He understood why coffee would be at the top of the list. "Having a problem with caffeine withdrawal, are we? Yeah, I get that. A big greasy hamburger and fries sound good, too. What else is on your agenda?"
"I haven"t really thought much past the coffee run."
Reggie"s eyes slid to the side and there was a definite hint of pink in her cheeks that hadn"t been there before. She was definitely hiding something. Did it involve him?
"Okay, lady, somehow I don"t believe you. I think you"ve got something decadent planned. Something that involves ice cream and chocolate sauce."
He waggled his eyebrows. "Come on, Reggie, "fess up."
Her blush deepened, meaning he"d hit a little too close for comfort. Okay, so maybe he should update his own list. Rather than call her on it, though, he changed the subject.
"So, I"m curious. How long are you going to give me to hide my tracks before you point your boss in my direction? Maybe I"ll borrow your Ruby avatar for a while. Think I"d make a pretty woman?"
Reggie whacked him on the arm.
"Darn it anyway, D.J., that"s not funny! After all of this, how could you think I"d turn you in? Not to mention the fact that I"ve probably already lost my job over this mess."
He held up his hands in surrender. "Whoa, Reggie, I was just teasing. Seriously, if siccing your boss on me will ensure you keep your job, don"t even hesitate. I can take care of myself."
She glared at him and then turned away, but not before he saw the tears welling up in her eyes. Okay, now he felt like a total jerk. But before he could apologize, Javel came running down the hillside, his sword drawn.
D.J. dropped his equipment bag on the ground, at the same time shoving Reggie behind him. He drew his own blade and pulled his gun out of his waistband. Javel slid to a halt just out of reach, his eyes wide, his breathing ragged.
He pointed back in the direction they"d come from with his sword. "Kalith!"
Then he pointed where they"d been heading. "Cave! Close!"
Right now D.J. would give his left arm for a Kalith/English dictionary. Was the Blademate telling him they were about to be attacked by Kalith warriors? Or that the Kalith hunting party had taken control of the cave? How the h.e.l.l was he supposed to figure it out? A wrong decision here could easily prove fatal for all of them.
He held his hands out and shrugged his shoulders, hoping to convey his confusion to the young warrior. "Berk?"
Javel immediately shook his head and pointed behind them again. "Berk, cave. Kalith come."
He held up five fingers and then two more. Okay, that was clear enough. Berk was waiting at the cave. The seven Kalith weren"t his men. Time to find a defensible position. Hard to do when he had no idea how long they had to prepare.
Looking around, he ran through the options in his head. There was only one acceptable choice. D.J. would hold off the approaching Kalith while Javel got Reggie to the cave. Once there, Berk could send reinforcements.
"Reggie, you go with Javel. Now."
He infused as much authority into his voice as he could, hoping she wouldn"t argue. Yeah, right, like that was going to happen.
"No, there are too many of them for you to fight alone. I"ll hide up there," she said, pointing toward the trees on the hill. "That way Javel can help you."
"And if we both get killed, Reggie? What would you do then? Please just go with Javel. He can get you to Berk. The Guardian and his men will see you get home."
He grabbed her arm, meaning to shove her at Javel. Instead, he kissed her hard and fast, hoping she"d understand what he was trying to tell her, what he had no words for. Then he did push her toward Javel.
He pegged the young Blademate with a hard stare. "Take Reggie to Berk. To the cave."
With a grave nod, Javel held his sword up in salute and started dragging Reggie up the trail. "To cave. To Berk."
She fought against his superior strength. "D.J., if we go, you"ll die. Don"t do this. It"s suicide!"
"d.a.m.n it, Reggie, go! I"m harder to kill than you know. The longer you argue, the longer it will be before Berk can send reinforcements. Run!"
All the fight went out of her, and she let Javel tow her along. D.J. couldn"t tear his eyes off her. Watching her leave felt as if his heart was being ripped out by the roots. h.e.l.l, maybe it had been. He suspected she"d taken over complete ownership of it from the first moment they"d met.
He just wished he"d told her.
