wrath of the Sea Queen (112 page)

Regardless, w
hatever recovery
C
a
eli
might have
made earlier in the day
, if any,
was
likely
to be
undone. 
Vin decided to have a
private conversation with her
about such reckless action
as soon as he got back to the hotel
.  Right now, Vin could not fault her love, which caused her to
rush to his aid
for the second time that day
.
  However, he also
wanted
C
a
eli
to be more careful
before
she
dove
into a situation
where she might
risk
harming
herself as well
as the person she was trying to help. 
Vin much preferred the
risk of his injury rather than hers
.

H
aving
already
helped
Salma
to stand
,
Ben
offered his hand to
Vin
and pulled him
to
his
feet
.  They
saw
Apela
waiting by
his truck
.  T
he ambulance
was only
just
arriving, as slow as Apela had warned them
.  Vin thanked
Ben and turned to
Salma
with a hug and
another
polite kiss on her forehead.

"Thank you, Salma, yet again.  W
hatever
you
and C
a
eli
did
was incredible
.
  I don't even feel like I've been shot," Vin expressed his
sincerest
gratitude.
 

Salma smiled and walked over to talk to the paramedics who were standing by the ambulance.  They were looking around, trying to locate their patient.  Vin
was
slightly
tired
, but that was to be expected
after
the
morning
he had
combined with
the
use of his gift
. 
Thankfully, s
ince this ordeal began
yesterday
, Vin
rapidly re
gain
ed
his endurance
for us
ing
his gift
.

Ben pulled Vin aside to speak with him before anyone else approached. 
A
lthough still astounded by the
inherited
traits
of his wife and her family
,
Ben
took
everything
t
he
y could
do
in
stride
.  He noted
,
with interest
,
that this was the first time
the ladies
had
intentionally
combined their gifts
.  T
ogether,
they accomplished something extraordinary.  Ben had seen many
bleeding
head
wounds in his day, and
told
Vin
how
very
lucky
he was that the
y
were able to
perform such a feat.  The fact that
Vin
was up and about
as if
he had never been
shot
was
nothing short of miraculous
. 
When
Ben
considered the
twist
of fate that brought him to know each of these three people and
their special
abilities
, h
e did not complain. 
As a matter
of fact, Ben
was thankful for it every morning
when
he woke up next to Salma.

"
Vin, thanks for
getting here so quickly
. 
You were the only person I knew we could trust.  I
certainly
don't trust
Dr. Jacobs, but I
wi
ll
fill you in on
the details later.  I
f I
had known
that
this
would
turn violen
t
, I
would have found another way.  I
thought
this
would
merely involve
scaring off some drunken hooligans
to
giv
e
me an
excuse to get
Salma
away from Dr. Jacobs.
"

"I know, Ben."

"And
I
don't
know
how
C
a
eli
found out
.  Perhaps she overheard Salma's call
, but I didn't intend for that to happen
.
"

"
I
know that, too
. 
S
alma
wasn't exactly subtle," Vin concurred.

"
I
a
m sorry about all of this,
"
Ben apologized.

"
Don't give it another thought. 
You couldn
'
t have
known.  I'm glad I could help.  What do you say we get out of here?  I think we could all use a little rest
, and I am eager to see C
a
eli
,
"
Vin said.

"
That's going to have to wait
, Vin
.  You
aren't going to be able to
go back
to the hotel
right away
,
" Salma said as she returned from speaking with the paramedics.

"Why not?"

"
We called in a gunshot wound and a serious head injury. 
According to the paramedics, their protocol says they have to take all gunshot victims to the hospital no matter the severity of the injury.  Apela also told me that the sheriff intends to press charges on as many of the
se
guys
as possible
.  He
wants to get a statement from you while you are at the hospital.
 
I'm afraid that i
f you don't
cooperate with them
, it will r
aise
a lot of suspicions
.  T
he sheriff will start asking all sorts of questions
we will not want to answer
.  He will probably even come by the hotel.  And you know how th
e press follows the cops,
"
Salma explained.

"So what do you suggest
I
do
?
  They are going to know that I'm not hurt.  I can't fake a bullet
wound
that no longer exists.
"  Vin asked.

"
I
told
the paramedics that, in my
panic
, I overreacted;
when I examined
your injury
, it
was
n
o
t that serious
after all.  B
ut
,
I don't see any way to avoid getting you chec
ked out at the hospital
," Salma
provided further details
.

"
I agree with Salma.  If the sheriff expects you to be at
the hospital
to
answer
question
s
for the offic
ial record
, then that's where you should be.
 
Without your
statement
, it will be difficult to
make a case against any of the men they arrested
," Ben added.

"Damn it!  I need to get back to C
a
eli."  Vin
vented his
frustrat
ion
, but he knew Ben and Salma were right.  There was no avoiding it.

"
If it makes you feel any better, s
he
has been
improving
all morning
, and I have
some
news for you
about her condition
.  Go
on
to the hospital, get checked out, give the sheriff his report, and then get back to the hotel
as quickly as you can
. 
We can discuss everything once
we are all
settle
d
in again
."