Bloodbound: The Alliance
Chapter 31 - 35

Chapter 31: Chapter 35

Avara POV

"So is she okay, doc?"

Doctor Jenson concludes his examination, straightening the lapel of his light-coloured jacket.

"She is."

Everyone in my bedroom releases a collective breath of relief.

"See," I mumble, "told you, you were all overreacting."

"Overacting?" Luciano snaps.

And Silas continues, "You fainted. Passed out. I mean I know you knew the guy, but I didn’t realize you guys were that close."

My blood runs quick. "We weren’t—"

"She had a perfectly natural reaction," Jenson cuts in. "Vasovagal syncope occurs when you faint because your body overreacts to certain triggers like emotional stress, physical or emotional trauma, even pain. The stressful event stimulates a bodily reflex called the vasovagal reaction. The heart slows down and pumps less blood, so the blood pressure drops."

Jenson removes his stethoscope from his neck and gathers his medical equipment, fitting them neatly in his bag.

"Thank you so much. It was nice seeing you after all these years, unfortunate under such circumstances."

He smiles and gives our dad a firm handshake. "Seeing that I’m your family doctor. For your own benefit and those of your children, I would hope that you would never need to see me."

My father shares his smile and claps a hearty hand on his shoulder.

"So she’s okay, you sure?" Luciano asks again.

"A clean bill of health," Jenson reassures.

Dad walks over to the door, then holds it open. "I’ll walk you out."

Jenson and my father disappear behind my door, closing it behind them.

"You guys are so dramatic."

My brothers shoot me with twin looks of bewilderment.

"You serious?" they say in unison.

"Maybe this holiday trip isn’t a good idea," Silas suggests. "At least one good thing can come from this. We cancel."

My eyes flare. "Whoa, why? You heard the doctor yourself. I’m perfectly healthy."

He pouts childishly, huffing. "Well, I just don’t want to go," he whines.

"I do," I say sternly. "I don’t care that it’s only for a week. I want to get as far away from here as humanly possible."

Suspicion weaves Silas’s brows together. "Sounds like you want to run away from something?"

I fling my gaze away. "Like what, Silas?"

"You’re the one with secrets... which is something I’d never hear myself say."

A flick of fury. "You’re one to talk," I say with a bitter bite in my voice. "The both of you."

Luciano’s eyes widen as his hands fly to his shoulders. "Why am I catching strays?"

Silas shakes his head fervently. "No, that’s not fair. At least we admitted our secrecies. Can you honestly look in my eyes and say the same thing?"

Irritation pricks at me. "Not this again. I’m not keeping anything from you. I just want some time away, okay? One day, one evening, uprooted my whole life. A forced marriage. Criminal affiliations. Now... Grayson."

Silas deflates a little, peering over at me with a critical eye.

"You’re right," Luciano begins. "You’ve been through a lot. We put you through a lot—"

Silas rips his gaze away, deep-seated guilt stemming from his breaths, making them heavy.

"—but I don’t know how much good it will do you, since you’ll be trapped alone with the Vacherons."

"Alone?" I splutter.

"We will be joining, but only for the weekend. Dad has appointments he can’t miss, and he needs us here to take care of a few things." He and Silas exchange cryptic looks. "Colton will also only be attending for the weekend only as well."

Floored, I fix my unhinged jaw.

"So I’ll be stuck with the Vacheron brothers for five whole days? Alone?"

"We already voiced our discomfort about that," Luciano says.

"Ain’t no way we leaving the mouse to be alone with the vipers," Silas adds.

"Colton said he’ll handle it," Luciano informs with a leather lining in his voice. "You won’t be alone."

Images of Grayson worm into my mind, relentless and sharp, like splinters burrowing under my skin. Everything I had admired about him has been warped. Each fragment of his face, the twist of his smile, the cold gleam in his eyes, unease latches onto me in the same visceral way he gripped me that night. It’s inescapable—a shadow behind my eyelids, a pulse of dread that coils tighter around my chest.

I make sure my voice is steady before I speak. "And what about Governor Adler? How is he coping?"

