The Dragon’s Brave Nanny (Mysteries of Dragon’s Island #4)

Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

***KEITH***

“ I don’t know, Stella, I’m just not sure that it’s a good idea,” Keith said, turning away from the window. “I’m just not comfortable with you traipsing all over the island alone.”

“I won’t be traipsing all over the island,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’m just going to run over to the building site and take a couple more measurements. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Can’t it wait?” he asked. “Jordan will be awake soon, then I could go with you.”

“You can’t go with me, it’s a surprise,” she said, then walked over to him and slipped into his arms. “You managed to get everything else out of me. Just let me have this one thing.”

He wrapped his arms around her with a sigh. “You know I’m just worried about you, right?”

“I know, and I’ll be careful, I promise,” she said. “I’ll get what I need and come right back here.”

“How about a compromise,” he suggested, looking down at her. “You go without me, but not alone. ”

“Okay, that has potential,” she said. “But who should I take with me?”

“I bet Montgomery is around. The boats have all been docked for the day because of the storm,” he said. “If you can get him to go with you, then I’ll agree.”

“Are you sure he didn’t take Max and Mateo over to the big island?” she asked, her face full of disappointment. “I thought I saw him down at the dock when they were leaving.”

He shook his head. “They left him in charge,” he said. “I’m sure he’ll be hanging around the village somewhere.”

“Then it’s a deal,” she said, stretching up to give him a kiss. “I won’t be gone long, I promise.”

She started to pull away, but he pulled her back into his arms. “Be careful, Stella, you mean everything to me. It’s taking everything in me to let you go,” he said. “Go straight to the village and get Montgomery, and have him walk you home when you’re done.”

“Yes, sir,” she said. “I promise, I don’t want to be dead any more than you want me to be. I’ll be careful.”

He watched her walk down the trail, every instinct in him telling him to follow, but the soft snores from the bedroom reminded him that Jordan was his first priority. When Stella finally disappeared from sight, he went into the bedroom and watched his son sleeping, smiling at the memory of the fun they’d had that morning. It might have been a mistake letting him wear himself out in the water, he could have at least followed Stella to the village. But it was safe here. A man prowling around on the paths would have been noticed. He was just tired and letting the creature inside him have too much control.

Lying down on the bed, he closed his eyes, planning to rest for just a few minutes, sure that Jordan wouldn’t sleep much longer since he’d already been out for a few hours. Even with worry churning in his stomach, he fell asleep almost instantly, and the baby, so exhausted from his morning, didn’t wake him for several hours, pulling him out of a deep sleep. He was confused for a second, then his brain slowly began to clear and he looked out the window, wondering how long he’d been asleep.

When he realized that the sun was sinking in the sky, he jumped out of bed, grabbed the baby, and ran into the living room, hoping to find Stella there. His voice echoed though the empty cabin when he called her name, and he started to panic, even if she’d gotten distracted it had been too long. The uneasiness in his gut started to churn, his magic slowly began to awaken, and he knew deep down that something was wrong.

Looking down at the baby, his instinct telling him to go after Stella, he started to panic, then remembered Marianne. “Okay, young man, I’m going to leave you with your Aunt Marianne. I want you to behave yourself,” he said, grabbing the diaper bag and rifling through it. “Of course, Stella has it all packed. That’s just like her, isn’t it?”

Marianne looked surprised to see him when she opened the door but took the baby when he shoved Jordan into her arms. “Stella went to the job site to take some measurements hours ago,” he said. “She hasn’t come home, and I’m worried something has happened.”

“Oh, Keith, you don’t think…” her words died away. “Jordan will be safe with me. Go find Stella.”

This time without the baby, he broke into a run as soon as he was down the ladder, channeling a little of his magic, and raced toward the village, hoping that he was wrong. He wouldn’t have hesitated when he got to the village, but just as he was about to take the path that would lead him to the job site, he saw Montgomery down on the docks, and he came to a skidding stop. Changing direction, he ran through the village, the feeling in his gut only getting worse, and was shouting to Montgomery before his feet even hit the dock.

“Where’s Stella?” he called. “Please tell me she’s with you.”

Montgomery shook his head. “The last fishing boat came in. She said she was going straight home,” he called, running toward him. “I tried to get her to come with me, but she refused. She said that she just needed a few more minutes. I’m sorry; I couldn’t wait for her.”

“We’ve got to find her, this just feels wrong,” he said, turning back the way he came, Montgomery right behind him. “That maniac better not have her. I’ll kill him.”

***Stella***

Stella heard footsteps coming up behind her and realized how much time had passed. “I know, I know,” she said. “I should have left a long time ago.”

“Actually, I'm quite glad that you stayed,” a voice she didn’t recognize said. “It makes this all just a little bit easier.”

