Chapter 24

Rose

"You done?" he asks dryly.

I bite back a smile. "I'm not sure. I feel like I should document this." He shakes his head, and I can't help but feel a small victory. We're talking, like two normal people. "So," I hedge, wondering if I want to go down this road and ruin the truce we seem to have at the moment. "I'm sorry if I messed everything up; I really was just trying to get the most out of the meeting. I'm tired...No, scratch that. I'm angry at what's happening here. I just wanted to try to get to the bottom of it." He studies my face, and I feel my face grow warm with the intensity. "What?" I finally ask.

"I'm just trying to reconcile the girl who rarely talks and who's scared of her own shadow with the one that was in the restaurant tonight."

"I wasn't always like that, you know," I tell him feeling myself getting irritated. "Maybe tonight was who I really am." I stare him in the eye, challenging him. Before he can say anything, I add quietly, "I wasn't always a loser."

His face changes, and he frowns. "I never said you were a loser."

"You've implied it enough times" I argue. I briefly wonder what's gotten into me tonight. It must be adrenaline still in my system, causing me to act so out of character. But then I remember this feeling, this confidence...it's been a long time, but it's still there. It's just been buried. For some reason, I feel the urge to explain. "I used to be confident; I had to be. I aged out of the foster system at eighteen and was on my own. I had to make my own way; I've always had to but even more so once I was eighteen. I worked at a tech start-up right out of high school. I worked there for over two years and did well for myself. I went on almost every lunch or dinner or coffee date with potential investors. I worked hard and rose in the ranks, becoming an asset to the company. I also learned a lot of tech from the company—coding, programming, and more. That was all before..." I don't know if he knows my story or not, so I add, "Before I was kidnapped by the vampires. Since then, I haven't been able to find my equilibrium...until tonight." I finally stop. "Sorry, I don't know what's gotten into me tonight. I know you didn't come in here to listen to my whole life story." I'm suddenly embarrassed at just how much I shared.

"So, should Stu be worried about being replaced?" he asks with a slight smirk.

I finally smile. "No, Stu's job is very secure."

"I'll probably still tell him that anyway."

"Of course you will," I say with a shake of my head.

He studies my face, and his next words surprise me. "You did good in there tonight. As much as I hate to admit it, you gave us what we need to move forward."

I put my hand on my chest. "Now you're complimenting me? What is this world coming to?"

"Ha, ha, you're hilarious," he says dryly. "Just don't do that again, okay?"

I laugh. "Yeah, that was my one act of bravery. I won't be doing it again anytime soon. I'm still trying to get my heart rate down."

"Did you get to eat any dinner while you were at the restaurant?" he asks. His question so surprises me, it takes me a moment. "Are you hungry?" he asks when I don't answer right away.

"No, I'm good; thanks. I did eat some at the restaurant, and I couldn't eat now if I tried." He glances around the room. "You can leave, Maverick. I'm fine. I'm just going to go to bed."

His eyebrows raise. "At eight-thirty?"

I shrug. "I'm tired from today. Healing takes a lot out of me, and of course tonight was crazy."

He frowns. "How many healings did you do today?"

I try to think back. "That was such a long time ago. In between shopping with Amber and getting ready for tonight, I think I did two healings? It's all kind of blurring together right now." I suddenly give a big yawn. Exhaustion hits me like a ton of bricks, and I yawn again. "I'm going to go to bed; you can see yourself out."

"Do you have my phone number?" he asks suddenly.

I blink in confusion; it takes my tired brain a moment to catch up. "No, I don't think so."

"Give me your phone." If I wasn't so tired, I might correct him on bossing me around. Instead, I unlock my phone and hand it to him, willing him to just input his number and leave. My bed is calling my name, and I plan on answering the call. "There. Now you have my number."

I blink weary eyes at the screen. "Thanks."

"Call me if you need something." His eyes are intense, and I look away. I'm too tired for any more intensity.

"Good night, Mav."

"Good night, Healer," he says quietly and then lets himself out. Within minutes, I'm fully ready for bed; and I sink into the mattress. Sleep finds me quickly.

In my room the next morning after breakfast, Ava grills me on everything that went down the night before. I do my best to fill her in. "I can't believe Maverick got mad at you. He's such a jerk."

I shrug. "He apologized."

Ava gives me a look. "Before or after he called you a two-year old? I would have punched him." I laugh because she totally would have. "How can you stand him?"

"He wasn't terrible last night," I tell her. "In fact, he was almost nice. I think it's the first time we had a conversation, just the two of us that was longer than twenty words." Ava makes a humming noise but doesn't say anything. My phone buzzes, and I pull it out. "Hey, Amber."

"Rose." Her voice is panicky. "I think Paige has it."

