by Erin Wade
She stepped back from Darke. “What are you wearing, Eaux de Cat Pee? It’s horrible.”
“I showered at Lori’s—”
“Of course you did.” Eden gave Lori a scathing look and walked away.
“She’s having breakfast on the veranda,” Margaret volunteered. “Shall I set two more places?”
Darke nodded. “Thank you, Margaret.”
“She thinks I’m her competition.” Lori chortled as she followed Darke outside.
“After breakfast I need to shower and change,” Darke informed Eden as they settled at the table. “We have a three o’clock appointment with your accountant this afternoon.”
“I agree wholeheartedly with your need for a shower, but why visit Mr. Abram?” Eden said, her tone brusque.
“To find out what happened to your family’s fortune.” Darke flashed her sweetest smile. “Have you ever asked him for an accounting?”
“No. Daddy died, and then Sharon. I couldn’t get it together enough to challenge Michael, but with you beside me I’m certain I can.”
##
“Lori won’t go in with us,” Darke said as they pulled into the parking lot in front of the accountant’s office, “but she’ll be standing by in case we need her.”
“Why would we need her?” Eden said with a scowl. “You could easily overpower Mr. Abram.”
“I’m not planning to engage Abram in fisticuffs,” Darke said, laughing as she held open the office door for Eden, “but I do want him to comply with your requests.”
As they stepped inside, a man in his late fifties rushed toward Eden and engulfed her in a bear hug. “Eden, it is so good to see you! What a gorgeous woman you have become.”
He turned to Darke and flashed an arrogant, condescending smile. “I’ve known Eden since she was eight.”
“Mr. Abram has handled our family’s affairs for as long as I can remember.” Eden patted the man’s arm.
“Mr. Abram, this is Agent Darke Knight, my … um, bodyguard.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Knight,” Abram said as he pumped Darke’s hand. “After what happened to your father and Sharon, I would think the authorities would surround you with an entire team of officers not a single woman.”
Eden glanced at Darke. “Trust me, Darke can handled any problem that might arise.”
“What can I do for you, Eden?” Abram asked as he ushered the pair into his office.
“I would like to see …” Eden paused, uncertain what she should ask for.
“Profit and loss sheets and balance sheets for the last twelve months,” Darke added.
“Yes, that’s what I need,” Eden said.
“Well, we can pull those and get them to you sometime next week.” Abram forced a smile.
“We want them now,” Darke insisted.
“One can’t just produce financial statements on demand,” Abram replied, glaring at Darke as if she were an imbecile.
Darke looked around Abram’s office. Her gaze stopped on his elaborate computer setup. “What accounting program do you use?”
“It’s a proprietary system,” he said, smirking. “One you would know nothing about.”
Darke picked up a balance sheet from his desk. “And yet the reports look strangely like those produced by QuickBooks.
“Would you mind opening Eden’s file and letting me peruse it?” Darke said, her manner easygoing and noncombative.
“Yes! Yes, I would mind.” Abram’s voice cracked as he moved between Darke and his computer.
“Is that your final answer?” Darke pulled her cell phone from her pocket.
“Yes!” Abram yelled.
Darke pushed a button on her phone. Within seconds, Lori burst into Abram’s office. “I have a subpoena for all your computers and records that in any way have to do with Eden Daye or the Daye family accounts.”
Lori slapped the subpoena down on Abram’s desk. “I want every computer in every office,” she said as agents swarmed the building and began unplugging computers and storage drives and carrying them from his office.
“You … you can’t do this!” Abram screamed.
“Yes, I can.” Lori smiled as she watched the man squirm. “You were asked nicely and refused.”
“You didn’t really think we’d give you a week to cook the books, did you?” Darke said to the accountant as she took Eden’s elbow. “We’ll be in touch, Mr. Abram. Oh, and don’t even think about leaving town. We’ll put you in jail pending the outcome of our investigation.”
