Love in the Shadows

by Caryn Moya Block

  At first, it was just curiosity. Who was the person behind the easy smile and flirtatious manner? She felt drawn to him, and the strength she sensed lay hidden below the surface. Most people looked down on the playboy of Isanti, Inc. But working for General Holland meant undercover. Katherine suspected there was more to Derek than people saw on the surface.

  Amanda had been determined to have Derek. She wasn’t in her right mind, blaming Raven for keeping her and Derek apart. It was a shame she was killed, but Katherine understood why it happened.

  At the reception, Katherine had asked for one dance. She and Derek were supposed to be together, destined soul mates, marked by Shadow. Everyone in the tribe knew it. She rubbed the small heart burned onto her left breast that had appeared when she walked into the Shadow Dimension for the first time. It was the outward sign of a Shadow-Walker’s mate, Derek’s mate.

  If Derek strolled in the door right now, she would punch him. She couldn’t stand the looks of pity the other tribal members had been giving her ever since he walked away from her. Derek was supposed to be retired from active duty. All the Shadow Walkers were leaving General Holland’s team. It was time to produce the next generation. Every man’s first responsibility was to find his mate with Cara’s help. How could Derek leave her?

  His flirting and teasing manner had reminded her she was a desirable woman. It had brought her alive after grieving her husband. Why did he need to be a hero and work for the general? Her late husband Kevin had been the same kind of man, a hero. She had watched him go off to war with a cocky grin on his face. He never came home to her. She didn’t want the same thing to happen to Derek.

  It was a good thing the office was quiet this morning. Her need to see Derek walk in the door made it difficult to concentrate on her job. Who was she kidding? The longer Derek stayed away, the harder it was to get things done. Her mind whirled with thoughts of him. Everywhere she looked, memories assailed her. She hadn’t realized how much she looked forward to seeing him every day. He would flirt and tease, making her laugh. Her heart ached with needing him.

  She loved working as the administrative assistant to Raven Darkwood, the CEO of Isanti, Inc., and Derek’s older brother. She loved the tribe and how they tried hard to keep some of their history alive, even though they were not recognized by the United States government as an official Native American tribe. The Nuni Nagi had once followed herds of buffalo across the plains of the United States. Now, they were business tycoons. There were few members left.

  One of their legends spoke of a beloved warrior and his mate sacrificing their lives for the tribe. It was said that the Great Spirit gave them the secret of walking into Shadow as compensation, so they could disappear from their enemies.

  Katherine went back to her desk and opened one of the many files stacked on top. She looked through the building permits for the new tribal school in Montana, one of many projects she worked on. Cara was project manager for the school and a new housing development being set up for the tribe. One day the tribe would build a whole community on the site and Katherine and Derek might own a house there.

  The phone rang, and Katherine reached to answer. She was surprised to see the call came from Isanti Quiet Thunder’s ranch in Montana. “Isanti, Inc., Raven Darkwood’s office.”

  “Kathy, it’s me, Gwen.”

  “Hi. Is everything okay with Isanti?” Isanti was the tribe’s shaman and Derek’s foster father. He was a tribal elder, and everyone worried about his advancing years.

  “He’s fine. Have you been practicing your shadow-walking?”

  “Yes, Cara and I shadow-walked to Italy last week. She took me to get proper clothes to stay warm in the Shadow Dimension.” Cara tried to make sure the women of the tribe were just as capable as the men.

  “Great. Italian leather is the best. I’m sorry to do this, but I have to cancel on the girls’ get together this weekend. I’m going over to England for a while. Can you let Cara know?”

  “Oh sure. Let me be the bearer of bad news. Don’t worry. Except for practicing our shadow-walking, I don’t think we had anything else planned. The martial arts instructor Cara hired asked for this weekend off. So our next lesson won’t be for a while. I guess Cara and I are the only women who really need training. You and your sisters already know all this stuff.”

  “Don’t feel bad. As daughters of Isanti Quiet Thunder, he taught us how to hunt and hide since we could walk. Safety of the tribe is important. I’ve got to go. Hang in there. I’m sure Derek will get his head together and be home soon.”

  “Thanks, Gwen. Give my love to Isanti.”

  Katherine sighed and disconnected the call. She had celebrated with the rest of the tribe when Raven married Cara, fulfilling the prophecy handed down from the tribe’s shaman. Then, Derek was forced to kill Amanda. After that, everything kind of went to hell.

