Page 18 of Hades

“Before we take you up though, can I ask who did this to you? If you know?”

“D-Dansworth, Mayor Dansworth,” she stammers, making my body freeze.

I take a step back and look at her, really look at her. She’s got long blonde hair that’s matted with blood and light blue eyes, with a thin build. If I didn’t know better, I would say she looks just like Natalie.

“Are you sure?” I press.

She jerks her head. “Please, don’t let him find me. He will k-kill me.”

I grab her hand and squeeze tight. “I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe.”

My hands shake as I pull away and turn to face Marie and Preston.

“Everything okay?” Preston asks, frowning.

“Of course. I’m going to step out real quick. If you can, go tell the police that she’s currently unresponsive and that we are running tests. Let them know as soon as she’s available to talk, we will tell them.”

Preston’s eyes dart from me to the patient and back. “Okay.”

After he leaves the room, I take a deep breath and turn to Marie. “I’ll be right back. Please don’t leave her alone.”

Marie nods. “Of course.”

I step out of the room and speedwalk down the hall. Scanning my card, I step into a supply closet and call Reaper.

“Evelyn, everything okay?” he asks as soon as he picks up.

“No, not at all. A woman was just brought in. Severely beaten, blue eyes, blonde hair. When I asked her who did it, she said you know who,” I say, not wanting to say the mayor’s name over the phone line.

I hear my big brother’s breath catch. “I’m on my way.”

Hanging up, I shove my phone back into my pocket.

Okay, I have the police distracted, and Reaper is on his way. Now what?

Scans. I need to take her to scans.

Nodding to myself, I head out of the closet and back down the hall to the room. As soon as I step inside, I freeze.

“I’m sorry, I know you said not to let anyone in, but it’s Dr. Pembrooke,” Marie whispers frantically.

“It’s fine,” I say, offering her a brittle smile.

I turn back to Melanie and see she’s on the edge of the bed, almost as if she’s trying to get as far away from Pembrooke as possible.

“Dr. Pembrooke, please step away from the patient,” I demand, asserting as much authority in my tone as possible.

He looks over at me and frowns while Melanie gives me a thankful look.

“Excuse me?” he snaps.

I offer him a smile. “While I appreciate you checking on my patient, I’m going to have to ask you again to step back. It’s clear to anyone that she’s scared of you. Not because you’ve done anything wrong, but because she was just abused by a man. Protocol states for an all-female staff in this instance unless the head doctor gives clearance, and I haven’t given you any.”

For a split second, anger flashes across his face before he can stop it.

“I apologize.” He steps out of the room, making me sigh in relief.

“Preston, I need you to call imaging and see if we can go up there right away. Let them know it’s a DV situation,” I tell him as he steps back into the room, taking in the scene before him.