"Physical touch. Try it."
Drake took a deep breath and looked at Joey. She was so pale, and her eyes were closed. His heart was breaking just thinking about losing her. He had to do whatever it took to save her.
He reached up and untied the knot that he had tied earlier. He moved his shirt so the wound laid out in the open. He placed his hand across her stomach to cover as much of the gash as he could before he bowed his head.
Happy thoughts were all that he allowed himself to think of. Riding their horses on the trails. Making love by the lake. Getting married and having children. He needed her, as much as he needed air to breathe. She was so much a part of his life and soul that if she died, he'd probably join her sooner rather than later.
His hand was warm where it met her skin, and it glowed with just the barest of a green color. The healing energy flowed between them, and Drake poured everything he had into the contact.
He needed her to be healthy and happy. He wanted to make her happy for the rest of her life. He needed her to enjoy the rest of his own.
She stirred a moment before he felt her place a hand on his. He opened his eyes to find her staring at him, pain free and wide awake.
"Thank you."
He glanced at his hand. A faint green light disappeared as he watched, and while the blood now dried on her skin, the wound itself was gone. Not even so much as a scar remained.
"I did it." Shocked at himself, he looked up at Colton. "I actually did it."
"I told you that you'd be surprised."
Joey sat up and put her arms around him. "Thank you."
Her hug was all the thanks he needed. He pulled her into a tighter embrace. "Don't ever scare me like that again."
She laughed and kissed the side of his neck. "I'll do my best."
When they parted, Joey glanced around the bedroom. "Do you think it's tacky of me to dig around and see if I can find a new shirt?" She glanced at Drake's bare chest. "Although, I'd prefer to keep you just like you are."
"Oh, my God," Colton exclaimed. with a grin "Really? I don't like seeing his half-naked ass hanging around."
Drake stood up, shaking his head. "See if you can find me one, too. I want to go back upstairs and finish looking through that office. Make sure there aren't anymore surprises headed our way."
Joey joined them a few minutes later and tossed a shirt to him. She had changed and cleaned up a bit. Her hair was back in a neat ponytail, and her color had completely returned. She let out a low whistle as she held a poster. "He told me this is what he wanted, but I didn't realize he had already made plans like this."
Drake told her about the book that had led them there. "I have no idea how many names in that list were here and we disposed of them, but we have to assume that there are more of those bats out in the world."
"What are we going to do with this place?" she asked.
Colton's jaw clenched. "Burn it down. With dragon fire so we don't attract attention or risk someone seeing the smoke."
Once they made sure the buildings were all vacant and there weren't any animals around, Drake and Colton made quick work of incinerating the structures before they headed back to the Hale ranch. This time it didn't take much convincing for Joey to climb on his back.
Once Vinia was filled in on everything that had happened, she turned to Joey. "Do you think you can find the idol?"
Drake watched as Joey shrugged. "I have no idea. I'll go through my dad's journals and see if he mentions anything about it."
Colton stood behind his mother. "So, if we happen to find this damned idol..."
"We can go home?" Sarah finished the sentence for him as she strolled into the kitchen. "Is that what we want to do?"
Drake stared at Joey, suddenly scared to death. What would she want?
Chapter Twenty Nine: Finding the Answers
Josephine “Joey” Preston
Joey waited for Drake to catch up as they headed to the yellow barn that Vinia had opened up to allow all of the competitors to use for their horses. She had seen the panic in his face at Sarah's question, but she wasn't sure how to answer him yet when he asked her to go with them.