  The next day Derek had disappeared. No one had seen him since. She knew he worked for General Holland, using his ability to walk between this dimension and the next, to spy for his country. He stayed out there, risking his life. Why did she fall in love with men who needed to be heroes? First her husband, and now Derek. She wanted to scream. Why couldn’t she find a man who would put her first, instead of going off to save the world?

  She walked down the hall to the break room to start a new pot of coffee. Raven would be chairing a security meeting in half an hour, and as his assistant, she made sure refreshments were available. Sitting next to the coffee machine was the bag of chocolate hazelnut coffee she loved so much. It was one of the gifts Derek had left her. She kept it for those times she needed a pick-me up, or a special treat. Everywhere she looked, she was reminded of him.

  Why hadn’t she admitted that she loved Derek? Katherine took the glass carafe to the sink to fill with water. She should have trusted him, trusted her feelings. When she had her chance, she let it slip away. She should have told him while he held her so tenderly in his arms.

  She had been afraid to get in too deep, afraid to commit herself long-term and possibly lose her heart again. When Derek disappeared she realized living without him was too painful. It was too late. She was already in too deep. She walked back to the coffeemaker and poured the water in the top before reaching for the filters and the can of regular ground coffee. Most of the men thought her flavored coffee was too frou-frou to drink.

  She tired of waiting for Derek to make his move. This morning, she had called the general. The only thing she could pry from the man was that Derek was in the Amazon. She told him to send Derek home, because if the general didn’t do it, she would be on the next plane to find Derek.

  She pressed the start button on the coffee machine and wandered back down the hall. As she walked into the atrium, she found Nurse Eschbach leaning over her desk. Why was she up here, again? “Can I help you?”

  “Oh, there you are, Mrs. Sloane. I wanted to check if you’ve gotten your flu shot yet? The flu season is upon us. It’s a good idea to get the shot and forgo lost days at work.” The nurse flipped her blond hair back off her shoulder. She wore a standard nurse’s uniform.

  “I explained to the doctor that I don’t believe in taking a flu shot.” Katherine shook her head. Something wasn’t right here. The nurse was overzealous in her work, always pushy.

  “Yes, well, I brought this pamphlet up to explain it more thoroughly.”

  Katherine took the pamphlet, being careful not to actually touch the woman. There was something about the nurse that set Katherine off. Last week the nurse came up here asking Katherine to fill out forms for her insurance coverage with the company, when Katherine had already turned in the forms to human resources.

  “Thank you, nurse. I’ll be sure to look it over. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting to prepare for.”

  “Of course. Have a nice day, Mrs. Sloane.”

  Katherine nodded and waited for the nurse to get on the elevator before sitting at her desk with a sigh. Even that irritating nurse had a boyfriend, o
ne of the mechanics in the garage, if rumors in the lunchroom were true. Belinda from accounting said she caught them in the back seat of one of the limousines making out. Katherine wouldn’t have thought the nurse was the type to make out in a car.

  Katherine wanted her chance at a new life. She wanted the one man destined to be hers, and that man was Derek. She had loved her husband, but that felt nothing like what she felt for Derek. She needed him. She couldn’t breathe without him. Where are you? Come back to me.

  Katherine’s skin felt flushed. Beads of sweat appeared on her upper lip. The blood rushed from her head, her eyes started to see black. She cried out as she slumped over and fell to the floor.

  §

  “Welcome back Mrs. Sloane,” Dr. Frederick “Rick” White Fox said. “Mr. Darkwood will be back in a moment. I’m afraid you fainted. Have you been feeling ill?”

  Katherine blinked. She lay in a bed in the hospital wing on the lower floor of the Isanti building. She recognized the room because it was where she had her yearly checkup.

  “No. I was fine one minute, and then the next I felt sick,” Katherine said as she tried to sit up. The doctor moved forward and raised the head of the bed so she would be comfortable.

  “I’m going to run some tests, and we’ll see what we find. I’d like you to change into a gown if you don’t mind. Lay your clothes on the chair. Here you go. When you’re finished changing, lie back down on the bed and get comfortable. I’ll send in a nurse, and we’ll figure this out.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Rick.”

  Katherine quickly changed into the hospital gown. What had happened? She had never fainted before. She climbed back into the bed and covered herself with the sheet. She didn’t like hospitals. They made her nervous. But Dr. Rick was always very nice to her. She felt safe in his care. He wore his dark hair in long braids like a warrior of old. He was both modern with his lab coat and stethoscope and old-fashioned with his braids and moccasins, a mix of times.

