Black Dawn

by Cristin Harber

  Pulling the phone free of her back pocket, she hesitated before swiping the screen. The digits rang clear and familiar. Parker. She hadn’t saved his number, but there was his text, waiting. Damn near giddy, she swiped the screen again to read it.

  Hope you’re dreaming. Gnight.

  Holy shit. Her entire body swooned from four words. So sweet and almost intimate. He didn’t write that he hoped she was asleep. But dreaming…

  Stepping onto the sidewalk and not feeling the bite of the cold wind anymore, she imagined what she could dream. He’d given her a lot to remember. Lexi bit her lip as a heat blossoming in her chest made her light on her feet. Bacon trotted beside her as they hustled back into the apartment building. As soon as Monarch sold, maybe she could show up on Parker’s doorstep again and pick up where they’d just left off.

  She pushed inside, and Malcolm greeted her. “Miss Dare.”

  “Can you do me a huge favor?” He’d done it before, every time she needed to get Bacon safely stowed when she traveled for work.

  “If it has to do with my furry friend, I would love to.”

  Lexi jumped up on her toes and hugged the guy. “Thank you.”

  He chuckled. “At your service. But truly, Miss Dare, I’m happy that you have a smile.”

  “Thanks.” She bent down and ruffled Bacon’s fur. “Be a good girl. Thanks again.”

  Then she rushed to the elevator and headed upstairs. A few floors up, Lexi, infused with excitement, headed to Meredith’s apartment. She grabbed the front door key that Meredith stupidly left under the mat and let herself into the empty apartment. It was cold and dark, looking as though it hadn’t been lived in for a few weeks. Yeah, her sister was off somewhere, and if Lexi was a halfway decent sister or friend, she would’ve known that. It was insane how deeply she’d been sucked into Matt’s world.

  Enough of that. Because Parker wanted her to dream.

  She smiled in the dark then moved to the kitchen and shuffled through the junk drawer. Bingo. The key to her Gixxer. Excitement surged through her. This was a big step to becoming herself again.

  She headed to the bedroom to borrow clothes and anything else that could get her through the next two weeks. There’d be a bag in the closet and pajamas in the dresser. After tossing a pile of socks and PJs on the bed, she pulled open the walk-in closet door and flipped the switch for the light. On the closet shelf, right smack in the middle, was a cardboard box labeled LEXI, as though Meredith had known that one day, Lexi would be staring into her closet.

  “Oh boy,” she breathed then went on tiptoes to pull it down.

  Lexi kneeled next to the box, tugging the flaps free. Her clothes were folded neatly in even squares. They were all things she thought she’d tossed or given to Meredith when Matt had started to make a fuss about her wardrobe, saying she stood out too much, acted too sexy. The thought of that made her laugh. How had she transitioned from this—she unfolded a pair of tight leather pants—to the boring jeans she wore now?

  Though the unflattering jeans hadn’t stopped Parker…

  But, God, she loved the pants in her hand. The ones that Matt said made her look like a biker slut. The ones that were her absolute favorite. Reverently, she placed them next to her and kept digging through the box. Shame poured over her at how she had abandoned the very fiber of who she was for a man who’d promised never to leave her. Surely she was a slam dunk for therapy. But it was nothing she couldn’t figure out on her own if she really worked on it.

  Lexi pulled outfit after outfit from the box and transferred them to the bag she was borrowing. Finally, she slipped out of her generic, blend-into-the-crowd clothes and into the everyday version of what Silver would wear in public.

  A thrill ran through her. She walked over to Meredith’s bathroom, raided the makeup that had been left home, and when she was done, though it was the middle of the night, Lexi’s ice-blue eyes were smoky and her lips were glossy. Her clothes were so… her, and she took a deep, soul-resetting breath.

  Returning to the closet, Lexi found a jacket that she’d have to remember to give back to Meredith, and she twirled in front of the wall mirror. That girl, even in the dark, felt like coming home. She didn’t know where she was headed. Literally, she had no plans except to go back to the coffee shop and buy them out of muffins and scones. Then she could disappear.

