Present Day

“Sir, visiting hours are over.” The nurse came into the room and it was only then I realized that the light outside had changed beyond the windows.

My family had left a few hours ago after bringing me the food that was still sitting on the table in the corner getting cold. I wiped a hand over my eyes and came out of my stupor.

“I’m not leaving.” I settled back in the chair where I’d been sitting for the last few hours holding her hand and willing her to wake up.

I’d had her moved into a private room once her vitals started to look better and she was no longer in any danger. She hadn’t stirred once in all that time.

The nurse repeated her bullshit when I didn’t move and came this close to catching a foot in her ass. One look from me was all it took and she thought better of arguing and left the way she came.

How preposterous. Did she really think I was going to leave my wife who’d been missing for two years and go home to my bed?

You’d think such educated people as they ought to be would have better sense. I was sure the whole damn hospital had already heard the story. Though I’d threatened to sue if they leaked that shit and put my woman in danger.

I calmed myself down when I realized I was getting flustered at her, but my true frustration had nothing to do with her or anyone else here.

Ever since the doctor had mentioned a child my nerves have been shot. Mike had gotten hold of the P.I. who promised to be here sometime tomorrow since he was coming from out of state.

He’s purported to be the best and that’s why I’m using him again even though he’d had no luck finding her before. But I knew he’d done all he could, had even gone above and beyond.

This time I felt we might stand a better chance once Zandi wakes up. Because she could at least give us a focal point of where to start looking.

I checked my watch for the one-hundredth time. She’d been sleeping for a solid ten hours. The doc hadn’t found anything wrong with her CT scan so there was no reason for her to sleep this long except that maybe she was tired.

I’d spoken to the cops about the missing child and they’d assured me they’d get on the trail just as soon as she woke up and gave them something to work with.

The P.I. promised to get on the job as soon as he landed. I’d sent him a picture of her that I snapped on my phone, which he was going to show around in an effort to retrace her steps. Somebody had to have seen her coming into town.

It wasn’t much to work with but it was all we had until she wakes up. It was extremely hard just sitting and waiting. Every second felt like a lifetime.

And let’s not talk about the number it was doing on my head, knowing that I have a child out there somewhere without my protection.

If I knew fear and desperation before, that shit was tripled now. A helpless child, my seed, part of me… I was here but I wanted to be out there looking for my son or daughter, and still I didn’t want to leave her side. I now know what it means to be torn.

My eyes burned with fatigue but I was afraid to close them lest I wake to find her gone. I knew it was stupid, that there was no way the same thing would happen twice. But still I couldn’t shake the unreasonable fear in my gut.

Although she was back, I was still no wiser to what the fuck had happened back then. I still didn’t know who the enemy was. It could be anyone, and therein laid the fear.

“What happened to you baby? Open your eyes and talk to me.” I’ve been saying that same thing or a variation for the last few hours with no luck.

Whatever they’d had her on had taken it all out of her. Who knows how long it had been since she’d last had a good night’s sleep.

She seemed so still lying there that I kept checking to make sure she was still breathing. Scared out of my mind that something might go wrong and I’d lose her forever.

I didn’t know that having her back would be like this. That the real fear would start now. I’d expected to be happy, grateful.

I felt both those things, but there was a new underlying fear in my gut that I was afraid won’t be going away anytime soon.

What if it happens again? What if whoever had taken her comes back? And how can I prevent such a thing from happening again? How can you defend yourself from an unknown enemy?

I spent the next hour or so making plans in my head. Plans to protect her and keep her safe. I’ll have to rearrange my life but she’s more than worth it. Even if I have to keep her with me twenty-four seven for the next fifty damn years so be it.

No way in hell was anyone getting that close to her again. I’d give up my life to keep her safe from harm. And no matter what it takes, I’m going to find the ones responsible and make them pay.

Now that she was back and relatively safe I could let myself think of all the things I’d pushed aside for the last two years. All the things I wouldn’t let myself face. The fears that had haunted me until I wanted to eat a bullet.

Now I could accept the blame for not taking better care of her. As a man of means I shouldn’t have let her be as free with her movements as I had back then.

But how was I to know that my money would endanger her life? There were other wealthy people in the city and I’d never heard of such a thing happening to any of them.

Sure there’ve been kidnapping attempts on other people in the past, but that usually stemmed from some personal vendetta or something of the sort.

I didn’t live my life that way, never crossed anyone without a cause and tried to be fair in all my dealings. So why had we been dealt this hand?

