The Darkness Beyond Part 21

"Cullen and I were on our way to grab a bite to eat, but obviously that's not happening."

Larem continued to stare down the hall as if seeing something other than elevators and office doors, his hand rubbing his upper thigh. His demeanor had taken on the same hard edge as Cullen's. When he didn't immediately respond, Cody took a step back, a little leery of bothering him.

As if breaking free of his mood, Larem shuddered slightly before turning to face Cody.

"I didn't mean to ignore you. I find it difficult to stand here and do nothing when my friends are fighting for their lives."

"I'm sorry." What else could he say?

Larem's pale eyes looked so sad. "Me, too. As my friend Hunter reminds me, we can only play the cards we are dealt. Why don't we both get out of here for a while? We'll have to take Chance with us, but I know a place with great takeout. If you don't mind, we'll take it to the animal shelter where I volunteer. Maybe you can help me there until Cullen is back."

Cody nodded and followed Larem out.

Todd studied the printouts Ray had slipped to him before leaving for the day. The man was still b.i.t.c.hing about the Morrison woman punching him and the revenge he was planning when she returned. Personally, Todd figured spending time as a plaything for their Kalith allies was punishment enough, but then it hadn't been his nose she'd broken.

If Ray's nose surgery went well, he'd be back in a few days. Until he returned, though, it was up to Todd to monitor what was going on out in Seattle.

Rumor had it that one of the Paladins had gone missing. A couple of them had been away from the Seattle office briefly. No one seemed to know where they'd been, although Todd had his suspicions. Wherever it was, they'd evidently returned with a new recruit in tow. Great. Just what the world needed-another loose cannon trained in the fine art of killing everything in sight.

Okay, maybe that was cold, but it was true. No one he knew ever claimed Paladins were all that stable, just that they were the most capable means to prevent an all-out invasion of alien crazies.

Todd had dedicated most of his working life to providing the supplies and equipment needed to keep the whole organization running smoothly. So what if he'd siphoned off a few bucks here and there for his own use? He deserved some compensation for having to deal with the freaks.

Flying under the radar while he did it was the hard part. With that in mind, he'd better spend some quality time with those printouts. If Devlin Bane's boys were hot on Todd's trail, maybe it was time to take that vacation his wife had been nagging him about.

Too bad he'd be going without her.

Reggie's ears were ringing, and she couldn't catch her breath. Everything ached. Absolutely everything. She really, really hoped that last problem was due to the fact that D.J. was on top of her. When he didn't immediately roll off, she felt the first stirrings of panic setting in.

"D.J., are you okay?"

Still no response. She waited another heartbeat or two, and then tried to wiggle out from underneath him. As soon as she moved, he spoke, his voice a rough whisper.

"Hold still, Reggie, and give me a minute. The side of the trail has given way. We're poised at the edge, and I'm not sure how stable it is."

He shifted a little to her right side, his weight grinding her farther into the rocky ground. She wasn't about to complain about the pain, not when he was trying to keep her alive. If she didn't trust him by now, she never would.

"On a count of three, I'm going to roll to the right and take you with me. Once we're on more solid ground, we'll a.s.sess the damage."

His hold on her tightened as he counted off in a quiet murmur. Then he abruptly rolled to the side, jerking her off the ground and literally tossing her about a yard to his right. She landed in a painful heap against the base of a tree. D.J. scrambled after her.

When she pushed herself up, she got her first look at their world postexplosion. All around them trees were uprooted and boulders shattered. The cave entrance was gone, buried in a tumble of dirt and rocks. There was no sign of Kolar. Considering that he'd been at the center of the blast, that came as no surprise.

It had only been by sheer blind luck that a rocky shelf had shielded D.J. and herself from the worst of the blast. A few nicks and bruises weren't much in the grand scheme of things.

"Are you all right?"

She suspected she'd yelled the words because of the way D.J. flinched before he nodded.

"Sorry about that," she mouthed. "My ears are seriously screwed up."

"Not a problem."

He stood and took a couple of steps, not looking all that steady himself. At least he had the good sense to stay in one place until he was sure his legs would support him. That's when she noticed the trickle of blood pouring down his arm.

"You're hurt!"

Okay, she hollered that, too, but who could blame her? He actually looked puzzled until she pointed at the gash on his forearm.

"Let me check you over."

"I'm okay." He swiped at the blood with the hem of his tunic. "It's nothing."

