Love in the Shadows
Book Two of the Shadow Walker Romance Series
By
Caryn Moya Block
Published by Caryn M. Block
Copyright © 2014 Caryn M. Block
Smashwords Edition
Cover Design by Jirves GFX
Male Model Photo by Hot Damn Design
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Love in the Shadows
Book Two of the Shadow-Walker Tribe Series.
Derek “Red Hawk” Darkwood is known as the playboy of Isanti, Inc., his cover for spying for General Holland. So even though there is a new woman on his arm every night, the one he wants is Katherine Sloane, his brother’s administrative assistant. But five years ago she lost her husband in Afghanistan, and Derek knows she needs time to heal. Just as he is about to make his move and take the woman he wants, Derek kills his ex-girlfriend right in front of Katherine. Can Katherine love him, even though she knows he is a murderer?
Katherine Sloane knows that Derek saved his brother's life. She also knows that she is destined to be with Derek when the Shadow Dimension marks her as Derek's mate. So why did he disappear? And now that he's in trouble can she rescue him?
Dedication
To Harriet Juanice Girven, my friend, my sister. Thank you for walking this road with me.
Acknowledgements
Thanks go to my Beta readers, my critique partners, and to my editors. It takes a village and you are mine. I couldn’t do it without you.
Prologue
Derek “Red Hawk” Darkwood retreated to the shadows. The rain fell on his black hair and ran down his neck. He shook in fury over his helplessness, as he watched the woman standing next to a gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery, her tears mixing with the rain. He needed to wrap her in the safety of his embrace. Let her know she wasn’t alone. That she would never be alone again because she had him.
She didn’t even know he was alive. He was a Shadow Walker and member of the Nuni Nagi tribe. He had come at General Holland’s request, to honor a soldier who died for his country.
One look into her pain-filled blue eyes, one touch of her hand in his, as he gave her his condolences, had turned Derek’s world upside down. The tribal tattoo on his left breast burned, and his breath caught so he could hardly speak the trivial phrase: “I’m sorry for your loss.”
He stepped back until his body encountered a tree, putting distance between himself and the rest of the crowd. He didn’t want anyone to notice how he trembled. He pulled his collar up around his throat, then pushed his clenched fists into the pockets of his wool coat.
She was wounded, grieving her husband who wouldn’t return from Afghanistan. Her body shook with sobs, the American flag clutched in her hands, as rain blew across the rows of gravestones. Her black dress contrasted vividly with her pale skin and fiery red hair.
He couldn’t help his reactions. She was born his destined soul mate, and he had finally found her. One day he would make her his lover, his wife. There was no question in his mind about it. But that day would have to wait. She wasn’t ready. He knew she needed to heal, to come to a place of acceptance, and then be willing to live again.
When she did, he would be waiting. Until that time, he would keep her safe and strive to support her, to help her remember the time before the pain and loneliness of her husband’s death. To remind her she was a desirable woman, his woman.
He began to formulate a plan. He would talk to General Holland tomorrow. A job would be arranged for her with Isanti, Inc. He would bring her to the desert of New Mexico. It was a long way from Arlington, Virginia. It would be good for her, a new start, a way for him to keep an eye on her without her awareness. Knowing she was safe and healing would allow him to wait for her.
While she healed, he would become aware of her likes and dislikes, how to make her laugh, what she enjoyed eating. He wanted to know every little detail and give her a chance to get to know him.
He wanted her to find confidence again, to realize her own strength and become whole and complete. He wanted to find the person who lay trapped behind her sorrow.
Time was the only thing that would help him in his cause. To aid her recovery, he had to give her time. And he would—all the time she needed.
He watched as General Holland took her by the arm to lead her away. Derek gritted his teeth, even though he was aware the general was old enough to be her father and was a friend. Derek wanted to be the one to touch and comfort her. More, he wanted her out of the rainy drizzle that fell and coated her trembling form. He wanted her safe and warm, even if that meant he watched others touch her.
If he timed it right, he might be able to ride in the limo beside her. No one would know he was there, not even the one who had become his heart’s desire. Because he was a member of the Shadow Walker tribe, he could walk into the dimension next to Earth. He would see and hear everything around him as if looking through a shadow. He would be close to her without being seen. He opened a portal and slipped into the Shadow Dimension, drawing near her.
“I’ll call you tomorrow, Katherine,” General Holland said as he handed her into the waiting car.
Katherine Sloane. Kate. His Kate. Derek slipped into the car as the general closed the door. He sat in the chair facing her. She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. Even in her misery, she looked gorgeous. Her body was lean. Did she run or swim? Her red hair in a severe bun accented her neck. One curl that had escaped lay against her cheek. His fingers itched to brush it back behind her ear.
Derek fought to stay in Shadow. He wanted to kiss the tears from her face. He needed to touch her. Clenching his fists, he stayed quiet. Shaking, he forced himself to watch her. Just watch.
