Chapter 8 - Healing the Dragon
"Get the medical kit from my room! Fast!" Ruth barked, dropping to her knees beside Damon.
Mara ran up the stairs, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She grabbed the heavy black medical kit from Damon’s private bathroom and sprinted back down.
They cut open Damon’s leather coat and shirt. A bullet had grazed his upper right shoulder, tearing through flesh and muscle, bleeding heavily but missing major arteries.
For two hours, Mara—who had taken basic nursing courses before dropping out to work full-time—helped Ruth clean the wound, apply antiseptic, and stitch the deep laceration shut using the surgical supplies in the kit.
Damon gritted his teeth through the pain, refusing local anesthesia, holding Mara’s hand so tightly her bones popped. His amber eyes remained locked on hers through the pain.
"You're an idiot," Mara wept softly as she wrapped tight sterile bandages around his chest and shoulder. "You could have been killed!"
"I promised... I’d come back before dawn," Damon rasped, a faint, tired smile touching his soot-stained lips. "I keep my promises to my family."
Family. The word hung in the quiet air of the foyer, heavy and beautiful.
By sunrise, the fever broke. Damon was moved to the sofa in the sunroom, resting under a warm wool blanket.
At 8:00 AM, the four boys and Lily walked into the sunroom.
When the children saw their father bandaged, pale, and covered in scratches, Julian and Leo burst into tears, running to his side.
"Dad! Are you hurt?!" Julian cried.
"Did the bad guys get you?!" Leo whimpered.
Damon lifted his uninjured left arm, opening it wide to welcome all four boys and Lily into his lap. He pulled them close, holding them against his chest, kissing their heads one by one.
"I'm okay, boys," Damon reassured them, his voice rough but filled with immense love. "The bad guys are going to jail. All of them. Nobody is going to hurt this family ever again."
Eli leaned against Damon’s good shoulder, whispering softly, "Mara saved you."
Damon looked up over his children’s heads at Mara, who stood near the window holding a tray of warm tea. His eyes were filled with an intense, unshakeable devotion.
"Yes, she did, Eli," Damon said softly. "She saved all of us."
At 10:00 AM, Damon’s chief defense attorney, Arthur Vance, arrived at the mansion carrying a heavy briefcase. He walked into the sunroom with a look of absolute triumph on his face.
"Damon," Vance announced, clapping his hands together. "The security feeds from Terminal 4 caught Bryce Caldwell and the Moretti operatives setting the fire on camera. The Federal Prosecutor just dropped all grand jury indictments against you. The arson charges are being filed against Caldwell today. You are completely cleared."
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Mara dropped her tea tray onto the table, her hands flying to her mouth. "Bryce is arrested?"
"Arrested for felony arson, corporate conspiracy, and filing false police reports," Vance smiled broadly. "Miss Ellison... your custody hearing is tomorrow morning. And I will personally represent you in court."
