Chapter Nineteen
Several workers were rushing about. She’d forgotten that the Sinclair mine was in full working production.
“Excuse me,” Logan said he carried Kyle through the door.
Nessa followed alongside as Logan headed to the infirmary.
The on-call doctor was waiting for them. Not that she believed he could truly heal Kyle, but the burns needed to be cleaned and bandaged as soon as possible. Humans were so susceptible to infection.
“If you two will wait outside, I’ll get to work on him,” the doctor said.
Logan and Nessa stepped into the hallway. The image of the water dragon still stunned her. “Have you ever seen anything like that dragon before?” she asked.
“I didn’t see anything. One minute, we were fighting a losing battle with the flames, and the next I’m doused with so much water, I lost my footing.”
Before they could speculate where he had come from, Greer barreled toward them, her sister’s face twisted in torment. “Declan called me. I came as soon as I could. Tell me how this happened?” she asked as she placed a hand on Nessa’s back.
Logan hugged Greer and then Nessa. “If you’re okay, I’m going to wait outside for Declan.”
“I’m fine. Yes, go wait for him please.” As soon as he left, Nessa faced Greer. “When I couldn’t get a hold of Kyle after work, I began to worry.” She explained that she called his secretary Michelle who’d told her that Kyle and his assistant Tom had gone to Safford DeLeon’s cabin up north.
“Why did Kyle go there?”
“I don’t know. When I called Logan to see if he could find the address, he insisted on coming with me. When we arrived, I smelled smoke.” She explained about seeing the cabin on fire and finding Kyle inside tied to a post.
Greer clamped a hand over her mouth. “Oh, no. Was Tom in the building too?”
“I didn’t see him. The fire was so intense that we had to break a window to get inside.”
“Then how did you get out without burning Kyle further?” she asked.
“A water dragon saved us.”
“What the heck is a water dragon?”
“Trust me, I thought I was imagining things too, but his scales changed from black to blue, and the next thing I knew, the cabin was full of water.”
“So, this mystery dragon saved Kyle, you, and Logan?”
“Yes.” She grabbed Greer’s arm. “I was so scared. The flames had reached Kyle’s legs, but Logan managed to extinguish them.” The thought of Kyle dying made her gag.
Through the infirmary door, Kyle groaned, cutting short that terrible memory. “Maybe I should go to him,” Nessa said.
“Let the doctor work on him. When Declan arrives, the two of us will do our magic.”
Nessa sniffled. “Thank you. Kyle’s been through so much. If these attacks don’t stop, he could end up dead.”
“What did Kyle’s assistant say about it?”
Oh, crap. Her brain hadn’t been working. “I haven’t called him. I was so worried about Kyle. I figured he left before the fire started or he would have called for help, right?”
“I guess so.”
Nessa pulled out her phone and called Michelle again. When she answered, Nessa told her what happened.
“That’s horrible. How is Kyle?”
“He’s being treated as we speak. Listen, I need to find Tom Delaney. Can you give me his number?”
“Sure.” Michelle gave her the information.
“I’ll give you an update when I know more.”
Next, Nessa called Tom Delaney, but his cell beeped, indicating she should leave a message. Damn. “Tom, this is Nessa Caspian. Michelle told me you were with Kyle this afternoon. I found him in DeLeon’s burning cabin. Can you tell me what—” The beep sounded and more frustration tore through her. She faced her sister. “Whatever.”
“Do the police have any ideas?” Greer asked.
“Oh, shit. I have officially lost it. I didn’t even report the crime yet, and I don’t think Logan did either. I’ll give Anderson a call. He should be able to find Tom and then talk to DeLeon.” Nessa dialed her cousin’s number.
“Detective Caspian.”
“Anderson, it’s Nessa.” She gave him a rundown of what happened. She even included the arrival of her savior.
“I have to say that’s a new one on me. How is Mr. Harper?”
“We don’t know yet. The doctor is working on him.”
“You said he was with Tom Delaney. Have you spoken with him?” Anderson asked.
“No. I called, but his cell went to voicemail.”
“You take care of Kyle, and I’ll send my men out to the cabin and follow up with both Mr. Delaney and Mr. DeLeon.”
