Elaina hissed. “Don’t make me use this right here and now.” She pressed the hard barrel of a gun into the back of Harlem’s chair.
Harlem froze. Not for herself, but for her baby. That is why she allowed Elaina to wheel her out of the hospital and into a waiting van.
Chapter 19
“I swear to God, if you make one wrong move, I will blow you and that child away.” Elaina hissed as she pushed Harlem into the back of the van.
Harlem’s mind was moving a mile a minute. The crazed looked on Elaina’s face let her know that she was not playing. Harlem had a baby to protect. She had to figure out how to get away, but as long as Elaina had a gun pointed at her stomach, she would follow orders–at least for now.
Elaina whipped out several zip ties from a black duffel bag. She bound Harlem’s hands. Once they were secured, Elaina covered Harlem’s eyes with a black cloth. “You might as well go to sleep, Princess. We have a long ride ahead of us.”
Harlem felt herself being pushed backward, and her head hit the floor of the van hard. Harlem was doing everything in her power not to panic. She had to keep a calm head. It was difficult considering she was still weak from suffering through the gas leak the night before.
Suddenly, her nose was being covered with something. Harlem thrashed her head from side to side as she kicked her feet. “Stop it! You crazy, bitch!”
“I told you to leave Carter alone. You didn’t listen, so everything that happens from this point on is your fault. I told you that I play to win.”
Harlem’s hands were tied behind her back, making it difficult to fight back.
She couldn’t breathe.
Think damn it. THINK! Harlem told herself.
Elaina held Harlem down. Her movements got weaker and weaker until Harlem stopped moving at all.
*****
Carter ran back to get Harlem so that they could find his mother, but she was not where he’d left her. “Harlem.” He turned around in a circle. “Harlem!”
He went inside the hospital and ran up to the receptionist’s desk. “The woman that was sitting at the door? Where did she go?”
The receptionist smiled brightly. “I’m sorry, Sir. I don’t recall seeing anyone sitting at the door.”
“Oh, you mean the pregnant lady in the wheelchair?” Another woman walked behind the receptionist’s desk and took a seat next to her co-worker.
Frustrated, Carter tried to remain calm when he was anything but. “Yes.”
“I’m not sure where she went, but I saw her being wheeled out by another woman.”
“Can you describe her?”
“Um . . . yes. She was fairly tall. Maybe five-eight or five-nine. She had brown skin with dark hair and blonde highlights. She also had pretty blue-eyes. I noticed them when we were in the gift shop.”
Whatever tight resolve Carter had snapped. “Call 9-1-1! Harlem wouldn’t willing go with that woman. She had to have been forced.”
A look of fear came over the young woman’s face as she pushed up from her chair. “Taken? Like kidnapped?”
“Yes. Exactly like that.”
She wasted no time not only calling the police but her superiors with the hospital.
Carter dialed another number. “Sam. This is Carter. I have a big problem. I need you to get over to Loyola hospital A.S.A FUCKIN’ P!”
*****
The van was moving when Harlem came to. She was still shrouded in darkness because her eyes were covered.
Harlem wasn’t sure how long she had been out but all the moving around, along with whatever Elaina used to knock her out, made Harlem feel like she was going to throw up. She inhaled deeply, hoping to calm her body down and slowly release the air from her lungs.
Harlem wiggled her wrists together to see if she could loosen the zip ties. They were too tight. Still, she had to continue to try to get them undone. Maybe I can remove this damn thing from over my eyes. Harlem used the carpet on the floor to assist in its removal. As quiet as possible, Harlem squirmed, moving her head up and down. After some time, and with a serious case of rug burn, Harlem managed to maneuver the blindfold so that she could see underneath a small crack. There weren’t any windows in the back of the van, so it was difficult to know if it was even day or night.
The van stopped.
Harlem turned her head to the side so that Elaina couldn’t see the part of the blindfold that had been moved. Then, she stilled as if she were still unconscious.
Elaina got out of the driver’s seat and walked to the back of the van, still brandishing the gun. “Harlem.”
Harlem didn’t answer. She pretended to be out cold.
Elaina shook her shoulder, but Harlem didn’t move. “Good, the chloroform is still working.” Elaina couldn’t help herself. She caressed Harlem’s stomach. “Pretty soon, it’ll be you, me, and daddy. I just have a few more things to take care of.”
Elaina went back to the front of the van and got out.
Harlem couldn’t believe any of this was happening; this situation was something for the movies. If Harlem didn’t take control, she would be one of those women people talked about on cable news.
She remembered that Elaina had a black duffle bag. She saw her open it and pull the zip ties out. Harlem tried to sit up. It was awkward because of her stomach. She managed to quickly scan the back of the van.
Harlem spotted the bag.
