“He’s got a head injury,” Carson said, taking off his t-shirt and wrapping it around Henri’s head in an effort to stem the bleeding. “This is as much as I dare do.”
“Shouldn’t we get him to a hospital?” asked Fionn.
“Yeah,” Carson replied. “But I don’t know where the closest paranormal one is in Paris.”
“What about Ian? Or maybe Mac? Wouldn’t they know?” asked Fionn.
“Possibly,” Carson replied as he dialed a number. “Dire Enterprises has a medical division. I’m trying them first since they deal with paranormal doctors all over the world.”
“The little boy is okay…just scared,” Hunter said, crouching down beside his mate. “I found his nanny who was frantically looking for him. He got away from her, searching for his red balloon which came untied from his wrist.”
“Yes, perfect,” Carson said, speaking to someone on his phone. “Text me the address and we’ll take him there immediately. Thanks.” Ending the call, he looked at Hunter. “We need to get Henri to a doctor right away. Can you help me lift him into the back seat?”
Glancing at some locals beginning to gather, Hunter murmured, “I can do it myself.” Jerking his head at the gawkers, he added, “Let’s get out of here before someone calls the police.”
“Agreed,” Carson replied, “but first I need to find the car keys. Gimme a minute.” Moving Henri’s jacket aside, he searched his pockets, finally finding them. “Got ‘em. Be careful.”
Nodding, Hunter slid one arm under Henri’s back and the other under his knees. Then rising carefully, he lifted himfrom the street before moving slowly to the SUV. After Carson opened the back-passenger door, Hunter carefully placed Henri on the back seat, tucking Carson’s jacket around him. “I’m going to ride back here with him, and pet, you sit up front with Carson, okay?”
“Is Henri going to be all right?” Fionn asked quietly, uncertainty in his voice.
“I don’t know, babe,” Hunter replied, “but hopefully the doc will be able to help him.”
“C’mon, Fionn,” Carson urged, “let’s get going.” Once they were seat-belted in, he checked his phone, finding the text from Dire Medical. Entering the address into his GPS app, Carson started the car. “Everyone ready?” After hearing yeses, Carson put the SUV into gear and pulled out into traffic.
~/~/~/~/~
“Have a seat, Zane,” said Jackson, waving at the chair in front of his desk.
Sitting down, Zane looked over and saw Cody and Dylon on the love seat. Turning his attention back to Jackson, he asked, “What’s up?”
“Mom asked for me this morning. She had a dream about her friend who was with her when the massacre occurred. According to the dream, Josiah found out Mom and her friend witnessed it.” Pausing, Jackson glanced over to Cody before continuing. “He’s sent a hunting party after her friend with orders to kill her.”
Staring in disbelief at his brother, Zane sat frozen, his worst nightmare now a reality—Josiah most likely knew his mother was alive—and that put her in danger, also. All those hours spent searching for evidence of the enforcers were just a waste of time if Steel was correctabout Josiah killing them. His uncle wouldn’t quit; Zane knew that from the way Josiah had relentlessly hunted him and his brothers for all these years. He had failed to protect his mother?again.
Watching the fear, anger and finally guilt crossing Zane’s face, Jackson rose and approached his brother, bending down, hugging him, murmuring, “Hey, it’s not your fault. Josiah will answer for all he’s done, but Mom needs you…right now.”
Zane let Jackson’s words seep into his heart, helping to sooth the pain there, while the physical contact brought him back to the present problem they now had to deal with. Giving a quick nod to assure Jackson he could count on him, he asked, “Do you think Josiah will send someone to kill Mom?”
Sitting back down, Jackson replied, “If our uncle was a rational person, I would say no, but…”
“He’s not,” Zane finished Jackson’s sentence. “So, what do you need me to do? See if I can find out what he’s planning?”
“Before we get to that, there’s more,” Jackson said. “Cody had a vision tonight about Mom’s friend, Willow Thatcher. She’s in New York City. I need you to find out where she is so we can get to her before Josiah does. And Zane…according to the vision, there isn’t much time.”
“I’ll get right on it as soon as I tell David where I’ll be,” replied Zane. Then, turning to Cody he asked, “Was there anything else in the vision that might help me?”
“Nothing other than she is a cat shifter,” Cody said.
“What kind?” asked Zane.
“A tiger, but I don’t know which species,” Cody answered.
“That’s okay, it’s a starting point.” Zane stood. “What about Mom? I think she needs more protection.”
“I agree,” Jackson said. “Groose is already on it and Dylon will be coordinating with him to make sure no one gets close to her without my permission.”
Nodding, Zane said, “If you need me for guard duty let me know. I can do my research anywhere with my laptop.”
