I was pacing up and down the hall in front of the emergency room when I heard Keith shout my name. “Hendrix!” I spun around and locked gazes with him. Just like mine, his eyes were full of fear and anger.  “Where is she?”

I swallowed around the boulder in my throat, squatted down, and laced my fingers behind my head. “CT Scan. Fifteen minutes ago.” I could barely breathe around the rage that was choking the life out of me, much less talk.

“How did this happen?”

I shook my head, unable to comprehend any of it. “I don’t know.”

Pop came barreling through the door next. “We know anything yet?”

Again, I shook my head.

“Shit.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned a shoulder against the wall beside me. “I got some info from the cops before we left the scene.”

Keith turned around. “And?” He motioned for Pop to hurry the hell up with his hands.  

“Cliff notes version: the man brought in with gunshot wounds is married to a shelter resident. Her, along with her two sons, have been living there for about a week. I don’t know much else except the husband is abusive, and that’s why they are there in the first place. They don’t know how he got Maddie alone, but there wasn’t anyone else around when he attacked her. They think the attack lasted for a few minutes before security realized what was happening and intervened.”

Keith cursed from beside me. “You said gunshots.” Pop nodded. “Who shot him? It wasn’t Maddie because she doesn’t own a gun.”

“Evan did,” a small voice said from behind Pop. He turned around and stepped to the side, giving Keith and I a good look at the person standing a couple of feet away. 

“What happened, Hope?” I asked, my voice rough to my own ears.

Tears fell from her eyes, and she glanced at the person standing next to her—the blonde headed girl who yelled at me to help Maddie at the shelter—and whispered, “I don’t know everything.”

“Then tell us everything you do know.” My entire body trembled.

She nodded once. Fiddling with her hands, she looked at a place on the wall next to us and began to speak. “Madelyn told Granny Ethel and a couple of the residents that she was taking out the trash.” Her face hardened a little. “She isn’t supposed to do that. We’re never supposed to go out at night alone. All of the employees know that.” She shook her head in frustration. “But she still went alone.” The girl was crying, but you could hear the anger lining her voice. “And Mr. O’Bannon was waiting for her. He… he,” she blew out a breath, “he approached her and said something to her before Madelyn turned around and ran.” The blonde girl spun around and placed her hands over her ears. She looked like she was two seconds away from losing her shit. I’m right there with ya, sweetheart. “She almost made it to the building, but he caught her right as she was about to run up the ramp that leads to the kitchen door.” She blew out another breath and shook out her hands. “That’s when he grabbed her and slammed her head into the brick wall.”

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Keith bent over, placing his hands on his knees as he fought for breath. His face was ashen, and his skin was covered in sweat.

I held up my hand. “Wait a goddamn minute. How do you know all this?”

Hope swallowed. “I saw it.” More tears streamed down her face. “When Evan saw that she went outside by herself, he called Carissa and I to come watch the security monitors while he went out to get her.”

Shit.

“Keep going,” I instructed her, my voice calm as could be. “Tell us the rest.”

“Okay.” She wiped away the tears sliding down her cheeks with the backs of her hands. “After Mr. O’Bannon slammed her into the wall, Madelyn fell, but he kept on beating her. Evan left his radio sitting inside, so I radioed Shelby and told her what was going on. She ran after Evan. By the time she got there, he’d already found them.” More tears. “Mr. O’Bannon was still wailing on Madelyn. Evan pulled out his gun and told him to step away from her, but he wouldn’t listen. He raised his hand to hit her again, so Evan shot him in the chest three times.”

“Who’s Evan?” Keith questioned.

“One of our security guys. He lives at the shelter with Madelyn. They share an apartment on the top floor.”

Every muscle in my body tensed and my rage reached a boiling point. “Ex-fucking-cuse me?” What did she mean they shared an apartment? Did that mean they were together? I hoped not because if so, Evan was going to die.

Hope jerked back, and Shelby spun around and stepped in front of her, shielding Hope’s body with her own. “Back up,” she said, jabbing a manicured finger into my chest, “Or else I’m gonna make you back up.” Still covered in blood, her eyes were wild, and she looked ready to murder somebody with her bare hands.

Pop slid his hand between both of us and pushed me back a step. “Now isn’t the time for your jealousy, Hendrix.” He then looked down at Shelby. “No need to threaten my son, darling. He means no harm.”

