Betrayed, Then Back For Blood

Chapter 4

Briar quickly pulled hersell together and fret Ashton’s gaze “So, what sit puma he? if you’re

Ashton nanowed his eyes, thinking for a second. “How sure are you?

Hands stuffed in her pockets, Briar glanced at the unconscious Griffin. “Ora pilt and tome acupuncture, and he’ll be awake is an hour. Read it ANUS day, and he’ll be back on his feet in a week”

She said it like it was a done deal full of swagger, not a hint of doubt.

Griffin had been sick for years. Every top doctor in Dasmieca had tried and failed to cure him. All they could do was dow things down.

Unless they could somehow track down the legendary Tristan, Griffin wasn’t gonna last much longer.

But Tristan had basically vanished off the face of the earth. Ashton had already burned several million dollars trying to find him, but it was all for nesting

Some folks believed Tristan was dead. They said his only student had taken over–but that person was even harder to find

Only a handful of people had ever seen Tristan’s student. No one even knew if it was a man or a woman.

That was why, with Griffin slipping deeper into another coma, Ashton had no choice but to gamble on experimental drugs from the Dark Met

They could keep throwing money at finding Tristan, but Griffin couldn’t wait.

Ashton’s gaze shifted. The curiosity he’d shown at first was still there, but now it was laced with scrutiny and suspicion. “Awake in an hour? Fully recovered in a week?”

Before Briar could answer, a few of the Wade relatives burst out laughing. “Do you even know where you are, Miss?” one sneered. “This isn’t some clinic where you can say whatever you want.”

cured in a week–who are you trying

doctors wouldn’t dare promise that. Someone get this clown out of

They looked Briar up and down, already convinced she was a nobody. They’d heard she rode in on some beat–up bike to

really was. To them, she was just some bold girl trying

eyes, Ashton would never go for someone like her. Honestly, they thought they were being generous just by not tossing her

tried to talk her down. “Young lady, this isn’t

And acupuncture is not

you experiment on. Just walk

react. No flinch, no panic. She didn’t even glance at the people trash–talking her. Her

calm, unfazed

hand, and the room instantly quieted down. Everyone expected him to

nake

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IVIUIT, 20 U

C

Chapter 4

said, “If you can wake my grandfather in an hour, F’ll come thank you in person. Whn’s

she replied

in a week” thing, but he did believe Briar

like this?”

in. “Griffin’s condition is too fragile. We can’t just let

“And since when do you make

them up

raised an eyebrow, starting to get a clearer

small black cloth pouch, unrolled it. and laid out a set of acupuncture needles. After quickly