Page 5 of Bones
“Will you fucking hold onto her?” Mac snapped, twisting to glance back at the commotion.
Muscles swore some more and jerked me toward him by the ankle. I slid across the floor, and he hauled me up by the arms and leaned in. His dark brown eyes glittered as blood dribbled down his chin.
“You wanna get tied up again?” he growled, his grip on my arms tightening.
I dropped my eyes as my stomach twisted. My wrists still ached with welts and bruises from being zip tied for so long in that safe. Satisfied, he shoved me back and someone behind me hauled me up into the seat right next to them. I scooted away for some space, but then Muscles climbed in, crowding me back. He wiped the blood from his chin, glaring at me. To avoid his angry gaze, I glanced to my right only to see Brown Eyes studying me. I dropped my eyes to the floor and tucked my hands into my lap to hide how they trembled. The adrenaline had faded, leaving me nauseous and shaky.
“On your go, Alpha,” a female voice crackled over a radio.
The rover peeled out, the second one following close behind. We traveled on a near-overgrown dirt road that snaked through the woods. The rover bounced over the rough terrain, making the gash on my head throb. The backseat fit two, not three, making me wedged between the two men, my skin crawling from the sudden onset of physical closeness. I tried to make myself as small as possible, but I couldn’t avoid the way their thighs and shoulders pressed against mine. My shoulders curled inwards until I hunched forward on the seat. I kept my eyes trained on my scuffed-up boots. We drove in silence for a while, but I couldfeelthe questions brewing.
I took a moment to catalog my injuries. The back of my head pounded from being knocked out, but at least the big gash in my temple had stopped bleeding. Small but painful cuts covered my palms from the tin roofing. The left side of my chest under my shoulder hurt the worst. I remembered landing hard on something sharp when I jumped off the roof. I pulled my thick plaid shirt back, wincing as it caught on something, and warm blood started trickling down my chest. I wasn't able to see the wound, but it was still bleeding.
“What’s your name?” Brown Eyes spoke over the engine. He sounded curious and not demanding.
I hesitated, debating whether stubborn silence would be worth it. Probably not.
“Bones,” I muttered.
I didn’t look up, but in the silence, I assumed all of them had the same surprised expression most people got when they heard my name.
“Bones?” Brown Eyes repeated.
Muscles snorted. “Funny name for a pretty little thing.”
“That pretty little thing near knocked your teeth out,” Brown Eyes said.
I stole glances at both, tensing. Muscles glared daggers at him, but Brown Eyes grinned. I stared back down at my feet.
“Sounds like a bounty hunter's name,” the young boy in the front seat chimed in, twisting around to peer back at us.
“Shuddup, Jax,” Mac ordered.
The boy scowled but turned back around.
“Got a surname?” Brown Eyes asked.
“No,” I lied.
“Ok,” he said. “So how’d you heal me, Bones?”
I gritted my teeth and tried to focus past the pounding in my head. “I’m a healer,” I muttered.
“Yeah, you’re gonna need to explain that a bit more,” he said. “Because I’ve never met a healer who could do what you did.”
I caught a glimpse of Mac’s eyes in the rear mirror and glanced away quickly. “I have—” Gods, help me. “Powers.”
A short silence fell before Muscles repeated, his voice suspicious, “You have magic healing powers?”
My temper rose, but I forced it back down. “Yes.”
“Magic healing powers?” Muscles said again, even more skeptically.
“Ask your buddy why he’s still breathing if you don’t believe me,” I snapped.
“I mean, I got no explanations,” Brown Eyes said. “It sure as hell seemed like magic.”
“Maybe it was a trick,” Muscles said.
