The Darkness Beyond Part 5

"You need to leave."

The words sounded breathy and far too indecisive to her own ears. He'd never take her seriously if she didn't sound more like she meant it. She tried again.

"D.J., you need to leave. Now."

He nodded, slowly, as if he was reluctant to believe her. Or maybe, like her, he wasn't processing things very well. She gave his chest a gentle shove, conveying the same thought with action.

His hands dropped to his sides, but the c.o.c.ky grin was firmly back in place as he walked toward the door.

"Well, I guess that gave us both something to think about. Hope your dreams are good ones."

Before he left, he stopped and handed her a piece of paper. "Here's my cell phone number. If anything happens to worry you, call me. Don't hesitate, not for a second. Better a false alarm than to let the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds get you."

He waited until she nodded and then said, "'Bye, Reggie. It's been a whole lot better than nice."

Then he was gone.

Okay, that was the stupidest trick he'd ever pulled. Sure, it wasn't the first time a plan had backfired on him, but right now he couldn't think of a single instance that had left him this badly shaken. Jumping in a tub of ice wouldn't be enough to quench this fire.

What the h.e.l.l had he been thinking?

He had no idea. One taste of her lips and he'd frozen; in fact, one part of his anatomy had definitely been stiffer than the rest. Still was, in fact. If Reggie hadn't called a halt to the fiasco when she did, he would have for the sake of his own sanity.

Maybe he'd started off wanting to get a little of his own back by kissing her. He had to admit knowing she was capable of besting him at his own game smarted a bit. A lot, in fact, but that didn't give him the right to seduce the woman for a little bit of payback.

He was a better man than that. At least he liked to think so. For now, he'd get a room someplace close and crawl into bed. Alone-well, except for the memories of how she'd felt in his arms.

He'd been right about one thing, though. Reggie was hiding one hot little body under all that clothing. She definitely had curves in all the right places.

He almost spun around to head right back up those stairs to her apartment but managed to stop himself. Outside, he drew in a few deep breaths, trying to regain control by clearing his lungs of any lingering vestiges of Reggie's scent.

It didn't work.

He trudged across to where he'd left his truck. Maybe after a few hours' sleep, he'd be better able to decide what to do next. When he opened the door, he risked one last look up at Reggie's apartment. Just as he suspected, she stood outlined in the window, watching him from above. She might think the shadows prevented him from seeing her clearly. She would be wrong about that.

Paladins all had exceptional night vision. His allowed him to see the frown on that luscious mouth and the sadness in those pretty eyes. He could even see the slight tremble in her hand as she waved to him.

Rather than stare, he climbed into the truck and started the engine. When he pulled out of the parking spot, he rolled down his window and waved back. She nodded and stepped back out of sight, leaving him no choice but to drive away.

Alone, as usual.

D.J. seriously hated telephones. Especially ones rude enough to ring at . . . what time was it anyway? He groped on the bedside table looking for his cell phone and squinted at the screen. Okay, the sun was already up. That didn't mean he didn't hate the person on the other end of the line for disturbing his beauty sleep.

He punched the On b.u.t.ton. "This better be d.a.m.ned important."

Devlin's voice was little better than a growl. "Care to explain to me why your worthless a.s.s is parked down in Portland rather than here on duty?"

Oh, c.r.a.p. He should've checked the number first. Obviously Devlin had finally opened his e-mail and then tracked him by the GPS chip in his cell phone. He sat up and considered his options. Would disconnecting the call be the smart thing to do or the coward's way out? Maybe a little of both. Eventually he'd have to face the music. Might as well hear the opening strains long distance.

"I had business down here. Personal business."

Silence. Long, heavy silence followed by more of the same. Okay, so Dev wasn't going to make it easy for him. He could try to wait him out, but they both knew who would break first.

"I should've told you I needed some downtime to take care of a problem, Devlin."

More silence, then a heavy sigh. "Does this particular problem have something to do with whatever has had you acting so twitchy lately?"

D.J. rubbed his forehead, antic.i.p.ating the headache that was sure to follow this call. "Yeah, it does. I'm doing my best to fix it."

"Any chance it will blow up in your face?" Devlin didn't sound as angry as he did resigned.

No use lying at this point. "Maybe, but I can't be sure."

"When you get back, we'll have a long discussion about how you should've handled this, D.J. For now, if anyone asks, you're on personal leave."

"Thanks."

One of the knots in his gut eased up. That left only the worry about what the fallout would be for Reggie's brief foray into the Regents' server, not to mention why she'd been hunting for him. Despite her admission that she'd been out to best him at his own game, he sensed there was more to it than that.

"How long will you be gone?"

He'd already decided to stay in Portland for the weekend. Nothing had happened to change that plan, but he decided to build in some leeway for himself. "I should be back by the end of the week at the latest."

"Okay, but in case you're not?"

"Send the cavalry."

"Will do. And, D.J., one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"Whatever this is, I hope you can fix it permanently. We need you back at a hundred percent. The place isn't the same without you."

