Secrets of the Dragon’s Heart (Mysteries of Dragon’s Island #6)

Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

***CAMERON***

O ne end of the hot air balloon resting on his shoulder, Cameron followed Max down to the beach, trying to ignore the crowd that had gathered and the boats that bobbed off the shore. “For someone who had no idea what they were doing, you certainly got everyone’s attention,” he said to Kennedy, who was walking next to him. “I wonder if Walter is on one of those boats?”

“Oh, he’s out there. He posted something about us perpetuating a hoax, and he swears that the dragon he saw was real, I didn’t think he knew what that word meant,” Kennedy said, an evil glint in her eyes. “He’s so sure of himself, he’s not going to back down, and he deserves everything he gets. Maybe this will end this thing between us once and for all.”

“Remind me not to get on your bad side,” he said, grinning at her. “You’re vicious when you’re angry.”

“You could never get on my bad side,” she said. “You have no idea what this man has put me through. He’s almost as bad as my last boyfriend.”

“Ex-boyfriend, you mean,” Cameron said, unable to hide the flare of jealousy. “You never mentioned him. ”

“He’s not worth mentioning; he stole my byline and then got me fired from the paper where we were both working,” she said. “I used to have really lousy taste in men.”

“Used to?” Cameron asked.

“Well, you’re definitely not a loser,” she said, then shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe I ended up with the wrong guy every time because I had to wait to find you.”

“Are there any more ex-boyfriends I should know about?” he asked, trying to keep his voice light. “Just so there aren’t any surprises.”

“I just married you, Cameron,” she said, looking at him. There’s no one for me but you, and there never will be.”

“Good, I just wanted to make sure,” he said, grinning at her. “You’re everything to me, Kennedy.”

“Will you two knock that off,” Max growled. “You’re starting to gross me out. Save it for the council.”

“I have something special planned for us later,” he said, then looked over his shoulder at Max. “It was Max’s idea.”

“Oh, God, don’t remind me,” Max said, a scowl on his face. “All this love crap is making me sick, it makes perfectly normal men act like…well, I don’t know, but it’s never going to happen to me, no matter what this island thinks. Now, can we just get on with this balloon thing? I’d like all these people to get away from my island.”

Stella, Keith, Montgomery, and Mateo were already on the beach setting up the basket and the blower that would fill the balloon with hot air and send it soaring into the sky. Harrison waved to them from his post, keeping the crowd back, and Marie was already shouting orders at them as they set the canvas-wrapped bundle down on the sand and then began to unwrap it. A few minutes later, the balloon was spread out on the sand, the emerald, brown, and gold fabric shimmering in the sunlight, and he stood staring down at it for a second, a weird feeling in his stomach .

“I think we’re ready to start,” Kennedy said, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. “Are you ready?”

He nodded. “You were right, it is a little strange,” he said, then shrugged. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

Keith made everyone back away from the burner. There was a loud pop, and then the sound of hot air rushed through the blower. They all looked at each other and sighed with relief when the balloon began to fill with air. Then, they took their places on the guide ropes, watching as the dragon slowly came to life. There was a gasp from the crowd on the beach, then excited conversation and cheering from the people on the boats off shore, and Cameron looked over at her and grinned.

“Do you want to go for a ride?” he asked. “It seems only fitting.”

“Really?” Kennedy asked. “Will it hold us?”

“There’s only one way to find out,” he said, grinning at her. “Are you up for a little adventure?”

“With you by my side, I’m up for anything,” she said. “Let’s do this.”

He lifted Kennedy into the basket, climbed in after her, gave everyone the thumbs up, and then pulled the trigger on the blower. The balloon lifted in the air, then began to float out toward the ocean, but down below, Max and the others pulled on the rope bringing them back. They stayed up in the air for a long time, giving everyone enough time to take lots of video and pictures, then slowly began to make their descent, landing with a thump back on the beach.

A cheer went up around them, and he jumped out of the basket. He was exhilarated by the ride and a little repulsed by the image of himself floating in the air for everyone to see. He helped Kennedy out of the basket, relieved to see Keith stepping up behind them to take control of the balloon so they could make their escape, but before they could move, Walter Brighton came staggering out of the trees.

“This is all wrong, this is not what I saw, this is not what’s in the pictures. I saw him, he turned into a dragon, it wasn’t a balloon, it was real, it chased off the tiger, this is all a hoax,” he screamed, staggering toward them and pointing at Cameron, but then he turned his attention to Kennedy. “And you, you little bitch, I won’t let you do this to me again. This was the story of a lifetime. You aren’t going to take it away from me, not again.”

Walter paused for a second, and he thought his rant was over, but his hand dropped to his side, then came back up, the glint of metal in the sun nearly blinding him. Harrison was already on the move, but he could see that he wasn’t going to make it in time, so he stepped in front of Kennedy. A split second later, the report of a gun shot ran out over the beach; he felt a burning sting in his shoulder, and the beach erupted into screams, but Kennedy was safely behind him, which was all that mattered to him.

