Atone in Darkness Read online

  He pointed toward the pieces of rope on the floor. “I’m guessing two people left the third one tied up in that chair when they left. Best guess, it was the mysterious Edgar, but I could be wrong. Chase wouldn’t have come this far with the woman only to suddenly decide to leave her behind.”

  Now for the bad news. “There are traces of blood on the floor and on the chair. Again, no way to know whose it is or if it came from more than one source.”

  “Well, shit.”

  Although it was Jarvis who made the comment, the two words pretty much summed up how all of them were feeling right now. Lonzo prowled through the cabin for several minutes, poking his nose into every corner and some of them twice before he spoke.

  “It’s getting too dark out there to see anything. I hate to stop when we’re getting so close, but I vote we crash here for the night. Come first light, Eli, see if you can pick up Chase’s trail again. Take someone with you to watch for trouble while you have your eyes on the ground. Meanwhile, I’ll see if we can get a signal, so I can update Devlin at headquarters.”

  It was frustrating as hell to have to stop when they had to be closing in on Chase, but Lonzo was right. Once the sun went down, it would be nearly impossible to follow the trail.

  Jarvis started for the door. “I’ll get the fire going. It will be nice to spend at least one night where we’re not freezing our asses off.”

  Larem, usually the quietest one of the bunch, spoke up. “Those ropes were cut. Seems unlikely that Chase tied someone up only to turn around and cut him loose. If I’m right about that, the prisoner must have had friends in the area. What if they come back?”

  Eli had been thinking the same thing. Dollars to dimes, whoever had come through to rescue the guy were the same bunch hunting Chase. The thought had him gripping his rifle more tightly. “I’ll take first watch.”

  Lonzo clapped him on the shoulder. “Two on duty at a time, two-hour shifts. I want everyone to get some solid hours of sleep tonight. Tomorrow we’ll be pushing hard to close the distance between us and Chase. I want to end this before . . . well, before the idiot decides we don’t love him anymore and gets his tender feelings hurt. He’s sensitive about things like that.”

  They all laughed, even though they knew what Lonzo was really saying. The longer Chase was being hunted, the more likely he was going to run out of places to hide. That thought seemed to suck all of the air out of the room.

  “I’m going to head outside before it’s completely dark. If I can figure out which way Chase went now, it will give us a head start in the morning.”

  He was out the door without waiting for Lonzo to give him permission or, worse yet, tell him not to bother. They all knew it was doubtful that he’d learn anything useful in the dim light, but they understood the need to do something, anything, that would help their cause.

  Larem picked up his rifle and followed him out into the yard. “You hunt. I’ll watch your back.”

  “Thanks.”

  As they walked back toward the trees, Eli felt compelled to explain himself. “I might not know Chase personally, but I can guess what kind of man he is from how the rest of you talk about him.”

  Larem offered him one of his rare smiles. “I like that phrase your military uses that says no man is left behind.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Then let’s see what we can learn while we can. Even if all we know is where to start tomorrow, it will give everyone a renewed sense of purpose. I don’t know about you, but I could use that myself.”

  If this delay was driving Eli crazy, he could only imagine what it was doing to Jarvis and Jake, who were the two men with the closest ties to the missing Paladin. He picked up the pace, stopping only when they reached the perimeter of the clearing. Using the flashlight on his cell phone, he kept his eyes on the ground and slowly swept the beam of light back and forth.

  He was about to give up when he finally spotted two sets of familiar footprints heading into the trees away from the cabin. “Larem, I found the trail. Chase and the woman left in this direction. We’ll start here in the morning.”

  Not only had he found the trail, the tracks were relatively fresh. With luck, they’d find Chase by tomorrow this time, and they could all go home. Feeling better about the situation, they headed back to the cabin to share the good news.

  16

  * * *

  Marisol’s feet hurt, but not as much as her back. Then there was the nasty scape on her hand from when she’d been maneuvering down a small incline and had to grab a sapling to keep from tumbling down to the ground. It wasn’t the first time she wished she had Chase’s ability to heal. She was also hungry, thirsty, and getting crabbier by the minute. But what choice did she have except to plod along behind Chase as he led the way through the woods?

  “So tell me, is the ability to see in the dark another one of your superpowers?”

  The jerk actually laughed. “I guess you could say that. Our eyes are definitely more sensitive to light. Most of us need pretty heavy-duty sunglasses when it’s really bright out.”

  “Us, meaning there’s a bunch of you. Is there a name for your secret society? If so, is there also a secret handshake?”

  “Yes, there is.” He paused to glance back at her. “But you’d be better off not knowing any more about us than you already do.”

  Fine. Back to the eyesight thing. “So about your sensitivity to light. Do you think it was an adaptation to the environment where your people originated?”

  He snickered. “I guess you could say that.”

  Of course he didn’t explain why he found her question so amusing. Still, the scientist in her couldn’t help but ponder the implications. “I wonder if that means your ancestors came from the far northern regions where there’s not much daylight during part of the year.”

  “Interesting theory.”