He had no idea how to react to the concern in his friend's voice. Normally Devlin yelled; he didn't coddle.

"I'm trying, Dev. I apologize for running out on you. I promise I'll explain everything."

"Okay, but watch your back. If you need to stay away longer, call. You know how Trahern gets when he's worried. It's embarra.s.sing when he cries in front of all the guys, and the Others just laugh at him."

Another deep voice murmured something obscene in the background. D.J. grinned. It had to be Trahern. d.a.m.n, he missed the guys. He was so used to seeing them every day.

"See you soon, boss."

"Yeah, see that you do."

The phone went silent, but even that small connection with his friends had left him feeling energized and ready to face the day. The only question was, what would be the most productive use of his time?

Now that he had verified that R. Morrison was indeed Reggie, he could dig deeper into her personal business. She'd hate it, but turnabout was fair play. First things first. Shower. Get dressed. Eat breakfast. Then start shoveling.

His day planned, he grabbed his clean clothes and headed for the bathroom.

Sat.u.r.day morning came way too soon. Reggie kicked her legs free of the twisted knot of blankets, the effort leaving her breathing hard and exhausted before she even got up. Not exactly the way she'd planned to start her day.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, she waited for her head to catch up with her body. Finally, she staggered toward the bathroom hoping a splash of cold water would clear some of the cobwebs. The rest would have to wait until she'd brewed her favorite dark roast.

Oh, yeah, that would work. Her mind journeyed back to the previous evening and memories of D. J. Clayborne. The trip was a short one because his image had filled her dreams almost from the second she'd crawled into bed to the moment she woke.

She had no idea where the man was at the moment, but she really hoped he was as thickheaded and grumpy as she was. Luckily she'd set up the coffeepot before turning in for the night. All she had to do was flip a switch and watch the magic elixir drip into the carafe.

While she waited, she booted up her laptop to check her e-mail. A couple of ads that she deleted. For the moment, she skipped the one from her boss probably asking for an update on her investigation. Finally, there was an odd one at the bottom of the list.

She filled her favorite oversize mug with coffee and then doctored it with three spoonfuls of sugar and a dollop of real cream. Yeah, another reason she'd have to add a couple of laps to her morning run.

As she took that first sip of caffeine, her conscience forced her to read Mr. DeLuca's e-mail. Just as she thought, he wanted to know if she'd made any progress, saying he didn't mean to pressure her. He was merely curious.

She could just imagine his reaction if she told him the truth, that she had both good and bad news. The good news was that the target had shared Chinese with herself and Cody last night, and his name was D. J. Clayborne. The bad news? She had no idea where he lived, where he was, or what she was going to do about the fact that she didn't want to turn him in. She hadn't wanted to from the beginning, but now . . .

Darn it anyway, she really liked her job. It would be a shame to lose it over a man she'd never see again. Rather than focus on that dismal possibility, she pulled up the next e-mail. She read it once and then read it again.

It was short and to the point: If you want to know the truth about the Paladins, meet me for coffee. You pick the time and the place, and I'll be there.

No signature. The e-mail originated from a free account, which meant the sender could be anyone, anywhere. Granted, if the sender really wanted to meet with her, the person would have to be close by. She shivered. Did the sender really know where she was? If so, how? Not that it mattered. After all, D.J. had managed to find her even though she'd covered her tracks. Or maybe this e-mailer was waiting for her to pick a rendezvous spot that would at least reveal the city she lived in.

She let the cursor hover over the Reply b.u.t.ton, but then chickened out. This was too big a decision to make without some serious thought and maybe a bowl of cereal under her belt. When she sat down at the kitchen counter, she spied the piece of paper D.J. had left with his number on it.

He'd told her to call him if anything of concern happened. Was this what he was talking about? Obviously her mystery sender knew something about the Paladins or at least was pretending to. Her logical mind told her that the whole idea was pure bunk. Secret warrior societies didn't exist.

Right?

But if that was true, why had D.J. gone out of his way to warn her not to pursue the subject any further? Maybe Brenna Nichols's paper was written in code, the real facts hidden behind the fictional world she'd described. That still didn't feel right, but Reggie had read the paper only once.

She shuffled through the pile of reports on her makeshift desk until she unearthed the printout. The stack of pages had her grinning, a reminder that she and D.J. definitely had a lot in common. No wonder he'd known that she'd not only made a hard copy of the report but had also saved it to her flash drive.

That wasn't the only thing they'd shared but she shoved that thought aside. It wasn't ever going to happen again because she was never going to see D.J. again. He'd disappeared from her life as quickly as he'd appeared. Her good mood faded away. Come Monday morning, she'd turn over what she'd found out about him to Mr. DeLuca and be done with it.

She just wished she felt better about a job well done.

Todd poked his head into Ray's office. "Has the hacker responded yet?"

Ray shot him a frustrated look. "No, but then it's the weekend. Some people actually take time off to be with their families or maybe play golf. Seriously, it's true. Just ask anybody."

