Darkness Unknown

by Alexis Morgan

  “He’ll probably tell the Regents that two broken legs, some cracked ribs, and a few bone-deep sword cuts shouldn’t be enough to keep a fine Paladin like you down.”

  “And that’s probably true, except for the whole being dead part. As much as I like to think I’m as tough as they come, I seem to need a pulse to function.”

  “Wuss.”

  “And proud of it.”

  The dark humor helped to restore Jarvis’s equilibrium. He held out his coffee cup and clinked against Jake’s as a toast. “To us wusses, and to a job well done.”

  Jake finally pushed his plate aside, then nodded toward the file tucked under Jarvis’s tray. “I assume you’ve been too busy to read that yet.”

  “Yeah, I’d forgotten about it until this morning. I’ll read through it after I finish breakfast.” Then he frowned. “I had told the boy to call me anytime. He’s been trying to reach me for days.”

  Jake set his cup down and leaned back in his chair. “So what are you going to tell him?”

  “I haven’t figured that out yet. It needs to be simple and believable. Even if he’s too young to ask a lot of questions, his sister isn’t.”

  “How about the truth? The boy’s going to have to hear it eventually.”

  “I hadn’t planned on telling him anything about us until we had a chance to work on martial arts together. Once we start weapons training, I was going to bring him in gradually, especially considering he’s underage.”

  “Sounds like a plan. As long as you keep the sister out of the loop, it won’t be hard to convince Chase to sign up.” Jake’s smile looked a bit tarnished around the edges. “I can almost remember when I was young enough to think all of this was noble. I couldn’t wait to save the world.”

  A world that had no idea how much it owed to a handful of men who sacrificed their bodies and their minds for the good of mankind. Jarvis understood the need for secrecy, but a little appreciation from those who did know what the Paladins did would be nice.

  “Keeping Gwen out of the loop isn’t going to be easy. I suspect the two of them are closer than most siblings. After all, she’s been as much a mother to the boy as an older sister. No matter how I break it to her that her baby brother is a born warrior, she isn’t going to like it.”

  “Worried that she’ll kill the messenger?”

  Jarvis hated the sympathy in his friend’s eyes. He hungered for more of Gwen’s kisses and a whole lot more, and knew that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon—or maybe ever.

  “I’m worried that now she won’t trust me alone with him long enough to even tell him, especially if she’s as mad as he sounded. The boy is getting too volatile to tolerate even that much frustration. I’ve got to come up with a plausible explanation of where I’ve been, where I couldn’t make a phone call. Any suggestions?”

  “Tell them that you work for a classified government agency, one that requires you to be on call twenty-four/seven.” Jake leaned back in his chair and smiled. “With everything on the news these days about homeland security, who’s to argue?”

  “Not bad.” Jarvis looked at the idea from every angle he could think of. “But what could I be doing where I couldn’t make any phone calls?”

  “Security, my man, security. No news in, no news out until the crisis is past.”

  “Hell, that’s even the truth. Works for me.” He picked up the file. “I’ll go give this stuff a quick read and then make the call. If you hear an explosion coming from my quarters, you’ll know things didn’t go well.”

  “If that happens, I’ll deliver the pieces to Doc Cosby. Now that the barrier is stable, he’ll need a victim to work on to keep his skills sharp. After spending some time with you, he’ll realize what a joy I am.”

  Jarvis laughed and walked away, feeling a helluva lot better. On his way back to his room, he stopped to check on the barrier and to see if the new guys were doing their job. They were scattered around the main cavern, looking pretty much at home. Good.

  He hoped that the Regents made a few of the transfers permanent. With all that had happened in the past few months, both in Missouri and out on the coast in Seattle, the organization was due for a major shake-up. Two Regents had been killed, one who deserved it and one who didn’t. And that wasn’t all. Although it would be interesting to see how it all played out, it was their problem. He had his own.