***Kennedy***

Kennedy heard the gunshot, felt a spray of something warm on her chest, and looked down, surprised for a second to find herself covered in blood. It took her a second to decide that since nothing hurt, she hadn’t been shot, then she realized where the blood had come from. Trying not to panic when she saw the growing red stain on Cameron’s shoulder, she gently put her hand on his back, her brain screaming at her that he’d been shot.

He staggered for a second before dropping to the ground with a thud and rolling onto his back. “Oh, no, Cameron,” she cried, crumpling onto the sand next to him. “Oh, please don’t be dead, you can’t be, I just found you. ”

Hands fluttering over the wounded shoulder, she looked up to see Walter being carted off in handcuffs, his face a bloody mess. “Please help, someone help,” she cried. “Cameron needs a doctor, he’s been shot.”

There was a commotion around her, but all she could see was the man she loved lying on the ground, his face slowly turning white as blood poured out of the wound. Tearing off her shirt, she stuffed it up against the gaping hole in his shoulder, then pressed as hard as she could. Cameron let out a groan of pain and opened his eyes, but they fluttered closed again only a second later.

“Hey there,” a woman said, kneeling next to her. “I’m Dr. Hernandez. Let’s see what we’ve got here.”

“It’s bleeding really bad, I’m scared to let go,” she said, shaking her head. “He’s already lost a lot of blood.”

“It will be okay, Kennedy. Let the doctor look,” Stella said, crouching next to her and wrapping a jacket around her shoulders. “I promise he’ll be okay; he just needs some time.”

She looked over at Stella, trying to suck air into her lungs. “He was protecting me,” she said, starting to sob. “He can’t die. I never even told him that I love him.”

“Stop crying, sweetheart,” Cameron said, his voice hoarse. “I’m not dead yet. Let the doctor look at me.”

“Oh, Cameron, you’re alive,” she gasped, pulling her hands back. “I thought I was going to lose you. I thought you were going to die.”

“It’s going to take a lot more than a bullet to take me down,” he said, reaching up and taking her hand. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. I probably should have warned you about that.”

“There now, that doesn’t look so bad,” the doctor said, leaning back so she could see. “The bullet went all the way through, and the bleeding has almost stopped. This should heal nicely. Do you think you can get up? I’d like to get you over to the infirmary.”

She could only stare at the wound, which had already begun to heal. “But…but…” she stammered, then shook her head and looked down at Cameron.

“We’re fast healers, I’m sorry, I should have told you,” he said. “I should be fine in a couple of hours.”

Relief poured through her, followed by a wave of anger. “You big jerk, don’t you think that was something I should have known?” she said, glaring at him. “I think you and I had better have a long talk. What else have you been hiding?”

“I’ll tell you everything you want to know, as long as you promise not to cry again,” he said, then hesitated. “Oh, and by the way, I love you too.”

“You heard that?” she asked, wanting to punch him. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“Because you didn’t give me the chance,” he said. “I’m going to say it again. I love you, Kennedy, I love you with all my heart.”

“I love you too, Cameron,” she said, throwing herself on top of him. “Please don’t ever scare me like that again. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

He wrapped his good arm around her. “I’m not going anywhere for a long time,” he said. “You’re stuck with me whether you like it or not.”

“We should really get him over to the infirmary,” the doctor interrupted. “I want to get that wound cleaned up and have a better look at it.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, pulling herself off of Cameron. “I got carried away.”

Cameron laughed. “She does that a lot,” he said, slowly sitting up. “I think I can walk if someone can help me up off the ground.”

Kennedy got to her feet, but just as she reached for Cameron, a voice broke through the nervous chatter around them. “What’s going on around here? Where is my son?” a woman demanded, pushing her way through the crowd. “Get out of my way all of you. Do you know who I am?”

The crowd parted to reveal an older woman dressed in a designer suit, a man trailing behind her, a stormy look on his face. “Can’t someone do something about all this sand?” she demanded as her heels sank into the ground. Then she saw Cameron lying on the ground.

Cameron groaned. “Just what we need,” he whispered, slowly getting to his feet with her help. “Those are my parents.”

“Your parents,” she repeated, a sick feeling in her stomach. “They don’t look very nice.”

“I’m sorry, Kennedy, they’re not. I didn’t want you to meet them this way,” he said. “Just let me do the talking. It will be okay.”

“I demand to know what’s going on around here!” Cameron’s mother screeched, then she saw her son. “You’re bleeding. He’s bleeding, someone get a doctor, we need a doctor.”

“I’m a doctor, and your son is going to be just fine,” Dr. Hernandez said, cutting off whatever else the woman was going to say. “We’re moving up to the infirmary right now, if you could please step out of the way.”