wrath of the Sea Queen (62 page)

"
Is e
verything ok?
"
  Vin whispered and wrapped his arms around her.

"
No.  I don't feel right
."
 
Outwardly, s
he
merely
shook her head
.

"
Do we need to stop?  A
re you
going to be sick again?
"

"
No.
"

"
Ok
.  I
t
'
s best if we keep going
because Salma has
uninvited company
.  With B
en injured, I'm trying to handle it without alarming her any
further
; and I don't want him trying to help
.
"

"
I understand.
"

"
Can you tell
me
what's
wrong
?
  What doesn't feel right?
"

"
I
t's not easy to
explain
.  I
'll
wait
until we reach the hotel
.
"

"
You sure?
"

"
Yes.
"

"
W
e're almost there.  We'll talk
soon
, I promise.
"
  Vin kissed her warm cheek
.

"
Do you mind if
I stay up here with you until
then
?
"

"
Yes, of course you can stay.  I'm sorry,
H
oney.  I really am.  As soon as we arrive, you will have my full attention
.  I just need to make sure we actually get Salma there in one piece first
.
"

"
It's ok
, Vin
.
"
 
C
a
eli
smiled weakly still not lifting her head from Vin's shoulder.

T
he
heat from
C
a
eli
's fever warmed Vin's skin as she rested quietly on him,
watch
ing
the road ahead. 
The
blood-soaked towels and
wet clothes were
adding to her discomfort
. 
If she felt even half as miserable as she looked, then Vin couldn't imagine how bad
her condition
must be. 
As a general rule,
C
a
eli tended to be
considerably
less talkative
when she didn't feel well
, and she generally denied
being
sick. 
The one thing that never changed was the fact that s
he
always liked to
rest
on his shoulder
, though
norm
ally
only
in the privacy of their home
.  For
C
a
eli
to
volunteer
that something was wrong and
publicly
s
eek the comfort of his shoulder
,
Vin knew
she
was
in
the
bad shape
that her
physical symptoms
confirmed
. 

As they rode on
, there were several places where
the
recent
storms
had left
large branches in the road.  The tail winds, which were greatly helping their travel time, seemed to move the debris out of the way before they got close enough for
them to become a problem
.  Once, Private Burks thought he might be forced to stop.  The road in the distance appeared
t
o be washed out for at least thirty feet.  However, as they got closer,
Nathan
could see that, in fact, the road was only partially blocked. 
A
six foot
section in the center was suddenly clear
,
as if the water were pushed back
on both sides
by
invisible
dams
, leaving
enough room for them to drive through to the other side. 

This was turning out to be the
strangest
road
trip the private had ever taken.  When they finally arrived at the hotel, Private Burks went with them to check in and made sure all four were secured in a room before he took his leave and returned to the van to update Colonel Franks and wait for the reporters in the blue truck to arrive. 
The foursome, although each worse for wear in their own way, was relieved to finally reach the security and privacy of the hotel.

CHAPTER
17

Although there were
two rooms reserved, Vin insisted that everyone wait in one until
P
rivate
Burks
left
.  As soon as he
departed
, Vin
asked
Salma to check on C
a
eli.  However, C
a
eli had gone
straight
into the
bath
room and
requested
a few minutes
alone
.  Vin heard the water running in the sink and twice
inquired if
C
a
eli need
ed
his or Salma's assistance.  Both times, C
a
eli replied that she just needed a few minutes to let her stomach settle.

W
hile Vin waited for C
a
eli to come out, he
asked Salma if she could
go ahead and
find out where her and C
a
eli's luggage was being kept.  Luckily, it
had
been sent ahead to the hotel by the first airline because the small plane
assigned to the
connecting flight
was not spacious enough to carry
large
pieces of
luggage
.  Vin wanted Salma to have one of the hotel attendants help her retrieve the bags.  If possible, Vin needed Salma to ensure that several people
kn
e
w she
had
checked in
to her room
.  He even asked her to stop and talk to a few of her colleagues.  It was important for people to know that she was there, but not to be gone too long.

"
Please Salma, it's important.  I don't have time to explain everything right now. 
B
ear with me a little while longer.  I
wi
ll explain as we go.
"

"Vin, are you sure that's a good idea?  I'm not comfortable with her being out there by herself after everything that has happened today," Ben objected.

"And I really want to have a
closer
look at Ben's wound
before I do anything else
. 
C
a
eli
did an incredible job with the internal healing, but the external damage still needs a bit of work.  We may not need a hospital, but I do need to get him stitched up," Salma added.

"I unders
tand your concern
s, Ben,
and I'm not ignoring them. 
Y
ou know that Nathan and his colonel and probably a few of his team members will be down in the lobby
.  I wouldn't send Salma if I thought there was even the slightest chance of her getting hurt.  I don't think that's the type of danger she's facing at the moment.  And, she won't be gone very long.  Salma can call me if anything at all happens
. 
I
do
n't
want to
leave
C
a
eli
just yet; besides,
I can't go in
Salma's
place.  I would if I could," Vin explained.

Stepping away from a quick inspection of Ben's back, Salma conceded with unmasked astonishment on her face.

"I suppose Ben's back can wait.  The repair is actually much better than I thought.  I'll have to ask
C
a
eli
how she did that.  Don't look so worried, Ben.  Vin is right.  I'll be fine in the lobby.  I think the
se people
are just trying to scare me off, and I don't scare so easily."