Healer (The Healer Series) (15 page)

“How?”
  is all I can manage.

“O
ne of the vampires snapped Lucas’s back. He was dying. Your aunt had been shot, and I took what was left of her life to save my brother.”

“Y
ou drained her?”

“Yes.
” His voice held no remorse as he stared straight ahead.

“That’s impos
sible. She never would have let that happen.”

“
She didn’t fight me at all.”

“But they only found her body.” I sit up and try to match my pieces of the story to his.

“When blood healers or vampires die, their bodies dissolve.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Who burned the house down?”

“We burned the house down t
o hide as much evidence as we could. We had to leave, but we took the money the vampires were going to pay her with the return of her husband and son. That’s how I left you the car and the money.”

Tha
t hadn’t even occurred to me. Lucy didn’t set us up, Thomas did. He left the car and the money. I thought he had forgotten us. “Why didn’t you find us so we could be together? We were so lost and scared,” I sob, remembering.

“I knew you would hate me for killing her. I knew I could keep an eye on you from a distance. I
could track you in your dreams and she could continue in your heart as the wonderful aunt you always thought she was.”

“But you never came to my dreams. If you had explained
, we would have believed you.”

”It’s no matter now
, Aldo.”

“So that’
s why you’re saying we can’t be together?” The words pain me. Even after everything he just told me, life without him seems unbearable.

“Come with me. I have so much to tell you
, Thomas.” I bring myself back to my original goal. “Plus if what you are saying is true, we’ll need your help finding our parents.”

“No.” He tu
rns to me.

“Why?”

“Because you need to find your brothers and be with them. Where are they?” His tone is direct, business like.

“They’
re safe,” I assure him.

“You need to go to them.”
He touches my hand and my skin tingles.

“But you don’t understand. We have a
—”

“No
, Aldo. Here.” He hands me a large roll of money secured with a thick rubber band.

“What are you, a crack dealer now?

He ignores me.
“This is to get you home.” Tears roll down my face and I turn away from him. Five years I searched for him and this is what I get?

“I’ll just keep looking for you.” I turn to him
, so he can see I’m serious.

“Don’t come back. We will never be t
ogether.” His tone is harsh.

My heart sinks
to my stomach. I back away from him, realizing I’m that seventeen year old girl loving a man who will never be with me. He does love me, he loved me then, but he would never allow himself to be with me. Maybe it’s best. After all, he did kill Lucy, or the woman pretending to be our aunt. I lean back in my seat for a moment, trying to scrape what is left of my pride from within and force myself to move. If I am able to forgive him, what would stop him from being with me?

“Is there s
omething else?” I watch him so I can gauge his reaction to my question.

“No,” h
e states plainly and doesn’t make eye contact with me. Something about him is off, but I can’t put my finger on it. He’s changed. Is it time that did this to him? I remember the day I went to his house after he ignored me for days because I tried to force myself upon him. He let me leave that day heart broken. Yet he came back later, confessing his love for me. I close my eyes, and my world seems to be crashing down around me. Pain rips through my head, and I hear the sound of something splitting, like the sound ice makes as it cracks from pressure under your feet. The pain finally passes, and I look over at Thomas who is staring wide eyed at me.

“What?”

“Nothing.” His gaze shifts forward. I follow his stare and see a large crack spread across the length of the windshield.

“
Where did that come from?”

He shakes his head
, ignoring my question. “You need to go home.”

If he won’t come with me, what more can I do? I left my child for five years to be raised by my brothers, justifying it with the thought of bringing Thomas back with me. It’s time for me to go back. Do I tell him he has a child? Would it matter? My face heats, as anger washes over me. “So once again, you make me the fool.” I nod at the cruel truth of it. Five years I’ve been lonely and scared. Scared he was dead. Scared I’d get killed before I would ever find him. I shove the roll of cash into my jacket pocket and open the car door. “You beg me to run away with you, leave my family to be with you, and then disappear. Was it all bullshit?” I cry.

“Aldo,” h
e calls out, disbelief in his voice.

I slam the door
, before he can say anything else and run towards the entrance of the bus depot.

“Aldo!”

I ignore him. Looking back would be too painful.
I can only go forward now. It’s time to find my family and move on. Protect my child. Thomas is no good for me. He could come with me if he wanted to. He could help protect me. We could protect each other.  I continue my slow jog through the parking lot towards the front of the bus depot. I never got the end of his story, but it doesn’t matter.

I know Thomas will wait to make sure I ge
t on the bus, so I buy a ticket to Atlanta, but I have other plans. I have to make sure I shake anyone watching me, which includes Thomas. As I sit, I try to think of my next move.

A woman
wearing a green hat sitting a row away stands up, distracting me from my thoughts. She’s about my size and height, so I follow her into the bathroom and wait for her to come out of the stall.

I stand at the sink next to her, washing my hands, watching her in the reflection of the mirror.
Her hair is a tad lighter than mine, but she could pass for me from a distance. “I need your outfit.”

She looks up at me in the mirror and her brows furrow. “Excuse me?”

“I’ll pay you two hundred dollars to switch outfits with me?” I pull a paper towel from the dispenser to my left.

She runs her eyes up and down me. “I get the boots too?”

Son of a bitch
,
my boots
. I love my red boots, but they stick out like a sore thumb. “Yes, the boots, too,” I agree morosely. 

“Where’s t
he cash?” She crosses her arms and leans her hip against the sink.

