Betrayed, Then Back For Blood

The loudest complaints came from a sharp dressed middle–aged man who clearly had some pull in the Wade family. As soon as he spoke up, the others followed his lead, trying to shove past Brandon at the door to get inside.

Briar might’ve looked absorbed in her phone game, but she was fully aware of the noise outside.

The noise was getting on her nerves. She paused the game, glanced at Griffin, and noticed his face had more color now. The acupuncture was doing its job.

Even the military doctors who had doubted her at first had gone quiet. They didn’t want to get caught in the middle of anything.

Everyone knew Griffin’s body was worn out, and his age didn’t help either. The best most people could do was keep him alive a little longer.

Briar saw how the crowd was reacting and muttered to Ashton, “It’s too noisy. He needs peace.”

Ashton wasn’t known for his patience to begin with, and the only reason he hadn’t exploded already was because he was worried about his grandfather. He didn’t know much about medicine, but after dealing with Griffin’s condition for so long, even he could tell the treatment was working,

So when Briar said the word, he gave Brandon a nod. Brandon didn’t waste a second–he cleared the room and pushed everyone back out into the courtyard. Finally, things went quiet again.

An hour would go by quickly, but Briar had no interest in awkwardly staring at the others. She kept her head down, focusing on her game instead.

The cheerful game music and occasional gunshots helped Briar relax. She leaned into the chair, totally chill.

Ashton couldn’t take his eyes off her. In all his years, he’d never met anyone–especially not a teenage girl–who acted this calm and unbothered in front of him. It made him even more curious about who she really was.

Briar could feel his intense stare, but she didn’t say anything.

She always kept her work and personal stuff separate. Sure, she’d shown up partly because Ashton was easy on the eyes, but now that she knew Griffin had once been close with Tristan, she had to take it seriously.

After all, Tristan barely called anyone a friend. Briar knew she had to do her best to help, or Tristan would never let her hear the end of it.

and walked over to Griffin. She checked his

working,” she said. “He should

results were even better than she’d expected. At this rate,

expression changed. His eyes lit up–this was

had been waiting, listening in. When they

of it.

moment Ashton tossed her out. They were convinced she’d

time they’d just

an hour later, the people waiting outside couldn’t hold

lying there, eyes shut, she thought she had her chance. She snapped with a smug tone, “Ashton, it’s been thir and he’s still out cold. What now? Are you finally ready to admit this girl

but after being kicked out

utes,

Chapter 5

room tensed up. All eyes

She tapped her phone one last time, finishing her stood up, met Ashton’s gaze, and spid, “What’s the rush? He’s

the bed. They immediately turned to Griffin, and sure enough, his eyelids started to twitch before

a little dazed, his old eyes stiff and

over, leaned in, and

eyes moved slightly. He gave a faint

room fell into stunned

what the top

a breath of relief. “Miss Jennings, thank you. I

didn’t show much emotion as she stood there and said casually, “No big deal. But just because he’s awake doesn’t mean he’s in the clear. The pill will only