Page 25 of Healer’s Reckoning (The Healer’s #3)

Chapte r 25

Ava

I turn around, and my heart softens when my gaze lands on my brother. “You okay, Brandon?” I ask in a gentle voice. He meets my gaze but says nothing. He doesn’t seem to be upset, though; so, I count that as a win. I don’t look at Hunter before I turn back around and look out the window. Without a word, Bryce starts the car and pulls out.

I stare out the window, wondering how to get out of this mess. How in the world did I end up with the one guy that owns a whole stinkin’ security team?

Nobody makes a sound, and I shift in my seat as my nerves get the best of me. Bryce turns on the radio and soft music floods the car, but it does nothing to ease my nerves. We haven’t been on the road all that long when Bryce pulls into the parking lot of a restaurant. He parks and opens his door. “Nobody go anywhere, okay? Let me just remind you that you won’t get far.” I hear Sherese make a sound in the backseat, but I don’t respond. He closes his door and strides inside.

There's movement in the backseat, and then I hear Hunter’s low voice. “Here.” At Sherese’s gasp, I turn in my seat.

She’s staring at Hunter. “You brought me blood?” He gives a short nod and then hands a pouch to Brandon. When Brandon doesn’t take it, I put out my hand and Hunter hands it to me instead.

“Brandon?” I call out softly. When his eyes meet mine, I ask him gently, “Do you drink blood?”

He frowns at it, and I don’t know what to do. I look to Sherese, who’s studying Brandon. “I honestly don’t know,” she answers my unspoken question. “He’s one of the few humans that survived. I don’t know what all that entails.” She meets my eyes and shrugs apologetically. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” I look back at Brandon. “Brandon?” I hold out the blood bag, but he doesn’t take it. After a few moments, I turn back around and hold on to it, trying not to think about the fact that I’m holding blood.

Bryce opens the door and climbs back in, bringing with him the smell of food. He hands a bag to Hunter and then opens another bag. He pulls out a white container and tries to hand it to me. I shake my head. “I’m good. Thanks.” He doesn’t skip a beat as he pulls the container back in front of him and lifts the lid. The smell of syrup and bacon hits my senses, and my stomach chooses that moment to growl loudly.

I hear a sound from Sherese in the backseat, but I don’t turn around. “Oh, for goodness sakes, will you please eat it? We all know you’re starving. I’d kill to be able to eat pancakes or French toast or even just drink syrup.”

I can’t help the half laugh. “Drink syrup?”

“Girl, I would if I could.” An uncomfortable silence settles over the car, and I don’t know what to say. There’s a sound behind me, and I turn around.

“Brandon?” His eyes meet mine for a moment before they flit over to the box that Bryce is still holding.

I turn to Bryce. “I think he’s hungry. Can he have some of that?” I ask tentatively. He opens the bag and pulls out another white container and hands it to me. I open it and see eggs, sausage, ham, pancakes, breakfast potatoes, and more. I take the fork that Bryce hands me and turn around in my seat and hand the whole thing to Brandon. I’m uncertain what’s going to happen next, but my brother opens the container and uses the fork to dig in. I watch him for a moment. When I’m certain he’s going to be fine, a tiny bit of pressure in my chest releases, and I turn back around in my seat.

Bryce hands me the box with the pancakes and bacon again. “Eat.” I open my mouth to argue, but he meets my gaze. “Please.”

It’s the please that does it. I cave. With a sigh, I reach for the box. “Thank you,” I manage. “How much do I owe you?”

“Nothing.” He opens another box, one that’s similarly stuffed like Brandon’s and eats.

I take a bite of pancake, unsure of whether I’ll be able to handle it. As soon as the sweet taste hits my tongue, I practically inhale both pancakes and the two sausage links. When the box is empty, and I’ve practically licked it clean, Bryce hands me his box. “No, I’m good.” I take a breath. “It was really good. Thank you.” He turns his head and meets my eyes for just a moment. I don’t know what to say, so I stay quiet.

“Does Brandon need more?” he asks quietly. He hands me his box. I want to tell him to eat it, but I don’t. I take the box and turn in my seat.

“Brandon, do you want more?” I barely get the words out before he snatches the box from my hands and starts shoveling food in like he didn’t just eat an entire takeout box of food. Worry settles in my gut. Did they starve him while he was in there?”

“We can get more food for him soon,” Bryce says in a low voice. He backs out of the parking spot and gets us back on the road again. It’s quiet as we drive, except for the music. I don’t ask where we’re going. I’m not sure if he’ll tell me anyway. One hour fades into two, and I have a hard time staying awake. I glance over at Bryce once or twice. There’s something about him being in control that makes me feel a little less worried. I feel like maybe I don’t have to have the answers to everything.

