The Darkness Beyond Part 23

"Okay, well, you see, I had trouble sleeping last night."

He shot a quick look in Trahern's direction. The man nodded, encouraging him to continue. "That's okay. Just spit it out."

"Since I was up anyway, I decided to hack into the Regents' server, hoping I could pick up where Cullen and I left off. But I found a new trail to follow. A guy named Ray Pine from St. Louis flew into Portland and then back to St. Louis. Since he got back, he had to have surgery on his nose. Seems it was fractured while he was traveling."

Okay, now the room was quiet again, but it felt different this time. More like the calm before the storm and he was sitting right where the lightning was about to strike. s.h.i.t, he should've kept his mouth shut.

No, that wasn't true. He'd face down a whole lot worse than a room full of Paladins and their allies if that was what it took to make this world safe for Reggie again. That didn't mean he wasn't fighting the urge to bolt and run.

It was Cullen who spoke first. He looked totally incredulous as he demanded, "Seriously? You managed to break through the new firewalls I installed?"

No use in lying. "Yeah, I did. Sorry if I bent the rules, but-"

Cullen's mouth broke into a wide grin. "No apologies needed. d.a.m.n, I'm proud of you! That's great work."

Then the Paladin gathered up the trash from his breakfast and headed toward the door. "Come on. Let's go fire up the system so you can show me what you found and how you got in. D.J. and I will have to fix that after he gets back."

Cody looked to Devlin and then Trahern, unsure if he should follow Cullen. Both men looked more thoughtful than angry.

Devlin made a shooing motion. "Go ahead. See if you can figure out who else was involved in this guy's travels."

An hour later, he and Cullen were high-fiving and hooting up a storm. When Devlin poked his head out of his office to see what the ruckus was about, Cullen waved him over.

"Okay, you already know the guy with the broken nose is Ray Pine from the Technology Department. We found where he most likely picked up on Reggie's incursion into the Regents' files. We're sure he knew about her downloading Brenna's history of the Paladins."

Devlin leaned against the door frame. "Okay, so besides his name and what he knew, what else can we learn about him? Was he working alone?"

Cody let Cullen field the questions. "I can't imagine him being a lone wolf. He's middle management. His employee reviews indicate a certain lack of drive, adequate, but not top drawer. I'm reading between the lines here, but it looks as if he was pa.s.sed over for a promotion about six months ago. The guy who got the job was younger and had less time with the organization. That's bound to have p.i.s.sed him off."

Devlin wandered closer. "Does he have any special connections within the organization that stick out?"

Cullen elbowed Cody. "You found it. You tell him."

Cody would rather Cullen did it, but gave it his best shot. "I reviewed all of his phone records. Most are pretty routine-his home number, others within his department, et cetera. However, there's this one number he called only twice. The first time was right before Reggie was abducted. The second was the day after he got back from Portland."

Cody didn't know what Devlin was thinking, but he sure hoped that scary look was aimed at Ray Pine and not at him. He rubbed his hands on his jeans, hoping he didn't look as nervous as he felt.

Devlin gave Cullen a thoughtful look. "What do we know about this other guy?"

"Not much so far." Cullen pointed toward the information displayed on the computer screen. "We were just getting started on him. His name is Todd Bedford. He's higher up in the organization, and from the outside looking in, it's doubtful their jobs are connected. I'm going to do some checking into Todd's finances and see where that gets us."

"Good job, guys. Keep me posted. If it seems likely these two are involved, I'll be scheduling a road trip. In the meantime, I'll check in with Jarvis back in Missouri and see what the scoop is on these guys."

Cullen looked up from his screen. "How about asking Sasha what she knows? She has better connections within the Regents than we do."

"I'd like a little more solid intel first. But as soon as you get me some hard data on these two, I'll give her a head's-up. Maybe her father will want to join the hunt. Nice job, both of you. D.J. will appreciate all your hard work when he returns. I'm guessing he'll want to be in on it when we go after these guys."

Devlin started toward his office, but then stopped and turned back. "Cullen, keep an eye on this Todd guy. If he feels threatened, he might try to bolt. We don't want to lose him."

