Chapter Three
Nessa awoke to a darkened room and had to blink several times to rid the grit lining her eyes. Only when she reached up to swipe her face, did she realize she was still in her dragon form. Why hadn’t she shifted? Her mind spun. Oh, yeah. She’d been trapped in a mine, and her dragon had protected her. From the way her chest and wings throbbed, her dragon was working to heal her.
The horrible memory of the dirt pummeling her body over and over again raced back, sending chills from her head to the tip of her tail. An image of her shooting fire at the large stone tunnel walls surfaced. Somehow, she didn’t remember making it to the top. Yet here she was—safe on the floor in the large gathering center of her family’s mine building.
Not quite sure if she was healed enough to shift, Nessa did it anyway. The moment she changed though, she realized that had been a mistake. Blood covered her pant legs, while her shoulder, chest, and wrist screamed in pain. Clearly her dragon hadn’t finished healing her. Nessa should probably shift back into the dragon form again, but she needed answers first.
Nessa slowly sat up and then rose to her knees. When her head stopped spinning, she chanced standing. No sooner had she taken three steps toward the exit when Greer, her younger sister, rushed in. “What are you doing up? Sit down.”
Nessa looked around at the empty room. “Where, on the floor?”
“It doesn’t look comfortable, does it? Let’s move you to a more private place. I want to check you out.”
Not only was Greer her younger sister, she was a healer—and a very good one at that. Greer wrapped an arm around Nessa’s waist and led her out of the large room. Birk, her older brother, was standing watch in the hallway.
His eyes lit up when he saw her, and he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay, Nessa? You gave us such a scare.”
She felt broken and weak, but if she told him every muscle ached, he’d insist she return to her dragon form. “I’ll be fine. Greer will heal me.” Her sister must not have believed her injuries were life threatening or she would have called in their cousin Declan, who was an even more powerful healer.
Nessa turned to Birk. “Why are you standing watch outside the room?”
His eyes widened. “Seriously? Someone tried to kill you. Once word gets out that you survived, it’s possible he’ll try again.”
She waved a hand. “I don’t think the explosion was aimed at me but rather at the mine in general. Once we excavate the gold that’s down there, it might put other miners out of business.”
“For your sake, I hope they were only targeting the mine.” He nodded at Greer. “Where are you taking her?”
“Just to the office at the end of the hallway. It’ll be easier to work in there.”
“Sounds good. Can I get you anything, Nessa? Coffee? Water? Food?”
She smiled, but even her cheeks hurt. “You are sweet. Ask me again once Greer does her magic.”
“Sure thing.” Worry creased his eyes, indicating he wasn’t convinced Greer’s magic hands were strong enough “I’ll stay here and pretend you’re still inside in case someone tries to harm you again.”
Birk was being his usual overprotective self, but she loved him for it. Nessa stood on her tip toes to kiss his cheek when her ribs protested. She winced. “Thank you.”
“Nessa?” Birk asked.
“I’m good, or rather, I will be soon.”
Once they entered the small office down the hallway, Greer made her sit. “Everyone has been so worried about you.”
“How long have I been unconscious?”
“About fifteen hours,” Greer said.
“Holy crap.” Her dragon never took that long to heal her. The injuries must have been more serious than she realized. “Who saved me?” Her memory had blocked it out.
“At least twenty men worked together to reach you. I think almost every dragon shifter volunteered to help dig out the collapsed shaft. It was incredible to watch. Other than to drink something to keep hydrated, they never stopped. One of the men finally saw your talon poke up through the dirt, and he reached in and grabbed onto you. Then all of them together lifted you out.” Greer sniffled and swiped a finger under one eye. “I swear I thought you were dead. How did you get so far up the shaft? I would have thought the explosion would have collapsed the whole thing.”
“It did.” Nessa explained her method. “I was so tired. My wing was damaged in the blast and my chest was crushed, but I figured if I didn’t do something, I’d die down there.”
Greer very gently hugged her. “I’m glad you didn’t. You’re not out of the woods yet though. I want you to close your eyes and relax so I can do my thing.”
Nessa held up her hands, indicating she’d obey. “Does Dad have any idea who set the charges?”
“Are you sure it was explosives?” Greer asked.
Nessa tilted her head. “From the sound and force, it had to be.”
“Well, you don’t need to be worrying about that yet. Think healing thoughts.”
