Page 13 of Healer’s Reckoning (The Healer’s #3)

Bryce

We might have something.

I look away from the computer I’ve been staring at for hours. I’m on my way, I send back to Hunter. He’s pretty much the only one who’s been brave enough to reach out to me in any way, shape, or form. The others have been too scared to come close. I make my way over to the room where the rest of the team has been holed up. “What?” The door hits the wall and bounces off. Nobody even flinches.

“Hey Boss,” Cody says, standing up and giving me his spot next to Leo. I don’t bother taking it.

“What did you find?”

We've been at this for over seven days. There’s been nothing. Ava and whoever took her may as well have been ghosts in the night. We haven’t been able to find anything. Cody leans against the desk and faces me. “We got a call from the alpha of the Charleston Pack. They spotted a blond-haired woman coming out of a house in a neighborhood. The only thing that makes this unique is there’s an abandoned warehouse behind this neighborhood. That’s kind of the vampires’ MO.”

“Picture?” I ask.

“No. They didn’t get a picture, but they said they’d keep a lookout. If they see her again, they’ll send a pic.”

I run my hand over the scruff that’s starting to take over my face. “It’s not a lot to go on,” Alicia says. “But it’s all we’ve got right now.”

“What have you picked up on the building?” I ask Leo.

He shakes his head. “Not a lot. It’s been deemed a hazardous site, and the city leaves it alone. It could be what we’re looking for, but it could also be just a dead site. There are no cameras around to hack into in order to get a closer look”

I stand to my full height. “Let’s get there and check it out.”

Cody nods. “And if it is a vampire site?”

“Then we’ll get Ava out and then call in backup.” Nobody questions my orders. “Leo find us the best way in undetected. We’ll leave in two hours. Get a medic bag ready and get two cars ready.”

I head back to my room. I settle into the chair in front of my laptop only a moment before my door opens, and Cody and Hunter walk in. “What?” I’m aware that it comes across as mostly a snarl.

“You eat yet today?” Cody asks, taking a seat on the bed.

I have no idea when I ate last. “He doesn’t know when,” Hunter mutters.

I scowl but keep working. “Bryce, if you’re going to be any help to her, you have to eat.”

“My mate has been gone for seven days. Nobody knows where she’s at. We're supposed to be the best security company in the country, and we don’t have one single lead on where she is. We don’t know what’s happening to her, whether she’s alive or...” I don’t even let myself finish the thought. “All because I wanted to let her have space. Anything that has or is happening to her is my fault because I didn’t keep her close to me.”

“And what? Force her to bond with you?” Hunter scoffs. “She chose—”

My head whips up. “I would be very careful with what you say next.”

My words don’t phase him. “I’m not saying I wanted this to happen but stop blaming yourself for something that’s not your fault.”

“It’s both our faults,” I snap. “She was taken from right under our noses. I haven’t forgotten that you were the one that was supposed to be watching her, Hunter.” I can feel his gaze on me, but I don’t look at him. I can’t find it in myself to feel guilty when what I speak is the truth.

“Bryce, go for a run and then eat something,” Cody says. I snap my head up at his tone. My wolf surges inside me at the command. “It’s going to be miserable traveling with you if you don’t.” He stands up, and I fight the urge to throw him against the wall. But then he leans over my desk and faces me. “With aggression like this, your wolf is in control. The last thing you want to do when you do find your mate is force her to mate you or something else that would traumatize her.”

“Get out,” I growl. But his words sink in as soon as I’m alone. I shove my chair back and head outside. I pass several people on the way out of the hotel we’ve been staying in, but they steer clear of me. As soon as I’m outside, I head to the woods behind the hotel, the reason why we chose this particular hotel to stay in. I shift and let my wolf run. He automatically sniffs the air. He’s done that every moment we’re outside since Ava disappeared. Just like always, there’s nothing. We’ve stayed in the area she was taken from; I’ve been unwilling to leave the area in case we get a lead on her. But there’s no way of knowing if she’s even in this state anymore. The thought pushes my wolf, and he runs even faster. Knowing we have to burn off energy before we travel tonight, I give him the reins and let him run.

When we meet up later, the team is waiting on me. I throw my bag over my shoulder and meet each of their eyes. “I’m sorry for being a jerk. I know you all are doing your very best to find Ava.”

“Alpha, your mate is missing. We get it; we don’t expect you to be nice to anybody right now,” Alicia is the first to respond.

The others nod in agreement. Cody puts a hand on my shoulder. “We’ll find her. There’s no other option.”

I make sure to meet each of their gazes again. “We have no idea what we will be walking into.”

“We know,” Alicia says with a firm nod. “We’ll be ready.”

“What she said,” Leo says with a grin.

“Who are you kidding?” Cody says, elbowing Leo. “You’ll be sitting in the getaway car with the laptop anyway.”

Leo nods in all seriousness. “True. Well, hope it goes well for you. If not, it was nice knowing you all.” Alicia elbows his other side, and he grimaces.

“Do we have a medic bag ready?” I hate even asking that, but I know it’s the reality.

