When she stopped for a moment to suck in a large breath of air, Callie reached out and put a hand on her partner’s arm. Amber slammed her mouth shut and sat back in the chair, pursing her lips and twitching her nose from one side to the other.
“As my partner was saying, we know about the shifters and the little war that’s going on. We also know that it’s a worldwide phenomenon, not something isolated to the United States. As far as we’ve been able to determine, it’s been going on for hundreds of years. What we’re trying to do is mitigate the casualties and the damage on our home soil from these shifters.”
“Are you here to arrest me then?”
Both of the women paused and their eyes went wide. They glanced at one another and Amber tried to stammer a response, to no avail. Callie shook her head.
“Mister Yost, you misunderstand us. We aren’t here to arrest you. We’re here to protect you. You’re a US Citizen after all and we must look after our own. Not to mention, you have a set of talents that could prove extremely useful to our department. Have you ever considered serving your country? I imagine it would be preferable to sitting in the middle of nowhere and watching the days pass slowly by.”
“Not to mention, then you could get access to all the cool toys that we have in our department. Trust me, it’d be well worth it. And you’d be doing your country a service and helping to save other people like yourself. You know the old saying, fight fire with fire and all of that. With our resources, we could guarantee your safety.”
Darien turned to look at Susan, trying to gauge her reaction. At first glance, it seemed like something that was too good to be true. If he’d learned anything over the last year, he knew that everything had a cost. She looked him in the eyes, but all she could offer was a shrug. Not that he expected her to have an answer this soon, or one she’d be willing to share in front of the agents. There was also the small detail he needed to share with her about Gregory catching up to them.
“What do you want from me?”
“It’s quite simple, really. We want you to work for us. I can’t even begin to offer a guess as to what your assignment will be. But I do know that you are more than qualified for the position. Your activities over the last year have indicated that. In exchange for your employment, we will of course offer a competitive salary, housing considerations for your companion, as well as other benefits.”
“So… this is a job interview?”
“You could say that. Or you could say that you are such hot shit that we needed to send out a couple of agents—awesome agents I might add—to come pick you up and bring you back for training. That alone should convince you of how highly qualified you are.”
Susan sighed and reached back to grab the end of her braid and fiddle with it. “You don’t strike me as a typical agent.”
“How many agents have you met? Besides, we’re our own branch. Special projects and all that secret stuff.” Amber laughed and Darien wasn’t sure how much to believe.
“Like I said, we want you to work for us. Our superior sent us out here to monitor you and, when the time was right, extend forth this offer. Whether or not you choose to accept it is completely up to you. If you don’t want to work for the government, we won’t pressure you, unlike some others you may know about.”
The way she narrowed her eyes made Darien feel like Callie knew more than she was letting on. Not for the first time, he wondered just how much they were aware of. Could they know more than he did about everything? Of course, the fact that they all but admitted to keeping an eye on him made him nervous as well. The feeling of Big Brother watching every action was not comforting.
“I’ll need to think about it. I’m sure you can understand that. Susan and I need to talk about it, in private. Do you have a number where I can reach you?”
“Of course.”
Callie stood up and took a business card out of a different pocket on her vest. She handed it over to Darien. Her name, Callie Clements, was written across the center in a plain block font. It had a phone number and email address in the bottom corner. Amber took the cue and stood up as well, offering her hand to both Susan and Darien in turn. When Darien shook her hand, she squeezed again and pulled on her arm, forcing him to take a step towards her. She laughed and let go, walking out the door after her partner. Susan and Darien stood at the window, watching as the truck swerved around the car and disappeared down the path.
“That was an interesting pair.”
“You’re telling me. I still can’t believe that the punky one works for the government. She certainly doesn’t act like it. I would’ve expected her to be more reserved at least. How long were they here before I got back?”
“Only about forty-five minutes. They just showed up and knocked at the door. I heard them coming up the trail, but thought it was you so I wasn’t on guard. When I saw them at the door, I reached for my gun, but they both stood there with hands out and palms up. We talked for a bit before I let them come inside. I figured at the least you’d want to see what they wanted.”
“Thanks for that. Although I still don’t know what to make of it. I don’t feel comfortable knowing that they’ve been watching for months, or longer, and only now are showing up. On the same night that a couple of Shadow goons jumped me on the trail.”
“What?”
Susan whirled on him, eyes wide. She glanced over to the closet where her rifle was stashed away in the back corner. Darien reached out and put a hand on her arm before she had a chance to walk over and grab it.
“It’s okay. They didn’t hurt me and they didn’t get away, either. But from what they said, Gregory’s been hunting me down and trying to find me. They got lucky and ran into me in town, then decided to try and follow me back here. I stopped them on the trail and there was a fight.”
“Were you hurt?”
“Nothing major. A scrape and burn on the shoulder, and a bit of a deeper one on my leg, but that’s about it.”
