Dark Defender Read online

  How could he be so gentle with her and yet deal out brutal death with such relish? A woman would have to be a saint or a fool to fall in love with a Paladin and share that life with him. Since she’d never considered herself to be either one, maybe it was time to start figuring out exactly where that left the two of them.

  When fall came, she planned on being back at the university. Blake would resume his life in Seattle, fighting his war as long as he could. She only hoped that after this powerful lust for each other burned out they could part as friends. However, now that he was back in her life again, she wanted to keep him there.

  Ritter paced the floor, pausing often to glare at the clock on the wall. The bitch was here; so close he could almost smell her perfume. And when she was almost within his grasp; with whatever information her nosy father had left with her, the damn Others had to attack. The guards had been called down to lend support and wouldn’t let him near the cavern while all hell was breaking loose.

  They tried to tell him that it was for his own protection, but he knew they figured he’d just be in the way. He tried to convince them that he wanted nothing to do with the fighting, that his concern was for the safety of Miss Nichols, but that had gotten him nowhere. So now he was stuck prowling the upper floors, while everything he needed to finish this mess hovered just out of his reach.

  The elevators would only respond to those with battle codes, so he might as well leave and send for his two detectives. It was past time for them to earn their keep.

  There was only one road in and out of the compound. He’d direct them to wait for Trahern and his woman to leave; then it would be a simple matter to ambush them. How sad that the innocent Ms. Nichols would be killed in a shootout between her kidnapper and the police. And what a tragedy that the police would die, as well.

  Feeling energized, he left the building and headed for his car. The sullen heat of a Missouri afternoon hit him like a sauna, but he didn’t care. In seconds he’d be enjoying the comfort of leather seats and air conditioning, while those sons of bitches down in the cavern were fighting for their lives.

  Yes, some days things just went right according to plan.

  Swan shifted in his seat, stretching his arms overhead and hitting the ceiling of the car. “How long do we have to wait?”

  “As long as it takes.” Montgomery was getting annoyed with his partner’s constant questions. It was like working with a five-year-old.

  “Did he say when Trahern and the woman would be coming this way?” Swan looked around at the desolate scenery. “Or even why they’d be coming this way? Hell, there’s nothing out here for miles and miles.”

  Montgomery agreed, but bitching about it every ten minutes didn’t help. He needed to take a piss and stretch his legs. “You stay with the car. I’ll be right back.”

  “Where are you going?”

  As if he couldn’t figure that out for himself. They’d been swigging coffee and bottled water for the past five hours. The only reason Swan wasn’t answering nature’s call was that he was fifteen years younger. In a few more years, his prostate would have him pissing in the bushes, too.

  Unless they ended up in jail for this little escapade, but that didn’t bear thinking about. They’d hired on to do a job, and they had to see it through. This whole mess stunk to high heaven, but there wasn’t much they could do about it now. Even if he hadn’t already spent most of the money he’d been paid up front, Mr. Knight wasn’t the kind to accept refunds from an employee who’d developed a distaste for the work.

  Although it felt good to walk around outside, the day was hot and getting hotter. At least they’d found a spot along the dirt road wide enough to back the car into the shade of some trees. That was something else that had him puzzled. How had Mr. Knight managed to track Trahern to such a remote spot, anyway?

  The road didn’t appear on any map Montgomery had looked at. It made sense that Trahern would have looked for a safe hiding place, especially if he needed to hole up until his bullet wound healed, but out here? Sure, it would be easy to guard with only one way in, but that also meant there was only one way out.

  He picked a handy tree and took care of business. After zipping his pants, he headed up a small rise to learn more about their surroundings.

  As he neared the top of the hill, he crouched down. Maybe there was nothing on the other side but more miles of rolling terrain and trees, but there was no need to make a target of himself. Making his way from tree to tree, he reached the top of a rocking outcropping overlooking a small valley.

  His caution paid off. He could just make out the road twisting through the woods below where it passed through a high, chain-link fence. He worked his way to the right, careful to keep the trees between him and anyone who might be watching from below. His new position gave him a better line of sight, and what he saw made his pulse race.

  There was a gate manned by two armed guards in military uniforms. Son of a bitch! It was one thing to take out a loner; and if Trahern’s death would bring down the wrath of the military, he wanted nothing to do with it.

  He barreled down the hillside. They needed to get the hell out of Dodge while they had the chance. The heat and humidity, combined with a solid dose of fear, had him panting for breath when he reached the car. He yanked open the door and clambered inside. Turning the key, he ground the starter and had to try a second time to get the engine started.

  “We are so screwed! We’re getting out of here now; I’ll explain when we’re someplace safe.”

  When Swan didn’t respond, Montgomery reached over to shake him awake. How could the stupid bastard sleep, with the car bouncing over the dirt road? His hand came away wet, and it took his brain a second too long to realize it was blood dripping from his fingers, then to see the knife sticking out of Swan’s ribs.

  A sick certainty of his own imminent death washed over him just as the windshield shattered and pain exploded in his chest. His hands slipped free of the steering wheel, sending the car off the road to crash into the trees.