Knowing someone was helping was a huge relief. “Thank you so much.”
“We’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise.”
Nessa disconnected then stuffed her phone back in her pocket. Greer placed a hand on Nessa’s back. “Let’s go to the safe house kitchen and get something to drink.”
“That sounds wonderful. I am parched.”
Thankfully, the kitchen was empty, so they sat at the small table in the corner.
Her sister brought over a glass of ice water. “Drink this. Does Lily know what happened?”
“No. I need to call Birk and have him tell her.”
“I know it’s overwhelming, but you’ll get through it. I’m going to see if Declan’s here, so we can heal Kyle,” Greer said, and then left Nessa alone.
She didn’t want to say that Logan would have come and gotten her, but if Greer needed to look for Declan, Nessa wouldn’t stop her. As soon as her sister left, Nessa grabbed her cellphone. Once she got a hold of Birk, Nessa told him everything.
“I’m at Lily’s office now, so it might be best to wait and tell her after Declan has done his magic. I don’t need her thinking something like that could happen to her too.”
He had a good point. “I’ll let you decide what is best.”
“Good luck.”
After an excruciating hour of waiting to hear about Kyle, Declan and Greer finally walked into the kitchen.
Nessa jumped up from the table. “How is he?”
Both her sister and cousin smiled. “The doctor cleaned the burns,” Declan said, “but he wasn’t able to do much more than give Kyle something for the pain. That’s when we took over. I healed the burns, while Greer was able to clean out his lungs.”
Sometimes her cousin could be so stingy with information. “So, how is he?”
Declan placed a hand on her shoulder. “He’ll be good as new in a day or two.”
Her heart soared. Nessa hugged him and Greer. “I can’t thank you both enough.”
“Greer mentioned you think Sanford DeLeon is behind this?”
“He’s the most likely suspect, but Anderson is now handling it.”
“Good.”
“I really need to see Kyle.”
“He’s a bit groggy. The healing process takes a lot out of a person,” Declan warned her.
“I won’t stay too long.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “You are the best.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” Greer asked.
“For now, I’d like to be alone with him.”
“I understand. Call me if you need anything.”
Nessa hugged her sister once more then rushed into Kyle’s recovery room. His eyes were closed, and his breathing appeared a bit ragged. Hopefully, he wasn’t in a lot of pain now that Declan and Greer had worked on him.
She sat on the side of the bed and held his hand. As much as she understood his need to rest, Nessa wanted to know how he ended up in the cabin. “Kyle? Can you hear me?”
He groaned then opened his eyes. It seemed to take him a minute before his conscious thought returned. “Nessa?”
She chuckled. “Yes. It’s me. How are you feeling?”
He tried to sit up, but she placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t try to move.”
Kyle looked around. “How did I get here?”
“It’s a long story. What do you remember?”
He licked his lips, and she poured him a glass of water and handed it to him. He downed the whole thing. “Tom said he followed Safford DeLeon to his cabin and saw him disappear right before his eyes.”
Excitement rushed through her. “Then DeLeon is guilty. Do you know why he targeted us?”
“I don’t know. I never saw him to ask.”
“If you didn’t see him, how did you end up tied to a pole in his cabin?”
“Tom had gone around to the other side of the cabin to look inside when, all of a sudden, I started to choke and thought I might be having a heart attack. I reached up to my throat and felt a hand. I’m thinking now that DeLeon was strangling me while in his invisible form.”
“That makes sense.”
“When I finally came to, the cabin was on fire, and I was tied to a post. All I kept thinking was that I was going to die without telling you that I loved you.” He squeezed her hand.
Her heart pounded at those wonderful words, and tears leaked out. “You do?” Or was that fear talking? “I love you too, but you have to stop almost dying. I can’t take it anymore.”
A small smile lifted his lips. “I’ll try. Hopefully, when DeLeon is in jail, both of us will be safe.”
“I called Anderson, and he’s looking for him now. Did you see what happened to Tom? We didn’t find him in the cabin or anywhere outside. I called his cell, but it went to voicemail.”
“No.” His mouth pinched. “I hope he didn’t go after DeLeon.”
“I hope so too. Right now, you need to rest and not worry about a thing.”