Susan ushered Darien over to the bed and forced him to sit down. He complied, knowing that she wouldn’t be satisfied until she inspected and cleaned the wound herself. While she went to get their medical kit, he took off his pants and slid them to the floor so she could get access to the bandage. He noticed that he had bled through it, and the bandage was more red than white.
When she came back she clamped her lips together and inhaled sharply through her nose. She went to work, setting up her work station before she removed the bandage. Darien watched in morbid fascination as she worked on his leg. When she grabbed the suture needle, he was glad that she injected some additional lidocaine before going to work. Some part of his mind was fascinated that he could feel his skin being pulled as she sutured the edges together, but he couldn’t feel the needle piercing his skin. She finished stitching him up, cleaned the area and applied a new bandage.
“Thanks for that. I guess it was a bit deeper than I thought. You’re getting really good at that.”
“I try not to think about how much practice you and Richard have given me. You can stop anytime you want. I’m pretty sure those skills are as good as they need to be.”
Darien smiled and reached up to run the back of his fingers across her cheek. Susan stood over him and pushed him back so that he was laying down on the bed. She traced the back of her fingers across his chest.
“You rest that leg for now. I’ll go unload the groceries from the car and then we need to talk about what we’re going to do. Things are starting to get crazy again.”
Darien nodded and watched her as she walked out of the cabin to start bringing in the supplies. When she stepped outside, he glanced to where the rifle was stashed in the corner, near the bed. It would be better if it were closer and within easy reach, just in case some other Shadows showed up. Their private cabin was becoming a little too public. Those thoughts quickly fled as he collapsed into the darkness of exhaustion.
Chapter 5
When Darien opened his eyes, the sun was coming in at a s
harp angle and painted a long rectangle on the floor. Susan was curled up next to him, her long blond hair undone and scattered around her face before it cascaded down the length of her torso. For several breaths, he laid there and watched her sleep, enjoying the sense of peace and calm on her face, none of the muscles tightened in worry or concern. He reached out and used the tips of his fingers to brush a stray strand from her face. She stirred with the motion, but did not open her eyes.
He tried to ease out of bed, sliding his arm out from underneath her and hoping the motion was not too disruptive to her rest. She rolled over when he freed himself, but otherwise sank back into the depths of her dream. Darien reached up to the ceiling and stretched, enjoying the sensation of his muscles limbering up and being used again. He checked the wound on his leg. The skin on either edge of the sutures was red and inflamed, but overall the wound looked healthy. When he flexed his leg a couple of times to test it, the stitches pulled on the skin, but had enough flex that it didn’t hurt. Susan really was getting quite skilled; it was not an empty compliment.
After getting dressed, he walked around the cabin, checking on their supplies. Susan had not only unloaded everything, she tucked it all away in the designated places. She must’ve been up for at least an hour after he crashed. He wished he could have helped, but there was nothing for it. The exhaustion was more than he could handle. Was that a result of the shift yesterday? It had been a long time since he’d shifted. Perhaps it was a side effect of being out of practice. Darien shrugged it off and shook his head. It was probably just the adrenaline crash.
Images of last night danced through his mind and his body couldn’t help but tense as he imagined Shadows stalking around the cabin tracking him down. He moved to the kitchen area, prepping to cook breakfast. It was good to distract his mind for the moment. When Susan woke up, they could talk about what they were going to do. Worrying about enemies that were not there would benefit no one.
By the time the bacon was filling the cabin with a pleasant aroma, Susan rolled over and sniffed with her eyes still closed. A smile spread across her lips as she stretched without getting up.
“Are you actually going to bring me breakfast in bed? How romantic.”
“I figured I should be nice to you once in a while. Otherwise, you might get fed up and take off, and then what would I do? We both know you’re the brains of this operation. I’d be lost within a day.”
Susan got up and walked over to join him. She reached out and snagged a piece of bacon that was resting on a plate. It was extra crispy without being burned. Darien knew that was how she preferred it.
“Frankly, I’m surprised you aren’t lost already. Every time you go out on one of your jogs I have to wonder if I’m going to need to send a search party after you.”
She twirled away from him while tearing a piece of the breakfast meat off in her mouth with a smile. He playfully reached out to grab her, but she got out of reach before he could connect. He laughed and went back to cooking. As they sat down to eat, Darien wondered what topic to broach first. As usual, Susan beat him to the punch.
“So we have the Shadows who tracked us down somehow, two dead bodies in the woods, a car that doesn’t belong to us, and two government agents who want to get you to sign up with them. Did I leave anything out, or is that about it? No secret Arm messages or agents who decided to reveal themselves?”
Darien chuckled to release some of the tension. He put his fork down on his plate, and leaned back in his chair. There was no beating around the bush or ignoring the situation with Susan around. His face lost all traces of humor when he replied.
“No, I think you summed it up pretty well. So much for the idea of living out in the wilderness and staying away from the entire thing. Looks like Richard was right. It was only a matter of time until they found me and showed up. I just didn’t expect Gregory to get to the point where he wants me dead. That part came as the biggest surprise.”