Katherine looked around, appearing to sense she wasn’t alone. She peered into the shadows of the car as if she could pierce the dimensional veil and pull him out of it. Derek slowed his breathing.
Did she feel him? There were legends about mates of Shadow Walker tribe members—that they were connected to their Indian warriors and knew when they were close. Could she feel his emotions or read his thoughts? Was she one of the gifted?
He wanted to reach for her with his mind. But he reminded himself again: She needed time. So using his telepathic gift, he tried to send warmth and comfort to her, a sense of safety. She sighed and sat back in her chair, accepting his support. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Her body relaxed, and he thought she might be sleeping.
“What will I do now?” she asked.
Chapter One
Five years later
Derek had shot her. Amanda Patterson was dead. It didn’t matter that the woman was deranged and had tried to kill his brother. It still hurt. Never in all of his secret assignments for the general had he killed a woman. He could still see her, lying on the ground, her blood spreading beneath her. He wished there had been a way to save her, to deflect her from her murderous course. She had thought she loved Derek and that his brother kept them apart. She would kill to have what she loved.
Derek looked around at the guests celebrating his brothe
r, Raven, and Cara’s wedding. Everyone was smiling and talking as if nothing had happened to upset this joyous occasion. He should be celebrating as well. With Raven finding his mate, the prophecy was completed, and Derek could now claim his Kate. He glanced at Katherine Sloane as she sat next to the bride.
Last week the Shadow Dimension marked her as a Shadow Walker’s mate, his mate. The small heart-shaped mark on her breast had burned into her skin when he escorted her through the Shadow Dimension. Of course, he didn’t need the mark to confirm his feelings. His own tribal mark had burned five years ago when he first touched Katherine’s hand. He had known then.
He ran his hand through his hair. Right now, the police were upstairs speaking with Joe Running Bear, head of security. General Holland had gone up to Joe’s office a few minutes after Joe escorted the officers upstairs. The general had a lot of connections, and it was his gun Derek had used to shoot Amanda. Derek should go up and make a statement before they sent someone looking for him. He turned to leave the reception when a small tug on his arm stopped him.
“Will you dance with me, Derek?” Katherine stood next to him, her gaze pleading.
His heart melted, and he took her into his arms. “I’ve got to go upstairs and speak with the police,” he said even as he maneuvered her through the crowd to the dance floor.
“Just one dance before you go?”
“You know I can’t say no to you, Kate.” Reaching the dance floor, Derek pulled her into his arms, her porcelain skin soft under his hands. Her red hair was put up with one curl lying on her shoulder. His hand reached for the silky softness, twirling the curl around his finger.
He let the music take them. For this one moment, all that mattered was the woman in his arms. He reveled in the feel of her body pressed to his. He gazed into her eyes. Her pupils were dilated, and heat simmered in her gaze. This was the one woman meant to be his.
He loved her. He had loved her for five years, waiting for the day when she would be ready to have another relationship. He remembered the first time he saw her laugh, her eyes sparkling with mirth, the first time she flirted with him. He remembered the delight on her face each time she found one of his anonymous gifts. The fact that she had come to him surprised him. In the past, she had always been hesitant.
“They need you upstairs, Derek.” Hugh Thunder Hoof stood at his elbow, an apologetic look on his face.
Derek’s arms tightened around Katherine before he reluctantly released her. “I’m sorry.” He felt sorry for so much, for having to let her go, for shooting Amanda, for being Katherine’s mate. She deserved so much more. At that moment, he knew what he must do. He needed to let her go, this one woman who held his heart. It was the right thing to do.
“It’s all right. Will I see you later?”
“I don’t know. Better not wait for me.” He wrenched himself away before he could do something stupid, like kiss her. He heard her sigh and call his name before the crowd separated them completely.
Finally, he made it to the bank of elevators. He hit the button repeatedly, needing to hurry his flight. If he waited, he might never be able to go. The elevator door opened, and General Holland stepped out.
“Derek, I’m glad I caught you. I have a job I would like you to take.”
“I’ll take it,” Derek blurted out before the general could finish. No one would question his leaving if he took a job at the general’s request. Shadow Walkers had performed anonymous jobs for the general for years.
“Good. Be in my office in the morning.”
“I will, sir.” Derek let the elevator doors close and pressed the button for Joe’s floor. Sudden weakness overcame him, and he rested his head back against the wall. The least he could do was serve his country and give Katherine a chance to get over him, to find someone whose life wasn’t full of death and danger. The door opened, and he straightened his spine. Now, to talk to the police.
§
Seven months later
Derek put a bottle of healing potion to his lips and drank the smoky liquid. He grimaced at the taste. Quiet Thunder, the Nuni Nagi tribe’s shaman and his foster father, would say Derek’s discomfort served him right for stealing the formula and using the potion without permission.