  Lexi grabbed the eyeliner and wrote a note to Meredith on the mirror. She stared at the simplicity and truth of her words.

  I’m back. xo, Lex

  Bike keys and bag of clothes in hand, Lexi secured her laptop in a messenger bag strapped to her back and walked out with a renewed sense of who she was and what she was doing. This was the old her, reborn.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  “You tap into that comm system yet?” Jared’s voice carried before he walked into Parker’s office.

  “Yup. Boring-ass shit, but soon as something decent pops up, I’ll let you know.”

  “Alright.” Boss Man cracked his knuckles, pacing. “Dig into the recruit files?”

  “Yeah, I’d say three of them are solid Delta material.”

  “It’s not for Delta.”

  Parker spun in his chair. “Yeah?” Because none of the guys would fit on any other team Jared had. If they weren’t for Delta—but they could be for…

  “With the girls all pregnant and their husbands asking about paternity leave, seems like a good time to bulk up the main team.”

  Holy. Shit. Titan was expanding. Parker grabbed the jackets for the three men that he thought would pass muster. Jax Riddle, Bishop O’Kane, and Locke Oliver. “Then these three are solid Titan.”

  Jared glared. “Any of them have baggage?”

  “Nothing that’s out of the ordinary for us.”

  He nodded and took the folders. “Right. Well, if there’s nothing sketch, I’ll give these guys to Rocco for a look. What else is going on?”

  Parker thought about Lexi and how she’d disappeared. He’d even checked a few sources—not like he was trying to be an overbearing stalker asshole—but the girl hadn’t used any credit cards or her cell phone in days. Checking up didn’t make him a creep. Except it sounded like it did. Fuck. He was in way over his head and had no idea what to think about anything. “Not much.”

  Jared slapped the folders against his palm. “What’s going on with that side project you picked up?”

  “The Monarch security check?”

  He nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Nothing. Dude hasn’t given me much, and what I do have isn’t turning up shit.”

  “Waste of time?”

  “A favor owed that will be returned.”

  Jared nodded as though he appreciated the behind-the-scenes, underground world Parker utilized. “So it’s almost wrapped?”

  “Almost. Shadow’s got an in-person meeting in a week or so. Wants me there as more of an extra body than anything else. But other than that, the project is done.” Not that Parker was going to blow off what Shadow was asking, especially if he could help Silver, but Silver had been MIA, likely preparing last-minute details for the auction, and Shadow was hell-bent on being vague.

  Winters and Rocco walked in. Rocco had dark circles under his eyes and coffee in hand.

  “Long night?” Parker asked.

  Rocco scowled, and Winters laughed, slapping Rocco on the back.

  “Babies are a fuckuvalot of work.” He guzzled coffee. “Cat’s got it down, but man. Not easy.”

  Jared pushed the folders at Rocco. “New guys. Thumbs up or down by the end of the day. We’ll make arrangements soon as you say go.”

  Both men’s eyes went wide. Rocco put his coffee on a console.

  “Hey, jackass.” Parker moved the cup. “Spill that on there, and you and I are gonna have problems.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Rocco’s exhaustion was gone, replaced by curiosity as he went through the jackets. “Fuckin’ hell. These dudes are solid.”

  Winters peered over Rocco’s shoulder
and nodded. “I know that guy.”

  “This one?” Rocco lifted a head shot.

  “Yeah. Man’s good. Was deep in a weapons trafficking cartel, right?” Winters turned to Parker.

  “Right,” he confirmed.

  “Alright, assholes.” Boss Man headed out. “Gossip later. I’ve got to get Sugar’s sweet ass to a doctor’s appointment.”

  “You going to tell us girl or boy yet?” Rocco called after him then mumbled, “Totally going to be a girl. The man is destined to be surrounded by women.”

  Winters laughed. Then they both looked expectantly at Parker.

  “Nope.” Parker turned around, pulling up screens of nothing to look busy.

  “Do you know what the baby is?” Rocco asked.

  “Have you looked?” Winters pushed. “Do some hacker magic and give us a confirmation. We’ll go paint the place camo-pink.”