“Wow!” Eden exclaimed with a loud sigh as Darke ushered her to the car. “You don’t fool around, do you?”
“I do,”—Darke waggled her eyebrows—“but not with crooks.”
Eden ducked her head and blushed.
“I … I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“Flirt with me?” Eden smiled. “I like it.”
Darke tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach. The last thing she needed was to develop feelings for the woman she was supposed to protect.
“What happens next?” Eden rested her hand on Darke’s leg. “Maybe you could take me to dinner and you can explain the machinations of police work.”
I’d much rather take you to bed, Darke thought and then frowned at the unwanted feelings Eden Daye was stirring in her.
“No, I don’t have time for dinner.” Darke scowled. The sad look on Eden’s face hurt Darke’s heart. “Yes, I do. Where would you like to go?”
Eden’s smile lit up her face. “Surprise me.”
Chapter 10
Darke looked at the calendar on her cell phone. She had been providing security for Eden all summer. The young woman was packing for college and would be moving to Austin in a few weeks.
“I got into the dorm I wanted!” Eden said as she bounded into Darke’s bedroom and bounced on her bed, finally landing beside her. “I only have to share with one other person.”
Darke had gotten used to Eden’s spontaneous excitement and found it endearing. She closed the book she was reading and placed it on her bedside table.
Eden giggled. “You look so sexy in glasses.”
“Why don’t you live off campus?” Darke asked, removing her glasses and changing the subject.
“Although I took enough courses in high school to register as a sophomore, it’s still my first year of college, and I’m required to live in the dorms my first year on campus.”
“You could have gotten a private room,” Darke pointed out.
“Then I’d have to fight with Carter all the time. He would visit me and want to stay the night in my room. No thank you!”
Darke nodded. “What do you have planned for today? It’s a glorious day.”
“We could play a round of golf.” Eden’s enthusiasm was contagious.
“Sounds good to me,” Darke said. “You know I like anything that gets me outside and moving. If you’ll give me some privacy, I’ll get dressed and meet you downstairs.”
“Or I could stay here and admire your killer body.” Eden laughed as Darke’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
Darke’s cell phone chirped, and she was grateful for the interruption. “It’s Lori,” she said as she checked the screen.
Eden pouted. “What does she want?”
“Police business, I’m sure.” Darke glowered at her. “Lori’s a good person, Eden.”
Darke answered her phone and listened as the agent gave her a lengthy report. “Yes, I understand … No! I’ll tell Eden.”
“Tell me what?” Eden said the instant Darke ended the call.
“They charged Michael Abram with fraud, theft, grand larceny, and as a suspect in your father’s death.”
“That old man?” Eden scowled. “He seemed so sweet and kind. He always encouraged me to call him uncle, but I never could.”
“He was just trying to curry favor with you while he robbed you blind.”
Eden nodded but said nothing.
“There’s something else.” Dar
ke’s voice was thick with emotion. “They’ve identified bones they found as Sharon’s.”
Eden burst into tears and fell into Darke’s open arms. The agent held her as she cried. “I’m so sorry,” Darke cooed as she stroked Eden’s long blonde hair. “So sorry. I promise I’ll get the ones responsible for this.”
Eden cried until her sobs turned into hiccups. “Why would anyone kill Sharon? Where did they find her body? Was she molested? Did she die quickly?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll find out,” Darke said, wiping a stray tear from Eden’s cheek. “You may not want to know the answers to all your questions.”
“Do we need to go to the police station?” Eden asked. “Do I need to identify Sharon’s body?”
“No.” Darke didn’t want to tell her there was no body, only bones. “They made a positive identification from her dental work.”
Darke scooted over in the bed and let Eden slip under the sheet and snuggle against her. She cuddled the younger woman in her arms for a long time.
“Do you still want to play golf?”
“No! I want to stay right here forever!” Eden murmured, burying her face in Darke’s neck.
