“I haven’t done anything to you. Why are you picking on me?” she demanded.
The gang members laughed, ugly grins spreading across their faces.
“You pissed off the wrong person,” one of them said. “And that person told us to teach you a lesson.”
Before she could react, a steel pipe came down and smashed into her knee. Hazel fell to the ground with a thud; the pain ripped through her so fiercely she couldn’t hold back the tears.
Without giving her a moment, pipe after pipe rained down on her like hail. Her screams of pain echoed through the alley as bones cracked beneath the blows. Yet, no one came to help.
As darkness closed in, she saw her dead mother, smiling and waving at her, as if to say it was all right.
When she came to again, she was in a hospital bed. Dominic sat nearby, with dark circles under his eyes that showed he’d been there a long time. For a rare instant, pity softened his expression. His voice was unusually gentle as he asked, “You’re awake. Do you feel okay anywhere?”
Hazel didn’t answer. She asked instead, “How long was I out?”
“Five days,” he said.