Her sister could be pushy when it involved using her magic, which was a good thing since Nessa was very determined to find out who had been responsible for the mine’s collapse. Its safety was her responsibility.
While she’d seen Greer do her magic numerous times, Nessa hadn’t been the recipient of her talents in a long while. With her eyes closed, Nessa could only imagine that her sister’s hands were hovered over her ribs and sore shoulder.
“I’m going to touch you, so this might be a bit uncomfortable,” Greer said. “The injuries are worse than I first thought.”
Great. “Go ahead.”
Greer started with Nessa’s shoulder. Heat poured into the sore area and nearly burned her. Soon, however, the ache dissipated and Nessa finally relaxed. Just as her sister ran her palms over her ribcage, Nessa opened her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Greer asked. “Did I hurt you?”
The odd sensations pouring through her body were anything but painful. In fact, they were highly pleasant. Truth: they were downright erotic. “No.”
Shouts sounded down the hallway, and Greer glanced at the doorway. “Sounds like Birk has his hands full.”
“Do you know who it is?” Nessa asked, her blood zinging through her body too fast.
“Probably someone who shouldn’t be here. Don’t worry; Birk will take care of whoever it is. You need to rest,” her sister said, wagging a finger at her.
While it was true Nessa wasn’t fully healed, a different kind of energy charged through her. “I need to see who it is.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know; I just do.”
Greer held up a hand. “You stay seated. Let me check it out.” Just as Greer opened the door, her father rushed down the hallway. His footsteps halted, and a second later, he stepped into the room.
“Nessa? You’re up! How are you feeling?” He cupped her face and leaned over, his gaze checking her out from head to toe.
“Better. Greer did her magic on me.”
More shouts came from down the hallway—mostly angry ones.
“Give me a second,” her father said. “I see our resident mining inspector is at it again.”
Her heart thumped. So that was what the ruckus was about. “Is he going to close us down?” Nessa could barely say those words.
Odd as it was, she’d never met the man who held such power. The head of the Mining Consortium was new in town, having taken over for old man Dougherty a year and half ago. After the first incident at the mine, in which her foreman had been killed, she’d only spoken with Kyle Harper’s second in command, Dennis Taylor. Nessa had been so devastated and angry at the time that she’d nearly torn the poor man in two. Her father decided the Consortium should deal with him.
“I imagine he will ask us to close the mine, but I’m going to agree with him, at least short term,” her father said. “We need to find out who is responsible. I couldn’t live with myself if you had died, or if you are injured again.”
She appreciated his sentiment, but Nessa didn’t agree. “Closing the mine, no matter for how short a time, will have dire consequences on our production. We have clients to serve. Promise him we’ll beef up security or something.”
Her father rubbed her arm. “You heal and leave the running of the mine to me.”
Before she could argue, her father took off. While she couldn’t hear the conversation at the end of the hall, it wasn’t long before her father returned—with the mining inspector in tow.
Once the inspector stepped into the tiny room, blind lust shook Nessa so hard she couldn’t fathom what was happening to her body. Heat swamped her lower half, and even her nipples hardened. Okay, that was wrong on so many levels. This had to be an aftereffect from Greer’s treatment. The alternative was unacceptable.
Mate, mate, her dragon chanted.
No way! Sure, this man had as many muscles as a dragon shifter and was nearly as tall as one, but he was human. Not that her family over the ages hadn’t mated with his kind, but he was the mine’s archenemy, and therefore her enemy.
She had to look away or chance embarrassing herself, but even then she failed to gain much composure. Her heart refused to calm.
“Nessa, I’m glad to see you’re okay,” the man said as he held out his hand. “I’m Kyle Harper, the head of the Mining Consortium.”
“I know who you are.” She pretended as if she was too weak to shake his hand.
“I don’t know how it is we haven’t met before, but I’d really like to ask you some questions if you’re up for it.”
Nessa finally dragged her gaze back to him. Whoa. His eyes mesmerized her. They were a deep blue, the color of the ocean on a clear day. But it was the flecks of green and brown that drew her in.
“Nessa?” her father asked. “Are you okay?”
Heat raced up her face. “Yes.”
No, she wasn’t okay. Kyle’s presence jumbled her thoughts. Needing him to leave, she rubbed her head and moaned slightly. “I mean not really. Even after I’m healed, I don’t know how I can be of any help. I don’t remember much. One minute I was headed to the elevator and the next, I was under a ton of rocks and dirt.”
