Chapter 20
Kayla
I don’t realize how hungry I am until I take the first bite.
I feel absolutely famished but try to pace myself so I don’t choke or get sick.
Jackson pulls out the chair across from me and sits.
“I didn’t realize how hungry I was.” He doesn’t say anything, and I can tell he’s not super happy about my comment. “Did you get all your sandwiches?”
“They’re finishing the last ones now.”
I nod. “As soon as they’re done, we can go.” I hold up what’s left of my sub. “I can finish in the car.” I take another bite of my delicious sandwich and level a look at him. “Who were those people last night?” I put up a hand. “Better yet, who are you?”
He frowns. “I’ve told you who I am.”
I continue to stare at him. “You know I'm not buying that right? You show up in this small town at the café I work at and then seek me out. Now, you have these friends or acquaintances or whatever they are show up. I know something’s up.”
“Order for Jackson,” somebody calls out.
He studies me a moment before he stands up and walks over to the counter.
I stand as well and wrap the rest of my sandwich and head to the front door.
Jackson walks towards me, a paper bag in each hand.
When we’re in the car, I look at him expectantly.
“I want to know what happened last night. Who you are, who those people are.”
“Have you healed before?”
His question out of left field surprises me, and I pause to think about my answer. “How did you know?” I finally ask.
“I sort of figured it out, but it was Noah that told me for certain. He also told me I could never tell anybody.”
I sigh, feeling a small weight lifted off my chest now that it’s out in the open. “Yeah, I’ve always warned him not to tell anybody. I’m not like evil or anything,” I rush to assure him.
He snaps his gaze to me. “Why would you say that?”
I shrug. “Because it’s crazy. I have this...thing.”
He stops the truck, and I realize we’re at the hotel.
Anything else either of us were going to say is now put on hold because the people from last night are walking towards the entrance to the hotel.
Anxious to get some answers, I open the truck door and climb down.
Raechel sees me first and waves. “Hey, Chica.”
“How are you feeling?” Ava asks but before I can answer, she turns towards Jackson. “Oh my word, I could hug you. Are those subs?”
Jackson doesn’t seem to really know what to do with her, so I answer for him. “Yes. Let’s get inside so you can eat.” I may not know these people, but I know how to take care of hungry people. I turn to Jackson. “Where are we going?”
“I booked one of the smaller meeting rooms.”
Max, the big guy from last night, holds the door for all of us, and we follow Jackson into the lobby. Nobody says a whole lot as we follow Jackson to the end of the hall where the conference room is. “Have you heard from Ransom yet?” I ask Jackson on our way into the room.
“He’s heading there soon.”
I take that in and try to relax. We spread out around the table, and Jackson puts the bags on the table. I end up looking through the bag and pulling out the subs. “Turkey, Italian, Ham, Chicken, another Turkey, Roast Beef, another Italian, another Ham, Buffalo Chicken—”
“Oh! Can I have that one?” Ava asks.
Raechel laughs. “Like Bryce would let any of us even look at it after knowing you want it.”
I slide the sandwich towards her as Raechel leans forward to look at the subs before looking at me. “You should just grab one. None of these guys will even look at the sandwiches until we get ours.” None of the guys refute her words. “Which one do you want, Kayla?” Raechel asks.
“I already ate most of mine, so I’m good thanks.”
“All right, Guys. Have at it,” Raechel says and sits down.
I open my sandwich back up, but now that I’ve given my food a little time to digest, I’m not really hungry. “You need to eat more,” Jackson says in a low voice, close to me. I ignore his words and sit back in my chair, taking in the occupants in the room.
"She thinks she’s evil.”
Jackson’s words so surprise me, I turn to look at him and give him an exasperated look. That wasn’t exactly something I was sharing with the class. He returns my look. “Nope,” Raechel says after she swallows a bite of her sandwich. “Not evil. Take it away,” she says to Ava.
Ava shakes her head and then meets my eyes. “You’re a healer.” Those words don’t surprise me, but the next ones do. “So am I.”
My eyes widen in shock. “Really?”
I look at Raechel, but she shakes her head. “Nope, not me. I’m not part of that club.”
Ava cuts a look at her but doesn’t say anything else to her.
“When did you first heal?” Ava asks. I stare at her and then, for some reason, look at Jackson for a moment.
I realize belatedly how close he’s sitting to me and wonder when that happened.
Ava seems to sense my doubt because she starts to talk.
“I didn’t really want to be a healer, kind of fought against it for a while.
But then something happened, and I had to.
I know how completely draining it is when you finish.
It’s a mixed bag of emotions because you’re glad you helped, but you also can’t really stay on your feet. ”
I neither agree nor disagree with her words. “Is that why you came here? Because I’m a healer, like you?”
She nods, not looking away. “There are more of us. My best friend, Rose, is a healer. Three other good friends of mine, Sage and Samantha and Sherese, are as well. At some point, I’d love to have you meet them.