  Parker shook his head. “I do not have a death wish.”

  Rocco shook his head too. “Nah, Boss Man’d get over it.”

  “Shit, Boss Man isn’t who I’m worried about.”

  Winters and Rocco both made agreeing noises. Jared was one thing. Sugar, on the other hand, was just scary when she wanted to be.

  “So how’s Lexi Dare?” Winters changed the subject.

  Parker glared. “If you girls are done gossiping, out.”

  Rocco grabbed his coffee and perched on the edge of a table. “Must be going good?”

  Winters raised an eyebrow. “Or is she still with Matt?”

  “No,” Parker growled, not interested in sharing, especially since she’d disappeared and he was doing his best not to care too much. He’d had one day with her—even if he had made her come on his hand and moan his name. One single day. His gut churned that she was gone. Again. Second time she’d left him after he’d saved her. He thought she needed help with… something but had no idea what.

  Parker did, however, know where Matt Pindon was almost every waking moment. If that fucker did anything that looked like coming after Lexi, Parker would kill him just for the sport of it. Shit. He rubbed a hand over his face.

  “Going that well, huh?” Winters joked.

  “She’s with her sister.”

  “So you and her…?”

  Rocco sipped his coffee. “Obviously not. Dude needs to get laid.”

  Parker glared. “Would you two fucks shut it?”

  Both laughed, but Winters shook his head. “No joke, girl seems like she’s a good catch.”

  “That’s her, right?” Rocco nodded at the desk, where the print-out from her sister’s security footage was.

  Yup, that was her. So her. Hotter and sexier than when he’d dropped her off. The shot was of her walking out only an hour later. She was on the way out the front door, with her back to the camera, but she was looking to the side. Her platinum blond hair looked nearly white in the black-and-white footage, and that wasn’t what he’d left her wearing. Because if it had been, he’d never have left. That image showed classic Lexi. The one who had all but disappeared. “Uh… yeah.”

  “Not creepy at all, dude.” Rocco laughed.

  Parker balled his fists. “I don’t know where she is.”

  Winters stepped closer. “So use your boy genius powers and find her.”

  Parker pinched his eyes closed, trying to think of any way to track her down without being a super-sketch privacy invader. “Some things you’re not supposed to do.”

  Winters grabbed the paper. “Like finding her on security footage.”

  “Asshole.” He reached for the print-out. Parker had stared at it forever. Even in the almost-grainy picture, she was clear. She wore a killer shirt along with tight black pants and fuck-me boots, and from the visible slice of her face, her dark eyes were made up like a rock star’s. He could describe that outfit in detail, could almost feel it against his palms he’d studied it so hard. She looked like sex and cotton had collided, making it the world’s most teasing security footage shot ever. It had to be less than fifty degrees outside, and she was dragging what looked like a leather jacket. Parker closed his eyes but could still picture her vividly.

  Winters took the paper and stared. “Damn.”

  Rocco nodded. “Babe’s hot.”

  “That’s a Sugar lookalike,” Winters agreed. “Not the girl I met with Matt. This one is a total badass.”

  “Same girl. More like who she was before that asshole got in her head. But yeah…” Parker blew out a breath. “She kinda is.” Then he dropped his head forward, trying to ignore the hurricane of emotions: anger, arousal, worry, frustration. “My problem is, she’s totally gone.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Morning light poured in from windows high in the cathedral-height ceilings. It had been two weeks since Lexi had walked out of her sister’s apartment and gone dark. Slipping from one extreme to the other, Union Station was about as public as she could get. She leaned forward, balancing on the front two legs of her café chair. Noise echoed, and people in business suits rushed around.

  This wasn’t her scene. Really, Washington, DC, as a whole, wasn’t either. The people were useless. They liked to hear themselves talk too much—as evident by the several self-important types on their phones while ordering coffee, talking as though they held the keys to world peace—and they all looked the same. Dark suit, red or blue tie, cuff links, and smartphones attached to their ears.

