Page 54 of Condor’s Vow

“Oh, yes, but not a human nurse. Penny is my veterinary nurse. She’s going to help me with the operation.”

“Operation? I thought Mr. Chester was okay.” Her emotions were warring between fear for herself and the other woman and the dog she loved.

“Oh, he is. I’m going to operate on you, or rather inflict the same injuries my kids had on you so you know exactly how they died.”

A sting in her arm made her turn to him, and instantly the room started to spin, and her legs became heavy. “What did you give me?” Her words were slurring, and she could hardly stand up.

“A mild sedative. I want you awake for all of it but not enough to cause me trouble.”

He lifted her legs, and she found herself looking up at the ceiling, the lights so bright they hurt her eyes. She closed her eyes for a second, and when she looked up again, the woman was there looking down at her. Hattie could see the fear she felt mirrored in the other woman’s eyes, but she couldn’t reassure it would be okay.

It would be okay; she had to believe that. Clay would find her, she just had to hold on long enough. Paddy had a gun pointed at the woman he had called Penny and a knife in his other hand.

“Penny is just here to ensure you don’t die before I finish inflicting all the wounds. She’s my scrub nurse at the clinic and excellent at her job. She’ll monitor your vitals while I work, so don’t worry, you’re in good hands.”

“Fuck you.” The words that were said with venom in her head came out weak and disjointed.

“Ah, that is not part of the process, but maybe in another life you and I would have been lovers. I do like blondes.” He held up a sharp knife with a serrated edge. “Now, shall we start? I don’t have a tree branch to push through your liver like my son had go through his, so this will have to do.”

Hattie wanted to struggle but was paralyzed by the drugs in her system. Then all she felt was a searing pain so bad she wished for death until everything went black. When she came around, she could hear beeping, but the pain in her side was making everything else tricky to focus on.

“The first one out of the way and so far, your vitals are good.”

Hattie prayed with everything in her that Clay would hurry the fuck up, she didn’t think she could do this for much longer.

“Now, I understand my daughter had a broken femur.” Hattie saw him lift the hammer and thought she might puke as she closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to come.