Page 1 of Endurance

The sound of our shoes slapping on the linoleum floor echoed off the hospital walls as Louie and I ran down them toward the ER. I spotted Stefan pacing in the waiting room as we approached and Brody hovering closely, his worried eyes fixed on Stefan’s every move.

Louie and I came to a halt before Stefan. “Where is she?” I demanded. There was blood caked on Stefan’s hands and blotches of it staining the cuffs of his white shirt.

Stefan’s eyes locked with mine. He inhaled deeply—a small hint that he was struggling to keep calm. “In surgery.” Only Maura—his daughter—had the power to weaken the boss’ stony exterior. With everyone else, the placid mask he always wore was unwavering.

“How bad is it?” Louie asked.

Brody had been racing behind the ambulance when he had called, yelling at us to get to the hospital. All he had told us was that Maura had been stabbed.

Stefan’s gaze drifted to Louie. “The doctors are optimistic that they can save her.”

Louie released a sigh of relief.

My relief was short lived. I picked up on how tight Stefan’s voice had grown when he'd said ‘her.’

“But not the baby,” I said, voicing what he was really telling us. Louie’s attention jerked toward me. I kept my eyes fixed on Stefan.

His stare hardened before he nodded. “They can’t savethe baby.”

My fists squeezed tighter the longer I stared at the large stain of blood on the carpet and the smaller spots leading to where Maura had been stabbed. There were even two perfect, bloody handprints—more gut twisting evidence that Maura had dragged her bleeding body across the floor.

I’d watched the video footage of Maura running out of our room followed by the Aryan, with a hunting knife clutched in his hand. He’d caught her by her hair and tossed her outside of the camera’s view—a blind spot that should have never existed. We hadn't been able to see either of them for a few minutes until the Aryan had staggered backward, his blade covered in blood. He'd disappeared into our room, where he'd escaped through a window and scaled down to the room below. He'd crept through the house to exit through another window. All of his moves had been hidden by the cameras’ blind spots.

Josh, one of the grounds security who monitored the control room, had studied every frame for countless hours only to find small glimpses of the Aryan escaping. A shoulder here, a leg there, and half of his body as he'd climbed the property’s wall. Josh had found nothing of the Aryan breaking in. My guess was that he'd made mistakes in his escape because he’d been wounded and rushing.

I stepped over the stains and headed into our room. Broken glass, a blood covered fire poker, and more stained carpet greeted me inside. The sight made it even harder to contain the rage that seemed to be buzzing beneath my skin.

The only reason I was here and not by Maura’s side was because Stefan had made Louie and I go home to get cleaned up. We hadn’t left the hospital in days. Neither of us had wanted to leave our girl’s side since she'd gotten out of surgery, even if she'd been practically catatonic. The news of losing our baby had seemed to break her soul. All she did now was stare at the ceiling, tears steadily leaking from her eyes, with an expression that terrified us all. Stefan had requested she stay longer in the hospital than needed because he had been worried about what she might do. He wouldn’t say it, but I knew he thought she might kill herself.

Wearied by the thought, I dragged my hands down my face before making my way over to the dresser. The new vase I’d bought Maura to replace the old one I had broken was shattered on the floor. Once she returned home, I’d buy her a new one and fill it with her favorite tulips.

I yanked the drawers on the dresser with more force than necessary as I pulled out some clothes. Maybe I should have showered in my old room like Louie. Being here, seeing the aftermath of what she'd gone through, was threatening to obliterate the last ounce of willpower I was holding onto. I couldn’t lose it. I wanted to. I wanted to give in to my rage and hunt down every Aryan. I desperately wanted to find who had fed the Aryans information because now there was no doubt that we had a traitor within the family. When I found him…or her, they were dead. I’d string them up in the basement and dish out their torture for as long as I could. Then, I’d cut them open from their lower stomach and rip away what was vital. Just as the Aryan had in ripping away my baby’s life. I’d even let Maura go first in torturing them if it would bring the will to live back into her eyes. But I couldn’t do any of that right now. I needed to be there for her and Louie. We had to get her better.

In the mirror hanging over the dresser, a bright yellow gift bag on the coffee table caught my eye. I spun and went over to the small seating area facing the fireplace and the TV mounted above it. Maura’s boots were on the floor in front of the couch and her purse was placed next to the yellow bag. She’d had enough time to come in, set down her things, and take off her shoes before she had been attacked. I eyed the gift bag and remembered she had texted Louie and I that she had a surprise for us when we got home.

I placed my clothes on the arm of the couch, took a seat, and scooped up the bag. I ripped the white tissue paper from the top and pulled what looked like a tiny pink shirt from the bag. I unfolded the pink shirt and my heart sank. It wasn’t a shirt. It was a onesie, and on the front, it read, ‘I love my daddies.’

The baby had been a girl.

Knowing that made the reality of my baby more…real. It made the loss feel heavier. Because it painted a more vivid picture of a future I’d never see.

My control broke and my agony took the reins. The next thing I knew I was flipping the coffee table over. Rage burned through my veins as I tossed and kicked everything that was within reach.

I'd failed.

My main role in this family was to protect it.

I had known deep down that there was a traitor walking among us.

I had known the Aryans wanted Maura dead.

I should have done more.

I should have been here.

I'd failed my family.

I didn’t want to come here. I didn’t want to see. It was why I'd showered in Jameson’s old room. But it’d been over an hour and Jameson wasn’t answering his phone.