“The way I look at it, we have two options. The first option is that you can sign on with the government for whatever agency those two women work for. Granted, that still has a lot of unknowns, but if there’s anyone who can provide a modicum of protection, it’d be the government.
“The other option is that we run somewhere else. Maybe somewhere more remote than this. I mean, this cabin is connected to my dad and we are back home. There’s a trail, no matter how faint, that is part of our history. This isn’t the most obscure location. We could go somewhere we’ve never been; just get in the car and drive and see where we wind up. Even here we were able to make it almost a year before anybody tracked us down. Not sure how long we could keep doing that, but it could work for now.”
Darien scratched at the stubble growing on his cheek, the skin pulling as his fingers ran across the small coarse hairs. He thought out loud, formulating his ideas as he spoke.
“I don’t think we need to run right just yet. I think we’ve got some time. Even knowing that Gregory sent those two Shadows after me, I don’t think they had a chance to let anyone know where they were.” He held up his hand to stop Susan from interrupting. “I know, they probably have someone aware that they were in this area of the state, but ‘around Mount St. Helens’ is a big area. I don’t want to make a hasty decision and start running without a plan.”
“Just don’t push it off to the last minute like you do with almost everything else that requires you to be responsible.”
She had a smile on her face as she offered the quip, standing and collecting their dishes. While she cleaned up from the meal, Darien put on the clothes he’d need to brave the low temperature. He stepped outside and walked to the back of the cabin, grabbing the axe on the way to the wood pile. By the time he had worked through two logs, cutting them down for kindling, he was sweating profusely under his jacket and hat. He took the latter off, using it to wipe the perspiration from his face.
An all-too-familiar prickling sensation formed at the base of his neck and he turned around, trying to find the source. The clearing looked empty and white with frost decorating the tips of the grass. His trail from the cabin was the only trace that marred the pristine landscape. He was about to turn back when a motion up in the trees caught his eye. Darien shifted his focus without turning his head in that direction.
A large owl in mostly white feathers perched on one of the branches, staring in his direction. It had light brown strips of color running around the neck and down its chest. The creature rolled its wings once, but was otherwise still as it kept its vigil. Darien turned back to the wood, chopping some more kindling as if nothing was amiss. When he put the axe down and collected the shards and splinters, he peeked over his shoulder. The owl was still there, head moving to keep him in the center of its field of vision. Darien walked back inside and closed the door behind him with his foot.
Once inside, he kicked off his shoes and deposited his burden next to the fireplace. Susan was working in the kitchen, cleaning something he couldn’t see from his current vantage point. He knew from personal experience just how good an owl’s hearing could be and he didn’t dare call out to her to let her know what he saw. Instead he grabbed a piece of paper and pen from the table and walked up to the counter next to her. Making sure to stay away from the window, he wrote out a brief message.
“Owl outside watching. Not from around here. Think it’s a shifter.”
Susan glanced down at the message and then looked up at him. She raised a single eyebrow while she continued to wash the tub of vegetables resting in their sink.
“Why don’t we drive into Packwood today? We should take advantage of this weather while it lasts so we don’t go stir crazy too soon.”
“Sounds good. Let me finish up here. You want to pack a go bag?”
Darien knew what she meant by that. Susan was thinking that they might not be able to return. So much for his idea of having time to mull over the decision and figure out what they wanted to do. It was best to be prepared for anything. Once they
were in the car, they’d have the advantage of speed and the noise of the engine would let them talk with less of a risk of being overheard. So while Susan finished up a chore that might prove to be a waste of time, he grabbed their go bags and stuffed in some extra food from the supply run yesterday.
Living with Richard for months had taught them to always be ready to go. Before they came to this cabin, they needed to be able to leave any second and make a mad dash for the next safe house, if there even was one. This was the first place they were able to stay in for more than a week at a time. But, even with that level of comfort, they never got out of the habit of being ready to move and travel light at the drop of a hat. Within seconds, Darien had their two backpacks ready to go, along with Susan’s gun case that contained her rifle.
They loaded the supplies into the car without saying a word and without trying to look too rushed. Darien peeked over at the tree and saw the owl had moved to a different branch for a better vantage point, but still stared at him with those eyes that he could feel. It was a relief once he sat down in the driver’s seat and turned the key in the ignition, letting the car rumble to life. He waited until they started down the trail before he opened his mouth.
“I’m sure it wasn’t just an owl. It had the wrong coloring. Owls like that aren’t from around here. It should be somewhere more arctic.”
“I got a look at it when we were packing the car, and I think you’re right. I’ve never seen an owl like that except for when I went up to Canada. It’s definitely not a native. Can you tell if it’s a shifter? Some kind of sense or something?”
“No, but I think it’s a safe assumption. Did you see the way it was watching us?”
The Torn Soul (The Sheynan Trilogy Book 3) Page 4
