DONOVAN (Book Three)

FORTY-SEVEN

Entering the large vault inside, what an ordinary bedroom would look like. It was tidy enough for a woman in her late 40s or early 50s to tidy enough to fit her personality. On the walls are paintings that show off her creativity.

"M-Mom," Don stuttered, too shocked.

I hear her call out to her in a sorrowful tone as my eyes travel to the woman sitting on the chair leaning forward, making her hand gently stroke moments with her brush as she paints on the unfinished canvas. This woman's poster shows off how elegant and refined she is, her long dark brown hair in a long braid draped over her shoulder as her eyes are focused on the painting, unaware of our presence.

In the corner of my eyes, I see the heart monitor and the IV drip with the wire and tubes connected to her.

After she leans back to check her painting, she suddenly notices us and flashes us with a smile. Her dark, soft eyes met mine. "Hello, may I help you? Are you the new nurses?"

I glance at Don and find him grinning; his eyes are almost in tears. He has not seen his mother for years, which is heartbreaking. I want to hug him. It's hard for anyone whose loved one can forget them is overwhelming and sorrowful.

Don wiped his eyes and took a deep breath, giving his mom a big smile. "Yes, Miss Koa, I'm Don, and this is Claire. We are here to take you to a safe place."

Lying to your mom is one thing, but for someone with Alzheimer's, Don has no choice but to lie to save her.

"Where are we going?" Sarah confusedly asks while Don removes the wire from the heart monitor and the IV drip. "Excuse me, the doctor said I need those."

"Don't worry, you will have it place again once we reach the new area.

"But-"

She's getting scared. Especially with Don being the gentle giant he is, with the diseases, she sees him as a stranger.

"Ma'am," I rush and aid Don. "You will be fine, and this new room has windows which will give you a spacier environment and fresh air to paint. Which, by the way, you have a talent."

"Oh, thank you, dear," Sarah smiled and instantly forgot her fear of Don after I changed the topic. "I'm not much of a painter, but it relaxes me. That young man put me in here and told me the sun would ruin my paintings, so I stayed here to do my paintings."

Fucking Eddie.

The only reason he said that was because he was locking her up. She was kept hidden away from Don.

He's a fucking monster.

"Hey!" we hear Brandon peek at his body. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, is the car ready?" Do ask him.

"Yeah, Landon is inside."

"What about Solomon?"

"Looking for Petrov."

Don's jaw clenched, and his eyes darkened.

"Help Claire take my mother to the car." He says as Brandon takes his place.

"Oh, another nurse?" Sarah questioned, then looked at Brandon with a smile.

"No, ma'am, he's the driver," Don told her. "He and his brother will take you to your new home."

I stop him before he can head out. "Where are you going?" I stupidly asked, even though I knew he would look for Petrov. "You're going to look for him, aren't you?"

Don didn't reply, but I knew his answer.

"I don't want to stop you. I'm not scared of Petrov anymore, but I'm scared about you." I tell him. "You and Petrov are about the same level regarding combat, but be careful. He can be manipulative and pull dirty tricks. I have seen it happen before. When his opponent lost, he broke his neck just for fun. He gets turned on with torture."