Another hour passes, and I can barely keep my eyes open. “You can sleep, Ava. I’ll get us there safely,” he says quietly at one point.

“Where is there?” I finally ask, but I’m pretty sure we’re headed back to the Northwoods Pack.

“Garrett’s pack. From there, we will get on a plane and fly to Phoenix.” I feel his eyes on me, but I don’t look over. I’m too busy trying to keep my eyes open.

I wasn’t sure what I expected when we got back to the Northwoods Pack, but it wasn’t to be on a plane and in the air less than ten minutes later. I didn’t even get a chance to pack up any of my things, but Bryce said one of the girls did it for me. Once again, I find myself staring out a window. I look over at Brandon often, but he seems to be handling flying well. Sherese does as well. I’m pretty sure she was asleep within the first five minutes. I make it through the first two hours without falling asleep. But that short night’s sleep is catching up to me, and I can’t stay awake. I open my eyes sometime later and look out the window. I can tell we’re descending. I look at the blanket covering my body; it wasn’t there when I went to sleep. I go back to looking out the window. In all the traveling I did with my family growing up, we never made it to Arizona, though I always wanted to.

When we land, Bryce appears again. Without a word, he opens the door and steps out. I stand and stretch out the kinks from sitting so long. I turn around to see Brandon doing the same. His eyes meet mine, and I give him a reassuring smile. “We’re in Arizona.” He seems to study my face, and I wonder what he’s thinking. “Come on; let’s go.” I go ahead of him and walk down the steps. He follows me, coming to a stop once we’re on the pavement. A car pulls up, and Bryce climbs out a moment later.

“Ready?”

Brandon and I walk over to the vehicle. I open the door and Brandon climbs in. I shut the door behind him and then walk over to the other side and climb into the backseat with him. I watch as Sherese comes down the steps, arguing with Hunter about something. Bryce stays out of it. He looks over at the car, and I swear he looks right at me. But the windows are tinted, so I know it’s not possible.

Sherese opens the door a moment later in a huff. “Want to sit here?” I ask her.

“No. I want to ride on the roof where I don’t have to hear his unsufferable voice,” she says. But she climbs into the very back anyway. I don’t say anything. Soon, Bryce takes the driver’s seat, and Hunter takes the passenger seat. My door opens suddenly, and I scream.

“Whoa, sorry.” I recognize one of the guys from Bryce’s pack that was at the vampire site with us.

“Cody!” Bryce snaps.

“Sorry,” I mumble, feeling embarrassed.

“Sorry, Boss.” Cody smiles easily at me. “Got room for one more?”

I start to slide over, but Bryce stops me. “In the back, Cody.” Before Cody can climb in the back, Hunter says something low under his breath and steps out of the car.

“Up front,” Hunter barks. Cody moves that way, and Hunter stares at me.

I finally get what he wants and climb into the backseat with Sherese. She doesn’t bother looking at me; she’s busy staring out the window in anger. I lean back against the seat. Bryce meets my eyes in the rearview mirror for a moment before he starts driving. I find myself too on edge to rest again; that nap in the airplane seemed to catch me up on sleep for now. Instead, I take in the scenery around me that’s so different from what I know. The red rocks and sand...the cactuses. Or is it cacti? It’s beautiful in its own way. I’m shocked at how busy the area is. There are five lanes of traffic at times, and everybody just flies around us. They have to be going over eighty easily. Bryce finally slows and takes an exit. We drive for a little bit in what looks like a residential area. Then he stops in front of a large gate. He talks with the security guard on duty for a moment, and then the gate lifts for us. We drive inside, and I watch the gate close behind us. Sherese meets my eyes for a moment, and I wonder if she’s panicking a little about being locked in this place with no way of escape.

Inside the gate, there are several houses spread out. They’re not huge, but they’re really pretty. Bryce pulls into a large driveway a few minutes later and parks. I wait for my turn to get out of the car. When I do, I stare at the large house and get a bad feeling in my stomach. They must have a pack house like the Orlando Pack does. I shift back and forth on my feet. I really don’t want to stay in a house with a bunch of people I don’t know...again. Been there; done that and don’t want to repeat it. Bryce turns to us. “Ready to go inside?”

Not really. But I nod anyway. He turns towards me and runs his eyes over me. I know what he’s seeing. He’s seeing the hot mess that I am. I haven’t showered in who knows how long. I stink. I’m practically skin and bones. My hair is a tangled mess. My skin is more pale than normal. I look away from him and face the house. Here we go.