Then he turned to face the oncoming enemy with a sword in one hand and his Glock in the other. Guns against blades might not be a fair fight, but he didn"t give a flying f.u.c.k. He"d kill the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds with his bare hands if that"s what it took to give his woman time to reach safety.
As the enemy came around the bend, he screamed out in challenge and charged into battle, firing as he ran. His first shots laid two out flat and crippled one more. All three went down screaming. The rest immediately backed off to regroup. Four against one made for slightly better odds, but not by much.
G.o.d, how many of these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds had he killed over the years? Dozens? Hundreds? It didn"t matter. A few had returned the favor. Normally, he didn"t worry about that much. Sure, it hurt like h.e.l.l and never got less scary to feel the last breath leaving his body.
But with his fellow Paladins there, he always knew someone else would step up to take his place. Later, when the blood quit flowing, they"d carry him up to the labs where Laurel or one of the other Handlers would jump-start his return to the living.
Not going to happen now, not here. For the first time in recent memory, he was scared. Not for himself, but for Reggie. He"d kill every crazy Other in this whole f.u.c.king d.a.m.n world if that"s what it took to keep her safe.
Okay, the a.s.sholes were working themselves up to another charge. They were doing their d.a.m.nedest to encircle D.J., but he danced backward to keep from being surrounded.
He lunged forward, his blade catching the one on the right deep in the abdomen. Before D.J. could jerk his sword free, though, he felt the slide of steel cutting through his upper thigh. For the moment, adrenaline overrode the pain. As long as he didn"t bleed out, he"d continue to whittle down the number of Others still on their feet.
They babbled at him in Kalith, clearly taunting him. Just for grins, D.J. added his own litany of insults to the chorus. Lunge and thrust. Cut and bleed. The truth of his reality.
He hated knowing that once again Reggie had a front-row seat to the travesty that was his life.
That new burst of fury took down another enemy, leaving the sc.u.m writhing in the dirt, trying to hold in his intestines with b.l.o.o.d.y fingers. D.J. finished the poor SOB off and was repaid for his kindness with another superficial wound from one of the remaining Others.
This time, when he lunged, his wounded leg gave out, leaving him pitching forward into the dust. He managed to block the first swing of his opponent"s sword. The second, not so much. He fought off the waves of darkness as long as he could, trying to hold on, to fight. They finally proved too much and the battle was lost.
As the last wave of pain crested and flowed over him, his desperate mind imagined Reggie hovering over him, tears streaking down her face. If the image was real, he hated knowing she had to see him like this. But of all the times he"d died, seeing her sweet face was the best good-bye ever.
Chapter 22.
Todd felt like h.e.l.l. All things considered, it was an improvement over the last time he"d regained consciousness. That time he"d been pretty sure he was dying and had felt bad enough to hope he was. Now he was very much afraid he was going to live.
He pushed himself upright, moving slowly to ward off the waves of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him again. Once he was almost vertical, he squinted at his surroundings.
Where the heck was he? And how did he get there? Why was he barefoot and in surgical scrubs?
The room was empty except for the stainless-steel table he was sitting on. Heavy chains that ended in leather straps with buckles dangled from all four corners. He supposed he should be grateful that he hadn"t been restrained. Of course, it probably meant his captors were sure he wouldn"t be able to escape.
The last thing he remembered was . . . oh, yeah, he"d taken a cab to the bank. He had vague memories of filling his briefcase with money. He"d paid the taxi driver to wait in the parking lot for him. That much he recalled. Beyond that, though, things became jumbled.
Slowly the fog in his head dissipated, and the memories became clearer. The driver had offered him a bottle of water. It had tasted cold, refreshing. They"d left the parking lot. After that, nothing.
And then it hit him-that rat-b.a.s.t.a.r.d cabbie must have drugged him. The question was, why? Robbery made sense, but there was no way the guy could have known in advance that Todd had been headed to the bank to pick up a wad of cash. Did he keep a bottle of drugged water on hand just in case?
