by Tasha Black
“What?” he asked, his deep voice sexier than ever.
“It’s condescending,” she finished, looking pointedly down at her coffee.
“I see. I’ll try to keep a lid on it,” he said solemnly.
Before they could say anything more, the waitress arrived.
“Barry Special, cheese burger, aaaand chocolate chip pancakes,” she said with a big smile at the kid.
“Thanks, Lisa,” Darcy replied, pushing her coffee to the side to make room.
The kid perked right up. Darcy slid the pancakes his way and he grabbed his silverware and went to town. It all solidified her opinion that the poor little guy hadn’t been eating very well.
“Anything else, guys?” Lisa asked, staring in open admiration at Finn.
Darcy had known Lisa since fourth grade. It was a small town and Lisa had always been super popular with her blonde hair and blue eyes. Not that Darcy was jealous.
“We’re good,” she said, a little more curtly than she’d intended.
“All-righty then,” Lisa smiled and patted Finn’s shoulder on her way off to her next table.
Finn smiled down at his burger.
“Friend of yours?” he asked.
“Why?”
“No reason,” he shrugged, and bit into his burger with so much gusto it almost seemed like it had done him some injury in a past life.
Darcy looked around.
The diner was a good choice. The boy had been hungry and this was very public. Though of course she would feel better if Cressida were here waiting tables tonight. Cressida was a wolf too, and pretty tough in spite of her scrawniness. She’d proven herself so loyal and capable that she was pretty much seated at the right hand of the alpha.
But Darcy hadn’t been quite that lucky.
At least if Miss Sharp and her lapdog, Draven, managed to track them here, surely they wouldn’t try anything funny in front of all these people.
She thought of the shadow thing from the parking garage.
What would happen if that had managed to track them here?
Being in a public place might not be such a good choice after all. Darcy had a feeling that that thing wouldn’t mind being witnessed.
She slid her phone out of her purse and looked up the number for child welfare. Not daring to leave the table, but well aware that the kid was right there and that it was rude to talk in the restaurant, she kept the call as quick as possible.
“This is Darcy Harkness, I’m at the Barry White Diner in Tarker’s Hollow. There’s a little boy here who badly needs help,” she explained as quietly as she could.
The woman on the other end took her phone number, and the address of the diner and said they would send someone immediately.
She fired off a quick text before replacing the phone in her clutch.
Well, there it was. She had done everything she could. Now there was nothing to do but keep the boy safe until help arrived and try not to think about how far from home she’d have to go to find another job.
Darcy pushed the bacon and eggs around on her plate. She wasn’t feeling particularly hungry, but she had an idea that it might be a long night, so she’d better eat.
At least her senses were back to normal.
She pulled the sounds and smells of the place around her like a blanket. The orange naugahyde booths were still hung with a light scent of cigarettes from back before the anti-smoking laws. The sounds of silverware clinking china plates and the familiar cadence of the suburban Philadelphia accent in the voices all around made her feel safe.
Although she’d feel a hell of a lot safer with a few of her brothers around.
But Derek wasn’t flying into town from the west coast for another week.
Chance had a big fight coming up, so he’d be out of the picture during the final stage of training.
And Johnny… was he still on tour? Darcy hadn’t heard from him in a while.
As if in answer to her question, the flat screen TV behind the counter popped up a picture of Johnny.
It was the local news. The sound was down, but she could still make out the captions.
The news anchor cut to a video of Johnny performing. But something was wrong. Darcy could tell right away.
On the screen, Johnny faltered then stumbled into a blast from the pyrotechnics.
Oh no.
She wasn’t worried about the fire. Fire wasn’t a problem for Johnny.
But she was worried about what would throw him off his game like that. Johnny was usually in total control.
Her hand went to her belly, and the mark asserting itself there. She thought she had a pretty good idea of what was messing with Johnny. Were her other brothers having the same issues?
The report came back on the screen, the captions informing her that Johnny Lazarus was later seen checking into the famous Malibu Sanctuaries rehab center.
They cut to a picture of him walking in the front door of the famous facility.
Darcy smiled to herself. Rehab.
Johnny wouldn’t even take allergy medicine. He’d never been impaired in his life.
But he was smart. Rehab would put him out of the public eye for his 300th moon.
And it would keep him locked away on the other side of the country, so he was no help for her here.
She glanced down at her phone again.
No response.
Looked like she was on her own.
Well, except for Finn.
Finn had been unbelievably helpful, come to think of it. He’d jumped in without asking questions, sharing her trouble at his own expense, like he was family.
That kind of loyalty was rare.
Finn was special.
He caught her staring at him and she didn’t break eye contact.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Pardon?” he asked.
“Thanks,” she repeated. “You really put yourself out there to help. Most people wouldn’t do that for someone they hardly know. And I’m grateful.”
She felt the boy moving next to her and turned to see he was nodding his head up and down.
“We’re grateful,” Darcy corrected herself. “Me and… what’s your name, anyway?”
The boy opened his mouth again, but again, nothing came out.