” She smiles genuinely. “You’ll find some of them are a little lovey dovey, but they’re good people. We healers stick together.”
I swallow at the emotion suddenly clogging my throat. The thought that there are others out there like me...But then my lack of trust in people comes to the surface, and I lean back in my chair. “How do I know you’re telling me the truth?”
To her credit, Ava doesn’t bat an eye. She takes another bite and then swallows and looks at the man next to her.
“Bryce?” They seem to have an entire conversation in the long look they share with each other.
Then, before I realize what’s happening, he puts his hand on the table.
I stare in shock at the blood bubbling up in his hand and stand to my feet.
But before I can do anything, Ava takes his hand in hers and closes her eyes.
I watch in awe as the wound closes before our eyes.
A moment later, she uses a napkin to wipe up the excess blood and then looks at me.
It’s absolutely silent in the room. “Believe me now?” she challenges.
I swallow. “So, we’re healers? And there are more out there like us?”
She nods, and her face softens. “Yeah. You’re not alone.”
I swallow again, but this time it’s much more difficult. “And that’s why you’re here?”
“We’ve been searching for you for several months,” Bryce says, sitting back in his chair.
I feel my muscles tighten. “Why?”
“We’re trying to track down other healers,” he says.
“To keep them safe,” Ava adds.
I narrow my eyes at that. “Why?”
This time it’s Jackson who answers. “Because we’re not the only people looking for healers.” The way he says it sends a chill down my spine. His blue eyes lock on mine. “There are dangerous enemies to healers out there.”
“Why?” my voice is nearly a whisper.
“Because our powers can be used for good but also for evil,” Ava explains.
“Ava was kidnapped and taken to a facility where they tried to drain her of her healing power to create something evil,” Bryce says, leaning forward.
I suck in a breath. “Bryce,” Ava hisses.
But Bryce doesn’t look away. “She deserves to know the threat.”
“Did they hurt you?” I can’t help but ask, horror in my voice.
Ava’s expression softens. “I’m okay; Bryce got me out of there. And I met Sherese there and got her out as well, so good came from it. But since then, we’ve been trying to track down other healers and warn them and get them to places where they will be safe.”
I squeeze my hands together to hide the sudden shaking. I look at Jackson. “Is Ransom almost to Noah?” There’s a quiver to my voice that I can’t hide.
Jackson nods. “He’s almost there.”
“Noah’s your brother?” Ava asks.
I nod. “How old is he?” Raechel asks.
“Seven.” I’m proud that my voice doesn’t crack.
Bryce leans forward. “Kayla, I’m sure you have a lot of questions. We’re here to answer those questions. But first, we have a few of our own.” A shiver runs down my spine again at the intensity coming off him.
“Bryce,” Ava says softly, and the intensity seems to dial back at least enough that I feel like I can breathe again.
“Have you had any threats to your safety?” I instantly think of my uncle, but I don’t think that’s what he’s referring to. “Nobody out of the normal has approached you?”
I think of the men that took my money, but once again, I don’t get the feeling that’s what they’re talking about. “I don’t think so?” It comes out more of a question.
“Any really good-looking guys show up and try to talk you into going somewhere with them or anything like that?” Raechel asks.
I glance at Jackson. “Just this one. He keeps showing up at my restaurant.” I feel my face heat up at admitting Jackson’s a really good-looking guy.
Raechel grins broadly. “I see.”
“We can vouch for him,” Bryce says, but there doesn’t seem to be any love lost between the two men. “Anybody else?”
I try to think but come up empty. “I don’t think so.”
“What about this woman?” Bryce slides his phone across the table to me. I take in the man and woman smiling at the camera. The man has his arm slung around her the beautiful dark-haired woman. There’s something about her, something I can’t put a finger on.
“No.” I slide the phone back to him. “Sorry.”
“No, that’s good.”
“Who is she?” I can’t help but ask.
Bryce meets my gaze. “Her name is Alicia. I run a security team; she was one of my members. She turned on us a few months ago and murdered another one of my members, the guy in the picture I showed you.”
My stomach tightens. “I’m so sorry; they look...happy together.”
Ava nods, her eyes a little misty. “That’s the thing. At one point, I’m pretty sure she loved him like a brother.”
His eyes are hard. “She’s not to be trifled with; she’s incredibly dangerous.
” He says the words to both Jackson and me.
“If you give me your number, I’ll send you the write-up on her that we’ve sent out to multiple sources.
” He glances at Ava. “Or I can have Ava get your number and send it to you if that makes you more comfortable.”
“No, it’s fine.” I rattle off my number to him, and it doesn’t escape my notice that everyone in the room, save Jackson puts it in their phone.
“Okay. I’m sending it now,” he says. “She’s five eleven, long dark hair, brown eyes.
She was last seen in Phoenix, but that was months ago.
She could be anywhere now.” I take all that in and hear my phone ping with an alert for an incoming text.
I open it up as he continues, but his next words make my blood run cold.
“Her full name is Alica Renee Goldsman.”