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Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The months went by and Mary made many visits to the dragon reserve, more to see Donovan, with whom she was staying, than Steve. However, the two of them always took advantage of these visits to spend time together, as well as with little Joan. Mary was blossoming in her relationship with Donovan and was beginning to consider moving in with him. Steve continued to keep an eye on the Russian, but was reassured by the latter's attitude towards his sister and niece, and relaxed as the months went by.

For his part, Steve continued to develop his businesses, and as soon as the fine weather returned, he was out almost every day. He took more and more travelers to sleep in the mountains and spent about half his nights away from his man, but the couple put up with it. They were happy together and nothing could disturb their happiness, nothing except a phone call from Danny.

"Hey, Danno! How are you?" asked Steve, picking up the phone as he enjoyed one of those rare days when he and Charlie were off at the same time.

¨Steve, listen to me carefully.¨

¨What's going on?"¨

The former military man straightened up on the sofa, his body tense. Charlie looked at him worriedly.

"Wo Fat has escaped and contacted us.¨

¨What?¨

¨He let us know he was going to find you and that he knew where to find you.¨

¨But how?¨

¨I don't know, but I suspect your mother. She visited him several times in prison."

It seemed to Steve that he was going back more than a year, that the stress of his life in Hawaii or as a soldier was catching up with him and pinning him down. The fear that Wo Fat or his mother would come after the people he loved most twisted his stomach.

"Do you think Mary...¨

¨I don't know, better warn her.¨

¨I know someone who can protect her.¨

¨Then warn her and Charlie.¨

¨Yeah, I'll do that.¨

¨Steve, Chin and I will come to Europe and work with Interpol and the Romanian police to get him, okay?¨

¨OK, keep me posted.¨

¨Sure."

They greeted each other and Steve hung up. He took his head in his hands and remained silent for a moment, he could feel his man's gaze on him, he couldn't find the words to tell him this without worrying him.

"What's going on, dragoste?" the dragon caretaker finally asked.

¨I need to see Donovan, I'll explain at his place. Come on."

Charlie agreed not to ask any more questions, and together they went to his best friend's house. Steve explained the details of what had happened in Hawaii between Wo Fat, his mother and himself, and finally revealed what Danny had just told him. Charlie lost all color when he heard the news and Steve put an arm around his waist to support him. He understood his man's reaction: his mother had wanted to kill him and Wo Fat had tortured the soldier for hours.

"Do you think one of them might go after Mary and Joan?" asked Donovan, his face closed.

¨Yes, to put pressure on me,¨ replied Steve.

¨I'm going to put safeguard spells on her house and be with her as much as possible. I've got leave to take."

The American thanked his friend and went home with Charlie. The Englishman had regained some of his color, but fear was written all over his face. Steve felt bad, and knew there was nothing he could do to reassure his man, who felt as if he'd been plunged back into the hours of anguish he'd experienced in the early part of their relationship. They went to bed as soon as they arrived home, skipping dinner, and whispered for a while about the situation. The former soldier promised his lover to be careful, but refused to cancel his Muggle-side hikes. He knew this decision was stressing his wizard, but he didn't want to live in fear and hide in the reserve. He also made Charlie promise to be careful and asked him not to go looking for him if anything happened to him, except that his lover refused. He knew he wouldn't be able to hide and hope Steve would come back to him without doing anything. The former soldier didn't like this answer, but he couldn't blame Charlie, because he knew he wouldn't be able to do it either. The wizard didn't sleep that night, and neither did Steve, the former hugging the latter as if he might be torn from him at any minute.

In the morning, the couple had a hard time leaving for work, not because they were tired, but because they were afraid something might happen to the other. Fortunately, the hike Steve had planned was on the wizard's side, or Charlie would never have let him go alone.

The weeks passed, but the tension didn't ease for the couple. Danny called Steve every three or four days to let him know what he knew, and the news was not reassuring: Wo Fat was closing in on them, but every time he was spotted somewhere, he was gone before the police arrived.

Charlie's mood was increasingly gloomy, and he was beginning to lose his jovial, good-natured side. He was still attentive to Steve, still showed him love and was still as benevolent as ever, but his face closed as soon as he went off into his thoughts. The Hawaiian did his best to take his mind off things, but he couldn't stop him thinking, especially once they'd gone to bed. Donovan also joined in Steve's efforts to take his mind off the Englishman and try to put a smile back on his face, but it only worked for a few hours.

The three men hoped that Wo Fat and Doris would soon be arrested, for the sake of all three of them, but especially for Charlie's sanity. The worst part was when Steve had to go to the Muggle side, the wizard would come with him whenever he could or send him numerous messages if he couldn't accompany him. Steve suffered from this overprotection, but he took it in his stride, the distress he saw in his man made his heart ache too much.

Steve was, however, relieved that Charlie wasn't with him when, in the middle of a Muggle-side hike, the sound of a gun being cocked rang out behind him. He reached for his portkey, but the bang echoed through the mountains and pain shot through his shoulder. Before he could make a move, he was knocked unconscious.

When he came to, he found that his shoulder had been bandaged with his own T-shirt and that he was tied shirtless and barefoot to a chair by medical restraints. He was in a basement with exposed pipes and half-empty shelves against the walls, as well as a screen facing him. Wo Fat stood between him and the screen. For the first time, Steve saw the burn marks on the left side of his face and realized that the monster he was on the inside could now be seen on the outside too. The absence of Charlie or Mary in the room made him hope that his nemesis hadn't attacked his loved ones, and he hoped they were safe.

Standing behind the latter were an athletic black woman, her hair almost shaved, and an Asian man whom Steve recognized as the man who had so worried him at Bucharest airport after his last encounter with Wo Fat. The former soldier shuddered as he realized he'd been right to suspect wizards of being associated with the criminal, and worried for Charlie.

He had no time to worry or think further, however, as the woman came up behind him, pulled his head back and covered his face with a towel, while the sound of running water reached him.