My heart does bleed for him. For his son to be killed with such savage brutality. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy... even if it turned out to be a friend. A truth that died with him and I have no intention of bringing his family any more pain. He died, but his memory lingers, wrapped in a facade of charm that glistens like sunlight on broken glass. People will remember him as the man with a silver tongue, a laugh that lit up rooms, a presence so magnetic it drew you in so you would be enamored by the man within the monster.

What he was ready to do to me—unforgivable, a horror that sank its claws deep into my soul. But what was done to him? It was an act so dark, it felt like the devil himself had turned away, unwilling to witness the depth of that cruelty. The world will remember a mask, but I’ll never forget the beast behind it.

"You’ll see once you get out of bed. Grayson is everywhere, on every news network, on the front page of every newspaper article. The story has gone worldwide. Mainly because of how it was executed. The strike team that took him went in with tactical formation and took out Adler’s entire security like it was a video game. Shell casings were found but ballistics turned up with nothing. The guns used were completely untraceable, their security system was hacked. And the surveillance footage was scrubbed. This was like some kind of black ops kind of shit."

My eyes flick to Silas. "There’s no way you got that information from the news."

"Insider source," he says with a small shrug. "Adler told dad; dad told us."

I inhale a breath, suddenly an effort.

"You were one of the last people to see him alive. In a way, at least you got to say goodbye."

I look back at him. Something poisonous leaks into my blood, fast and incurable.

***

The air hostess ushers us inside the private plane with cushioned individual units with Grade-A leather seats, high-quality couches. The interior is carpeted and decorated in beige and cream. This makes the darker oak woodwork of the tables and storage furniture stand out. All the furniture is hand-crafted in leather, crystal, marquetry and the finest woods. Even a glazed-top bar.

"Can I get you anything whilst you wait for the others, Miss Du Pont?"

"A bottle of water, please. No glass, just the bottle."

She nods and smiles politely, going off into a different section of the plane.

My phone rings again. Luciano.

"This is your third time calling," I say with the foot of the phone close to my lips before I slap it against my ear.

"Just checking if you didn’t pass out on your way there."

I go quiet, seething silently, stewing in annoyance.

"You can’t be mad at me for checking up on you?"

I snort wryly. "The way you guys have been acting these past few days. I’m surprised you let me go."

"You guys still grounded?"

"Vance and Landen are getting here separately. And neither of them are here yet. Should I send them your regards?"

"They can shove them up their—"

The hostess emerges again.

"Gotta go, Lucie. Love you, see you this weekend."

I end the call. She hands me the water bottle but before I can even open the cap. Vance lowers his head as he enters, striding inside the plane with an ankle-length, wool blend coat draped over his broad shoulders. And it’s like an invisible string hoists me up to my feet. The bottle slips from my grasp, abandoning it on the long couch.

"I never thought I’d say this." His hair is perfectly groomed, immaculately styled. "But I’ve missed you."

"And I never thought I’d be happy to hear it."

A wary smile cracks through. He steps closer tentatively and I close the gap, reaching high to wrap my arms around his neck. After a while, my eyes spot Landen by the doorway—knifed apart by a smile. I step away, watching that infuriating smile grow on Landen’s face.

"I thought you guys were coming here separately," I say to Vance but glaring at his brother.

"What can I say? I’m full of surprises. And so is our father."

"This plane is huge!"

Kelsey waltzes inside, moving her sunglasses to the top of her head. We both look at each other and explode into a peal of excited squeals. With a burst of joy, I run up to her, brushing past the brothers. She captures me in a hug and the momentum swivels us both around.

"Okay, now I’m jealous," Landen comments.

I squeeze tighter in the same one that clings to a good dream, a grapple between the mind and the morning. And just the same, I don’t want to let her go.

"What are you doing here?"

"Your daddy-in-law," she explains, drawing me away with her hands still holding onto my shoulders. "I guess he sent me to even the odds, play peacemaker and make sure you don’t suffocate on all the testosterone. And would I be stupid enough to turn down a chance to spend an all-expenses paid luxury trip with my best friend? And traveling on a private plane, not jet, but plane? I think not."

I tangle my arm around her neck and she wraps her arm around my waist as we stroll back further inside.

"The only thing I don’t know is where the hell we’re going?"

"Trust me, darling." Landen settles down on a cushioned armchair, manspreading and lifting his hips forward slightly, readjusting, getting comfortable. "That’s something we all want to know."