His expression was utter frustration. It looked like he wanted to talk, but had forgotten how.
“Can you write it?” Darcy asked him.
His little face broke into a smile and he nodded eagerly.
Darcy looked around. Lisa noticed and headed over, thinking Darcy was summoning her.
“Can I take that for you?” Lisa offered, gesturing to their plates.
“Sure. Hey, can I borrow your pad and paper?” Darcy asked.
“Um, okay, but I need it back when I get another table,” Lisa said, handing over her pad and pen.
“Sure,” Darcy said, handing it over to the boy as Lisa grabbed their plates and headed off.
The boy grabbed the pen and began to write.
Watching over his shoulder intently, Darcy saw an L.
After that, there were only unintelligible scribbles.
He took a deep breath, and then applied himself to the paper again.
More scribbles.
Suddenly he was stabbing angrily at the paper, tearing holes in it with the pen.
“It’s okay, buddy, don’t worry about it. You’ve been through a lot and something’s got you all mixed up. That’s all. We’ll figure it out,” she told him in a low, calm voice.
He dropped the pen on the table and collapsed against her side again, leaning against her with his eyes shut, his small body warm against her.
Finn leaned forward.
“Hey, it looks like you started by making an L. Does your name start with an L?” he asked the boy.
The kid just stared, like he didn’t understand.
“What are some L names for boys?” he asked Darcy.
She didn’t respond, not sure if they were going
to upset the boy further.
“Is it Liam?” Finn asked.
The kid shook his head.
“Labron?” Finn offered.
“Labron?” Darcy asked Finn.
“What?” Finn said.
“Is it Logan?” Darcy asked, unable to stop herself. Logan was a very popular name.
The boy smiled and shook his head. He was getting interested.
“Linus?” Finn asked. “Leonardo?”
“You are terrible at this,” Darcy told Finn.
The boy put his right hand over his mouth and breathed heavily.
“Is he okay?” Finn asked.
“I think he’s trying to give us a clue,” Darcy replied thoughtfully.
The boy’s dancing eyes told her she was right.
“It sounds like he’s scuba diving,” Finn ventured.
“No! He sounds like Darth Vader,” Darcy said, surprised she hadn’t picked up on it immediately.
The boy nodded and made the breathing sound again.
“Your name is Darth Vader?” Finn asked incredulously.
The kid just stared at him.
“Anakin?” Darcy offered. “No. L. Luke!”
The kid banged on the table so hard their coffee cups jingled and nearly jumped out of his seat with excitement, nodding his head up and down and smiling.
“Nice. Well don’t worry, Luke, I’m not going to let any more bad stuff happen to you,” Darcy assured him.
“We’re not going to let anymore bad stuff happen,” Finn corrected.
Darcy smiled at Finn, noticing that his handsomeness was actually in line with his good sense - not in opposition to it as she had thought before.
The boy threw his arms around her, squeezing her tightly and burying his face in her neck. She hadn’t expected it, but the gesture made her feel terrific. This was worth losing her job over. Totally.
Darcy was definitely her mother’s daughter.
The front door to the diner opened. A tall man in a suit stepped in and looked around.
11
Finn soaked in the sight of the boy’s smile and Darcy’s soft look of happiness. As strange as the whole night had been, something about that very moment felt like home.
He followed Darcy’s gaze over his shoulder as the front door opened and a man approached their table.
He was a big guy, taller than Finn, which, at six-foot-three, wasn’t something Finn was used to.
The stranger was long and lean. A bolo tie hung down a faded chambray shirt tucked into dark blue jeans. A day or two of scruff shadowed his tanned cheeks.
The heels of his polished boots clicked on the vinyl floor of the waitress’s station as he cut through it unapologetically on his way to their table.
All he was missing was a damned cowboy hat and he’d look like he just stepped off a cigarette billboard.
Who was he trying to impress, looking like that?
A half-sigh from Darcy answered Finn’s question.
He found himself more than a little annoyed.
“Hey there, folks,” the man said in a slow drawl, extending a hand. “Oliver Blake, Child Services.”
“Darcy Harkness,” she replied, somehow sounding like she was purring, rather than barking out all the r’s in her name as she was prone to do when she tried to sound tough.
Blake turned his attention to Finn.
“Finn,” he offered, extending his hand slowly, a power move showing he didn’t really want to shake.
“Hey, there,” Blake said, nodding absently before turning his attention back to Darcy and the boy, and leaving Finn’s hand unshaken. He sat himself beside Darcy in the booth.
The man smelled of pungent cologne, like oiled leather and spoiled fruit, and Finn noticed Luke wrinkling his nose in distaste and glaring suspiciously. He knew he liked this kid.
“I’m glad you could come right away,” Darcy began. “This little guy is really shaken up. We’ve figured out that his name is Luke.”
“Hold on a sec,” Blake said. “Can he tell me what happened himself?”
Darcy turned to the boy, wrapping a comforting arm around him.