Considering the only other explanation, he almost hoped that"s what had happened. However, he wasn"t in the habit of lying to himself. After studying his surroundings some more, he admitted the truth of the situation. There was only one place he could think of that would have walls made of natural limestone. Even the air had a damp, cool feel to it, not quite the same as normal air-conditioning.
Had Ray sold him out? Not that it mattered. However Todd had come to end up in this stark room, there wasn"t a doubt in his mind that he was deep inside the Paladin headquarters. He rubbed his hands up and down his arms, trying to ward off the shakes.
Fear was such an ugly thing.
If he couldn"t corral it, he"d soon be running in circles screaming. If he thought it would help, he"d stretch back out on the stainless-steel table and pray for oblivion to take over again. Maybe the next time he"d wake up to find that this had all been a nightmare.
Instead, he slowly lowered his feet to the floor, unsure his legs would support his weight. The only way he managed to stay upright was to hold on to the edge of the table with a white-knuckled grip.
"What next?" he asked.
He didn"t really expect an answer, but got one anyway when across the room, the doork.n.o.b turned.
Todd had never met Devlin Bane in person, but there wasn"t a doubt in his mind that was who"d just walked into the room. The guy was enormous. His shoulders barely cleared the door frame, and he had to duck to enter the room.
Okay, that was an exaggeration, but not much of one. A second man followed Bane into the room. This guy he"d seen before. It was the cabdriver-and the b.a.s.t.a.r.d had the b.a.l.l.s to laugh when he realized he"d been made.
Todd refused to cower and glared at the two Paladins.
Bane crossed his arms over his chest and spread his feet, planting himself in the center of the room while his buddy circled around behind Todd. It was impossible to watch them both, so Todd didn"t bother to try. There was no mistaking the top dog anyway.
Todd went on the attack. "Gentlemen, care to explain yourselves? Because from where I"m sitting, you"re both in a world of trouble."
Bane actually looked amused. "Lonzo, he"s disappeared off the face of the earth, and he thinks we"re the ones in trouble."
Lonzo drifted closer to the table. Todd instinctively shifted toward the far end, which only made his tormentor laugh.
"The Regents have always allowed you Paladins too much slack, but you"ve crossed the line this time. When they find out what you"ve done, they"ll be shoving needles full of poison in your arms before you have a chance to ask for mercy."
This time it was Devlin Bane who laughed. "What makes you think they don"t already know? They sure take a dim view of being ripped off. We"ve traced that money you carried out of the bank this morning right back to their accounts."
No way. He"d covered his tracks too well. "That money is mine, free and clear. I was hiding it from my wife."
"Yeah, that much I believe. I have to tell you, Todd-" Then Bane stopped. "Wait, you don"t mind if I call you Todd, do you? After all, we"re going to be spending quite a bit of time together."
"Call me whatever you like."
Bane shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, I was about to say that your wife wasn"t so thrilled when the bank called to see if you were unhappy with their services. Seems she had no idea you"d withdrawn such a sizable chunk of change from your joint accounts."
Lonzo crowded closer. "I wouldn"t be in a big hurry to return to the bosom of your family, Todd. I"m seeing a divorce lawyer in your future. Well, provided you even have a future."
Okay, this was not going well at all. Acid burned the back of Todd"s throat, and he had to tuck his hands under his armpits to keep them from shaking. He hated-hated-showing any sign of weakness in front of these jackals.
"Don"t threaten me, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d. I don"t even know what you"re talking about."
"Then let me fill in the blanks for you." Bane"s eyes burned hot and hard. "You and your broken-nosed buddy Ray arranged for Reggie Morrison to be kidnapped and taken across the barrier into Kalithia."
"If so, that was all Ray"s idea. I had nothing to do with it."
The Paladin leader gave no indication that he"d even heard a word Todd had said. "One of my men, D.J. Clayborne, crossed into Kalithia to retrieve her. Seems Miss Morrison is a personal friend of his. By extension, that makes her a personal friend of mine."