He shot his gaze between her and her dad. “Just so you understand, by law I have to shut down the mine until this is resolved, so whether you talk or not won’t affect my decision.”
Nessa’s anger spiked at what he was implying, and her energy tripled. She jumped up from her seat and was in this man’s face in a second. “That’s not fair.” She poked his chest. “We need the mine to stay up and running. You have no right—”
“Nessa,” her father said in that stern voice she recognized very well.
She spun to face him. “What? You know we weren’t negligent. This was sabotage.”
“I know,” her dad said in the softest voice she’d ever heard him utter.
Harper didn’t seem upset by her outburst. Calm bastard. “Nessa, can you at least tell me who you suspect sabotaged the mine?” Kyle asked. “I’ll make sure he is included in the investigation.”
“That’s easy. It had to be the Royals.”
His eyes widened. “You think our government is responsible for this? What evidence do you have?”
She had none, and that was the problem. “They kidnapped my cousin a while ago. After she escaped, they came after her again, and in the process Prince Rathan was killed in battle. Now they want to take it out on us.”
Kyle seemed to think about this. “I was aware he had died, but not the circumstances. If they are out for revenge, why not sabotage the Sinclair’s mine instead of yours?”
Those lips. They moved in such a sensual way that she had the urge to kiss him right then. Nothing like this had ever happened to her, and she didn’t like it one bit. His soft confident words soothed her soul and scrambled her mind at the same time.
Before she could answer, her father stepped between them and faced her. “He’s right, you know.”
Her senses returned. “No, he’s not. Why are you taking his side? We have to think about the men who work here. They have families to feed.” Even to her own ears, she sounded a bit irrational.
“You know as well as I do that insurance will pay their wages,” her father said. “I’m sure once Mr. Harper learns who is guilty, he’ll reopen our mine.” Her dad rubbed her arm. “Honey, we can weather the loss of revenue for a few weeks. Don’t worry. Please.”
Kyle nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Caspian, for being so open minded. Like I mentioned before, the more you cooperate, the faster we can resolve this.”
Despite her dad’s warning, Nessa spun to face Kyle again. “Fast you say? Neither you nor the police have learned who killed my second-in-command, and that accident happened a month ago. And don’t try to tell me Wendan was careless. He wasn’t. He knew as much about explosives as I do.”
The outburst weakened her, but Nessa was not going to be deterred. No one, no matter how sexy he might be, was going to claim her family had been at fault. Not that he’d come out and accused them or anything, but he must be thinking it.
Kyle held up his hands. “Hey, I’m on your side. My men have been investigating non-stop since that particular incident occurred. We too think he was targeted.”
His words softened her, but she wouldn’t relent. Nessa crossed her arms. “What have you found?”
“Not much, but that doesn’t mean we won’t keep looking.”
“Someone tampered with those explosives between the time I looked at them and when Wendan got them.”
Kyle pulled out a small tablet from his jacket pocket. “Do you suspect the Royals of that crime too?”
She skewed her lips to the side, mostly in disgust of her own attitude. “I don’t know. That incident happened before my cousin was kidnapped.”
“Nessa, you need to rest,” her father said. He turned to Kyle. “Maybe this isn’t the best time. I’m sure my daughter will be more cooperative after a good night’s sleep.”
From the way his chest rose and fell, he was debating how to handle her. Kyle faced her father. “I’ll return tomorrow then. A representative from the insurance company will probably want to speak with her too.” He faced Nessa. “Or should I tell her that you won’t be filing a claim?”
Was he kidding? “Of course I will. Even if I weren’t a Caspian, I know what happened was out of our control.”
“Let’s hope you’re right.” Kyle spun on his heels and left.
As soon as his footsteps disappeared down the hall, she faced her dad. “Can he really shut us down without cause?”
Her father clasped her shoulders. “Yes, he can. We need to find the culprit. Mr. Harper reminded us that we might not be safe against more attacks.”
“You also told me he said we might have been negligent on the first two cases.”
Her father nodded. “Might have been. He’s leaning more toward sabotage now. Who is responsible though, I don’t know.”
“I told you the Royals are. They don’t care if they hurt us or the Sinclairs. To them, we’re the same.”
“I wish we could prove that.”
“Me too, Dad.”