Bound By Darkness Part 13

Sasha gasped. "That's awful! The b.a.s.t.a.r.d should be gutted for that!"

Larem agreed with her bloodthirsty reaction. "The police and Animal Control got a tip and were able to break up the ring. Unfortunately, some of the dogs were too far gone to save. Chance was almost one of them. The vet was able to repair the damage, but the dog's lack of trust for anyone on two legs made it difficult to treat him after the anesthesia wore off."

"He obviously trusts you." She hurried her steps long enough to be able to pet the dog's head. "I can't imagine mistreating an animal like that."

"It's taken a lot of hard-fought battles for me to get him this far. You've gotten closer to him in the past fifteen minutes than I did in weeks."

"But you laid the groundwork."

Even so, Sasha seemed pleased by his a.s.sessment as they continued down the street. At the end of the block, she stopped. "I'd better go. The past few days have put me behind on a few things. But D.J. and Cullen have managed to make progress on Colonel Kincade's files. He sure left things in total chaos."

No surprise there. "That man was a monster."

One who had played games with lives on both sides of the barrier. His involvement in the theft of the blue stones from Kalithia had led directly to the series of events that destroyed Larem's old life and forced him into this one. Instead of serving his world as an honored warrior, here he was walking a dog. He drew great satisfaction from being able to soothe the wounded spirits of Dr. Isaac's patients. But life in this world wasn't the same and never would be.

"I won't argue that. Unfortunately, Kincade managed to hide his activities so well that no one even suspected what he was up to."

Larem disagreed. "The Paladins certainly knew, but either no one wanted to hear what they had to say on the matter or someone was covering for him."

"Why do you say that?" Sasha came to an abrupt halt. "Do you know something specific or are you just guessing? My father and the other Regents would've done something if they'd known."

All right, either she was gullible or too innocent to see the darkness in others. He suspected it was the latter.

"Sasha, the man got away with robbing my world for years. He had to have left a trail, especially when it's obvious that he wasn't working alone. There was the guard who tried to kill Laurel, and that Regent in Missouri who shot Trahern. Not to mention whoever killed that very same Regent before Jarvis and the Paladins were able to interrogate him."

Sasha's pale skin took on an ashen hue. He reached out to steady her, but she jerked back out of his reach. "You're not privy to the inner workings of the Regents."

"No, I'm not." He stepped closer, deliberately crowding her. "But I have personal experience in dealing with what happens when someone decides the rules don't apply to him. If it weren't for Kincade's unbridled greed, I wouldn't be stuck here with you."

Sasha's eyes briefly widened in obvious shock, then narrowed in anger. "Well, I'm sorry for burdening you with my presence."

Chance whined, clearly confused by the sudden change in the atmosphere. He looked from Larem and then back to Sasha. Larem hadn't meant his comment to be an attack on her, but he didn't regret the blunt truth he'd spoken.

"You're not the Regents, Sasha." But she was their representative, and they both knew it.

"No, but I hope to be one, and I respect the work they've done and what they stand for."

He flexed his hands, trying to control his temper. "Don't ask me to cheer them on when their successes are written in the blood of my people."

She stepped closer, getting right in his face. "If your people would stay where they belong, there'd be no need for the Regents at all. And what about the Paladins? You seem to have no problem with them."

"No, I don't. They are honorable warriors."

In fact his problem at the moment was how much he wanted to wrap this woman in his arms to protect her from everything dark and ugly in this world. She was both strong enough and resilient enough to handle anything that might be thrown at her, but he hated to see her idealism get battered and bruised.

He busied his hands petting Chance's soft fur. "I'm sorry, Sasha. I didn't mean to pick another fight."

It was obvious her own temper was running hot, too, but finally she sighed and retreated a step. "Yes, well, like I said, I have work to do."

He stayed where he was, watching her walk away and wondering how things had spun out of control so quickly. It didn't help that Chance tried to follow her, fighting to break free of the firm grip Larem had on his leash.