  Inside his room, he pulled a soda out of the small refrigerator and flopped down on the bed. It didn’t take him long to hit the high points in the file. Harvey had been well liked, considered a leader among the locals. One fact leaped off the page: he’d been killed permanently in some woods a bit west of the installation. Could that have been along the same stretch of river where Jarvis himself had run into the group of Others? That bore checking into.

  He set the Harvey papers aside to give to Chase someday, when the boy was ready to hear it. For now, he’d give Gwen a picture of Harvey for her brother to keep.

  Jarvis eyed his cell phone, feeling like it was a guilty conscience poking and prodding at him. He guzzled the rest of his soda, wishing it would take away the bad taste that having to lie to Gwen Mosely left in his mouth. His first loyalty was to the Regents and his fellow Paladins. He knew his duty and he’d do it.

  That didn’t mean he liked it. He reached for his phone and started to punch in Chase’s number—to hell with it. At this point the boy was more likely to hang up on Jarvis than listen to reason. Despite Chase’s size, he wasn’t strong enough to physically throw Jarvis off their farm, no matter how mad he was.

  Seeing Gwen again was just icing on the cake, a sweet temptation he wasn’t strong enough to resist without some help. He hit Jake’s number on the speed dial to invite him along for the ride. Jake was closer to Chase’s age by a good fifteen years, and if they started lessons, it might help to have a second person to demonstrate the different moves.

  Jake would also serve as a buffer between Jarvis and Gwen, helping him maintain a safe distance from her pretty green eyes and those tantalizing freckles.

  “Jake, meet me out front. You’re going with me.” He disconnected the call before his friend could respond, figuring Jake would have plenty of time to give him grief in the car.

  Chapter 5

  Gwen lost herself in the soothing rhythm of carding a bag of alpaca fiber. If she finished in time, she’d start spinning it into yarn. Here in the sanctuary of her workroom, which took up half of their small barn, she was safe from all the aggravations and anger that awaited her right outside the door.

  She wasn’t sure who she was more upset with, but Chase and Jarvis Donahue were definitely at the top of her list. Her brother had stormed out of the house an hour ago, pausing only long enough to whistle for Larry to join him before disappearing into the woods. He’d left without saying where he was going, how long he was going to be gone, and without doing his chores.

  She’d watched him leave, wishing there was something she could have done, short of dumping a bucket of cold water over his head, that would have cooled his raging temper. Granted, it didn’t take much these days to set him off, but getting sent home early from football practice hadn’t helped. The coach had called her before Chase had time to get back home to warn her there’d been a problem. Evidently Chase had gotten frustrated and thrown his helmet. The only thing that had saved him from getting kicked off the team for good was that he’d hurled it away from the people clustered on the field. Even so, Chase was officially on probation now. One more problem and he was off the team.

  Although she’d spent much of last season on pins and needles, worried that Chase would hurt someone, she would hate to see him humiliated that way, even if it was his own fault. Which led her right to the other man she was definitely not happy with. If Jarvis hadn’t been serious about helping Chase, or even if something had changed and he couldn’t, the least he could have done was answer her brother’s phone calls. Damn the man!

  There was only one male in her life who was st
ill in her good graces: Dozer. She leaned down to scratch his ears.

  “It’s just you and me, big boy.” She smiled when he leaned in closer for more. “If your buddy Chase doesn’t straighten out, you’ll be the one eating a pork chop for dinner tonight, and he’ll be eating kibble with Larry. How does that sound?”

  Dozer looked up at her with worshipful brown eyes and thumped his tail. At least he was smart enough to appreciate her efforts. When she resumed her carding, he lay back down with a sigh. But before his eyes had time to close, his head jerked back up off the floor and he lurched to his feet. He shook briefly, rattling the tags on his collar, before walking over to sniff at the door.

  Gwen watched and waited. He only seemed curious, making her wonder what he was hearing that she wasn’t. She set her carding aside before following Dozer’s lead and opening the door. As soon as she saw the car coming down the driveway, she considered ducking back inside and locking the door.

