Page 12 of Mated in Flames

It doesn’t take long for the entire place to turn into a crime scene, officers flooding the fields. They take the guns for evidence and rouse the two poachers enough to force them to their feet and arrest them. Several of the bullets were found nearby and I feel a little sick as I see how close one had actually come to my hiding spot around the side of the barn.

“Whose blood is this?” one of the officers asked.

I eye it. It isn’t a huge puddle.

“One of the neighbours that came to help was shot,” I say, keeping to the truth as much as possible and reminding myself that I can call and correct the story in a few hours, when Warwick won’t freak out about it. “He was injured. His brother went to get him help.”

“Alright,” the officer says. He scribbles something down in a notepad and rips the page out, handing it to me. “That’s my number. When you see your neighbours, ask them to call me so we can discuss what happened.”

“I will,” I say.

When it’s clear that the officers will be here for a while longer as they search the property, I head to the barn to feed the animals, making sure to slip inside before anyone can catch sight of the animals that were there. I don’t know who, exactly, knows about my father’s creatures, but I would definitely prefer to make sure there aren't any other situations with those who think they can take what doesn’t belong to them.

It takes some time to calm the animals and, afterwards, I still need to visit the others. By the time I make it back to the fields, most of the police officers have gone, leaving only the last two as they finish writing a few things in their books. They look up at my approach.

“Thank you for your patience, Luciana,” the officer says. “I’m sorry this has happened to you. We’ve taken a look at the security of your property. Several fences are quite old and short near the back of the property, which is probably how the poachers got in. I would also suggest getting yourself a surveillance system.”

“I will, thank you,” I say tiredly, shaking their hands.

“We’ll let you know if anything else comes up,” the female officer says. “Please make sure your neighbours contact us.”

I nod and watch them leave. As their car meanders down the driveway, I sigh. I would love nothing more than to just fall into bed right now, but I can’t. I still need to deal with Warwick and Dane.

Warwick isn’t in the living room, but that doesn’t surprise me. I enter the guest bedroom, which I’m halfway certain I’ll end up offering the man for the night so he can keep his vigil over his dead brother, to see him sitting cross legged beside the corpse.

“Warwick,” I say quietly. “Would you like anything else to drink?”

Warwick looks up. By now, I would definitely have expected to see some sign of grief in his eyes, especially since he had just spent the last several hours beside his dead brother. But his eyes still shone with determination.

“No, thank you,” he says politely.

As I watch, he looks down at his watch and frowns before glancing out the window, a wary look in his eyes as though he expects someone to be looking in. Then he looks at his watch again, and I wonder what the hell he expects to happen.

No. No, I’m absolutely not going to let this happen. It’s going to hurt, but Warwick needs to accept this. If he doesn’t, it’s just going to be more painful when the realisation hits him.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I say carefully.

He looks up again, confused.

“Loss?” he asks.

I wince. This is so much worse than I thought it was. His denial has resulted in complete delusion.

“You and Dane saved my life,” I continue firmly. “I’m sorry that it cost him his.”

“No,” Warwick says instantly. “It’s alright, Dane didn’t die, Luciana, he just needs time to recover.”

I don’t know how he thought he could convince me of that.

“Warwick…” I start.

“Luciana, thank you, but it’s fine,” Warwick says gently, as though I was in the one in need of comfort. “You must have made a mistake while you were looking for his pulse, he has one now. Why don’t you go rest, you look tired.”

Alright, enough is enough. I’m a doctor and I definitely know exactly where a pulse is, thank you very much. I drop down on the other side of Dane.

“Dane is gone, Warwick,” I say bluntly and he starts. “I’m sorry you’re hurting, but this needs to stop. I’m a doctor, I know he didn’t have a pulse. I’ll show you, now.”

I reach out.

“Wait!” Warwick yelped, suddenly panicked. “Don’t!”

And then Dane bursts into flame.

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