Page 123 of Dark Endures

Not the monster that wants vengeance and death.

I need to be that for her.

“You ready?” Knight stops in front of a door.

She’s probably in there.

Breathe.

Jacko approaches my side. “You can do this. Do you want me by your side?”

No. But yes. “No. I’ll go in alone.” I slide my gun out of its holster and hand it to him. There’s no need to frighten her more.

Each step I take closer to her feels like an eon.

I open the door.

There she is, face down in the middle of a hospital bed. “Who did this to you?”

Who Did This To You?

Maddox

“Who did this to you?” Her face. Her beautiful face. He punched her in the face. I’m going to break every bone in his.

“Who are you?” a voice I don’t recognize asks.

The world widens from its sole focus. There are other people in the room.

A lot of other people.

Why is Kyle here?

“Who are you? I need your name for the minutes,” the woman asks again.

“His name is Maddox Locke. He’s my boss.” Mindy answers for me.

What happened to her voice? Her head tips to the side, revealing a handprint of bruises along her neck.

Gasps fill the room as all eyes turn to me.

“He’s the one?” A lean woman with a gun on her hip steps forward.

“No!” Mindy attempts to shout, but her voice breaks instead. “Maddox would never hurt me.”

“Then why is he here?” The woman with the gun steps between Mindy and me.

“I don’t know. To fire me, maybe.”

The woman in the business suit gasps. “You never fire an employee while they’re out sick. Are you really here to do that?”

Kyle chuckles beneath his breath.

“No, ma’am.” Even though she’s younger than me, she gives off old soul vibes. “I’m not here to fire her. Mindy has a job until she dies, if she wants it.”

The whole room gasps, and Kyle laughs.

“That is not funny. Can’t you see she almost died?” A woman in a floral fifties-style dress walks up to me.

---