Page 20 of Sinners’ Appetite

It’s been a few hours since they disappeared behind the main doors with Sammi.

Luckily, they were able to convince Nikki to get looked at too, considering the amount of blood she had dried into her hair. She hasn’t asked for me to see her yet and I don’t want to push my way into her room.

“Fuck. Why haven’t they come out to tell us anything yet?” Jeremy impatiently whispers, running his hands up and down his legs.

“She’s in good hands, man,” I say. “How about we go get some coffee and come back?”

He runs his hands over his face. “Fine,” he loudly sighs.

Partway down the hall, Jeremy stops and leans against the wall. “Is it bad that it felt so fucking good to kill Nolan?” he asks.

“Fuck no. Some people don’t deserve to take up space, Jeremy.”

“That officer didn’t seem to care about what I did.”

“We just took out a few traffickers, Jeremy. Of course he’s not going to care. We just did their job for them.”

We make our way down to the cafeteria, order our coffees and sit down at one of the tables.

“So…what next?” he asks.

I rest my elbows on the table. “We’ll just take it day by day. That’s all we can do. The girls are going to need each other even more now.”

A comfortable smile slowly forms on his face. “I don’t know if that’s possible.”

“They’re pretty comfortable with each other, hey?”

“They always have been. All three of us have been friends since grade school.”

“I know how that is.”

We sit for a while longer and then make our way back to the waiting room upstairs. A few minutes later, a nurse comes out holding a clipboard.

“Jeremy?” she calls out, looking in our direction.

Jeremy hops up from his seat. “That’s me.”

The nurse smiles as she walks over to us. “Sammi is asking for you,”

“Is she—okay?” he asks.

“She’s doing great. We helped her take a shower and she wanted to see you before she falls asleep.”

She then looks to me. “Are you Malachi?”

“That’s me.” I smile.

“Nikki has a slight concussion, and her existing wound re-opened. Just out of precaution, we’re going to keep her tonight and give her some antibiotics through an IV.”

“Can I see her before I head home?” I ask. I know we aren’t officially dating or anything, but I also can’t leave this hospital without seeing her.

She nods her head. “Absolutely.”

We follow her through the main doors and down the hall to the trauma ward.

“Nikki is in there.” The nurse says as she points to the room on the right. “Sammi is right in there.” She smiles at Jeremy, jotting something down on her clipboard and heading back down the hallway.

As soon as I enter her room, a huge smile forms on her face. “You’re still here?”

I rush to her bedside and reach for her hand. “Of course. I’m not letting you out of my damn sight from now on.”

“So you wanna be my personal body-guard then?” She laughs.

“Something like that.”

“I’m so sorry that I yelled at you earlier,” she says, tearing up as the words leave her mouth.

I gently squeeze her hand and sit down on the edge of the bed. “Don’t you dare apologize for anything, baby girl. I have pretty tough skin.”

“Clearly…” she smirks.

“I’m just glad we found you two before—” I stop myself, unable to verbally recount what was about to happen before we stopped it.

“Sammi wasn’t so lucky…”

“Nolan didn’t—touch you?”

She shakes her head. “No. He was the one that knocked me out, but—he kept his hands to himself.”

“And Sammi?”

“That was Paul.” Her eyes widen as soon as she says his name. “Fuck… Paul…”

“Do you remember what he looks like?” I ask.

“No. I didn’t actually see his face. I only heard his voice and saw the back of his head as Nolan picked me up out of the trunk.”

I’ll make it my fucking mission to find out who he is and track him down. Then I’ll let the girls call the shots on how to torture him.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“I honestly thought I’d never get to see you, or anyone, ever again,” she whimpers. “Thinking about what it was like to be with you was the only thing that kept me from losing my mind. I still don’t know why Nolan decided to take us.”

“I think I might know why. There’s something I haven’t told you.”

“What?” she asks, tilting her head to the side curiously.

“I know about Justin…” I admit. “I know he was the one that assaulted you at the club.”

Her eyes widen and she pulls her hand away from mine. “Jeremy told you, didn’t he?”

“I lied about what happened, Nikki. I killed him.”

“But—Nolan didn’t say anything about that.”

“That’s because he hasn’t been found yet.”

She sits there silently for a few moments before responding. “So Nolan probably thinks I had something to do with his disappearance?”

“More than likely.”

“I don’t even know what to say…”

“I didn’t mean to kill him. I guess I whacked him a little harder than his thin skull could handle.”

“Where is he?” she asks with a hint of hesitation in her tone.

“Behind the dumpster, at the club. I’m sure they’ll find him soon enough.”

“Jeremy knows about all of this?”

I nod. “I’m sorry, Nikki. I should have told you.”

“I understand why you didn’t. It’s just—a lot to take in.”

“I didn’t want to freak you out.”

She lets out a half-laugh. “It doesn’t freak me out. It’s not like you’re a serial killer or anything.”

“Is there anything I can get you before I leave?” I ask, trying to change the subject. She doesn’t need to know about what I did back in Ohio. She doesn’t need to know about Amber. Not yet, anyway.

“I think I just need some rest,” she says, slowly lowering her head to the pillow.

I reach up and brush the strands of hair out of her face, grazing the size of her cheek with the back of my hand. “I’ll come back in the morning.”

“Thank you,” she replies. “For everything. I mean it.”

“Anything for you, baby girl.” I wink, leaning in to place a gentle kiss on her forehead before getting up to leave.

When I walk out of the room, I peer into Sammi’s room and see Jeremy fast asleep in the chair beside the bed.

Her eyes are wide open, but she’s just staring mindlessly up at the ceiling.

As I turn to walk away, she moves her head to the side and stares right at me. My heart jumps into my throat as she opens her mouth to speak, mouthing the words with no sound coming out at all.

I walk into the room, slowly making my way over to her bedside. “You need to get some sleep, Sammi,” I whisper as I lean over her to pull the blankets up.

“Tell him to go home…” she’s able to whisper.

“I don’t think he’ll listen.”

“How’s Nikki?” she asks.

“She’s okay.”

“Good. She’s not blaming herself, is she?”

I shake my head. “I think it’ll take some time for her to get past those feelings.”

“It’s not her fault. I’m glad she wasn’t alone this time.”

I think back to what Jeremy told me. “I’m just glad Jessica was able to track Nolan.”

“That’s how you found us?”

“She seemed happy to help.” I smile.

“That’s surprising. She never liked me very much.” Her voice starts to crack, so I reach for the glass of water on her bedside table, handing it to her.

“You should get some sleep,” I whisper, trying not to wake Jeremy.

“I felt everything,” she says as I stand to walk away.

I stop and turn back toward her. “I’ll find him, Sammi. I promise.”

“I couldn’t move…” the tears start to stream down her face as she keeps her eyes held on mine.

Rage starts to set in and I can feel the sweat start to break through my pores. “Do you remember anything about what he looks like?”

She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath. “The tattoos. I remember the tattoos. His whole face is tattooed.”

“Anything else?”

“If it helps any, I remember him saying that he didn’t know how to drive a standard. He and Nolan argued over it for a good five minutes.”

I let out a faint laugh. “So—a guy with a tattooed face that can’t drive stick.”

“Pretty much.” She grins.

The tattoo detail is actually quite helpful. The city might be big, but there’s only so many tattoo shops.

I’ll question all of them.