, pulling both our attention to the cracked screen in my hand.

'If I tell you I wish to play a game, why would I hide your prize in the first location you would search?'

The heat leaves my body as cold determination sets in. I will spill every ounce of blood I can find till they are incapable of picturing a life without suffering.

"Sam, calm down. We'll find her." Her panic is clear, for good reason. Nothing will stand in my way to make this right, not even her. My hands itch to be once again soaked in warm blood.

My eyes snap to the door. They could not have gotten far, they may even still be in the building. I begin marching out when I feel a sharp pain in the side of my neck. Immediately, my knees weaken and spots begin clouding my vision.

"I'm so sorry, Sam, but I can't let you run through the hospital in this state." I reach out to find a needle sticking out of my neck. The redhead woman reaches out and catches me before my knees hit the floor, but it is too late. With my last bit of will, I turn to her and make sure my intentions are clear. Once I wake, she will pay for this.

~~~

"Do you want to come with me, Sam?" She hands me a cookie that I immediately shove into my mouth.

"Where are we going?"

She fastens the final buckle of the car seat securely with a smile. "We can go anywhere you want, Sam-Bug." She kisses my cheek before stepping behind the wheel.

"Is Daddy there?" For a brief second, she looks away from my reflection in the mirror.

"What if Daddy can't be there, where do you want to go?"

I frown, not understanding why she is asking this. "If Daddy isn't coming, then I don't want to go."

~~~

The small amount of light breaks through the thick rainy clouds, coating the entire hallway in a cold blue hue. It's still very early in the morning as I run through the hallway as fast as possible. Compared to me, everything is huge, the size of grownups. I'm looking for something, but I don't know what. Yet I keep going as fast as my small legs can carry me. My heart is racing as tears roll down my cheeks. Where did she go?

The doorknobs are too high up to reach, I can't get out of here, and every corner I turn seems to put me in the same bright-colored hall as the last. Loud cracking sounds can be heard at the end of the hall I am in, followed by a high-pitched scream in a voice I know all too well.

A cold shiver runs down my spine as my body tries to will me in the other direction. If scary sounds are coming from somewhere, you should run the other direction. I hear her scream again and continue walking towards the sound.

~~~

"Sam, you need to stay here and be very quiet." She uses the same voice she always does when I don't want to eat my vegetables. "Let's play hide-and-seek. I will go to the next room and count to one million and then come looking for you. But you need to stay quiet until then. Can you do that for me, Sam-Bug?"

"But mommy, that isn't how you play hide-and-seek."

"Sam, this is not the time. Do what mommy says and stay here." She leans down, kissing the crown of my head. "I love you, Sam-Bug. Never forget." The door closes between us, leaving me in the dark.

The sound of breaking glass and tables can be heard through the door and I hear her scream again. I try pushing against the door, but it won't move. I start crying, not knowing what else to do. It's cold and dark, and I want my Daddy to come help.

~~~

"What does the scary man want, mommy?" I shiver in fear as she holds me against her chest tightly.

'Jack is out of time,' he keeps repeating, yelling at her. She yells back at him, but nothing makes any sense.

"Everything is going to be okay, Sam-Bug. You will be with Daddy soon."

~AN   I mean at least Sam snapped back. Hopefully not too late 🥺