This time Kyle managed to sit up. “I’m actually feeling a lot better.”
“I’m glad, but it will take time for Declan’s and Greer’s magic to fully work.”
His eyes opened wide. “They both cured me?” She nodded. “I must have been in really bad shape.”
“You were.” Poor Kyle had been through so much. “Are you hungry or thirsty?” she asked.
Kyle’s eyes rolled upward. “Both.”
She smiled. He must be on the mend.
Nessa had insisted Kyle do nothing for the rest of the day, but by the next morning, he almost felt like his old self. Okay, not quite himself. He was still furious for not hearing anyone sneak up behind him at DeLeon’s cabin. All Kyle could think of was going back to the scene to see if his memory of the event had sharpened. At the very least, he needed closure.
When he brought the idea up to Nessa, he thought she’d tell him to stay away, but she actually agreed. Naturally, she insisted on going with him in case DeLeon was there gloating over what he’d done. He doubted it as the police would hopefully have someone watching the place.
Nessa snapped her fingers. “I told Birk about what happened, but I never spoke with Lily. Did you call her yet?”
“No, I didn’t want her to worry.”
Nessa huffed. “You need to let her know.”
She was right, but he dreaded the conversation. Kyle located his phone and made the call. No surprise, Lily was understandably upset. “Are you saying that you were caught in a burning building, but that Nessa and Logan saved you?”
“Yes, but I’m fine. Really. Declan made sure of it.”
“Kyle, I’m scared.”
He sank back onto the bed. He wished there was something he could do or say to make things better. “Birk is there, right?”
“Yes.”
“Until we catch this guy, will you do me a favor?”
“What?” she asked.
“Do as he says? Birk will keep you safe.”
She didn’t answer for a second. “Fine, but are you sure you’re okay?”
He loved his sister. “I’m positive. Nessa and I are going to run down a clue. Be good, okay?”
“I’ll try.”
He disconnected and blew out a breath. He faced Nessa. “I guess that went as well as expected.”
“I’m glad she knows.”
“Me too.”
Darn. He dragged out his cell again. “I want to see if Tom is okay. Hopefully, he picks up this time. I need him to fill in a few gaps.”
“Kyle? Is that you?”
“In the flesh.”
“Oh shit, man. I saw DeLeon drag you inside the cabin. How the hell did you escape?”
Seriously? He witnessed what happened? He wanted to ask why Tom didn’t try to stop DeLeon or call for help, but he’d question him later. “Nessa found me and got me out. How did you get away?”
“It was the craziest thing. When I saw that DeLeon had you, I tried to call for help, but I couldn’t get any reception, so I ran down the driveway. I hadn’t gone very far when out of nowhere something slammed into my head. I dropped like a stone. When I came to, the cabin was on fire and DeLeon was gone.”
“That motherfucker. I wonder why he didn’t try to kill you.”
“I don’t know. I’m telling you, I was so scared. I looked inside the cabin and shit, man, when I saw you in there, I freaked. I tried to get inside, but the front door was locked. I attempted to smash it in, but it wouldn’t budge. There was nothing I could do. I’m just glad Nessa got to you in time.”
He could have broken the window and climbed in like Nessa did. “Me too. How did you get home?” Nessa said she’d spotted Kyle’s car still parked where he’d left it.
“I found the keys to DeLeon’s car under the mat. I was surprised he didn’t drive back, but I guess he just wanted to get the hell out of there.”
“I wonder why he didn’t fly to his cabin in the first place.”
“Maybe he had a lot of supplies.” Tom chuckled. “When I see the ass, I’ll ask him. Hopefully, he’ll be behind bars when that happens.”
“I hear ya. Just watch your back until we catch the bastard.”
“Will do. I’m glad you’re okay.”
His answers seemed rather pat. “When you got back to town, did you call for help?”
“Hell yeah I did. The fire department said they’d send a truck out right away.”
“I guess they arrived after Nessa got me out.”
“They must have.”
“I left you a few messages, but you didn’t answer.” That wasn’t like him.
“My battery was dead. I guess I forgot to charge it.”
Uh-huh.
Kyle disconnected and told Nessa what Tom said. “Now, I really want to check it out for myself,” Kyle said.
“I’m ready.”