Page 5 of Healer’s Reckoning (The Healer’s #3)

Ava

The truck comes to a stop, and I gasp for air, trying to work out in my mind what just happened. There’s a ringing in my ears and a burnt smell as smoke lingers in the air. I blink, clearing my eyes. “Ava!” I hear Bryce, but it sounds like he’s at the end of a long tunnel. My door opens, and I blink again. Hands run over me, and somebody says something. I think it’s Bryce, but I can’t seem to piece anything together. “Ava.” I turn my head towards the voice and see Bryce, but he still sounds so far away. He leans forward, and suddenly I’m pulled from the truck. We walk a distance from the truck. My head clears somewhat, and I can breathe again. Clarity returns to me, and I look back at the truck and gasp. The airbags are both deployed, the front windshield is gone as well as my window. The front of the trunk is crunched in. “Ava.” This time, I can hear Bryce’s voice clearly; I can see him clearly in the light of the headlights. “Are you okay?” I lift my head and look at him, and he curses. He pulls out a tissue and dabs at my forehead. I’m surprised when it comes away red.

I push his hand away. “I’m okay.” My voice is shaky, which isn’t really a surprise. I’m surprised I can talk at all. I hear the sound of somebody closing in on us fast, and I jerk my eyes towards the truck.

“It’s just Hunter,” Bryce says calmly.

“What happened?” Hunter demands, stopping when he gets to us. “Where’s the other car?”

Bryce just shakes his head. “They came out of nowhere, hit us, and disappeared.”

Hunter turns and sniffs the air. “I’ll see what I can find. You both okay?”

“Ava’s got a head injury; she needs to go to the hospital,” Bryce says in a low guttural voice, thick with the sound of his wolf.

“No, she doesn’t,” I say pushing his hand away. “I’m fine.”

“You’re going to the hospital to get checked out,” he tells me, standing nearly nose to nose to me. Well, it’s more like nose to chest for me.

“Are you going to the hospital?” I ask.

“Yes. With you.”

I shake my head. Stubborn wolf. “ I mean, are you going to get checked out?”

“I don’t need to get checked out; I’m fine.”

I meet his eyes. “So am I.”

“Ava,” he begins, but I’m not having it.

“Bryce, I’m not going to the hospital. I know my body; I’m fine. It just shook me up, but now that I’m calm, I’m fine.”

“But your forehead—” he starts.

“Is fine. It’s just a small cut that’s already stopped bleeding.” I wasn’t exactly sure if that was true, but I was going with it. I had no intention of going to a hospital. I notice that Bryce is scanning everything around us. A shiver runs down my spine, and I find myself subconsciously taking a step closer to the tall shifter. “Is there something out there?”

He turns towards me immediately. “No.” He eyes my forehead, and I know he’s going to say something about the hospital again.

“I’m fine,” I insist.

Hunter shows up out of nowhere. “There’s nothing.”

Bryce nods. “Let’s get out of here.” Hunter starts towards his truck, and Bryce waits for me to do the same.

“What about your rental?” I can’t help but ask.

“I’ll let the company deal with it.”

"It will probably be a mess and expensive,” I feel the need to point out.

“I’m just glad you’re safe.” He stares down at me for just a moment, the intent clear in his words.

I don’t know what to say, so I walk towards Hunter’s truck. Bryce opens the passenger door for me, and for the second time tonight I search for the lever to pull the seat forward, so I can sit in the back.

“Ava,” Bryce starts.

I cut him off before it can become a whole thing. “There’s no way you’re fitting back here, Bryce. I’m fine.” I find the lever and slide the seat forward, so I can climb in the back. Bryce gives me a boost but doesn’t say anything as he climbs into the truck. As soon as he closes his door, Hunter begins driving. There’s a heavy silence in the air, and it seems to be getting thicker by the second. I have a feeling it’s courtesy of the alpha sitting in the front passenger seat. I think of something suddenly. “Bryce, are you hurt at all?”

The pressure around us dims for a moment, and I feel like I can take a full breath. “I’m fine.” After that, the ride to the restaurant is made in complete silence. It’s so tense that at times, I almost say something just to break the tension; but I always talk myself out of it. We finally pull into a parking lot, and I don’t think I’ve ever been so grateful to arrive at a destination. Hunter parks and turns off the engine. He and Bryce don’t move for a moment, and I have no doubt they are communicating with each other. Before I can comment on it, Bryce opens his door and climbs down before sliding the chair forward for me and then taking my hand and helping me out. A hissed sound escapes his lips, and I look up startled.

“You should have told me you had more injuries.”

I look down at what he’s staring at and see dried blood in several spots on my arm. It totally surprises me. “I didn’t realize.” I look back at him and see that he’s coiled tight; I can practically feel the anger and alpha vibes coming off him. “I’m fine, Bryce. You need to chill.”