"Will do, boss," Cullen said as he started to reach for the keyboard. "Okay, it looks like we still have work to do."

Cody cleared his throat. "Um, before we get started, is it all right if I check on Reggie's e-mail from work and make sure the boss isn't looking for her? It would be nice if she still has a job to come back to."

Then he forced himself to ask, "Do you really think D.J. and Reggie will make it back?"

Cullen didn't answer right away, clearly giving the matter some thought. "Yeah, I really do. I know you didn't spend much time with D.J., but he's the smartest man I've ever met, and he's relentless when he wants to get something done. He'll bring her home."

Or die trying.

Cullen never actually said the words, but Cody heard them anyway.

D.J. couldn't sleep, not with Others out there wandering around. Chances were that they'd found the cave-in by now. The only question was what they'd do about it. By the time they reached the top of the trail, the suns would've disappeared over the horizon. Like the Paladins, they had better night vision than most humans, but that wouldn't help them much when it came to tracking an enemy.

Come sunrise, though, they'd be hauling a.s.s back down the trail, on the hunt. Granted, they wouldn't have found their buddy Kolar, but there was a d.a.m.n good chance they'd found the dead body back at their camp.

All of which meant that he and Reggie needed to be up and moving as soon as it was light enough for her to travel safely.

He wandered closer to where Reggie lay curled up in the bed he'd made out of their cloaks. He'd held her close until she drifted off. For a long while, he'd simply enjoyed watching her sleep. It would be all too easy to get used to doing that. Finally, he'd eased away from her, mainly to avoid the building temptation to make love to her again. They were out of condoms, and getting her pregnant would be a mistake of epic proportions.

Although the thought of her carrying a child, especially his child, made him wish he was a different man living a different life. The kind of life that could offer a woman like Reggie everything she deserved-a comfortable home, a loving husband she could depend on, safety.

With everything that had happened, she'd never settle for someone like him and shouldn't have to. Right now, circ.u.mstances forced her to depend on his strong sword arm to get her back across the barrier. Even his alien DNA was an a.s.set if they were going to make it home, but she still didn't know the full extent of what that DNA meant. How could she be anything but horrified that she'd slept with him once she did find out?

Maybe he was underestimating her ability to look past all of that. Certainly there were women who'd proven to be able to accept the truth of what it meant to be a Paladin: Laurel, Brenna, and Jarvis's Gwen, for starters. But unlike them, Reggie made her living hunting down cybercriminals like D.J. Oh, yeah, there were all kinds of reasons for her coming to regret their brief fling.

Deep down, he didn't want what they'd shared to be just a fling. But with Reggie, he'd take what he could get.

An hour later, the distant horizon was tinged with pink. Time to get Reggie up and moving. The Others would be on the prowl soon.

He walked over to where she still slept soundly. As tiny as she was, only the top of her head showed above the covers. He smiled when he spotted the toes of her right foot peeking out at the bottom. If they weren't pressed for time, he'd give some serious thought to starting with those toes and kissing his way up her compact body to wake her.

Oh, yeah, that would certainly work for him. But then they might never get started on their trek in time to avoid their pursuers. He settled for bending down to shake Reggie's shoulder.

She came awake slowly, but smiled when she opened her eyes to see him hovering over her.

"Come on, lazybones, time to get moving."

He'd gathered her clothes up for her just as he'd done the day before. "With luck, we'll make the hills today, but we need to hustle."

Her smile dimmed. "You think those guys we saw last night are headed this way."

It wasn't a question, but he nodded anyway as he stood up. "Yeah, I do."

She reached for her underclothes. "I'll be ready in five minutes."

A couple of granola bars might be good for her, but without a cup of strong coffee, it didn't feel like breakfast. Most of the time, a cup of coffee was her breakfast. As they hiked along the trail toward the hills, she entertained herself by making a mental list of everything she was going to do when she got home.

Drinking a gallon of hot coffee was at the top of the list. Taking a long, hot bubble bath was running a close second. Chocolate, clean clothes, and a manicure were absolute necessities. Add in some fast food and a marathon of her favorite movies-sans the ones involving aliens or sword fights-for the perfect end to her first day back in her apartment.

