Page 19 of Healer’s Betrayal

“Why are you holding an ice cream cone instead of eating it?” Raechel asks.

“My mate gave it to me.” My words are mostly bite, but none of them shrink back.

Raechel looks around. “So, where is she?”

“She left,” I manage to get out.

“Well, where does she live?” Ava asks.

“Don’t know,” I grind out.

Ava frowns. “Well, where can we find her?”

My teeth grind together. I don’t want any of them finding her, let alone talking to her. “She works at a café not far from here,” Ransom says, stepping into the conversation for the first time.

Four sets of eyes study him. Well, Bryce and Max had already been studying him. Now, their mates were as well. “Who are you?” Raechel asks.

“Ransom.” He doesn’t say anything else, and I don’t bother adding anything.

“Do you have her phone number?” Raechel asks.

“Nope,” Ransom responds.

“Haven’t you been here like a week already? How is it you’ve made no headway?” Raechel asks.

“What about the café?” Bryce says, stepping in. “When does she work next?”

“Tomorrow,” I tell them, even though I don’t want to.

He nods. “Fine. We’ll start there.”

“We can’t go inside the café,” Ransom adds, and I shoot him a look. He ignores it.

“What do you mean?” Bryce asks, eyes narrowing.

“We got banned,” Ransom says. I ask myself for at least the hundredth time why I allowed him to talk me into bringing him with.

Raechel laughs. “Seriously? You guys got banned? Oh, this is rich.” She shakes her head. “This just keeps getting better.”

“What did you do to her?” Ava asks, her eyes narrowed.

I growl low in my chest and stare her down. “You suggesting I did something to hurt my mate?”

Bryce moves in front of her, but she just pushes him to the side and stands next to him. “Nobody’s suggesting anything,” Bryce says in a calm voice, but his eyes are full of warning. “We’re just trying to get the story straight.”

“Just give them the version of what we know,” Ransom says in a voice that sounds bored. I know him well enough to know that he’s anything but bored. He’s irritated and getting riled up, but he hides it by acting like he could care less.

“She’s on the run,” I grunt. “She’s got an uncle she and the kid are running from.”

“The kid?” Ava asks. It gets very quiet for a moment.

“Younger brother,” I add.

“How does that relate to you getting banned from the café she works at?” Raechel asks, staring me down. I stare right back at her until her mate steps into my line of vision.

“She thought her uncle sent us and we were there to take them back.”

They all stare at me. “Surely you told her you weren’t right?” Ava pushes, lifting an eyebrow. “Did you tell her you were there to help?”