AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It doesn’t matter. It was a risk he was willing to take. Kay’s cancer wasn’t responding to any other treatments.”
“Well, then, there was no guarantee she’d respond to whatever they offered her either. I get that there might have been a tiny bit of blind hope involved, but not enough to kill off two men he thought of like sons,” Slade argues.
“No, but what would you do for the woman you loved if you knew there was a one hundred percent survival rate?” I question softly, taking a leap of faith and praying to God that I don’t regret it.
“What? Nothing has a one hundred percent survival rate. Not really. And definitely not when it comes to cancer. If there were something like that, the market would be flooded with it. Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in the world,” Luna states, crossing her arms over her chest.
I look up at Zig and then at Oz, who smiles softly at me. I blow out a deep breath before slipping my hand free from Oz’s and holding it out, palm up in front of him. “Can I borrow your knife, please?”
He pulls it from his leg pocket and hands it to me with zero hesitation. I hand it to Zig, my eyes connecting with his. He knows what I want him to do, and he doesn’t make me wait, knowing my nerves will get the best of me otherwise.
“Nothing is one hundred percent effective—except me.”
Zig takes the knife and swipes the blade across his palm, making Luna shout. “Jesus, Zig. What the hell?” She jumps to her feet and grabs a handful of napkins from the table, but Oz grabs her wrist.
“Watch.”
Zig lays his bleeding hand on my thigh, palm side up, and presses a kiss on my temple. I touch the tip of my finger to his wound and close my eyes. I push energy into him, ignoring the shocked gasps from everyone, until I can sense the cut is closed. When I open my eyes, everyone is staring at me in awe.
“Holy shit, did that just happen?” Wilder whispers.
“Salem can heal. That’s why the government wants her, and that’s why they’ll keep coming for her. She’s too special for them to simply give up.”
“You could really cure cancer?” Orion asks, his voice filled with disbelief.
“I’ve done it before, so yes. But I can’t stop a person from getting it again. I can heal what is, not what might be.”
“At the risk of sounding like a dick here, you could make a difference for millions of lives.”
“True. But we all know it would never be enough. There will always be someone sick who needs me, and I can’t heal everyone.” I feel uncomfortable, as if they are judging me for not turning myself into a machine.
“Maybe they could help you—” Orion starts, but I shake my head.
“I’m not heartless. I help all I can, but there is a price to pay for what I do.” I open my hand and show them the now-closing wound on my palm in the same spot where Zig’s once was.
That gets another reaction with lots of cursing and more questions while Oz takes the napkins from Luna and presses them against my hand. “Thanks.”
“What do you need?”
“The pizza helped, but something sugary would be good. A Coke if you have one.”
“You got it.” He presses my fingertips down to hold the napkins in place before standing up and ignoring the others as he heads inside.
Nobody says anything, the silence laying thick and heavy around us. By the time Oz comes back with a Coke, I’m ready to crawl out of my skin.
“We’ll leave. If this isn’t something you can handle, Oz and I will take Salem far from here, and you’ll never see us again. We love her. We won’t let anyone hurt her, even if you think you’re doing it for the right reasons.”
“You know us better than that, man,” Greg snaps.
“I thought I knew Cooper better than that too.”
Greg sighs and runs his hand through his hair.
Oz opens the can of soda and hands it to me. I take it with my good hand and drink it. The cool, sweet liquid glides down my throat, and I moan. It’s exactly what I needed.
“How did you end up with the cartel?” Slade asks, looking at me fascinated.
Being the center of attention is not something I’ve ever felt comfortable with, but I try to relax. At least nobody is screamingwitchat me. “Gerardo Ortiz took me.”