Which made her think of Cody. How was he doing? Knowing him, he'd be feeling guilty for not being right here in this dusty h.e.l.l with her. Was he back at work? She hoped so. It would be nice if one of them was still employed after all of this was over. When her life went back to normal, living alone with her laptop and some African violets.

She looked up from the trail to study the man in front of her. Maybe there were a few other things she'd like to do at the end of the hedonistic day. She even knew the perfect person to do them with, if he was still interested that is.

D.J. had been most considerate since waking her up, but there'd been a certain distance in his behavior. She wasn't exactly sensing any regret, just a more business-like att.i.tude that didn't encourage any of the secret smiles and shared laughter they'd enjoyed the night before.

She'd like to chalk it up to his concern that they make good time across the valley. That was certainly part of it, she was sure. Yet she was just as certain that there was more to his change in att.i.tude.

It was starting to irritate her a bit. Of course, all of her feelings for D.J. were a jumbled-up mess, partly because she'd seen too many different facets to his personality to get a solid feel for who he really was, starting with the whole hacker extraordinaire thing he had going on. She'd have to find some way to deal with that particular problem; her job could very well depend on it.

Then there was the playful lover. She could honestly say that she'd never even come close to enjoying s.e.x as much as she had with D.J. Heck, she even liked the dark shadow of beard that only added to his roguish good looks even if it had left her skin feeling pretty tender in certain places.

He was funny, considerate, and on top of all that good stuff, he was a warrior. She tried not to think about all the horrific violence she'd witnessed the past few days, but she suspected when it came to D.J., it was more than just his job. It was an integral part of his makeup.

Yes, she understood that he'd killed Jeban to save her, but he'd shown absolutely no regret then or since. Kolar had brought the mountainside down on his own head, but D.J. had nearly killed him, too. No one wielded a sword with such proficiency without years of practice.

To be fair, part of what bothered her wasn't even D.J.'s reaction, but her own. She was secretly glad those two men were dead, not to mention the one back in the warehouse. In all three cases, it had come down to her life in exchange for theirs. A fair bargain as far as she was concerned. How was she going to live with feeling that way? Right now, with the continuing threat of more attacks, she was doing her best to hold everything at bay.

But when they got back home, she feared it would all come crashing down on her. Somehow she'd have to put the whole experience into perspective and come to terms with all that had happened. She had to believe she could. After all, what choice did she have? It wasn't as if she could go to a therapist and talk about murderous aliens, let alone about being trapped in their world.

Eventually the memories would fade, but not if she continued to see D.J. He'd be a constant reminder.

As if sensing her staring at him, D.J. glanced back at her. "You doing okay? Need a break?"

"I'm fine," she lied.

He started to say something, but then he stopped to stare back at the way they'd come, frowning big time. She tried to pick out whatever had caught his attention, but it was either too far away or she was too short to see it clearly.

"What's wrong?"

"I thought I saw some movement on the trail behind us, but it's gone now. Either I imagined it or maybe it was just an animal that's gone to ground. It's probably nothing."

Then he abruptly turned around and moved off at a faster pace than before. Yeah, right, it was nothing. He'd seen something all right. She ran a few steps to catch up with him, but made no effort to slow him down.

"What did you see? And don't bother lying to me. I can tell."

His expression was grim. "There's a sizable dust cloud down near the bottom of the trail right before it hits the valley floor. Like I said, maybe it's nothing, or it could be those guys coming after us full-speed ahead. Either way, it doesn't change our plan. We keep moving toward the other side of the valley as fast as your little legs can get there."

He sounded as if he was teasing her, and she hoped he was. Just last night he'd been singing in praise of those very same legs, especially when they were wrapped around him with her heels digging into his a.s.s.

Rather than belabor the point, wasting breath she really couldn't spare, she kicked it up another notch and breezed right by him. Her small victory didn't last for long, thanks to the thin air and his long legs.

He planted those big feet of his right in her path and wouldn't let her go another step. "Reggie, what the h.e.l.l are you trying to do?"