She turned, but before she could move, a hand clamped down onto her shoulder, and another grabbed her by the wrist, twisting until her arm was pinned behind her back. Trying not to panic, she stayed perfectly still, feeling like her heart was about to explode out of her chest. Then the man leaned over, and she felt his hot breath in her ear. Panic shot through her, and she began to fight, twisting and turning, trying to get out of his grip, but his hands were like a vice around her wrist, and all she managed to do was hurt herself.

“Now see, this is why I didn’t just shoot you,” the man said. “This is so much more fun, and the best part is the fun has just begun.”

She picked up her foot and kicked him in the shin with her heel, but all he did was grunt. “Now play nice, missy, I have no problem hurting you,” he hissed in her ear. “In fact, I would probably enjoy it.”

“You’ll never get away with this,” she said, still struggling against his hold. “Everyone is already looking for you. Even if you kill me, you’re still going to be a hunted man. You should run now while you have the chance.”

“You let me worry about that,” he said, giving her a shove that sent her sprawling to the ground. “Now get up. It’s a bit too public here for what I have planned.”

Free of her captor, she gathered her strength to run but looked up to find Simon pointing a gun at her, and slowly got to her feet instead. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm the panic and fear surging through her, then took a couple more, trying to decide what she should do. There was no doubt in her mind that Simon planned to kill her, and that scared her, but it was the evil look in his eyes that really terrified her.

It was clear the man would enjoy hurting her, that he was twisted so deeply inside his humanity was gone, or maybe it never existed she decided as a shiver went through her. Her only hope was to act like she was going along with him, to try and stall him until Keith realized something was wrong, or she could escape from him, so she took another deep breath.

“What are you going to do?” she asked, her voice shaking. “If you shoot me, someone will be here.”

“That’s why we’re going somewhere more private,” Simon said, waving the gun at the trail. “Start walking; we’ve got a little hike before we can have our fun.”

Every instinct inside her was screaming at her to run, to fight, but she put one foot in front of the other, ignoring the feeling and instead, she focused on Keith, thinking about how much she loved him, hoping that the connection between them would help him find her. But as they hiked farther and farther up the trail, she began to worry that even if Keith came after her, he might not be able to find her, and a fresh wave of panic hit her.

She stumbled a little as the air came whooshing out of her lungs, the possibility that she was really going to die slowly sinking over her. Glancing over her shoulder at Simon, she realized that she was going to have to save herself and frantically tried to come up with a plan. They’d reached the densest part of the jungle on the island, the vegetation around them so thick it would be almost impossible to get through it, especially if you were a very large man.

She kept walking but an idea was slowly forming in her mind, and when she saw the perfect tree, she knew the time had come to try and make a break for it. “I have to…umm…use the bathroom,” she said, trying to look a little desperate. “Please, I need to stop…”

“You can hold it,” Simon barked at her. “We’re almost there.”

After taking a few more steps, she started shaking her head and let a few of the tears she’d been holding back leak out of her eyes. “Please, I can’t wait,” she pleaded. “I’m going to pee my pants if you don’t let me go. I’m so scared, I can’t hold it.”

“Fine, just hurry up,” Simon said. “But I’m watching you, so don’t try anything.”

She stepped off the trail next to the biggest tree she could find, quickly pulled down her shorts, relieved the vegetation hid her, pretended to try and go, and then shook her head. “I can’t go with you watching me,” she said, letting more tears fall and a little sob escape from her chest. “I promise I won’t try and run if you just turn away for a second.”

“I should just shoot you now,” Simon barked, then sighed loudly when she began to cry harder. “You’ve got to the count of ten, then I’m turning back around. ”

When he started counting out loud, she couldn’t suppress a little smile as she quickly pulled up her shorts, slipped around to the other side of the tree, and grabbed a big branch lying on the ground. Simon hit ten, then turned around, letting out a roar of anger when he saw that she was gone, and started toward her, cursing her with every step.

“You stupid bitch, all you’ve done is made me angrier,” Simon bellowed. “I’m going to make you sorry when I catch you, and I will catch you. You’re going to be sorry you tried to trick me.”

Stella was ready when he came barreling through the vegetation, gathered all her strength, and swung the branch at his head. It connected with a dull thud, and a look of surprise appeared on Simon’s face before his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he crashed to the ground. She didn’t wait to see if she’d killed him; she didn’t care. Her only thought was of escape, and she took off back through the vegetation.

When she hit the trail, she hesitated, but she could already hear Simon moaning behind her as he struggled to his feet and came after her. Her first thought was the safety of the village, but a quick calculation told her she’d never make it before Simon caught up with her, so she did the opposite and headed the other way, hoping it would confuse him long enough to give her a lead and she could find someplace to hide until Keith came after her.