  It was bad enough that she was mad at Jarvis, but once again he’d given her no warning. With her luck, he’d be wearing something right out of GQ, and here she was in cutoffs and one of Chase’s old T-shirts. And to top it all off, there was a second man in the car. Just great.

  She waited until the Chevelle rolled to a stop, then she stepped out into the sunshine, using her hand to shade her eyes. When Jarvis didn’t immediately climb out of the car, she wondered if he was a little unsure of his welcome. Her temper softened, but only a little. He had some serious explaining to do before she’d roll out the red carpet.

  The passenger door opened first and a young man climbed out. He was as tall as Jarvis, and built along the same lean lines. He gave her a tentative smile and started toward her. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited to see what he had to say for himself.

  “Hi. I’m Jake Beck, a friend of Jarvis’s. You must be Gwen Mosely.”

  “I am.” She looked past him toward the car. “Your friend afraid I’ll take his head off if he sticks it out of the car?”

  Jake smothered a laugh. “Something like that. Seriously, Jarvis wants a chance to explain, but he’ll turn around and leave if that’s what you want. Or I can act as a go-between.” He dropped his voice. “He’s been beating himself up pretty badly all the way here. Will you at least listen to what he has to say?”

  That did it—she couldn’t send them packing without giving Jarvis a fair hearing. She always was a soft touch; just ask every stray cat and dog in the county.

  “Tell him I’ll listen, but if I don’t like what I hear, the two of you will be driving right back to wherever you came from. Have a seat on the porch. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

  Jake’s smile widened. “Thank you. You won’t regret it.”

  She had her doubts about that, considering her dog had just forsaken her and was sitting beside Jarvis’s door, begging for his attention. Rather than call the furry traitor away from his hero, she walked with great dignity into the house and closed the door. In the kitchen, she sagged against the counter, fighting to bring her pulse under control. Jarvis was back. She’d like to think that her excitement was because of how badly Chase needed what Jarvis could teach him, but that would be a lie.

  If she was going to meet him on equal ground, she needed to change clothes and collect her thoughts. Jarvis and his buddy could just cool their heels for a few minutes while she went upstairs. Was her green sundress ironed?

  Not that she wanted to impress Jake and his lily-livered friend. Nope, not one bit.

  Sitting on the porch felt only a degree or two cooler than hell, but at least Gwen hadn’t run for her rifle when he pulled in. He’d take this stifling heat over skulking back to the Center with his tail between his legs anyday. Although that might still happen, at least Gwen was willing to give him a chance to explain.

  Seeing her again had hit him hard. Judging by the sideways glances Jake was giving him, he wasn’t hiding it very well either. Maybe it hadn’t been such a smart idea to bring his friend with him.

  “Are those the woods where she found your sorry ass?” Jake nodded toward the tree-covered hills out past the pasture.

  “Must be, but I didn’t think to ask.”

  Jake snickered. “If I’d come back from the dead looking at her, I wouldn’t have been thinking about my sword either. At least not the one I fight with anyway.”

  Jarvis groaned, and looked to make sure the door was still closed. “Speaking of that, I still need to go out there and look for my sword. It would be bad enough if either of the Moselys found it, but can you imagine the ruckus if someone else stumbled across a bloody sword? Every cop within fifty miles would be out searching for a dead body. That’s all we’d need.”

  Jake sat up straighter in the rocker. “The Regents would have a cow if we caused a cleanup mission of that size right now. With all that’s happened here lately, and especially in Seattle, heads would roll. I plan on keeping a low profile until the dust settles.” Jake shot Jarvis a worried look. “If the barrier stays stable, maybe the two of us can backtrack from the Center and see if we can find it.”

  “I’d planned on doing exactly that, but with the barrier thinking it’s a damn yo-yo, there hasn’t been time.” He had to warn his friend. “I don’t want you in the line of fire if all hell does break loose around here. I figure I’m at the top of the Regents’ shit list. They don’t much like the way I get in their faces about how they understaff, underfund, and under-everything-else around here. Then there’s the little matter of letting Trahern bring Brenna inside without clearance, not to mention two dead cops and a Regent.”