"Down, boy." He tugged Chance back by his side. "We have to let her go."

Finally, Chance whined and gave up, his head down and his tail drooping. Larem knew exactly how the big dog felt-it was as if the sun had dimmed and its warmth faded. Both males stood and watched Sasha until she disappeared around the corner. Frustrated and weary, they made their way back to the shelter.

G.o.d, Sasha so didn't want to be having this meeting right now, but neither did she have a good reason to postpone it any longer. Devlin would've come to her, she supposed, but she'd decided that he might appreciate her meeting him on his own turf. It would be interesting to see how this played out. Right now, she'd be grateful if they just got through the next hour without any bloodshed.

Okay, that was an exaggeration, but she'd had a c.r.a.ppy weekend, thanks in part to the fight she'd had with one Larem Jones and his buddy Chance. She wasn't mad at the dog, but she certainly had to question his taste in humans. No, make that his taste in humanoids. Chance probably didn't care about the distinction, but right now it was an important one to her.

If she were being honest about it, she forgot about that distinction herself whenever she and Larem were together, at least right up until he shoved the truth in her face again. Like yesterday when they'd been having such a nice time and then their conversation totally derailed.

Well, now she got it. He hated everything that was important to her. Maybe she shouldn't be so defensive about the Regents, but Larem shouldn't lump them all in with criminals like Kincade.

Granted, he had made a couple of good points. Obviously Kincade hadn't been functioning in a total vacuum. Someone else had to have known he'd been up to something, and the memories of the rogue Regent operating in Missouri and his subsequent murder didn't do much to rea.s.sure her.

But right now she had more immediate problems to deal with. She slowed as she reached the alley, smiling at the guard on duty, who was unfamiliar to her. His hand strayed to his weapon, leaving it there even when she flashed her identification badge. After a quick glance at it, he jerked his head toward the door before turning his attention back to the street.

She thought he even muttered something rude under his breath as she pa.s.sed by, but she wasn't sure enough to call him on it. There was definitely something off about his reaction though. Certainly it was a far chillier welcome than the guards had given her when she first arrived in Seattle. She added it to her mental list of problems to be dealt with as time allowed.

She punched in her authorization code on the keypad and yanked the door open. As she started down the hallway, a familiar figure stepped out of the hall on the right. He turned to walk in the same direction she was heading. Great. Larem was the last person she wanted to see right now.

She dropped back, hoping to avoid any contact. Her ruse didn't work; the man stopped to look back at her. Except it wasn't Larem after all. Given that there was only one other male Kalith who might be roaming these halls, he had to be Barak q'Young.

He waited for her to catch up with him. "You must be Sasha."

"I am, and you must be Barak." She smiled, mostly from relief.

Barak glanced at the briefcase she held in a tight grip. He gave her an odd look before asking, "Are you heading toward Devlin's office? If so, I'm walking in that direction myself."

When she nodded, he fell into step beside her. "So how are you finding life here in Seattle? How does it compare to your home in Missouri?"

At least one of them was capable of carrying on a conversation. "It's really lovely here, and definitely different from Missouri. Not better, just different. You visited with Devlin, didn't you? So you've at least seen some of the area."

He nodded. "My trip was quite brief, but I did get to see part of the Ozarks. Very different from the mountains here. What I remember the most was the heat."

She laughed. "Yes, it does get pretty steamy in the summer. Thank goodness for air-conditioning."

"Indeed." He slowed to a stop. "Well, here we are. It was a pleasure to finally meet you. Perhaps you'd like to join Lacey Sebastian and me for dinner one evening."

"I'd like that," she said, finding that she really meant it. "Just let me know when."

He continued on, cutting through the cl.u.s.ter of desks to where Blake Trahern was talking with Cullen Finley. Both men nodded in her direction as she made her way over to where Devlin was leaning in his doorway obviously waiting for her.

"Am I late?"