##
The ringing of Darke’s cell phone pulled both women from a deep sleep. Keeping one arm around Eden, Darke pulled the phone to her ear and answered.
“Agent Knight, we need you to sit in on a planning session,” Chief Canton said, his loud, clear voice booming through the phone. “Bring Miss Daye with you. Whatever you do, don’t leave her unprotected.”
“Yes, sir. When?”
“As soon as you can get here.” Canton was alarmed and didn’t try to hide it. “Within the hour.”
Darke ended the call and let the phone drop onto her bed. She lay still, luxuriating in the feel of Eden snuggled into her side. It had been a long time since she’d awakened beside a soft, warm woman.
A willing woman , Darke thought, but I mustn’t take advantage of her.
“Did you hear the chief?” Darke whispered in Eden’s ear.
“Yes! Can’t we stay here a little longer?”
“We really need to go,” Darke mumbled against Eden’s hair. Before I can’t.
“Thank you for comforting me.” Eden pushed into Darke and tightened her hold on the woman.
“Please, Eden, I’m only human,” Darke pleaded.
“Are you, Darke? Are you really human?”
“Would it matter?”
“No!” Eden declared.
##
Eden sat in silence as Tess glided into the police station parking garage. She could still feel the warmth of Darke’s strong arms around her and her soft breath on her neck. She’ll never let things go any further , Eden thought. She sees me as a child to be protected, even from herself.
Darke pulled her guns from the trunk. She fastened her belt around her waist and tied her holsters securely to each leg. She looked as powerful and terrifying as she had the first time Eden met her. They took the elevator to Chief Canton’s office, where Lori, Dozer, and Rose were waiting for them.
Canton didn’t waste time with civilities. “We need to move fast,” he said, a scowl creeping across his face. “Darke, leave Eden with Lori. You and Caz need to do your thing immediately. Another heiress has been kidnapped!”
“Do what thing?” Eden asked. Dread spread through her. She knew Chief Canton wasn’t saying exactly what he meant, but she didn’t know what was expected of Darke. “Is it dangerous?”
“A little gambit we run on crooks.” Darke’s twisted smile reinforced Eden’s apprehension. “Nothing to worry your pretty head about. You stay with Lori. Come, Caz.”
The elevator door opened and Darke disappeared, leaving Eden’s life the same way she’d entered it. Cold tentacles of foreboding spread through Eden’s body, leaving an empty ache where her heart had been.
##
Darke drove Tess onto a dirt road that disappeared into the trees. About a mile from the landfill she drove off the road and hid the car in a copse of trees. She turned off her cell phone and slid it into her pocket as she and Caz got out of the car. They ran the short distance to the landfill and crouched behind the mound of dirt they had used during their earlier visit.
As darkness settled on the land, creatures began to slink from the cave in the landfill. Darke counted as the animals left their lair. Twelve. That should be all of them. They waited until they were certain the entire pack had left the area and then darted into the cave. They didn’t get far before they heard cries that sent a chill down Darke’s back.
“No! No, please,” a frantic woman called out as she cowered against the cave wall. Her eyes were wild with terror. “Please help me!” she cried as she spied Darke.
Although she was alive, she was bleeding where hunks of her skin had been torn away. God, they’re feeding on her. Darke shuddered and hurried toward the woman. She was chained to the wall just as Sharon had been. Darke wrapped the chain around her forearm and ripped the metal from the wall.
“We’ll get this off you later,” she said calmly. “Right now, we need to get you out of here.”
A menacing growl sounded behind her, and Darke turned to face a ferocious wolf. She slung the woman over her shoulder and backed away from the animal as it crept toward her.
Without warning, Caz sprung from the shadows with all her strength, knocking the wolf down and clamping her teeth around his throat. Darke ran from the cave as a battle raged between the two animals. When a gurgling death cry reached her ears, Darke knew Caz had held on long enough to rip out the other animal’s throat.
