Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 53081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
He watched in fascination as she poured a bottle of clean water over the wound before examining it closer. “It’s not deep. You’ll probably need stitches, but I don’t think any muscle, tendons, or ligaments were involved.”
The police officer held up a first-aid kit that was already open.
Isla reached in to grab a roll of gauze. She quickly opened it, carefully unrolled a long length, cut it off, and pressed it to the wound before wrapping an ace bandage around it several times to secure it in place.
Caesar ignored the long gash because he’d rather be watching his woman work. She was amazing, and he loved her so much it hurt.
“Is he stable enough to answer questions?” the officer asked.
“Yes. He’ll be fine. They both will,” Isla responded. “Stubborn but not dying.”
She started to step out of the way, but Caesar stopped her by reaching out to grab her wrist so he could haul her toward him. As soon as she was close enough, he wrapped a hand around the back of her head and pulled her ear down to his mouth. “I love you.”
She gasped as he leaned back, but she finally smiled at him. “I love you, too, Daddy,” she whispered.
“Will you make sure everyone else is okay while I speak to the officer?”
“Yes. I’m going to see if they need me on the other boat.”
Caesar stiffened and wrapped his hand fully around her bicep. “No. Too risky.”
She narrowed her gaze at him. “I’m a medical professional first and foremost. I tend to wounded people no matter who they are or what they’ve done.”
“Those men intended to kill you, Isla,” he reminded her.
“And lucky for them, they did not succeed, so I’m alive to make sure they don’t die.”
The police officer stopped her with a gentle hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, ma’am. The officers on the other boats have medical training. And a medic is pulling up now. You’re better off staying here.”
Isla looked around at the same time as Caesar. Sure enough, another boat was pulling up. She sighed and took a deep breath before dropping down onto the bench next to Caesar.
Relief flooded him. The thought of her working on those other divers made his chest tight. He couldn’t have stopped her but was grateful he hadn’t needed to try.
“So, what happens now?” Isla asked Caesar several hours later when all of them were back in the basement of Danger Bluff.
Caesar had an arm around her where she sat next to him on the couch. He wanted to haul her onto his lap, but she’d refused over and over because of his leg.
His leg was fine. Ten stitches that had been hardly necessary considering how shallow the wound was. Magnus had already arranged for a doctor to come to Danger Bluff before the rest of them had returned to the main building.
He stroked her arm. “The Ministry of Culture and Heritage has been informed of the location. They’ll take over from here and send divers in to recover anything that might be buried in the area we mapped for them. It’s unlawful for citizens to disturb possible locations of buried treasure.”
“What’s going to happen to those two divers?” Zara asked. Since she’d been under the water with them and seen the entire event, she was far more bitter about the fate of those men.
Caesar couldn’t blame her. “One of them is in stable condition in the hospital. The other is still in surgery but is expected to pull through. They will be prosecuted. What we do know is that they are the same men who rented the boat that passed by us several times the other day.”
Isla shivered. “How do we know there aren’t dozens of other people also looking for the treasure?”
Caesar hugged her closer and kissed her temple. “We don’t,” he murmured.
Everyone sat in silence, letting that sink in. Caesar wasn’t sure how to proceed, but he hoped to speak to Kingsley first thing tomorrow to figure out how to put an end to this madness. How many people knew about the map? It could be hundreds.
Caesar drew in a breath. “The good news is The Ministry of Culture and Heritage is sending someone to pick up the map itself. At least it will be in the hands of the right people who can preserve it. In addition, they will be sending a dive team to search the waters in that area. Whatever else is down there will be collected, which will make looting far less interesting to anyone out there still hoping to make a buck off of Isla’s grandfather’s treasure map.”
Isla relaxed slightly against him, leaning her head on his shoulder. “I can’t believe how much trouble I’ve caused,” she murmured.
Caesar gave her a squeeze. “Stop that. We’ve been over this. It’s not your fault. All you did was follow through on a quest your grandfather had intended to take. There was no way either he or you could have known how it would pan out.”