017

"You did a great job in there, Bella," Small Mark praised as we left the room. "I don't know how you knew what each drug was for, but they were already making progress on him before I arrived."

Ixora closed the door behind her and asked, "Will he be okay, Small Mark?"

"If he takes the medication I left properly and redresses the wound every night, he should be just fine," Small Mark assured her.

Ixora sighed in relief, realizing she had been holding her breath until this diagnosis. "Thank you, Small Mark."

As Small Mark was about to leave, he paused and looked at her with concern. "Do you know anything about him? Those scars on his body aren't normal. Is he a fugitive or running from the law?" His voice carried suspicion and fear.

She thought to herself that she had no more information than he did. "No, he's not a wanted man. He used to be in the Army," she added to ease the doctor's suspicions.

"Ah, that makes sense," Small Mark replied as he left. "One of my boys joined the Arm