Oh, brother. "I don't need that macho c.r.a.p from you. Now let me clean that up before it gets infected."

"Trust me. It won't."

She ignored his protests as she took hold of his arm and turned it around to get a better look at the wound. There was a large sliver of wood embedded in the cut.

She needed more than just the hem of his tunic to clean the wound. Looking around, she spotted the strap of her pack peeking up from out of the rubble.

"Stay here a minute."

He sighed but did as ordered. When she unearthed her meager store of supplies, she pulled out her water bottle and soaked a piece of the fabric he'd cut off her pants to use as a washcloth.

"This is going to hurt."

"I'll try to be brave," he promised even though his dark eyes showed more amus.e.m.e.nt than pain.

"Smart-a.s.s."

She tugged the splinter free and let the wound bleed itself clean. After a few seconds, she washed the area as best she could with the cloth. Then she used a strip of the other piece of fabric to bind the gash. He also had a scattering of smaller cuts on his cheek and the back of his neck. She wiped them clean of dust and blood.

"I wish I had some antibiotic ointment to put on those."

"I'll be fine, Reggie. Now, if you're done playing doctor, I need to check on something. I'll be right back."

He started clambering over the rocks up toward where the cave had been. She wanted to make him come right back, not risk it. With each step, he moved farther from her across the slippery slope of loose rock. The heartbeat that had barely returned to normal picked up speed again. She was relieved when he finally dropped down to scramble on all fours.

With a shout of triumph, he pulled a sword out of the gravel. She had no idea if it was the one he'd been fighting with, but he seemed sure of it. He laid it to the side as he continued on his way.

Just before he reached the crest of the slope, he paused to call back to her. "I'll be out of sight, but I'm not going far. The damage past here isn't as bad. I'm hoping to retrieve the supplies I stashed."

"Be careful."

"Believe it or not, I usually am." He grinned at her just before he vanished from sight.

While he was gone, she did some cautious exploring of her own. She did a quick survey of the contents of her pack. It had been pretty squashed, but at least granola-bar crumbs were still edible.

She located D.J.'s other pack and his cloak. She was accruing a small pile of treasures. Where had their guns gone? It was hard to orient herself because the landscape had changed so drastically, but she thought D.J. had tossed his over near the base of the bushes above her.

She climbed up, sliding back one step for each three she went forward. Success! She checked the safety before making her way back to her cache of supplies.

D.J. crested the hill with a large duffel slung over his shoulder. He showed the good sense to sit down and cross the last distance in a controlled slide.

When he reached her side, he nodded toward the pile beside her. "I see you've been busy, too."

She held out his gun. "Sorry, but I'm afraid mine is buried under all that mess."

"Don't sweat it." He checked the gun over with quiet efficiency and then tucked it back in his waistband.

He stood up again to look around. "We should really get moving again, but if you need to rest a bit longer, say so. We've got a little time."

Or not. From the way his eyes kept fanning the area, she suspected he was only saying that for her sake. Sitting there on the hillside, they were both too exposed. The last thing she wanted was to see D.J. fighting for both their lives-again. She closed her eyes, wishing her memory came with a Delete b.u.t.ton to clear away those horrific images.

"I'm fine." Not really and maybe not ever.

He knew it, too. After setting his duffel aside, he offered her a hand up off the ground and immediately wrapped her in his arms. He rested his chin on top of her head as his hand stroked her back in slow, gentle circles.

"I bet you're counting the minutes until you get home and can forget all about me."

What could she say to that? Yes, she hated his world, his life, but she didn't hate him. Far from it, even if she couldn't decipher exactly what she did feel for him, not with all of her emotions tangled up in one big knot with a bow made of fear.

"I'll never regret meeting you, D.J."

Evidently he wasn't buying it. "Give it time, Reggie. Right now you need me, and I get that. But once this is all over, you're going to want a big dose of normal back in your life. You'll never have that hanging around with me."

Before she could think of what to say to that, he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head and stepped back.

"We'd better hit the road. I don't know how well noise carries in this thin air. But if Kolar's buddies are anywhere in the vicinity, they're bound to have noticed the dust cloud from the explosion."

"Okay, I'll be right behind you."

D.J. shouldered his duffel and adjusted his sword in its scabbard before walking away. As he did, she finally realized what she should've said to him: that normal was seriously overrated if it meant that a man like D.J. had to be on the outside looking in.