He stares down at me a moment longer before stepping back. I guess that’s my cue to head inside. He puts a hand on my back and guides me towards the front door. Hunter holds the door for us, and his eyes narrow when he sees me. I must look a sight. We step inside, and I get a first look at my arm in the light; it looks terrible.

“Let’s go clean it up,” Bryce says but I wave him off. None of the cuts are serious, and none of them are actively bleeding.

“I’ll see to them when I get home. Do I look like a war victim?” I ask, trying for a teasing tone. I know I don’t accomplish it when Bryce’s scowl deepens as he slips out of his jacket and hands it to me. “Thanks.” I don’t bother putting my arms inside, as it’s huge on me. I just let it stay on my shoulders, but it does the trick of covering my arm. I turn back to him and gasp. “Bryce, your arm! What happened?” I reach for his arm, but he keeps it from my grasp.

“It’s fine; it’s just a broken bone. It will heal.”

I stare at him. “How did you break your—” It hits me suddenly. “You tried to take the brunt of the impact.”

He meets my eyes. “It’s not a big deal.”

It is; it’s a very big deal. But he’s not in the mood to talk about it. He doesn’t say anything, and I’m suddenly anxious to escape his intense presence. I stride right past the empty hostess stand. Our group is far too large and noisy not to be able to find them immediately. And find them instantly is exactly what I do as soon as I’m in the main part of the restaurant.

Raechel sees us coming and waves. “Hey, Chica!” I walk towards the empty chair next to Rose.

“Ava, what happened?” Rose’s gasp and exclamation catches the attention of every single person at the table. Suddenly every eye is on me, and it goes deathly quiet.

I sit down calmly next to Rose. “We were in an accident.”

At my words, every eye goes to Bryce. “Dude, what in the world?! I thought shifters had excellent reflexes. How’d you get my girl in an accident?” Raechel’s words cause the tension to double.

I don’t look in Bryce’s direction. “It wasn’t his fault. The car came out of nowhere and slammed into us,” I mutter.

I finally look up and see Bryce is standing near me and hasn’t sat down yet. Hunter is leaning against the wall nearby as if he has no intention of sitting at all. Garrett stands up and walks over to Bryce. They step away from the table and converse in low tones. After a moment, Liam gets up and joins the conversation. Then Max does as well.

Raechel groans out loud. “Seriously?” Then she stands to her feet. “Okay, I know how this is going to go down. Ladies, let’s go find a smaller table. They can do their male bonding thing and figure out how they’re going to take over the world. We are here tonight to party, and a little accident isn’t going to take that away from us.” I blink at her words and take in the other girls. Rose’s face is pale, and she looks over at me with worry in her eyes. Emma does the same, and Sage stands up and walks over to me, intent clear in her eyes. I know she’s going to try to heal me. I realize that Raechel is exactly right. If we don’t change something, this entire night is doomed. I know this is one hundred percent dependent on how I respond, because I’m the one that is supposedly injured.

I stand to my feet. “She’s right. We came here to party and to eat our weight in hibachi. Let’s do this.”

Raechel turns her grin on me. “That’s my girl; I knew you had it in you.”

Moments later, the hostess leads us to a private room, thanks to Raechel. As soon as she leaves, Raechel turns to us and grins. “Let’s partay!”

It doesn’t take long before the noise level gets back to where it used to be. I’m not sure where the guys moved to. I’m sure they’re still within earshot and have an eye on us, but I feel the tension ease from my shoulders. Maybe I can actually enjoy tonight after all. I load my bowl with chicken, shrimp, and salmon before I begin piling on the veggies. After filling two cups of sauces, I carefully balance everything and carry it over to the grill. Two young guys man the grill, and they grin from ear to ear as Raechel and Talya approach. I’m not sure what they say, but Raechel isn’t impressed. Whatever she says causes them both to back off and begin grilling. I almost laugh. When I leave my bowl, the guy doesn’t even look up at me. “Oh, this one actually is single.” My head jerks to Raechel.

“Yeah?” The guy is suddenly back in front of me again.

“Yep,” Raechel says, popping the p. She moves away before I can say anything.

“Hey, Gorgeous, what’s your name?” the guy asks.

I turn back to him, vowing to murder Raechel in her sleep. Before I can say anything, a shadow falls over me. “She’s not single. Back off.”

Hunter’s voice and tone leave nothing to the interpretation. Something about the way he says it sets me off. I don’t need a man telling me what I can and can’t do. “ Actually ,” I correct, looking right at Hunter. “I am single.” I turn back to the guy at the grill, who’s looking uncertainly between me and Hunter. “My name’s Ava. What’s yours?”

My smile seems to lower any inhibitions. He grins at me. “I’m Josh. Is this your plate, Beautiful?”

“It is,” I tell him, sliding it towards him.

“Well, it’s in good hands.”

“You have good hands?” I ask innocently.

His grin deepens. “I’m really good with my hands.”