"Nope, right on time. Come on in." He straightened up and led the way into his office. "Coffee?"

"Nothing, thanks."

She pulled her chair around to the side of Devlin's desk, hating to have the huge expanse of scarred wood between them while they talked. Somehow sharing the corner of his desk seemed friendlier than sitting on opposite sides.

"Have you had a chance to go over the list I e-mailed you?" Devlin said as he sat, his chair creaking in protest. "Just so you know, I did ask some of the guys for their input."

There was a twinkle in his eyes that made her wonder how much editing he'd had to do before sending along their suggestions.

Knowing D.J., she bet there'd been some doozies. "I take it that a few of the ideas were more interesting than appropriate. Care to share?"

Devlin laughed. "'Interesting' is a tactful way to put it. But, yeah, a couple were quite creative and possibly illegal in some states."

While he spoke, she set her laptop on the edge of the desk and booted it up. "Okay, now you've got my imagination running wild. Tell me your favorite, and I promise not to repeat it, or even ask who came up with it."

The Paladin leader shoved his long hair back out of his way as he gave the matter some thought. "Beer on tap in the barracks down in the tunnels almost made the list."

She grinned at him. "While I can understand the appeal, the thought of unlimited alcohol mixed with swords sounds like a disaster waiting to happen."

"Yeah, that's why I had to say no." Clearly he regretted that being the case. "But otherwise, I tried to make sure that anything that made the final cut would offer the greatest bang for the buck and have the most impact on the Paladins themselves."

"Overall, you did a great job coming up with some pretty creative ideas. We can't afford to do all of them, at least not immediately, but I'd still like to send all of the suggestions back to the Board. I think they'd benefit from hearing what's really needed from the actual boots on the ground."

"Sure, go ahead." But Devlin seemed skeptical.

"What's wrong?"

"Look, Sasha, I know you mean well, but I have asked for almost everything on that list at one time or another, and I've always been shot down. There's never enough money or personnel or some other lame-a.s.s excuse."

Just that quickly his good mood was gone, along with her own. She was getting tired of having to defend the Regents and everything they did for the Paladins. Rather than try that tactic again, she steered the conversation back to the list.

"I can't speak for decisions made in the past, but here's what I can do now." She turned the screen so he could see it. "Of your top five items, I thought these two should be given the most priority."

She highlighted the ones she meant. "If you agree, first thing tomorrow I'll submit the request to purchase more physical therapy equipment for the gym and to hire three more trained medics to work in the labs. I like the idea of recruiting candidates with military backgrounds. It only makes sense."

He nodded. "That was one of Laurel's suggestions, but the guys agreed. With more medics doing triage and treating the more superficial stuff, the Handlers can get started on the serious wounds and the dead faster."

Sasha couldn't help but shudder at the images that came flooding back. The blood, the screams, the dead and dying.

Devlin c.o.c.ked his head to the side and stared at her for several seconds. "Flashback?"

"Yeah, it's getting better, but every so often it takes me by surprise." She mustered up a small smile. "If you want to yell at me some more for what happened, go ahead. You won't be saying anything I haven't already told myself."

"Actually, don't take this wrong, but all things considered I'm almost glad it happened."

Although she wouldn't have wished it on her worst enemy, she'd had the same thought herself.

Devlin continued, "I know it was tough on you, and you probably still feel guilty about what happened to Larem. But now you have a lot better understanding of what it's like for us down in the trenches. It will make you a better Regent than most."

Okay, that surprised her. How did he know that was her dream? She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. "I never said I wanted to be appointed as this area's Regent."

"You didn't have to paste your ambitions on the nearest billboard, Sasha. If all you were here to do was a.s.sess the situation, you would've shown up, reviewed a few files, and then headed back to St. Louis. Besides, if your stay was going to be temporary, you wouldn't be moving into Laurel's condo. Not to mention the way you keep poking your nose into places where it doesn't belong."

