The Dragon King

Chapter Twenty Two

Riverton

Levi sat on the step of the front porch with his arms wrapped around himself, watching with wide eyes as the sheriff stuffed Stella in the backseat of his car. He jerked his head to the side, startled, as someone sat down beside him.

"I dropped you off at the house." Daniel rested his arms on his knees staring at straight. "So how did you end up in this mess?" He finally turned to look at Levi.

Levi stared at him as his heart continued to beat wildly against his chest. He had tried to calm himself down, but every time he thought about how close he had come to tasting a bullet brought back the fear he had felt.

What had Daniel said? Was he even talking to him? He watched as his lips moved up and down, but he was so stunned that he couldn't make out what his guardian was saying.

Just minutes ago, he had almost died. Again. Stella was just going to shoot him without a second thought, but he had somehow dodged her fire. How? He never thought dodging a bullet would've been easy. He didn't even think dodging a bullet from close range was possible. But something happened. Something weird.

He had felt her pull the trigger before she ever had. How did he know she was going to? Maybe it was just by how she was talking and acting. Maybe it was adrenaline, but it had felt different. Like something he'd never felt before. Like he had a sixth sense. Something from inside him told him to take cover, but what? How was it possible?

"Hey." Daniel softly rammed his arm into Levi's with a push. "Everything okay?"

Levi gazed into the deep blue depths of Daniel's eyes. He opened his mouth feeling his hands tremble. "She... she poisoned us."

Daniel cocked his head. "What?" He glanced up and down Levi's body. "Then we have to get you two to the hospital." He began standing to his feet when Levi gestured for him to stop.

"No, not now." He swallowed. "What the doctors say was food poisoning. It wasn't. She did it. She confessed."

Daniel furrowed his brow. "But why would she do something like that? You told me that she was helping you. She had become a friend to you."

Levi shook his head finally coming to terms with what Stella had said. "I don't think she wanted to. I think someone forced her. She said that if she didn't kill me then they would kill her." He shrugged. "Why would someone do that? Who would want me dead? I don't know anyone. I don't even know myself. What kind of threat could I be?"

Daniel sighed. "Well, unfortunately, because you don't have you memories, you don't know what kind of enemies you could have out there. There's a very good chance that someone is trying to take an advantage of this opportunity."

Levi lowered his head. He had never thought about it that way. Not having his memories in a town he supposed he had lived in for a while could mean there were multiple people out there who wanted him dead. Especially if Imani was right about him being a thief. Who knew what he had stolen. Perhaps someone wanted revenge for something he had taken awhile ago, but who would be crazy enough to threaten the life of someone else just to get at him? Make Stella do their dirty work.

"Don't worry," Daniel continued. "I'll have some men ask around town looking for whoever Stella could've been working with, and as long as you listen to me, I can keep you safe."

Levi jerked himself away as Daniel placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Don't touch me!" He shook as his nerves overtook him. He balled his hands into fists, and clenched his eyes shut as he sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just still unsettled from the event." He relaxed his hands as he stared at the ground. "I could've died."