  The engine sputtered and died, leaving the woods eerily silent except for the sound of his own labored breathing. A shadow passed over his eyes, but it wasn’t the Grim Reaper. Or, maybe in a way it was, since his former employer stood beside the car with a large gun in his hand.

  Ritter pointed the gun at Montgomery’s left temple, smiling as he pulled the trigger.

  “Devlin is coming in tonight.” Trahern dropped into a chair and propped his feet up on the other one.

  Jarvis looked up from his desk with a frown. “Why the hell is he coming here?”

  Trahern figured he was about to piss off Jarvis in a major way and liked the idea. “Because he wants to.”

  Since he couldn’t take his mood out on Brenna, he’d decided to pick a fight with someone else; Jarvis was a handy target, one whose mood matched his own. The Regent had disappeared during the fight, and until they knew what he was up to, neither of them would rest easy.

  “I need a better reason than that. Bane may rule the roost out there on the coast, but he’s not in charge here.” Jarvis pushed his chair away from his desk, as if sensing where the discussion was headed.

  “Okay.” Trahern laced his fingers together and cracked his knuckles. “I was lonely and invited him to visit.”

  “I’ve got enough trouble here without you deciding to have a party.” Jarvis’s eyes narrowed, his temper already starting to simmer. “Call him back and tell him not to come.”

  “Sorry, no can do.” Trahern smiled nastily. “His plane left an hour ago.”

  “Damn it, Trahern, I don’t need Bane’s interference! Go meet his plane and get back on it with him.” He stood and leaned across the desk. “You brought this mess here; you can just take it back to Seattle with you.”

  Trahern’s phone call asking for help may have gotten the judge killed, but the blue stone in Jarvis’s pocket was proof that the problem wasn’t just in the Pacific Northwest.

  They both knew it
, and just that quickly, all the steam went out of Trahern’s need to fight. He slumped back in the chair and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I should have talked to you about Devlin earlier, but it wouldn’t have changed anything. Once he gets an idea in his head, there’s no changing his mind. He has someone he wants to look at the stone.”

  “One of your lab guys?”

  “He didn’t say.” Trahern had a good idea exactly who would be stepping off the plane with Bane, but he wasn’t about to start that fight until he knew for sure.

  Jarvis slowly sank back into his chair. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. “Days like these are enough to make me want to retire.”

  As if any of them ever got to do that. The genes that made them Paladins were so rare, there were never enough of them to go around. In past centuries, the strongest of warriors always had their choice of women, ensuring that a fair number of Paladins were born each year. Modern birth control had changed that.

  Which meant Jarvis would retire the same way Trahern would: at the wrong end of a needle.

  “Where’s Brenna?”

  “She’s resting. She says she has a headache.” Jarvis’s laugh was nasty. “Worn out your welcome in her bed already? I’d say that’s a record, even for you.”

  Maybe they’d have that fight after all. “These past few days have been hard on her. First she lost her father, then everything else that’s followed. She must think she’s living in an X Files episode.”

  “I suspect she’s strong enough to handle anything you throw at her.”

  “Yeah, right,” he sighed.

  “I mean it, Trahern. I’ll even admit to some jealousy. No woman has ever looked at me the way she looks at you.”

  “That was before she saw me kill one of the Others.” He’d looked back to make sure she’d made it out safely just after he’d separated an Other’s head from his shoulders. “Knowing I kill for a living is one thing. Seeing it is another.”

  Jarvis shrugged. “She’ll get over it.”

  Well, if she didn’t, he’d been fine without her for years. He’d be fine again. And if he said that often enough, he might even manage to convince himself.

  Before he could wallow in self-pity, Jarvis’s phone rang. His friend answered and listened for a few seconds with a seriously pissed off expression on his face.

  When he slammed down the receiver, he said, “There’s a car parked in the woods down the road. One of the guards thought he caught sight of someone up on the hilltop just outside of the gate and sent a patrol.” Jarvis looked grim. “They’ve got the vehicle in sight now, but they’re holding off making an approach until we get there.”

  He reached into his bottom drawer and pulled out a pair of guns. He shoved one in the back of his waistband and held the other out to Trahern. “Once in a while we get some teenagers looking for a quiet spot to make out, but they never drive this far back.”

  Glad to have something to do, Trahern accepted the gun. It wouldn’t take two Paladins and a squad of guards to run off a couple of trespassers, but they’d make a handy target for his bad mood.

  Outside, the sun was starting its slow slide behind the hills to the west. Jarvis had called back the guards, leaving one in position to notify them if anything changed. They kept to the road and were about to cut across country when Jarvis’s cell phone rang.

  “Son of a bitch! We’ll be right there.” He took off at a ground-eating lope straight down the center of the road.

  Trahern fell into step beside him. “What happened?”

  “It looked like one guy was dozing in the car while his buddy was out exploring. Then all of a sudden, the snoopy one came tearing out of the woods, jumped in the car, and took off. The car only went about a hundred feet when someone shot out the windshield, causing the driver to lose control. There was one more gunshot after that.”

  The guard waited for them just inside the tree line fifty yards down the road. He stepped out of the shadows to make sure they saw him, then faded back into the trees. Until they knew who was shooting, they wouldn’t make targets of themselves.