“He’s having a hard time talking right now, but I’m sure he’ll be feeling okay to explain when he’s rested up and comfortable, right, Luke?”
The boy didn’t respond.
“Finn and I were at the casino, in Philadelphia,” Darcy told Blake.
“Which casino is that?” Blake asked.
“The Stackhouse,” Darcy replied. “We both work there. Anyway, we were in the dining room and Luke came out of the back room. Someone had taken his clothes away, that’s why he’s wearing Finn’s stuff now. A small woman and a big, blonde guy came up to take him away, but he was scared and he dashed off. Then security came.”
Blake leaned in, listening to her intently, nodding in all the right places. Good looking bastard seemed like a stand-up guy.
“I went out to the parking lot for a little fresh air,” Darcy continued. “And found him there. Then I texted Finn and he came to help us figure out what to do. We were afraid to bring him back inside after he had obviously been abused by someone there.”
Finn nodded and swallowed the instinct to wink at her. She had done just right not revealing the whole truth.
“You made the right decision, even though it must have been scary,” Blake assured her. “Do you know anything about the woman or the man with her? Do you have any idea where the boy fits in?”
“I’d never seen them before tonight. I have no idea who they are, or where Luke came from,” Darcy admitted. “I just knew something was very wrong.”
Blake sat back, seeming more relaxed.
“Well, I’ll tell you what,” he said. “I can take Luke with me now. We have a secure location for him and we can protect him there until we get to the bottom of things.”
“Oh, okay, that’s great,” Darcy said, obviously thrown. She must have realized the boy would be taken away.
“I suggest we get going as soon as possible,” Blake continued. “That way the boy can get some sleep and I can get to work on the case first thing in the morning.”
Darcy nodded her head but didn’t respond or move to get up.
Finn studied her, trying to figure out her reluctance. Was she just worried about Luke? Or was it something else?
He’d learned over the course of the last few weeks that Darcy had great instincts. He hoped she would follow them now.
“All right then, let’s get out of here,” Blake said brightly, hopping out of the booth as if he were hopping off a quarter horse in a black and white movie.
No, something was definitely off. This was too easy. Shouldn’t they at least be filling out some paperwork or something?
But they were already moving through the diner and out the front doors, Luke sticking close to Darcy’s side.
Blake led them across the parking lot to dimly lit corner near the edge the nearby woods, where he had parked his car, a nondescript tan SUV.
“I’m sure we’ll have this all straightened out in no time,” he offered. “I mean, how hard can it be to track down a big blond guy with an eyepatch?”
Darcy froze, pulling Luke close.
She hadn’t mentioned anything about an eyepatch.
12
Finn stopped with Darcy and Luke as Blake opened the back door of the SUV, unaware of his blunder.
“Hop on in, buddy,” he said lightly to the kid, turning to find the three of them ten paces behind.
Darcy took a step back, wrinkling up her nose as though she smelled something terrible.
“He’s not going anywhere with you,” Darcy said.
What the hell was going on?
Blake let out a small sigh of resignation, as the driver’s side door of the SUV opened, and a familiar figure emerged.
“Draven,” Darcy spat the name like a bad piece of meat.
“Get in the car, you damned idiot,” Draven ordered Blake.
The tall man
did as he was told, slipping in the passenger door and shutting it behind him, leaving them alone in the dim light of the parking lot with Draven.
Finn felt his stomach tighten - this wasn’t going to end well. He focused his concentration, ready to do whatever he needed to protect their small group.
“You have no idea what you’re getting into,” the blond man warned, leering at them with his one good eye.
Finn couldn’t help but notice the white tape binding the first two fingers of Draven’s left hand. He was still hurting from his run in with Darcy earlier.
Good.
But that also meant he wasn’t likely to underestimate her again.
“My employer has authorized me to offer you this one chance.” Draven’s voice was like a serrated blade. “Hand over the boy, and we can just pretend none of this ever happened.”
“Go fuck yourself,” Darcy replied coolly.
“If that’s the way you want to do this,” Draven replied.
Finn caught the movement and the glint of steel from behind a nearby car a second too late.
A sharp pinprick just under his ear caused him to reach up involuntarily. He pulled a small feathered dart from the side of his neck. He fought the grip of panic as his vision began to double.
He looked to Darcy. An identical dart protruded from her shoulder. Only instead of getting woozy, she seemed to be getting mad.
Draven stepped toward them.
Darcy put herself protectively between him and the boy.
Finn’s knees buckled, and he slumped to the ground.
The last thing his muddled senses registered before darkness overcame him was a deep growl from a huge, furry shape that suddenly crashed into Draven.
13
Finn floated in the kind of oblivion generally reserved for sleeping dogs and breastfed babies.
Consciousness slammed in on him like a truck hitting a leaping deer.
One moment he was weightless. The next he was filled with wet cement and everything hurt.
Eyes squeezed shut against the blistering light, he felt the hum of tires on the road reverberate through his bones, right to his skull.
Something had happened. He struggled to grasp the slippery memory.