Lonzo joined in, his smile showing way too many teeth. "And mine. Oh, and Blake Trahern"s, too. I know you"ve heard of him. The man"s a legend in our world. A real hard-a.s.s killer when he takes a dislike to someone. I"m sure you"ll understand why you"re currently at the top of his. .h.i.t list. Last I heard, he was putting a nice dull edge on his favorite sword in your honor."
Devlin picked up where Lonzo left off. "You see, Todd, here"s the thing. When you depend on each other in battle, you become closer than brothers. Attack one, you attack us all. We"re not like the Regents, who handle their problems around a conference table."
The door opened again. Todd felt a momentary flicker of hope, only to have it die as quickly as it had been born. The man walking into the room was none other than Chaz Willis, one of the most powerful Regents in the organization.
"Devlin, good to see you again."
"Hi, Chaz. Welcome to the party. Lonzo and I were just explaining to Todd here that he really screwed up big this time. I a.s.sume Sasha brought you up to speed?"
"Yes. Right now she and Larem are monitoring the situation. As I understand it, they"re with Hunter Fitzsimon waiting for word from Sworn Guardian Berk in Kalithia. They"ll relay any new information directly to me."
It took Todd several seconds to make sense of it all. The Regent was known throughout the organization as a real mover and shaker. Recently, his daughter had taken charge of the Seattle region. There"d been rumors that she"d gotten involved with one of the freaks from Kalithia the Seattle Paladins had adopted as their own.
Todd had refused to believe it, figuring that at the first hint of such a thing happening, Sasha Willis would"ve been relieved of duty and dragged back home in shame. Obviously he"d been wrong about that.
Either way, he wished he"d taken the time to investigate the situation himself. It was obvious the Regents and Paladins were going to present a united front on this. He was so screwed. On second thought, maybe he still had a few cards to play.
"Okay, what"s it going to cost me? I have more money that you haven"t found yet. Say the word, and it"s yours. Just return my new ident.i.ty papers along with an airline ticket, and I"m gone."
All three of the men stared at him as if he"d just sprouted a second head. He sure wasn"t feeling the love. "What? You can"t tell me that the organization wouldn"t like to get back more of the money Kincade skimmed off the top."
The Paladin leader looked at Chaz, who shrugged. "You tell him, Devlin. I"m just here so that I can report back to the Board of Regents exactly how this problem gets handled."
The chill in Bane"s eyes made it feel as if the air conditioner was working double overtime. Certain parts of Todd"s body shrank up, not from the cold, but from fear, pure and simple. This must be how the guilty felt when the judge was about to p.r.o.nounce sentence, taking away their freedom and maybe their lives.
"Todd, you obviously are not understanding that you are in some seriously deep s.h.i.t. Let me explain how this is going to play out. Right now, it"s like you"ve had a stay of execution while we decide what to do with you. Personally, I figure the world would be a better place without you and your friend Ray in it. By the way, he"s singing like a canary. I"ve never seen anything like it."
Todd had expected no less from the jerk. Ray would rat out his own mother to save his skin. Todd just wished he"d been the one given the chance to sing his way out of this mess. Instead, Ray had tossed him to these wolves.
"Just so you know, it won"t save him. We"ve already made sure that the police found the body of the guy he killed in that warehouse back in Oregon. They"ve also found the gun, with Ray"s prints on it. They"ll be coming for him soon. Ironic, don"t you think, that he might end up being the one with a needle shoved in his arm?"
Todd flinched. How much worse could this get?
Devlin kept right on talking, burying Todd"s hopes deeper and deeper. "You, on the other hand, are going to sit right here in this room until all this plays out."
"What do you mean?" Not that he really wanted to know.
"The cave your buddy shoved Reggie into over in Kalithia was blown to h.e.l.l and back before D.J. could find her and bring her home. We"re operating under the a.s.sumption that they got away and are trying to find another route home. Our contacts in Kalithia are currently hunting for them to make sure they find a safe place to cross back to this side. With luck, D.J. and Reggie should be home soon."
Lonzo picked up from there. "If so, you"ll live. You"ll wish you were dead when D.J. gets done with you, but you"ll live. But if they don"t make it back-"