I pull the roll of money from my pocket and count out two hundred dollars.

“Someone after you?” she asks casually.

“An ex.
He’s not dangerous, he won’t hurt you. I just want to get out of here. I think he’s following me.”

“No worries, girl. We’ve all dealt wit
h the crazy ex before.” She takes the money and shoves it in her purse. She starts to undress in front of me and I turn, embarrassed, and then snap up. I’m a stripper for God’s sake, why do I care if she undresses in front of me?

I undress and we switch clothes quickly. I instruct her to keep her
purse under the jacket I’ve just given her.

“Here’s a hair tie. Pull your hair up into a pony tail.” I hand her the tie from my hair.

She pulls her hair up into a sloppy pony tail, but from a distance you wouldn’t be able to tell.

“Keep your face to the back of the building. Don’t turn towards the doors.”

“I got it. Good luck.” She nods goodbye and as she leaves I bid a silent farewell to my boots.

I wait a few minutes before exiting the restroom, eyeing my new outfit in the mirror. No one could accuse this lady of bei
ng fashionable. Her green sweatshirt and khaki pants hang loose on me, but I’m grateful she agreed to switch. I pull my hair through the green hat she gave me and check myself one last time. From a distance, Thomas won’t be able to tell it’s me. He’ll be so focused on my imposter; I’ll slip right by him.

Taxis were
lined up at the entrance when I came in, so if I can get to one fast, I can probably be long gone before he’ll realize what happened. I will go home. I have to. My child needs me and has always needed me, but I left to find Thomas. I’ve been gone too long, but I have to see Alina before I go home. I can save Ella, if Alina really wants me to. Screw the rules. There has to be some kind of loophole—like a mother willing to sacrifice her own life for her child. That has to be okay. I don’t want to kill Alina, but if my child was dying and someone could trade my life for theirs, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Alina would, too.

I mak
e my way out of the bathroom, wishing that the woman I had paid to switch clothing with me had worn some deodorant as her clothes smell like body odor and feet. I clutch my leather satchel to my side hoping if Thomas is watching intently, he won’t pick up on my purse.

The new owner of my outfit and kick ass red cowboy boots, sits facing away from the doors as I instructed, with her face buried in a magazine.
Damn, I’ll miss those boots
. With my head down, I make it to the front door and just as I’m about to walk out the door opens. Thomas stands just outside, holding the door for me..

My heart does a triple back flip into my throat. I pause and
remember to control my panic because he’ll sense it.

“After you.”
He stands on the outside holding the door, offering to let me through. He’s speaking to me, but his eyes are fixed on something else.

Shit!
He doesn’t realize it’s me. He’s watching the person he thinks is me.

I keep my eyes down and walk
out, giving a slight nod indicating thank you, which he doesn’t notice because he’s focused on my body double. After passing him, he enters the door leaving me behind. I flee to the first taxi I come to and climb in.

“F
orty-seventh and Broad,” I whisper as if Thomas can hear me. Through the door, I see Thomas standing about sixty feet away from my imposter. I knew he was watching me to make sure I got on the bus.

“You
said Forty-seventh?” the cabbie confirms the address as he enters it in his GPS.

“
Yes.”

Suddenly
Thomas moves towards the woman wearing my outfit. My heart drops.
Shit!!
He approaches her, but walks more to the side, trying not to be seen. In a flash, he walks up behind her and grabs her shoulder. The last thing I see is Thomas running towards the exit, mad as hell.

On the ride to the cl
ub, I time my plan of action. I figure Thomas will come to the club, but it’s no matter now. He made his choice, and I will no longer be ruled by him or the idea of being with him. I lean my head against the window, fighting the urge to cry. I refuse to let myself cry. No more tears. I’ll help my friend with this one last thing and then I’ll go home to my own child. Realizing Thomas will not come with me, makes me feel like a failure. I have missed my child’s entire life thus far because of this idea I would return home with two parents. My brothers have sacrificed so much for me to pursue this. I take a deep breath in an attempt to steady my nerves, but the truth runs cold in my blood. I failed.

I can
help Alina though, but it will come at a very high cost. One I’m sure she’s willing to pay. Her life for her daughter’s. Lucy warned we were never to interfere with those halfway to the afterlife. She said it was not what we were meant to do. I figure after tonight and finding out she was a lie, it was all a lie, I can break one rule.

I
pay the driver and quickly climb out. The club is busy tonight, and I nod hellos to some of the regulars as I make a beeline for the back. I almost reach the dressing room without an eye rape from Rick, but he steps in front of me. He must have a sensor or something that goes off when I’m near the dressing room. Luckily, his eye grope is short as I am fully dressed wearing an outfit that looks like I picked it out of the dollar bin at the Salvation Army, and I smell like an arm pit.

In
the dressing room, I quickly peel off my clothes and chuck them in the trash can, then change into my favorite costume, the Peacock. I call it the peacock because of the various dark rich colors it has. I smile at the thought of never having to strip again and returning home to my family, but my heart aches knowing I didn’t have my happy ending with Thomas. It’s no matter now; I have to go home, with or without him. I will save Ella, and if Thomas does show up, I will let him send me off afterwards. My heart sinks at the thought.
How will I move on
?

I
finish situating my black wig and tie my mask on when I see Alina enter the room in the reflection of my mirror. I turn around and face her, noting her morose demeanor. I hug her without speaking.