G.o.d, Todd hated whiners. Yeah, it was Sat.u.r.day morning, but hackers lived online, not out in the real world. Rather than antagonize Ray completely, he offered a compromise.

"Fine, I hear you. If you don't get a response in the next few minutes, go ahead and take off. You've earned it after all the work you put in tracking this guy down."

His coworker was clearly happier now. "I can always check later, after I get home. If I do hear something, do you want me to call you or wait until I'm back in the office on Monday?"

"Sure, you can call, but only if you think the situation warrants it. I'll only be here at the office for a little while, so make sure you call on that special number I gave you."

Ray nodded, already packing up his stuff. "Fine. Once I know where the hacker lives, I'll send someone after him. We've got trusted contacts in most major cities, so we'll be able to snap him up without any problem."

Yeah, right. Like kidnappings always went smoothly. Once they had the hacker sequestered, they'd milk him for all he was worth. They just had to make it clear that the more useful he made himself, the longer he'd live.

"Talk to you soon, Ray. Enjoy your day."

"Thanks, I will."

Todd wandered back to his own office and studied the file he'd been compiling on Colonel Kincade's escapades. So far, he'd found information on three contacts the b.a.s.t.a.r.d had established on the other side of the barrier. One of them was now useless, thanks to the Seattle Paladins. When they'd caught Kincade with his hand in the till, they'd also found where he'd been trafficking with the Others.

Todd walked over to the window. The sun glinted off the St. Louis Arch, to the east. It had been built to represent the Gateway to the West, at one time a brand-new world for humans to exploit and explore. Little did those people swarming underneath the structure know that the real gateway to another new world already existed.

The Paladins saw the barrier as something to defend, a door they'd nail shut if they could. More forward-thinking men like Todd recognized it for the opportunity it really was: the route to a new land to exploit for profit. The entrepreneurs of an earlier era had funded the men who'd done the actual exploring.

Well, that and the dying.

Just like those pragmatic businessmen, Todd was willing to finance the rape of Kalithia. It might be possible to reestablish contact with the other two Kaliths on Kincade's roster. Considering how willing they were to sell out their own people in exchange for time spent in the light of this world, they'd no doubt deal with whoever could make that possible. Soon, he'd reestablish the flow of blue garnets across the barrier.

So far, the human scientists who'd been studying the blue stones hadn't had much luck replicating them or even generating the energy they were supposed to produce. The researchers insisted that eventually they'd be able to figure it out, but it was going to take more time and more money. Lots more money.

Which brought Todd back to the hacker Ray was tracking. Once they found the guy, they'd set him to work on finding the cash Kincade had squirreled away. In exchange, they wouldn't prosecute him for his illegal incursions into the Regents' server. Todd smiled. That was a bluff, of course. The Regents would never risk their existence becoming public record.

They normally found a way to leverage someone into keeping their mouth shut. Money bought an awful lot of silence. He, on the other hand, wouldn't bother with trying to finesse the situation. His Kalith business partners would take care of the problem for him in exchange for services rendered.

He stared out the window as he reviewed his mental checklist one last time. There was nothing more to be done until they found out if the hacker was going to take the bait. If not, they'd punt, but that didn't seem likely. As a breed, hackers were curious. It was part of what kept them parked at a computer for hours on end.

If they added a financial incentive, they'd reel him in. But enough of that. Ray had the right of it-it was beautiful outside. No use in wasting the whole day working.

A knock at the door startled Reggie into dropping the report, sending paper scattering all over the kitchen floor. She left them where they fell and hurried to the door. Her pulse picked up speed. Was D.J. back?

No, it was Cody. She ignored the brief surge of disappointment. What was he doing here? Only one way to find out. But first she needed to put on something besides her nightshirt.

She opened the door far enough to talk to him. "I'm not exactly dressed, Cody. Give me a minute and then come on in."

He frowned. "Am I early?"

Early? Oh, rats. No, of course he wasn't early. She was forgetful. But rather than risk hurting his feelings, she lied.

"I overslept, so I'm running late."

She wasn't sure he believed her, but there wasn't much she could do about that. After unhooking the chain, she took off down the hall.

She called back, "Okay, Cody. Give me twenty minutes and I'll be ready. Help yourself to anything in the fridge."

Reggie was already in the shower when she remembered the papers that had fallen on the floor. It was too much to hope that Cody would ignore them. She didn't care if he simply picked them up, but knowing him, he wouldn't be able to resist taking a quick peek. It was the last thing either of them needed.

She rinsed off and snagged a towel. After she yanked on her clothes, she twisted her hair up on top of her head. Back in her bedroom, she grabbed her shoes and hustled down the hall to the kitchen. She aimed for calm but doubted she could pull it off. Hopefully, Cody would just think she was frazzled from running late.

Just as she'd expected, the papers were piled on the counter in a neat stack. Too neat. Just great. He'd read them, all right, or at least he'd started to. The only saving grace was that she hadn't given him enough time to get far. With luck, he'd gotten bored and quit before it got interesting.