Okay, she was tired of hearing that last part, too. "Other than the tunnels, as administrator I should have free access to all facilities. How else am I supposed to know what's going on?"

He held up his hands in surrender. "I don't mean to p.i.s.s you off, but I've seen my share of do-gooders come through here over the years. I'm smart enough to take whatever you're willing to give me to make things better for my men. That doesn't mean I'm naive enough to think that this new enlightened att.i.tude will last. It never does."

She fought to control her temper. "Once again, I can't change what was or wasn't done in the past. I've already said I'll order the equipment and hire the medics. That still leaves some money in the budget. We can talk about other options later if you'd rather."

Devlin pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think we got off track here. I really do appreciate what you're doing. I even believe you'd like to see some changes in how things are done. I'm just saying don't be surprised if these funds suddenly dry up when you try to use them."

He obviously believed every word he said. A sense of dread settled in the pit of her stomach. What if he was right? Would the Board backtrack on their promise when she sent through the authorizations to utilize the funds? She'd already processed the request for additional funding for Laurel's studies. If approval didn't come through in the next couple of days, Sasha would start pus.h.i.+ng.

"Let's go over the rest of the list. I'll do what I can."

He nodded. "That's all anyone can do. At least you're trying, which is more than Kincade did in all the years he was here."

As praise went, it wasn't much. But then she was here to do a job, not to win any popularity contests.

"Okay, how about item number three?"

Chaz looked around for something to kick. According to Rusty's latest report, his daughter had come within a hair's breadth of getting herself killed. What the h.e.l.l had she been thinking? Civilians weren't allowed in the tunnels for good reason.

He'd talked to her since the attack, so she'd obviously survived the experience. But why hadn't she reported the incident? He was her father, d.a.m.n it! This was exactly the kind of thing that made him wish she'd chosen another career path. One that wouldn't get her killed by crazies.

To make matters worse, she'd been saved not by the Paladins but by one of their f.u.c.king pet Others. The last thing Chaz wanted was for Sasha to come into contact with those freaks. G.o.d knows, the Paladins were unstable in their own right, but no one knew for certain what caused the Kalith to turn into Others. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d could've turned on her as easily as not.

The thought of a phone call telling him his little girl had been butchered was the stuff of nightmares. He had half a mind to hop the next flight to Seattle and drag Sasha right back to St. Louis where she belonged. The only thing stopping him was the knowledge that he might not succeed and that she'd never forgive him for even trying.

He also wanted to know where Rusty had been when all this was going down. George had made it clear to the guard that his primary duty was to make sure Sasha was safe. Yes, he had to pull enough s.h.i.+fts to make his transfer to Seattle seem legit, but screw that if it meant he couldn't manage the job he was really sent there to do.

At least for now Sasha was safe and had hopefully learned her lesson. He'd only seen the aftermath of the battles Paladins fought and that was horrible enough. He'd had nightmares for days after seeing a dead Paladin come back to life. Talk about a freak show!

Maybe seeing the carnage Others caused would be enough to ensure that she would figure out a way to rid Seattle of its Kalith residents. The Board of Regents had considered issuing direct orders to dispose of them, but he'd reluctantly argued against that idea. If they ever managed to p.i.s.s off the Paladins enough that they walked away from the job, the whole world would be screwed, not to mention overrun with Others out for blood.

He picked up the authorization requests Sasha had submitted and skimmed them. After stopping to read them more carefully, he considered the implications and had to smile. His daughter sure was h.e.l.l bent on making her presence known, and not just in Seattle. Once her proposed expenditures were approved, the Regents would be hearing from every Paladin installation in the world wanting some of the same, most likely starting with the ones right here in Missouri.

Maybe it was time to roll the dice and see what happened. He reached for his pen and scrawled his name on the requests.

Chapter 11.

Duke glared at the e-mail on his laptop. The sender's address was unfamiliar, the kind he normally deleted without opening. But the subject line on this one was clearly meant for him.