  “The car is over there.” The guard pointed down the hill toward a stand of pines. “I’ve been watching since the car was hit, but I haven’t seen anyone moving, inside or out.”

  Trahern had a bad feeling about the whole scene. “I’ll circle around wide and come at them from the right. Give me about four minutes to get into position before making your approach.”

  Jarvis nodded. “I’ll take the left.” He glanced at the guard. “Hold this position until one of us tells you otherwise.”

  Then they both moved out. Someone else was out in the woods; Trahern could almost smell the bastard. But whoever it was didn’t want to be seen. Was he hoping to use the car as a trap to lure Jarvis or Trahern into his sights? If he wasn’t familiar with Paladins, he’d think a bullet would bring them down. If he did know about Paladins, he’d be putting as much distance between him and the car as possible. Depending on how good a shot he was, he could still go for a head shot to take out Jarvis or Blake himself.

  Say, someone like their missing Regent.

  Trahern couldn’t wait to find out; it would feel good to have a tangible target. He slowed his pace, listening for any sounds of his quarry. The dense undergrowth in the woods made it difficult to look for any sign of the shooter. Finally, he found where leaves were disturbed. The trail turned back toward the road. He could see the light of the dying sun glinting off the hood of the car.

  Trahern froze and listened. The woods were silent, except for the drone of cicadas and the occasional stirring of some small animal. Nothing that sounded like a man running in full panic, or even walking.

  Either the shooter was long gone or he’d gone to ground somewhere close by. Trahern approached the car. Even if their quarry shot at him, Jarvis would have a good idea of where the bastard was.

  The car was silent except for the hiss of steam from the ruptured radiator. Neither of the car’s passengers was moving. Maybe they’d been knocked unconscious by the impact, but his gut feeling was that they were dead. He crouched down and ran the last little distance, zigzagging between the trees.

  The man in the passenger seat was angled toward the window, staring out of sightless eyes. The driver had the back of his head blown off—most likely the second shot the guard heard. Trahern felt, rather than heard, Jarvis moving up beside him.

  “Are they dead?”

  “Very.”

  “Recognize them?” Jarvis peered over Trahern’s shoulder.

  “Yeah. It’s the two cops who were investigating the judge’s death. The ones who shot me.” Trahern backed away from the car and studied the surrounding woods. They felt empty now.

  Jarvis gave a low whistle. “Who wanted them dead?”

  “I don’t think they stumbled onto this road by accident. It’s not on any maps, and it’s a hell of a long way out of their jurisdiction. I’d guess someone lured them out here, although I doubt the original plan was to kill them. At least not yet.”

  “You sound like you have some idea of who pulled the trigger.” Jarvis looked past the car to study the woods around them.

  “Well, we have a Regent missing and now we have two dead cops. Too much of a coincidence for my money.”

  Jarvis’s dark eyes were worried. “Mine, too. I feel like a sitting duck standing here. Let’s call for cleanup and get our asses back inside the gate.”

  “How long can we keep these deaths under wraps?” Trahern asked.

  “Long enough. Why?”

  “Because it’s time to go on the attack. I doubt those two were lily white, but they didn’t deserve to die, either. I want to buy us enough time to track down the bastard who was pulling their strings and take him out. He killed the judge, and he killed them. It’s payback time.”

  As they returned to the compound, the only thing Trahern couldn’t figure out was why the man hadn’t just run after killing the cops. Surely his plan for esc
ape was already in place. The only reason Blake could think of was that the judge’s data implicated more than the Regent. And whoever was next up on the food chain must be scary indeed, if Ritter was willing to risk his life to get the information. Good. That meant they had a good chance of rooting out the source of the corruption this time.

  Chapter 13

  W hen the click of the door opening woke her, Brenna kept her eyes closed. She’d fallen asleep trying to decide what to do, but still had no answers.

  Her stomach churned at the memory of the Other’s head separating from his body and flying across the cavern, flinging blood in an arcing spray as it tumbled end over end. She had envisioned the Others as some kind of monsters from a horror movie; instead, they looked human.

  Maybe she was naïve. She’d grown up watching one war after another on the nightly news. Was this really any different?

  Blake would say so. So would Jarvis and the rest of the Paladins out there. They’d dedicated their lives to protecting the world from the Others, and maybe they were right. But that didn’t make it any easier to stomach. She’d give almost anything to be able to return to those days of innocence before she knew about Paladins and the battles they fought.

  But she couldn’t make it go away; eventually she had to face Trahern. And it looked like that time was now.

  The door swung closed. “You don’t need to creep around,” Brenna said. “I’m awake.”

  She turned on the light beside the bed and was shocked to see not Blake, but the Regent who’d disappeared up the elevator. He stared at her with wild eyes and a nasty smile, a gun in his hands.

  “What are you doing in here?” She yanked up the covers; his cold smile made her skin crawl.

  “I’m here to take care of a loose end.” He spoke as if that were something people said to each other every day.

  She fought the urge to hide under the blankets. “I’m not a loose end, buster. And you’d better get out of here before Trahern gets back. He’s the jealous type.”