This assignment in the Amazon was dangerous. The place was full of poisonous species. Walking through the jungle was perilous. Derek wasn’t taking any chances. Drinking the potion every day guaranteed that his body would heal from anything poisonous he encountered.
He opened a door into the Shadow Dimension and slipped inside. He left Quiet Thunder’s workroom at his ranch in Montana behind and focused on his motel room in the Amazon. The cold of the Shadow Dimension took his breath away. The world here was black and gray with swirling eddies of mist, so cold and deadly. His thoughts went to the first Native American tribesman, his ancestor, who had discovered the tribe could enter another dimension. What had he thought when he entered this alien world and how had he known how to get out again? Shaking his head, Derek once more concentrated on his motel in the Amazon rainforest. You could get lost so easily in the Shadow Dimension. It was crucial to focus on where you were traveling.
Coming out of Shadow into his hotel room, he glanced around, making sure no one had entered while he was gone. The faded blue paint on the walls and the small rumpled bed made him glad he would be checking out. At least the power was currently working.
After living in the desert of New Mexico, he had had to adjust to living in the Amazon. Even now, over the whirr of the window air conditioner, the sounds of the jungle filled the air—monkeys screeching, birds calling, the drone of insects. If the air conditioner went off, the heat and humidity would turn his room into an oven in just a few minutes.
Where are you? The phrase filled all the empty spaces in his heart, warming him as it finally settled deep in his soul. Such a simple phrase, one he had been ignoring for the last seven months. Each time he heard Kate’s telepathic call, it tore open the wound in his heart. He had tried to give her a chance to get over him, to find someone who wasn’t a murderer. But he had weakened. Above all else, he wanted her to be happy.
This time there was more to the message. Come back to me. Derek sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. It was time to go back to Isanti, Inc., headquarters in New Mexico. Time to face the truth.
He had done what needed to be done. Any Shadow Walker warrior would have done the same. Still, he had never meant to kill Amanda. He had tried only to protect Raven and Cara. There were plenty of witnesses to verify his claim. Amanda Patterson threatened Raven and the wedding guests. The police didn’t even blink twice when they took the report.
Katherine tugged at him, calling him telepathically to come back. He feared she wouldn’t be able to accept him, especially after he killed Amanda. Then, the general called this morning and said to finish up and get home before Katie got on a plane and came after him. She wanted him.
Thinking about it, Derek smiled. He could picture Katherine on the phone, pacing back and forth in front of the window that showcased the New Mexican desert. At each turn, her red hair would fly around her like flames, as she demanded his return. He couldn’t wait to hold that fire in his arms. If she wanted him back, he was more than willing to oblige. He had loved her for so long.
He threw his few belongings into a leather satchel before checking to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything. Not that he carried much with him while on assignment. If everything worked according to plan, he would shadow-walk into Katie’s office in a couple of hours. He couldn’t wait to get home.
Derek walked into the one and only cantina in the village and took a seat at the bar. He needed to settle his account before he left town. He waved at the bartender and pointed toward the chalkboard listing today’s special. There were only a few people sitting around the run-down establishment, including the French blond, Colette Pelletier, who kept flirting with him. She worked at the secret lab the general wanted investigated, so he had encouraged her
by flirting back and had tried to get information about the place where she worked. She looked pretty, but Derek wanted only one woman, and that was his Kate. Anyone else was just part of his job.
The bartender came over with his food, and Derek plopped down two 100-real bills before ordering a beer. That should take care of anything he owed and still leave some extra for a tip. It would not be too long until he could finish this assignment, make his report and see Katherine.
§
Katherine Sloane sat at her desk at Isanti, Inc. The rhythmic pinging of her pen hitting the wooden desktop went unnoticed even while it echoed through the office. She stared off into space, her fingers flicking back and forth, thinking about Derek “Red-hawk” Darkwood. If he didn’t come home and make love to her, she would kill him. Okay, maybe not kill him. But enough was enough. She needed to see him, hear his laugh, know he was within reach.
She threw her pen down and rose from her chair before walking over to the window and its view of the New Mexican desert. The sun bounced off the sand and red rocks. Cactus littered the desert floor. If there were no tint on the windows, the view could have been blinding.
Seven long months of frustration and sleepless nights had passed since the night of Derek’s brother’s wedding. Derek had killed Amanda Patterson, saving his brother from being murdered. Derek seemed to take the death badly. Katherine had wanted to comfort him, but she didn’t know how.
Amanda had been one of the women determined to go after Raven for his money and prestige. As with all the others, Derek stepped in and drew the woman’s attention to him instead, before he let her down and broke off the relationship. It was a pattern Katherine had seen over and over for the past five years. There wasn’t much she didn’t know or hear about in the company, and Derek had drawn her attention from day one.
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