Page 3 of Dark Endures

Even better. Maybe you’ll avoid most of my men, and I’ll avoid your drama. “You can come and go as you please. I’ll provide you with a code to the elevator and the snake room.” I might as well show her around.

What I haven’t seen is a single speck of fear. As a matter of fact, I haven’t seen anything but a pleasant smile on her face and excitement over my collection.

That’s odd. I can normally read people well, especially people who are distraught or terrified.

Fiona isn’t ever wrong about things like this. She has a sixth sense when it comes to people because of all she endured.

So what’s wrong? Something tells me I’d hit a wall if I just tried to ask Mindy that question. “The door on the left leads to the venomous room. And the door on the right leads to the non-venomous room.” I punch in the code that I’m going to give her. “You can store your stuff here. And we will provide coveralls to protect your clothing.” I move quickly through the tour, seeing if she can keep up. “This is the snake room.”

“There are more.”

That’s awe again. “Yeah. We rotate them on occasion so that I can see all of them.”

“Um. How many hours were you expecting this to take?”

“It’s been a full-time job.” Isn’t that what she’s here for? “But you’re welcome to set your own hours. Just leave notes on what you’ve done and what you haven’t.” Otto will show her all of that.

But I need to find out what her problem is.

Mindy's smile softens as she walks up to the cage.

Quickly. Because everything about her is going to make my life harder.

The Interview

Mindy

Out of eight step brothers, Waylon is the normal one. The sane, rational one who’s married to a wonderful woman with a beautiful child. Waylon is the only one I trust.

The only one I’d give almost every cent in my bank account. A bank account I worked for years to build up.

My security blanket quite literally, since it was going to be used for first, last, and security if I ever had to move apartments.

You can handle this.

You can handle anything.

Fea said it shouldn’t be a problem for me to get this job. My soon-to-be boss, Maddox Locke, is desperate to find someone to care for his snakes. And I’m desperate to get a second… third job, so everything should be perfect.

But in reality, everything is a mess.

All I need to do is kill it on this interview.

Get the job.

And then work until I can’t see straight for a few months and everything will be just fine.

A few months… Now, I’m lying to myself.

Stepping out of the subway on Willow Street is just as odd a feeling as it was the first time.

What subway station in Urbium smells fresh and clean? Sometimes they smell like the chemicals that the city uses to pretend to sanitize filth, but it never smells like this.

Nor is there a single homeless person, panhandler, or drug dealer loitering around to terrify the passersby.

Odd.

The last time I was here, I didn’t have time to wander around and look at the little parks, but today, I’m rudely early to my interview.

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