I stand up. "I'm on my way."

"What's wrong?" Ava asks.

"Amber thinks Paige has the poison in her system."

For just a moment, I watch a distraught expression cross her face before she wipes it away. "I'll come with you."

Her words surprise me, but I force myself not to react so she doesn't change her mind. I pocket my phone. "Let's go."

When we get to Cade and Amber's apartment, we knock but nobody answers. I hear crying, so I open the door and step inside. "Amber, it's Rose."

"Back here," she calls out above the noise of Paige crying. I walk quickly to the furthest room where Paige sleeps. "I don't know what to do," Amber says in a panic when we get there.

I immediately walk over to her side and kneel next to a screaming Paige. "Hey Baby Girl," I say in the most soothing voice I can. "Everything's okay, Paigie. Auntie Rose is here to help you." She quiets only a little, and I prepare to figure out what's going on. "I'm just going to tickle your belly, Paigie Girl." I lift her shirt and let my fingers run over her torso for a moment. She seems to relax for an instant, and then I watch as a spasm rocks her body and she screams again. "I know it hurts," I tell her. "I'm going to fix it." I don't wait for Amber to acknowledge what I'm doing. I let my power rise to the surface and put my hands on her little tummy. I've healed this so many times, I know what to look for. But I've never done it in such a little one. I'm very careful as I begin the healing process. Once I'm sure she can handle it, I send more power into her tiny body. The healing is over within minutes. I send several more healing waves through her before I let my power dissipate and pull back. When I blink and orient myself to my surroundings, I notice Paige is just whimpering now. Amber's worried eyes meet mine.

"She's healed," I say softly. Amber gasps and pulls her close. I put my hand on her shoulder. "She just needs rest now."

Amber kisses Paige's head and turns to me. "Thank you." Her words are a whisper, but I feel the depths of her gratitude all the way to my soul.

I give her a smile and kiss sweet little Paige on the forehead. "Rest now, Paigie." I squeeze Amber's shoulder and then back myself out of the room. Ava follows me out silently.

I pause next to the shifter on duty. "Is Cade gone?"

He nods. "He and several other pack members are gone on pack business."

"Thanks." That answers the question of where Cade is because I know he'd be here if he could if he knew his girl was sick. That thought is confirmed a moment later when my phone rings, and I see it's him. "Hello."

"Rose, it's Cade. Amber told me that you healed Paige. Thank you." His voice is more emotional than I've ever heard. "I was trying to get back when she told me she woke up sick and in pain. Thank you for healing her. I owe you double now."

"You don't owe me anything," I tell him softly. "I'm glad I was able to help her. She's so precious."

"Yes, she is." His voice is soft. "I gotta go but thank you."

"You're welcome."

He hangs up and Ava glances at me. "Cade?" she asks.

"Yeah. He was saying thank you."

"What's on your agenda for today?" she asks.

"I have a few shifters I need to check on. I get a list on my phone every morning from Amber of who needs to be healed or checked on."

"Mind if I accompany you?" she asks.

I try to keep the surprise off my face because usually she just wants to stay in her room. "Of course."

The rest of the day passes in a blur, and so do the next few. Each day is the same thing—healing pack members and checking on past patients. Cade and the others returned after a few days. I haven't heard anything new from the meeting Mike and I had with those men, but Cade and his enforcers have been working around the clock behind closed doors. I've almost asked a few times how it was going, but I haven't wanted to bother anyone.

Maverick has been exceptionally busy. I've barely seen him since that night he came to my room. And then there's last night. Last night, I was having a hard time sleeping, so I left my room to head downstairs to walk around a little bit and see if that would tire me out. Normally, I never leave my room at night. But I'd laid in bed for several hours totally unable to sleep. Knowing security was on duty, I finally convinced myself to walk around for a while in the hallway upstairs. I stopped at the end of the hallway and looked out the window, just trying to give myself some peace so I could sleep. I saw a car pull in and park and wondered absently who was coming in at almost three in the morning. When the car door opened, and Mav stepped out, I stared at him. I knew it was him because of the overhead lights in the parking area. I could see him clearly. He reached into the backseat of his car and grabbed a bag he slung over his shoulder and then walked toward the entrance. I lost sight of him but continued to stare out the window. Where had he been this late at night? A worse thought hit me. Who was he with?

I went back to my bedroom even more keyed up. I finally fell asleep and got a few hours of rest. But my mind won't let go of what I saw. "What's with you today?" Ava asks when we leave the room of a shifter I just healed.

I yawn. "Sorry, I couldn't sleep last night."

"Bad dreams?" she asks quietly.

"No, not this time. I just couldn't sleep." I shrug it off, unwilling to talk about what I saw. I don't tell her I've already decided to check tonight to see if it happens again.