“He doesn’t need to bark at Hope like that. Trust me when I say that Madelyn wouldn’t like it one bit.” Her eyes never wavered from mine. “And if you ever snap at her like that again, I’ll cut your balls off and shove them down your throat. M'kay, cupcake?”

With that, she grabbed Hopes hand, turned around and walked to the other side of the hall.

Keith, who also looked ready to murder someone, spoke to Pop next. “Tell me the son of a bitch is dead.”

I muttered, “If not, he will be.” I’d never been more serious in my life. I’d only been a kid when I promised Maddie that if anybody ever tried to hurt her, I’d kill them.

It was a promise that I intended to keep.

Pop ignored my outburst as he replied to Keith. “Still had a pulse when EMS left the scene. From what I saw though, doubt they kept him breathing. The man was messed up bad.”

“Good.”

Pop hit my shoulder and pointed to the man walking down the hall. “Doc is coming.”

Keith and I spun around at the same time.

“I’m looking for the family of Madelyn Davis.”

“That’s us,” Keith said, raising his hand.

My head jerked back. Had he just said us?

The doctor stopped in front of us and exhaled. He looked tired, exhausted even. “I’m Dr. Kilmore, the attending physician. I have good and bad news. Which do you want first?”

Shelby, who had her arm locked around Hope’s shoulders, moved to stand beside Keith. “Good,” she said, without waiting for one of us to reply. “Start with the good.”

Dr. Kilmore nodded once. “Okay. Good news, Miss Davis is stable. She lost some blood but not enough to cause concern.” He looked each of us in the eye before proceeding. “Bad news, CT scan showed that she has a significant head injury.”

“What kind of injury?” Panicked, Keith’s hands twitched at his sides.  

“A basilar skull fracture.”

Goddamn it! I knew it! The moment I saw the blood trickling from her ear and nose, I’d known it. I just hadn’t allowed myself to think about it until now.

Tears streamed down Shelby’s face as she screamed, “What does that mean?”

“It means part of her skull is broken,” I spit out with more venom than necessary. I hadn’t meant to be such a dick to her, but at that point, I was beyond being nice. All I wanted to do was find the bastard who had hurt Maddie and kill him with my bare hands.

Dr. Kilmore continued while ignoring my outburst. “The scan showed that cerebral edema is present, but the fracture is closed, so the risk of infection is low. If we keep the pressure stable, there is no reason she shouldn’t make a full recovery. However, she hasn’t woken up since being brought in, though I don’t think that’s cause for concern right now.”

“Does that mean she’s in a coma?” Hope’s voice shook even more than before.

Dr. Kilmore nodded. “Medically speaking, yes.”

Keith looked seconds away from collapsing. “So, what now?”

“All we can do is focus on keeping her stable while administering enough medication to keep the edema under control. If we can manage that, then I am confident Miss Davis will wake up when her body is ready.”

“That’s it?” Pop barked.

Dr. Kilmore’s face was impassive. “That’s it.”

“Can we see her?”

“Yes, but only two people at a time, and you must leave when visiting hours are over,” he looked down at his watch, “which is in about thirty minutes.”

Internally, I chuckled. If anybody thought they were getting me out of that room once I stepped foot inside, they had another thing coming. Short of being tasered and handcuffed, I wasn’t leaving.

Hope tapped my arm. “I can’t go in here. I don’t… can’t see her like that again. If I leave my number with you will you call me if anything changes? I’ll be back in the morning, but for now, they probably need my help at the shelter.”

I nodded once and handed her my cell. “Put your number in there.”

She handed it back seconds later.

“You coming with me?” Keith asked, his hands shaking at his sides.

Like that was ever a question.

“Let’s go,” I said, following behind Dr. Kilmore. We walked down a long hallway before climbing into an elevator and riding it to the fourth floor. From there, we navigated down two more never-ending hallways until we stood in front of Room 417. Dr. Kilmore stopped walking and turned to face us. “I should warn you, her face has already begun to bruise, and there are multiple tubes and wires attached to her. I know it can be a little startling—”

“Move, doc,” I said, rushing past him and stepping through the door.

My eyes found her and my heart shattered.

 “Jesus fucking Christ.”