Chapter 18.

Cullen leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. "I don't know about you, Cody my man, but I'm dead on my feet."

No arguments there. "I'm pretty sure my brain shut down an hour ago."

"Let me go see what Devlin's plans are for you."

Earlier, Cody had hung out at the animal shelter with Larem for about three hours before Cullen had called them back. Playing with the puppies had been a nice distraction. All the fur b.a.l.l.s had asked of him was a good scratch and a couple of treats.

Larem and Chance had walked him back to headquarters before taking off to meet up with Sasha. Turned out there were other people from Kalithia who'd hooked up with people in the Seattle area. Aliens with human lovers. Cody wasn't sure how he felt about that. Still, he'd met two of the three and liked them both. Not to mention that the third one lived with Cullen. So maybe it was okay, if a bit weird.

On the way back, Cullen had met them in the alley outside headquarters, making Cody feel rather like a baton being handed off in a relay race. He wondered whose turn it was next and how long the race was going to last. If it felt like forever to him, how much worse was it for Reggie?

That is, if her race hadn't already ended with that explosion. No, d.a.m.n it, he wouldn't-couldn't-think that way. She was fine. She had to be. D.J. was with her, and they were on their way home.

He rubbed away the sudden burn in his eyes. He was exhausted. Part of that was simple lack of sleep. The other was having his normal life ripped out by the roots to be replanted in the world of the Paladins. Even if this all worked out in the best possible way, he couldn't go back to his old life knowing what he now knew.

Right now his thoughts were whirling in circles and getting nowhere, an indication of how burned out he was. He forced his eyes open to see that Cullen was on his way back.

Cullen dropped down in his chair. "I'm going to shut down for now and head home. We'll pick up again first thing in the morning. Devlin wants to see you in his office."

Did that have an ominous sound to it? No, there was no reason to get all paranoid. So far, all these guys had been nothing but nice to him. Besides, if there'd been news of any kind, Cullen would either be celebrating or seriously p.i.s.sed. Right now the man was calmly finishing up the task he'd been working on so he could leave. No reason to think anything else had gone wrong.

Cody shoved his own laptop back in his pack along with Reggie's. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

Cullen's fingers flew across the keyboard with enviable skill. He shot Cody a quick grin without missing a beat. "Sure thing. Just so you know, under other circ.u.mstances, this would've been fun. Other than D.J., I don't often get to play with someone who has such serious talent."

The compliment made Cody smile. "Wait until you meet Reggie. She makes me look like a rank amateur."

"Yeah, I've heard that. Seems she's been running my buddy around in circles for a while." Cullen's grin widened considerably. "That certainly explains the two laptops that met their demise slamming into the wall over there."

Cody had been wondering what had made the big gouges in the drywall. There'd been times he'd been tempted to do the same thing, but he couldn't afford to replace his computer just because of a temper tantrum.

He deliberately walked by the damaged wall on his way to Devlin's office. To be honest, it worried him. He hoped D.J. was holding it together for Reggie. It would take more than a hair-trigger temper to get them both back home safely.

Devlin's door was closed. Cody raised his fist to knock just as it opened. Trahern stood inside, looking every bit as tired as Cody felt.

"Hey, kid, how are you holding up?"

"Fine."

"Well, you look like h.e.l.l. I was just coming to see you. Barak and Lonzo caught a commercial flight back from Portland, and I need to pick them up at Sea-Tac. Thought maybe you'd like to ride along. Afterward, you can crash at my place tonight."

Devlin joined in. "If you're not up to it, say so and you can come home with me again. Your choice."

He looked from Trahern to Devlin and back again. "I'd like to hear what they have to say about the explosion, if that's all right, sir."

Trahern jerked his head in a quick nod. "Yeah, I don't blame you. Besides, this way you can meet Brenna. She's the one who wrote that history of the Paladins Reggie found."

That bit of fishing combined with her hunt for D.J. had caused Reggie all this trouble, but it wouldn't be fair to hold that against Brenna. Besides, he was curious about Paladin history himself.

"Call if you hear anything, Dev, or if you need me. Okay, let's. .h.i.t the road."

Before they closed the door, Trahern whispered, "By the way, Brenna can cook. Laurel, not so much."

Devlin hollered after them, "d.a.m.n it, Trahern, I heard that. Quit insulting my wife."