Hide and Seek

Matt stood behind his desk, going over every detail of Emily’s murder once again. The desk was a mess of files, photographs, empty coffee cups and crumpled papers. After he had met Lisa yesterday, Matt had quickly driven to Victoria’s parents’ house in Oregon and had gotten a DNA sample so that he could compare with the blood on the knife.
Now he knew for sure that it was Victoria who was pregnant. Yet, he had decided not to tell her parents, simply because it would only make things even worse. First he needed to find them and get her into safety.
Matt stood up and decided to go get another coffee. The fact that Victoria was pregnant could actually help them find her. There were cases where the kidnappers raped their victims, but killed them or killed their babies once they found out they were pregnant. However, this was not the case. He knew that Victoria was his obsession, Zacky would never put her life in danger nor the life of his unborn child. As a matter of fact, this was exactly what he wanted, to start his little, sick family with her. Just like he had wanted to do five years ago.

He reached for the cell phone inside his pocket and dialed a number he knew by heart. “I need you to do me favor,” he spoke to one of the detectives who was helping him on the case. “I need police reinforcement in every hospital and airport in California.” If Zacky knew she was pregnant he would need to take her to a safer place. “Also, send an alert to the hospitals and airports in the surrounding states. Make sure they broadcast the alert and that everyone has a photo of Zacky and Victoria.”

Victoria sat in front of Zacky as they started eating breakfast. The sun was shining brightly outside, but that didn’t seem to cheer her up today. A huge headache made her temples throb and, just like the morning before, the smell of coffee made her stomach twist and turn.
Zacky looked at her and immediately stopped eating. “Are you okay?” Her eyes were closed and she took small breaths.

“I’m -”she started, but she suddenly got up and ran outside the kitchen. Zacky followed her and watched her close the bathroom door. Was she sick again? That was starting to worry him.

Inside the bathroom Victoria stared at her pale reflection. Her skin was almost ghostly white and she felt like if she had been kicked out in the stomach. Unable to stand up for much longer, she sat on the toilet, holding her head with both hands. Yesterday she hadn’t paid much attention to this pain, but today her mind raced at the thought of what it might mean. The morning sickness, the stomach cramps and fact that now she couldn’t stand the smell of coffee it could only mean… “No, I can’t be pregnant,” she whispered to herself, remembering that her period was delayed for over a week. She thought that it was due to all the emotional stress she was going through and since it had happened before, she wasn’t really concerned. But now she was.

She heard a soft rap on the door. “Victoria, do you need anything?”

She regained her composure and opened the door. Should she tell him the truth? “No, I’m fine,” she managed to smile and both headed back to the kitchen.

“Are you sure? You don’t seem that way,” he watched her take her seat and then took his place.
Victoria ignored his question, trying to find out when it had happened. Although they had sex almost every day, she remembered him always using a condom.
“Victoria?” He called her and she looked at him. Her eyes widened, as she suddenly remembered the Christmas night, their first night, and the exception that she was looking for.

Absently, her hand slid to her stomach. “Zacky, I need to tell you something,” she took a deep breath. In her mind she knew she had to tell him, but she was actually afraid of his reaction. What if he got mad?

“What’s wrong?” Zacky’s mouth turned into a frown and she could see that he clearly did not like the way their conversation was going.

“I’m pregnant,” she blurted out, quickly covering her face with her hands, as her tears started to roll down her cheeks. “I’m really sorry.”

She heard him get up from his seat and when she removed her hands from her face she saw him crouching next to her chair, his concerned eyes staring at her. “Why would you be sorry?” He wiped a tear from her face.

That was the question she asked herself. She knew it was not her fault, not just hers at least, but she didn’t want him to lose his temper on her again. “I don’t know,” she finally answered, a sob escaping her lips.

He dried another tear and kissed her lips gently. “Don’t worry, everything is going to be okay. Are you sure you’re pregnant?”

“It would explain the way I’ve been feeling, but there’s only one way to know for sure.” In her mind she was trying find out how many days had passed since Christmas. Two weeks? Maybe more? It was very hard for her to keep track of time inside that house.

He nodded and got up. “I’ll go to the pharmacy then.”

“There’s no need for you to go today,” Victoria followed him with her gaze. He stopped at the kitchen door and turned to face her. “I should do it first thing in the morning, so we have to wait until tomorrow.”

He nodded once again and stared at her for a while. “Don’t worry Victoria. Whatever happens, I’ll protect you. Both of you.” He turned around and she heard him walk up the stairs a few seconds later.

Zacky dug out the set of keys from his pocket and opened the door to the one room that Victoria had never been inside. The small office was only furnished with a desk, an office chair and a lamp. On the wall, a few newspaper clips were stuck with duct tape, all from articles about Victoria’s abduction.
He sat on the chair and opened his laptop. Although he had sounded calm around Victoria, he was not happy with her pregnancy. Not because of the fact that she was pregnant, but because it couldn’t have happened in a worse time.
His fingers typed as fast as he could, searching for any news on Victoria’s case. They had her fingerprints and they had her blood, she they probably already knew that she was pregnant. And they knew that it would make him weak and predictable.
His brows furrowed as he couldn’t find any recent news from the case. Maybe they hadn’t found out yet, or maybe they didn’t want to reveal it to the press. Either way, he knew he had to act fast.
Zacky closed his laptop and opened one of the desk drawers. Several stacks of one hundred dollar bills were packed up inside it. He took one stack and left the room.

Victoria was reading a book on the living room when she saw Zacky opening the front door. “Where are you going?”

“I have to buy some stuff,” he simply said. “I’ll be back soon.”

Notes

Thank you for all the comments left on the last chapter, I had a great time reading them :)
Hope you've liked this chapter!