"I was walking. I didn't want my little legs to keep you from getting where you wanted to go. Now get out of my way."

He didn't move an inch. Neither did she. Stubborn deserved stubborn. She smiled when he broke first.

"Reggie, we don't have time for this."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not the one blocking the path. If you'll kindly get out of my way, I'll start walking again. You can do what you want."

He c.o.c.ked his head to one side as he looked down at her. "It's not walking we don't have time for."

"Then what?"

"This."

In an instant, she went from standing on her own two feet to have them dangling in the air while D.J. kissed her as if his life depended on it. Oh, yeah, this was what she'd been missing since they'd broken camp and started this never-ending hike across h.e.l.l.

His kiss tasted so unbelievably good. Hot and all male. Then abruptly he broke it off and slowly set her back down. His dark eyes reflected a mix of emotions, the chief one being either anger or frustration. She understood that last one.

Then he looked past her. "That dust cloud is definitely moving this way. Let's go."

Her heart did a stutter step or two as she hurried after him. But whether it was in response to D.J.'s kiss or to the aliens in fast pursuit behind them, she simply didn't know.

D.J. scanned the landscape in front of them, turning occasionally to see if the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds behind them were closing the gap. So far he and Reggie had been able to maintain a steady pace and were making good progress on their way to the hills ahead. He'd feel a h.e.l.luva lot better about the situation if he actually knew where they were headed. Barak's directions had been pretty vague.

It was all well and good to know there was a stretch of barrier that could be used to return home, but they couldn't afford the time to wander aimlessly hoping to get lucky and stumble across it. This entire mission was a f.u.c.ked-up mess. Well, not all of it, but the whole rescue part of it sure wasn't playing out the way he'd hoped.

What was Reggie thinking about so hard? Most of the time she just kept picking them up and putting them down even though she had to be exhausted. But every so often, he sensed her staring a hole right through his back. Was it anger or pa.s.sion that had her pretty eyes sparkling, full of emotion?

Time to scan the horizon again. He blinked twice and even leaned forward to get a better look. The twin to the dust cloud behind them had just appeared at the base of the hills they'd been aiming for. So far their luck had been running bad, worse, or totally f.u.c.ked. Guess which this was.

"Reggie, we've got to get off the trail right now."

The only question was which direction offered the best shelter. On the left, the stream seemed to roughly follow the trail heading toward the hills. The ground to the right was more rugged thanks to large expanses of rocks, making it harder to traverse but also harder for their enemies to track them.

If he had to face off with these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, he'd much prefer to be standing at the barrier and swinging his favorite ax. At least there the goal was clear: stand with his brothers-in-arms to keep the enemy from getting anywhere near the rest of humanity.

Here, the slightest mistake in his calculations could end in death-or worse-for both him and Reggie. He might survive a lethal wound. She wouldn't.

He picked the rougher terrain to the right. The going would be more difficult than if they took to the water, but they'd stand a better chance the Others would lose their trail on the harder ground.

In addition, it was higher than the trail. Hopefully it would afford them a clearer picture of what they were walking into. He waited until they reached a stretch of trail that was rockier so that their footprints didn't show before veering off the trail.

The ground climbed steadily the farther off the trail they got, to the point that he was huffing and puffing almost as badly as Reggie. After they'd safely traversed a particularly steep incline, the ground flattened out for some distance. At the far side, a small creek trickled through the gra.s.s. Perfect. If they stayed low and quiet, no one should be able to spot them.

"We'll stop here to catch our breath."

Once again Reggie didn't say a word. She simply dropped to the ground and started tugging off her boots. He started to tell her that they weren't stopping that long, but then he saw the blood. d.a.m.n it all to h.e.l.l, why hadn't she told him that she was getting blisters?

Because she knew it didn't matter. Hurt or not, they had to keep going. At least he could doctor her feet for her before they had to start walking again. He set down his packs and started digging through them for the first-aid kit.

"Let's get those cleaned up for you."

"I can take care of myself," she said but without any real heat.

"I know you can." And he did. "But this one time, why don't you let me help?"