  He gave Jake a rueful smile. “So unless you want to serve on some desert island with only me for company, you might want to start distancing yourself to avoid the fallout.”

  Jake’s expression turned hard. “Not going to happen.”

  Before Jarvis could argue the point, the door behind them opened. He jumped to his feet to open the screen door for Gwen, looking cool in a dress that emphasized her red hair and green eyes. God, he hoped he wasn’t drooling.

  She might not be happy with him right now, but that hadn’t stopped her from bringing out iced tea for them.

  Jake took the tray from her and set it down. “Thank you, ma’am. Something cold will hit the spot.” He gave her a winning smile.

  Son of a bitch, he’d brought Jake along because he was closer to Chase’s age. He hadn’t stopped to think that made him about Gwen’s age. How stupid could he have been?

  “Here, take my seat.” Jarvis motioned her toward the rocker. “I can sit on the floor.”

  Gwen arched an eyebrow. “You really are here to grovel, aren’t you? Good—you should be.”

  Jarvis’s former friend laughed. “Miss Mosely, would you mind if I took a glass of tea and went to look at your alpacas? I’ve never seen one up close.”

  “Call me Gwen.” She handed him a glass. “Go ahead and say hi to them. Contrary to popular opinion, they don’t spit, not unless you do something stupid and provoke them. They’ve been skittish this past week, maybe because of those earthquakes in the area. Did you hear about them?”

  “Yeah, I heard.” He took a long drink of the tea. “Thanks for the drink and for the warning. I’ll be sure and watch my manners.” He left the porch and strolled out toward the pasture.

  Dozer seemed torn between following Jake and staying close to Gwen. Family loyalty won out and he flopped down on the porch, but positioned himself to keep an eye on the interesting new stranger. Gwen stood with her back to Jarvis, watching Jake.

  Jarvis had thought Gwen looked damned cute earlier in those snug shorts and her oversized shirt. But the dress she had on now made him want to drag her back into the house, if only to keep Jake away from her. His friend wasn’t one to poach, but Jarvis had no real claim on her, either. And at the moment, she seemed to find Jake more interesting than she did him.

  Which really pissed him off. He moved closer, knowing he shouldn’t crowd her, but he couldn’t h
elp himself. He wanted to lean down and kiss the small spray of freckles on her shoulder so badly he could taste it. Time for explanations.

  “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t return Chase’s calls. I didn’t get the messages until last night, when it was too late to call. Sometimes my job gets pretty intense. When that happens, I can’t focus on anything else.”

  She still wouldn’t look at him, but the hum of tension in her stance made it clear that she was listening. “So intense that you couldn’t find five minutes in six whole days to make one call? What kind of job gets that intense?”

  He had to touch her; he couldn’t help himself. Gently, so she wouldn’t feel threatened, he tugged her around to face him. “I have the kind of job that I can’t talk about. And before you ask, I can’t predict when things will all go to hell like they did. This week has been a bitch, but you’ll have to take my word on that. Or not.”

  Gwen looked him dead in the eye, looking for what, he didn’t know. Hoping she found it, he continued. “I don’t know if it means anything, but given my druthers, I would have been here for Chase.” Then he risked a light kiss on her lips. “And for you.”

  She didn’t kiss him back, but at least she didn’t move away. “That night in the woods, you were working, weren’t you?” It wasn’t really a question. “Is it always that dangerous?”

  There was no way she’d believe him if he denied it; she’d been the one to drag him in from the woods. He hedged his bets. “Not always.”

  “But often enough.” Her pretty eyes looked sad. “I saw faint scars on your body when I…” Her cheeks flushed with color.

  Jarvis shushed her with a finger across her lips. “Yes, I’ve been hurt before and will be again. But you already know how well I heal, so don’t let that freak you out.”

  She opened her mouth to reply, but the sound of a dog barking made her step back to put some space between them, almost tripping over Dozer. Jarvis reached out to steady her, then immediately dropped his hand. Obviously she didn’t want Chase to get any wrong ideas.