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She hugged all the women goodbye, and gave a quick wave to Caden from across the yard before leaving. She wasn’t sure if he saw her, but she didn’t want to interrupt whatever he and Blake were discussing.
She collected her purse from the hall closet and rushed out to her car. She’d parked on the street to ensure no one could block her in the driveway. As soon as she pulled on her seatbelt, her phone buzzed with an incoming text message.
Skyla glanced at it, but tossed the phone aside, not even bothering to respond to the man responsible for this mess she was in.
Eighteen minutes later, she pulled into her designated parking space at Madigan’s in the alley behind the building. Without even going in, she knew the bar would be busy. It was a Sunday afternoon. There would be dozens of patrons inside, with several staff members to serve them. All five flatscreens would be turned on to various sporting events, and everyone would be cheering, talking and shouting over each other.
Skyla waited for the familiar black SUV to pull up behind her before getting out of her car. “Get in,” AJ snapped, his shit-colored brown eyes glaring in her direction through his driver’s side window. He was a large man with jet black hair and an enormous skull tattoo on his left bicep peeking out from under his short sleeve black t-shirt. He was president of the Deathly Hollow Motorcycle Club, notorious for their affiliation with drugs, weapons, strip clubs, and now, gambling.
It was the last part that made Skyla’s stomach want to revolt. This wasn’t the first time she’d had to use her gift to pay for her father’s gambling debts, and knowing her father, it wouldn’t be her last. Not even close.
Skyla steeled herself for what she had to do. It didn’t matter who AJ was or what his motorcycle club was known for. As long as she kept her end of the bargain, her father was safe. Even if it took almost everything out of her every time she healed someone, she’d do it to protect the only family she had left.
She opened the driver’s side back door and hopped inside, sitting on the bench seat next to a blindfolded man slouching over in a semi-conscious state. A growing red stain marred his striped shirt. His MC cut had been removed and tossed aside on the seat behind them.
At least AJ had honored her only request - whoever he brought for her to heal had to be blindfolded so they couldn’t identify her or bring any of their friends back to her without AJ. After all, her deal was with him and only him.
“Let’s go,” AJ ordered, glaring at her in the rearview mirror. “I don’t have all day, and he’s definitely running out of time.”
The slumped over man had dark, greasy hair, a strong brow, and a thick neck covered in various tattoos. Skyla rolled up her sleeves and unbuttoned the man’s shirt.
“Hurry up,” AJ demanded, his punishing stare burning a hole in Skyla’s soft energy. In order to heal anyone, she had to make herself energetically softer and more exposed. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to feel the other person’s energy, and that was the only way she could heal them.
“You know it doesn’t work like that,” she barked back, not caring for AJ’s attitude. She’d just left Caden and Hallie’s house. She was having fun and hanging out with her friends. This was the last thing she wanted to be doing right now. “I have to take my time. Feel his energy. Otherwise, I can’t help him.”
AJ knew exactly how her gift worked, but he still liked to act threatening, probably to remind her what was at stake. But she didn’t need a reminder. Every night she went home to a house empty of most furnishings and filled with the stench of booze and sex courtesy of her father, who’d nearly gambled away his own home. It was all the reminder she needed of how and why AJ and his crew were a constant presence in her life.
Skyla opened the blindfolded man’s shirt and put her hands on his chest, making sure her palms covered the wound and the blood still seeping out of it. She didn’t need an x-ray machine or a lab to tell her he’d been shot, that he’d lost at least a pint of blood, and that his mind was receding into a coma. There was a small exit wound in his back, but the guy really didn’t have much time left on this earth without her help or the quick work of a surgeon. And AJ would sooner let him die than take him to a hospital. That’s why this deal worked out so well for him. It was also the only reason her father was still breathing, with all his bones and kneecaps intact, despite his careless gambling habits.
The soft hairs on the man’s chest, matted from all the blood, poked through between her fingers and she winced at his pain that now coursed through her. The sleek warmth of his blood covered her palms. His blood was the key. It was his life source, and the source of his life’s energy.
She took in several deep breaths, letting the rest of the world fade away as she completely entwined her energy with his. She felt him inside and out, felt his pain, his anxieties, his worries. She couldn’t tell what he was anxious or worried about, only that he was. His pain was a never-ending pounding drum that seemed to be fused to a misfiring broken switch.
Free radicals and unfamiliar sensations filled his energy space, but in softening herself, her energy began to act asa conduit, restoring him to a healthy and normal functioning state.
Time was meaningless as she sat with this man, almost unaware of her own body as nearly all her energy flowed through him, fixing what was broken and healing the wound. By the time he was completely healed, Skyla was as weak as a newborn kitten and needed at least twelve hours of sleep to replenish her own energy to full strength.
She fell back onto the seat, her head lolling to the side, as she struggled to remain conscious. “It’s done.” Her voice came out in a horse whisper as she eyed the blindfolded man who sat up in his seat, but left the blindfold on, knowing the rules.
“Then get out.” AJ said coldly, already shifting the SUV’s gear into drive.
“I need a minute,” Skyla said. “Unless you want the next guy who comes through this alley to see me passed out on the ground with your buddy’s blood on my hands.” She held up her hands for AJ to see. He smirked and tossed her a greasy towel that looked like it had spent most of its life being abused by various car mechanics. The Deathly Hollow MC ran an auto body shop, so that didn’t surprise her. She wiped the blood off her hands as best she could and tossed the towel back onto the front passenger seat. “Thanks,” she managed to croak out.
AJ let out a low growl, whether in warning or admonishment, it didn’t matter. She could hardly breathe, let alone move. While the blindfolded man was strong and in otherwise good health, healing his wound had taken a lot out of her. She would likely be feeling like a wet noodle the rest of the day.
“One more to go,” she said softly as a way of encouragement that this would soon be over. Her deal with AJ was one healing for every thousand dollars her father had borrowed and lost with his bookie. This man was number nine.
AJ caught her gaze again in the rear-view mirror with a wicked grin. “Not so fast, Missy. Your dad’s been a busy guy. He borrowed another twenty grand last night. Unless you think he’ll win it back this time, it looks like you and I are going to stay friends after all.” The smug satisfaction in AJ’s voice gutted Skyla almost as much as knowing it was her father’s doing.
She pushed herself out of his vehicle, holding her stomach and fighting her gag reflex, desperately trying not to puke as she sought the shelter and safety of her own little black Corolla. Only the blooming anger and resentment for her father kept her upright until she collapsed into the drivers’ seat and slammed the door shut.
Her father knew what this cost her and he still pursued this irresponsible lifestyle with no regard for her. Too weak to maintain her contempt, she rested her head against the headrest and closed her eyes. She wished for unconsciousness, but settled for a restless sleep. Dreams of Hallie and Orly filled her mind - they were talking and laughing - but then AJ was there and fear engulfed her very soul. Her eyes popped open as quick breaths escaped her gaping mouth.
A shadow settled over her and she yelped when a knock sounded on her window. Seeing it was Blake, she let out a sigh of relief. His baby blue eyes had a hint of concern, but his mouth pulled up in a crooked grin.
She rolled down her window, relieved it wasn’t AJ coming back for another healing. “What’s up?” she asked, as if he hadn’t just woken her from an absolutely nonsensical nightmare.
Blake shrugged and tilted his head in a way that made Skyla relax a bit. They weren’t exactly friends, but he was close to Orly and Hallie.
