Precipice (Tribe 2) Read Online Free PDF

looked?  What did you see?”
    “I couldn’t get close enough for a full body scan—I got caught.  But from the little bit I saw…it’s bad.”
    The air whooshed out of him.  “How bad?”
    “There was a lot of internal bleeding—more than they were expecting, I think.  She’s really bad off, Alex.  You need to be prepared for that.”
    “Are you saying you couldn’t help her?”
    He wasn’t thinking clearly.  He was a wreck.
    “I did help her.  After they wheeled her into surgery, I went back and stayed outside the doors for a while.  I sent her as much energy as I thought I could get away with.  I wanted to give her more—it took everything in me to force myself to stop.  But I had to.”
    “I know.”  He looked away, clenching his jaw.  “I understand.  I mean, part of me wants to throttle you, if I’m being honest, but…I could never ask you to sacrifice your own mom—your whole family—for mine.”  He blew out a sigh.  “Was she…was there a lot of pain?”
    I cringed and looked away.  How could I tell him?  I still felt physically ill from the tremendous force of the pain that emanated from his mother. 
    When I looked back at him, he turned his face away, and I could see he was blinking back tears. 
    “That bad, huh?”
    “She was unconscious.  I don’t think she was aware of it…but yes, her body was experiencing a lot of pain.”
    “She wasn’t conscious at all?”
    I shook my head.  “It’s a blessing—when she wakes up, the worst of it will be over, and they’ll have her on pain medication.  And then maybe I can do a little more for her.  I’m sorry I couldn’t do more now.”  I slid my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. 
    He put his arms around me and laid his cheek against my hair. “I know.  I don’t have to be a Healer to feel how much you regret having to hold back.  I’m so grateful for you.”  He kissed the top of my head.  “And not just because you can help.  Even if you couldn’t help Mom at all, I just need you by my side.  I couldn’t get through this without you.”
    I nestled against him, relishing the warmth of his body.
    Then I heard his heartbeat, thrumming against his chest like a siren’s call.
    Oh crap!
    “Uh…you know…I really need to go to the bathroom.”  I smiled up at him, sheepishly.  “I’ll be right back.”
    “I’ll walk you.”
    “No!  Uh…no need.  Go check on your Dad.  He needs you.”  I turned around and headed for the nearest bathroom before he could object. 
    The hunger was welling up inside me, and I felt overwhelmingly tired.  By the time I got to the bathroom, and locked the door behind me, my hands were shaking.  Fortunately, it was one of those single-user unisex bathrooms, so there was no risk of interruption. 
    I hung my purse on the coat hook on the back of the door, unzipped it, and pulled out the fake insulin kit.  There was a round, flat-topped garbage can in the bathroom—the kind with the foot pedal so you don’t have to touch the lid.  I took a couple of the paper towels from the dispenser and laid them over the trashcan’s top.  Then I laid out the handkerchief, the scalpel, and the wipes.  Then I reached back into my purse and pulled out the cool bag of blood.  I didn’t even want to mess with trying to open the bag’s port—I just sliced off a small corner, and drained the bag like I was a kid at summer camp draining a Capri Sun juice packet. 
    When I was done, I wiped blood away from my lips with the back of my hand, then licked the blood off in the sink.  I noticed I’d gotten a few drips on the floor when I had opened the bag, but I resisted the urge to lick that up, too.  I was glad the hunger was under control this time—if it wasn’t, I’d have licked the floor, I’m sure.  How gross would that have been?  Ugh! 
    I washed off my hands, then used a sani-wipe to clean my hands and my mouth.  I wiped up the floor and stuffed all the