  She didn’t blend in at all in her form-fitting T-shirt, leather pants, and boots, which made the phone-stuck-on-ear folks either avoid her or stare. Clothes weren’t a cure for losing one’s self, but they’d been the catalyst. As each day passed, and with every silly self-help book she’d read, Lexi had become more confident and more her.

  “Are you using this chair?” The man was already moving it, cliché phone stuck against his head.

  She hooked the chair with her boot, fighting the submissive urge to agree, and kept it close as she waited for the barista to call her second latte of the day. “I’m waiting for someone.”

  The man nodded as though it wasn’t a big deal. Because it wasn’t. Only Matt would’ve thought it was. Lexi channeled one of the pages of the many books she’d read while off the grid. I deserve to feel great. I am worthy of being safe. I can say yes, no, or maybe later. My thoughts and feelings are allowed. She took a deep breath. Thinking simple, common-sense thoughts helped. Go figure…

  She thought back to her time off the grid. No computer usage. No cell. Nothing to do except hit bookstores and coast by libraries. Reading and journaling passed the time. She wanted to understand herself. Like, she knew herself but didn’t get herself. If that made sense. Even now, sitting in the middle of a commuter hub, she didn’t totally understand the difference, but the weeks alone had helped. Connecting the dots from her foster home roulette to standing by Matt the abuser hadn’t taken much thought or energy; it had just taken self-reflection.

  And now… she wanted to see Shadow, to show off her newfound old self. Not only would he notice, but he’d be proud. That excitement was one of the reasons she’d arrived early, just in case he did too. She also wanted to call Parker the second the auction had wrapped up. With all the time on her hands, she’d thought about him to the point of exhaustion. Or exhilaration.

  The vaulted ceilings and marble floor amplified every sound. The throngs of people made her itch to get back on her bike and fly away. Just give her a laptop in the middle of nowhere. Maybe give her Parker in the middle of nowhere…

  Jittery, Lexi tapped her nails on the table. Maybe she shouldn’t have ordered a second latte. Though she didn’t have to actually drink it. Okay, just calm down.

  Lexi pressed her fingers onto the table. She was at the right location on the right day. It was time to come in from the dark in the electronic sense. She flipped open her laptop and logged on to the device that hadn’t been booted up in weeks. Emails, messages, and everything else had piled up. After a few seconds, she disabled her Wi-Fi and turned off anything
that would track her location. As she scanned through, one codex message from BlackDawn caught her attention. What had that guy learned about her? What did he think about her sale? Did he notice she’d gone silent? She would notice if he disappeared. Watching him work had entertained her for hours. He challenged the way she thought about her job, the world. Black was by far the smartest, most talented of the elite she knew.

  Knowing that his request was outdated, she opened the message anyway.

  BlackDawn: Dealing w/ a salted, brute-force hash attack. Got any plain texts I can pull from?

  Then in the same thread an hour later.

  BlackDawn: Never mind. Got it. You alive?

  Why had he asked that? Had Shadow told him that she was physically in danger? Or was that rhetorical? Of course it was. Overthinking much?

  She needed to say something and probably give him a virtual fist bump because over the last two weeks, she’d used a few tricks he’d showed her over the years. Nothing too complicated, just things she never would’ve guessed she would need to know, like accessing her bank accounts without a trace and erasing records of her staying at cash-only motels. Those had been her off-the-grid tools. Funny how life went full circle.

  She powered on her phone to ping Shadow while simultaneously reaching back into her memory, trying to pinpoint the moment her path had first crossed with Black’s. Sometime in her teens, when she’d been too much of a punk and trying to prove to the world that she was as good as she thought she was. Black had seemed to be doing the same—though they had distinct specialties, hence the partnership.

  Bzz. Her eyes shot to the phone on the café table as if it was a lit line of dynamite. Wow. Maybe she should’ve gone with decaf. She didn’t know the number but assumed it was her broker. The guy had a new phone almost every day, which was a pain to keep up with, but she didn’t blame him.

  “Shadow,” Lexi answered as her gaze darted through the crowds milling through Union Station. “I’m here super early. Are you?”