Who could hate me this much that they’d tried to destroy our lives like this? I’m almost certain this wasn’t done because of her or anything she’d done. So that left only me!

I played around with the idea that maybe it really was a baby snatch, but that made no sense. She wasn’t even showing the day she was taken. No one knew she was carrying my child.

So no one would’ve taken her for that reason. Besides, don’t they usually do that shit when the woman is nearing her due date? Sick fucks!

From the research I did while sitting here I knew that was usually done by an acquaintance and she didn’t know anyone that I didn’t. No one twisted enough to pull some shit like this.

No matter how I looked at it, nothing was coming together for me. Nothing made any sense, not least of all the fact that she was here now. How had she escaped? Was someone even now looking for her? And how can I keep her safe?

I always come back to that same question. That and what had happened to my kid? The latter I’m trying hard not to dwell on too much because the pain was unbearable.

Until I have more information and can get started on my search, thoughts of him or her and where they are is like pouring lava on my soul. It’s only making me nuts.

Sitting here twiddling my thumbs while I wait is about the hardest thing in the world to do. It’s like being dragged back to the beginning of my own personal hell all over again.

But no matter how I shied away from thoughts of my child for my own peace of mind, my mind and heart kept taking me back there. I finally have my woman back but this shit is far from over.

As to keeping her safe I have a few ideas about that. The free spirited girl I know would kick up a fuss at what I plan to do, but there was no help for it. Besides, for all I know this experience could’ve changed her in ways I don’t know yet.

How can it not? She must be terrified. Does she blame me as much as I blame myself? In those two years while she was trapped in whatever nightmare this is, did she regret loving me?

I looked at her beautiful face in repose and my heart hurt. How could something this beautiful be subjected to such horror? Why is her life so filled with loss? From her childhood ‘til now, she’s faced one fucked up situation or another.

I’d wanted to take her away from all that. To give her a life free from worry and hardships. But of all the things she’d endured before we met, nothing beats what we now face.

I lifted her limp hand to my lips. Her flesh felt warmer now, and she was getting some color back in her face. As far as I can tell her feet had borne the brunt of it.

They were torn and dirty, like she’d ran through hell barefoot to get back to me. The doctor promised that they would be fine in a few days as long as she stayed off of them.

According to him, with good care and time she should be back to normal in no time, but I don’t see how that could be possible. As I watched her with pain in my heart I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer of thanks, followed by a promise.

“I’m going to keep you safe from now on baby. I won’t let anything harm you ever again. And I will find our child and bring him back to you.” Her eyes moved beneath her closed lids and her fingers seemed to twitch in my hand.

I kissed them to let her know I was there and she seemed to settle once again. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there, that I didn’t save you. I’ll spend the rest of my life making this up to you. Just please open your eyes and talk to me.”

I waited with my breath held but there was no more movement. I brushed the backs of her fingers across my cheek and rested my head against her hand. It’s hard to know what to feel. On the one hand I’m ecstatic that she’s back, and on the other…my child.

I turned my mind to all I had to do in the coming days. First things first is securing her and making sure that no one gets by me to reach her again.

The girl I knew and loved hated being encumbered, but she’s gonna have to deal. Until we get to the bottom of this, not even my family will be allowed to be alone with her.

I’m going to be on her ass every step of the way from now on. She’ll be lucky if I let her take a shower alone once we get home. I have no plans on letting her out of my sight for the foreseeable future.

If that means putting her ass on a leash then so be it. Maybe if I’d done that shit from the start none of this would’ve happened. If I’d been more careful…

But I’d given into her every whim in the past. Even when I wanted to curtail some of her movements, I let her have her way because she wasn’t used to being a rich man’s wife. Wasn’t used to having her movements monitored.

In the beginning I’d played around with the idea of getting her a driver slash bodyguard, which she hated. I’d thought that with time she’d get use to the restrictions, but it broke my heart to clip her wings so I didn’t.

She wasn’t like the other wives of my acquaintances and I never wanted her to be. She was more likely to dig in the garden than spend an afternoon shopping. Or spend a few hours at a soup kitchen feeding the needy than lunching with the Country Club set.

But now that must all change. Now I have to treat her like a caged bird to keep her safe. And what about the child, our child? Why was this his beginning?

What the fuck did he or she do to warrant this shit? It’s hard to kick against fate, to fight those things that are just meant to be. But I’m fucked if I don’t want to tear the whole city down brick by brick for being fucked with.

Anger grew and simmered as I imagined what I would do to those responsible. I just need her to wake up and give me the first clue and I’ll go get my blood and bring him home.