She never slowed down as she approached Tess. The car’s doors sprung open, and Darke slung the injured woman into the back seat and jumped into the driver’s seat. She breathed a sigh of relief when Caz leaped into the passenger side of the car.
She didn’t want to leave a scent for the wolves to follow, so she pulled into an automatic car wash and ran Tess through the soap and heated drying process. That should destroy any scent they might follow, she thought as she raced toward the hospital.
“Call Lori,” she said, and Tess dialed Lori’s number.
“I’m headed to the hospital at Main and Seventh. I’ve got your heiress, but she’s in pretty bad shape.”
Lori gasped. “On our way.”
##
An orderly helped Darke place the heiress on a gurney.
“What in God’s name happened to this woman?” he said.
“She was attacked by wild animals,” Darke replied. The fewer details, the better.
“Why is she chained?” The man eyed Darke. “You can’t wear those guns in here.”
Darke pulled her badge from her pocket and held it in front of the man’s face. “If she bleeds to death while you carry on stupid conversations, I will prosecute you,” she said.
Within minutes, nurses and a doctor were hovering over the woman. Darke breathed a sigh of relief as they decontaminated and sutured her wounds.
“Agent Knight, I must ask you to wait in the emergency waiting room,” a young nurse said as she approached Darke. “We will notify you as soon as she’s stable.”
Darke nodded and found a chair in the furthest corner of the waiting room so she could see anyone entering the area.
##
Loud sobbing pulled Darke from a restless sleep.
“Oh dear God! Where are you hurt? You’re bleeding!” A frantic Eden knelt on the floor in front of Darke and caught her hand. “What have they done to you? You shouldn’t have gone alone.”
Darke shook the haze of sleep from her mind and looked around. Her entire team had encircled her. “What? No, I’m fine.”
“You’re covered in blood,” Eden wailed.
“Not my blood! Our victim’s blood.”
“How is she?” Chief Canton asked.
“Okay, I think. The doctor was stitching up wounds when they made me wait out here. I’m ashamed to admit I fell asleep.”
As they chatted,
the emergency room door swung open, and the doctor walked into the waiting area. He looked around the room and then walked to the group gathered around Darke.
“Are you okay, miss?” he asked, seeing Eden on her knees in front of Darke.
Eden blushed and stood. “Yes. I thought Agent Knight was injured. She’s covered in blood.”
“It’s your patient’s blood,” Darke explained. “How is she?”
“She’s doing well. I’ve sedated her. She’ll be able to talk to you in the morning.”
Chief Canton introduced himself, holding his identification out so the doctor could see it. “We need to post a guard on the patient. Her life is in danger.”
The doctor looked at the group of people surrounding him. “Chief, may I speak freely?”
Canton nodded. “These people are officers on a special task force.”
“The patient looked as if something was eating her—and I mean that in the literal sense of the word,” the doctor said, wide-eyed, as if his statement surprised even him. “It appears she was attacked by a pack of dogs … or something.”
Canton scowled. “Until she can talk, we won’t know what happened to her.”
Lori held up a brown paper bag containing clean clothes for Darke. “Is there somewhere Agent Knight can shower and change? You don’t really want her walking around the hospital covered in dried blood.”
“I’ll send a nurse to take you to a vacant room to shower.” The doctor nodded to Darke and walked away.
Less than five minutes later, a nurse appeared to escort Darke to a shower. “I’ll go with her,” Eden said, pulling the bag of clothes from Lori’s hand. “You’re needed here more than I.”
Darke showered quickly and then shoved her blood-saturated clothes into a biohazard bin. “Let’s check on our patient.”
Eden caught Darke’s arm before they stepped from the room. “What’s going on? I’m tired of being kept in the dark.”
“We’re not certain,” Darke said, evading the details. “We’ll know more after we interview the heiress.”
“She has a name,” Eden said, pouting. “Marty Leonard. She’s the daughter of some news mogul.”
“Wow. They’re either getting brazen or stupid,” Darke muttered.