“Got it, Boss,” Alicia says, holding up a bag.

“Let’s go.” Hunter falls into step beside me as we walk to the car. He doesn’t say anything; I didn’t expect him to. But it’s good to have him at my side for whatever we’re going to face. I make my way to the driver’s door of the first vehicle, and Hunter climbs into the passenger seat. Alicia, Cody, and Leo climb into the other vehicle with Cody driving. It’s about a four-hour trip from where we are to the location in Charleston.

The hours pass slowly. By the time we’re about an hour out, I feel like I’m going to come out of my skin. I want to be there already. My wolf is ready to sink his teeth into anything, and I’m having a hard time keeping him contained. If Hunter feels my aggression, he doesn’t say anything. We finally make it to our stop. I park and take in the area. We didn’t park near the building, so we can avoid detection. We parked in a shopping center a few blocks away. We’ll go the rest of the way on foot. I confirm that we have the medical bag, and then we start out with Leo leading us. Soon, we leave the lights of the parking lot behind us and the darkness settles around us. Because of our wolves, we can see easily; but we’re less noticeable to anybody watching, except for vampires of course.

We switch to speaking through our pack link, so nobody can hear us. This way, Leo directs. Soon, I can make out the large warehouse. We don’t get too close, as we don’t know what to expect yet. Leo gets closer and does his thing while we wait. I’m not getting anything from the building, he says when he comes back.

I look to Hunter. He nods and disappears, melding into the shadows. I don’t move a muscle while I wait to hear back from him. The minutes tick by. If it were anyone else, I would be worried; but I know Hunter. He can take care of himself. Ten minutes pass. Then twenty. Finally, he appears in front of us. “Nothing.” His words hit me like a gut punch.

“Nothing?” Alicia repeats.

“It’s not here. It’s completely abandoned. There’s nothing here, hasn’t been in a long time. And no vamps have been anywhere near here ever, neither has Ava.”

Her name hits me hard. I grit my teeth and turn away to head back to the car. I’m furious; this was a complete waste of time. And now we have a four-hour drive back. My wolf rises to the surface, but I push him down in anger. My pack follows me quietly. I know I need to talk to them, but I can’t find it in me to do so at the moment. I get to the car first and climb in. Putting my head back against the seat, I close my eyes for a moment as a wave of exhaustion comes over me. My mate needs me, and I don’t have a clue where she is. I have no idea what she’s enduring right now. I hear the door to the passenger side open quietly. Still, I don’t open my eyes. “We need to find a place to eat.” Hunter’s words are quiet.

I blow out a breath of air. “Okay.” I start the car. “Where?”

“Leo’s finding us a place,” he says just as quietly.

A minute later, Cody pulls out, and I follow. When we get to the restaurant, I park but don’t make a move to go in. Hunter doesn’t either. After a moment, he puts his hand on his door handle. “When we do find her, she’s going to need you to be at your best.” He says nothing more before he climbs out and joins the others. I watch them go inside, knowing he’s right. I force myself to go inside as well. When our meals come, I realize just how hungry I am. My steak disappears in seconds. I can see the almost visible wave of relief that goes through my pack members. It’s like once they see me eating, they all finally relax and eat their own meals. I do feel better after eating. They make small talk while we finish eating, and I force myself to join in when I can. When the bill comes, I take care of it.

“Ready?” Everybody nods, and we head out. I’m almost to the car when the company phone rings. It’s an unknown number, but I answer anyway. “Bryce.” There’s a pause on the other end, and the hair on the back of my neck prickles. I stop moving.

“Bryce?”

My wolf and I both snap to attention. “Ava?”

“Bryce,” her voice is so weak.

“Ava, where are you?”

“ I need...vampire...in...baby...needs...need...”

I move, trying to get a better signal. “Ava?”

I pull the phone away from my ear. The call’s disconnected. I call back immediately, but it says the number is out of service. A roar of frustration bursts from me before I can stop it. I want to hit something; no, I want to destroy something. My breath comes in heavy pants as I try to control myself. I swear and squeeze my fist so hard, I'm at risk of crushing the phone. I want to throw it as far as I can, but I know it’s Ava’s only lifeline to me. I turn to Leo. “Did you get anything?” My words are barely discernible.

His fingers are flying over the keyboard. “Working on it.”

I turn to the rest of my team. “Did any of you get any of that?” They would have all been able to hear her with their superior hearing.

Alicia shakes her head. “All I caught was something about a baby.”

I caught that too, and it makes my blood run cold. But I’m trying not to think about it at the moment. Nobody says anything while we wait for our tech genius to do his thing. It takes longer than I thought it would. But finally, he looks up. “I’ve got it. It’s in the middle of nowhere in West Virginia. About—” he pauses. “Six and a half hours away.”

I lock it in. “I’m going there now. You all don’t have to go with me; I have no idea what we’re going to get into.”

“I’m going with,” Cody says.

“Me too,” Alicia echoes.

“I’m in,” Leo says without looking up from the computer.

I look to Hunter. He just gives me a look like he’s insulted that I would even ask. “Okay. Let’s make a plan.”