  “If I could get enough test subjects, I’d love to do some comparisons on their DNA to see if I could determine the country of—”

  Before she could finish her train of thought, Chase whirled around and planted his feet right in front of her. Even in the dim light, she could tell the man wasn’t happy right now. “Is something wrong?”

  “Yeah, Doc, there is. Despite how we burned up the sheets together, it seems you’ve reverted back to thinking of me as your pet lab rat.” He loomed closer, the weight of his gaze almost a physical touch against her skin. “It might come as a surprise to you, but that pisses me off big-time.”

  “I didn’t mean to . . . Chase, you have to know I don’t think of you that way.”

  His light eyes glittered in the dark shadows. “So how do you think of me?”

  Good question. Her feelings about him had started evolving from the moment he first appeared in her lab, and that process had really picked up speed over the last few days. For sure, he engendered a heady mix of pretty strong emotions in her, ones she was hesitant to put a name to. Better that she keep her answer simple and true.

  “I think of you as a man, Chase.”

  To prove that, she settled her hands on his arms and slowly slid them up to his shoulders to tangle her fingers behind his neck. “I don’t know what’s going to happen after all of this is over, but I won’t regret having known you. I hope you can forgive everything I did back in the compound and come to feel that way about me, too.”

  When he stepped back, forcing her to release her hold on him, his rejection stung like a physical blow. But then he set down the two rifles he’d been carrying and wrapped her in his arms. His mouth came down hard on hers in a take-no-prisoners kiss. She surrendered willingly to the moment.

  When they finally came up for air, Chase brushed a lock of her hair back from her face, his mouth curved up in a soft smile. “I think that pretty much sums up how I’m feeling about you right now.”

  She smiled back up at him. “Good to know.”

  He reached for his weapons. “I’ve been looking for a good spot to hunker down for the rest of the nig
ht. We should stay close to the stream, but I want to make sure we can’t be seen from above. Can you keep going for a little while longer?”

  It had been a relief to forget about the danger that was dogging their every footstep for a few seconds, but he was right. If they were going to survive this, they couldn’t afford to forget that the enemy forces were coming at them from multiple directions.

  “Yeah, I can keep going.”

  Even if it killed her. He swooped in for one more kiss before leading her deeper into the shadows.

  Another fifteen, maybe twenty minutes passed in a blur, but Chase finally called a halt to their endless trek. “This looks promising. Wait here while I scout ahead.”

  She coasted to a stop. It was tempting to sit down to give her aching legs a break, but she feared she wouldn’t have the strength to get up again. Luckily, Chase was already back. “We’ll stop here for the night. The stream is only about thirty feet that way. The trees should be thick enough overhead to prevent anyone from seeing us from the sky, and there’s room for both of us to stretch out in the middle of those boulders, which will keep anyone from seeing us from the ground.”

  He must have realized she was running on fumes, because he took her hand in his and basically towed her to their resting spot for the night. “Sit down before you fall down, but don’t go to sleep yet. You need to eat something to replenish your energy level first.”

  He guided her to a small boulder and gently urged her to sit. She knew she should be doing something more useful than just sitting there, but at the moment she had no idea what that might be. Chase dug stuff out of their pack and shortly returned with a pair of open cans. The one he handed her was meat of some kind.

  Wrinkling her nose at the less-than-appetizing smell, she dutifully took a big bite. With considerable effort, she choked down about half of the contents before trading cans with Chase. Cold canned green beans weren’t exactly gourmet food, but at least they tasted better than the meat had.

  When they were done eating, Chase took the empty can from her. “If you need a private moment, head off that way.”

  He pointed back toward the direction they’d come from. “Meanwhile, I’ll cut some branches to make pallets for us to sleep on. It will be more comfortable and help insulate us from the cold ground.”

  Marisol was already up and moving, anxious to be done with the day, but she turned back. “You know we’ll both be warmer if we share body heat. I’m willing if you are.”

  Then she walked into the trees and left it up to him to make the final decision on their sleeping arrangements.

  • • •

  CHASE STOOD SLACK-JAWED and stunned as Marisol disappeared into the darkness. Yeah, they’d shared a kiss a short time ago that had pretty much short-circuited his brain, sending all of his blood pooling below his belt. It had taken everything he had not to press Marisol up against the nearest tree and take her right then and there. But as they’d walked the last distance to their campsite, he’d sternly reminded himself of all the reasons that getting more involved with her was a bad, bad idea.

  Thanks to her mysterious former employer, she had already skated a little too close to the secret world where he lived and fought. Even now, it would take a lot of finesse and just plain good luck to extricate her from the mess she’d gotten herself into. Yeah, she’d made a mistake by taking the job in the first place without realizing the offer was too good to be true, but it was one she wasn’t likely to repeat. Her academic credentials should ensure she’d have no trouble finding a position with a reputable employer. With her brilliant mind, Marisol would go on to do amazing things in the name of medical science.

  He could just picture her in one of those starched lab coats she liked to wear, and that he found inexplicably sexy. The last thing she needed was to stay tangled up with him. Once they got back to civilization, he would head back to southern Missouri to pick up the pieces of his life. There was no way a woman like Marisol would be content to live in a small town. There was a good-sized medical center there that serviced the entire county, but it couldn’t offer her the kind of professional opportunities she’d have in a large city.

  As the negative thoughts kept swirling through his mind, he began cutting cedar branches, one right after another until there was a sizable pile on the ground. Deciding he had enough, he quickly arranged them into two pallets about three feet apart. As soon as he was done, he stepped back to study his handiwork. Footsteps were headed his way, which left him only seconds at best to decide if he really wanted to spend what could be his last night with Marisol sleeping even that small distance away from her.

  In the end, the answer was easy. He quickly shoved the two piles together, finishing just as Marisol stepped into the clearing. He straightened up and dusted his hands on his pants. “Give me a minute in the woods, and I’ll be right back. Then I’ll walk with you down to the water’s edge, so we can both wash up a bit.”

  “I’d appreciate that.”

  He pulled two small packages out of their pack and handed them to her. “While I’m gone, you can open these and spread them out.”

  She couldn’t see as well as he did, but it didn’t take her long to realize the treasure he’d discovered back at the cabin. “Space blankets?”

  “Yep, we’re going to sleep in style tonight. I found them stuck in the back of a drawer in the kitchen. Thought they might come in handy.”

  She was already ripping open the plastic bags. While she put the finishing touches on their bed, he paid a quick visit to the woods to take care of business. Their joint trip down to the stream didn’t take long. Both of them were too tired to linger even though the moonlight reflecting on the rippling water was beautiful.

  Back at camp, he let Marisol get situated in between the blankets before kicking off his shoes and climbing in next to her. The first few seconds were definitely awkward. Evidently he wasn’t the only one who was unsure exactly what Marisol had meant about sharing body heat. He didn’t want to make any assumptions. On the other hand, the memory of how it had been between them last night kept playing out in his head. Being this close without touching her was physically painful. He lay on his back and stared up at the night sky peeking through the trees overhead and tried to think good and noble thoughts. It didn’t help.

  “Chase?”

  “Yeah?”

  Evidently he’d sounded pretty gruff, because she immediately turned away from him. “Never mind.”

  “Sorry, Marisol. I didn’t mean to growl.”

  When she didn’t immediately respond, he rolled to his side and spooned his body around hers. “What did you want, honey?”

  He must have gotten it right this time, because she relaxed into him. The slight wiggle she gave when her backside tucked in tight against his cock gave him hope that they’d spend the night doing more than sleeping tangled up in each other’s arms.

  “You haven’t answered my question. What do you want from me, Marisol?”

  His words hung there between them, his pulse racing as he waited for her to finally answer. When she struggled to move, he immediately backed away a few inches to give her the space she needed. It was disappointing, but he couldn’t blame her for being reluctant. But then she did an amazing thing. She turned toward him and then sat up to peel off her shirt. Even though her actions let out all the heat that had already built up under the thin blanket, he didn’t care, not one damn bit. When she’d also shimmied out of her pants, she once again stretched out against him and reached up to cup the side of his face with the warmth of her hand.

  “Like I’ve said, I don’t know what’s going to happen when all of this is over. But for as long as we’re together, I want this.”

  Only a crazy man would reject what she was offering, so he covered her hand with his and then kissed her palm. “Hold that thought.”

  He quickly stripped off his own clothes and then pulled her back into his arms, a perfect fit. It was too dark to pick out many details, but he
had a damn good memory. Touching her brought back vivid images of her pretty breasts and the rosy flush of her skin as he’d learned his way around her body. For now, that would be enough.

  “Kiss me.”

  The lady liked to give orders, but luckily for them both he was in the mood to follow them—but only on his terms. He brushed his lips along the curve of her neck down to the pulse point at the dip at the top of her collarbone.

  She tugged on his hair, trying to redirect his efforts. He smiled against her skin. “Patience, woman.”

  Although he understood her need to rush things. They both knew the clock was winding down. Eventually they’d find their way out of this mess and resume their real lives, the ones where a newly minted doctor could pursue her dreams and a Paladin could return to the front lines of the endless battle that defined who he was. She could get a fresh start while he figured out if what he’d experienced in the compound had significantly shortened his “use by” date. Not exactly a happy thought.

  Marisol captured his face with both hands, her voice revealing her concern. “Chase, are you still with me?”

  Damn, he was a total idiot. He’d gotten so caught up in his dark thoughts that he’d lost track of what was really important. The future would take care of itself no matter how it played out for each of them. This moment, though, was theirs to control, and he owed it to both of them to make the most of it.

  The least he could do was apologize. “Sorry, I got . . . to thinking.”

  “About?”

  “Too many things, none of which are important right now. I promise it won’t happen again.”

  She stopped him when he started to pick up where he’d left off now that he’d gotten his head back in the game. “Seriously, we don’t have to do this if you’ve changed your mind.”

  He pinned her hands over her head. “I haven’t changed my mind, Marisol. I want this. I want you. Never doubt that. It just hit me hard that this is all going to come to an end one way or another. While I’ll be glad to say good-bye to the rest of this, I won’t be happy to say good-bye to you.”