  “Katherine. Are you all right?” Cara asked, walking into the room.

  Katherine stared at the woman who fulfilled the tribal prophecy. Long dark hair fell down her back, and she wore jeans and a T-shirt. “Cara, what are you doing here?”

  “Raven told me you collapsed. I came to see if you were okay and stop Dr. Rick from running all kinds of tests on you. He won’t find anything.”

  Sometimes Cara was scary. She seemed to know things she shouldn’t. “I don’t understand, Cara. Why won’t he find anything?”

  “Because your reaction wasn’t about you. It was about Derek.”

  Panic gripped Katherine’s heart. She could hardly breathe. Derek, where are you? “Derek? Cara you’re scaring me. What’s wrong with Derek? Is he hurt? Where is he?”

  “That’s what Raven is trying to find out right now. Don’t freak out, Kathy. The Shadow Walkers take care of their own.”

  “Don’t freak out! Cara, I can’t lose him. I’ll never survive my heart breaking a second time.” First Kevin and now Derek. He wasn’t dead. She would know. She would feel the tearing of her heart. He must be alive.

  “Easy now, Kathy. Breathe. You’re going to be all right, and so is Derek.” Cara took her hand and held tight.

  Katherine glanced down at the hand holding hers. She trembled. She was so cold she felt as if she would never be warm again. Derek? Where was he? She needed him so badly.

  “Dammit, Katherine, you are not alone. You are Derek’s mate, and as such you are a member of the Shadow Walker tribe. Our tribe. We are going to help you. Derek will be found and brought home. You need to have faith. Trust me. Derek needs you to be strong right now. Don’t fall apart.”

  Cara’s words hit her like a bucket of ice water. She needed to get her act together.

  “Raven will be here in a moment to tell us what they’ve found. Go ahead and get dressed. We’ll see what’s up with your man.”

  Her man. Katherine liked the sound of that. She reached for her clothes. Slipping back into her slacks, she paused a moment. “How do you know stuff?” Katherine asked.

  “How do you? I know you can sense a lie,” Cara said.

  “It’s the feelings behind the lie I sense,” Katherine explained, putting her blouse back on.

  “So you are empathic. You sense feelings.”

  “I guess so, but I have to focus on the person for it to work. What do you sense?” Katherine asked, sitting down to put on her shoes.

  “I see things. Like the mating symbol, or sometimes symbols of danger, like blood.”

  “Blood? I think I’m glad I just feel things.”

  “Yeah. Well I’m afraid you may feel a whole lot more if we don’t get Derek home. Don’t worry. You are surrounded by friends. And when you marry Derek, we will be family, sisters-in-law.”

  “Derek hasn’t asked me to marry him,” Katherine said, feeling her face flush.

  “Don’t worry. He will. I’ve seen it. Right now everything is dark and dangerous. He’s in trouble.”

  “Please tell me he’s going to be all right.”

  “I’m sorry Kathy. I can’t see past the danger. I wish I could.” Cara’s shoulders slumped in defeat.

  “Cara, I appreciate all your help,” Kathy said tenderly.

  Cara looked up and smiled. She often seemed like someone struggling to understand her new place in life. Being married to Raven Darkwood wasn’t always the picnic people imagined. Cara had been kidnapped and almost raped because she was Raven’s woman.

  “Come on. Let’s go find Raven.” Katherine needed to find out what was going on.

  As they walked out of the exam room, they heard Raven shouting. “What do you mean he’s missing? Well, somebody needs to find him ASAP. I want to know where my brother is, and I want to know now! Call me as soon as you learn something.”

  Cara walked over and put her head on Raven’s shoulder. Katherine crossed her arms and tried to feel warm, when all she felt was cold inside. Raven smiled at her, and it helped a little bit. He had been so nice to her when she came to work for Isanti, Inc., five years ago. He was older than Derek, but the resemblance between the brothers was noticeable. They had the same dark eyes and hair, the same dimples in their chins. Raven wore his hair down to his shoulders, but Derek wore his hair in the current style, looking as if he had just stepped off the pages of GQ Magazine. Raven knew Katherine loved his brother.

  When Katherine felt a knife cut her skin, she looked down in disbelief. No one was cutting her. What was going on? The pain of the second cut was more intense, and she gasped, clutching her side as her knees buckled. How was she feeling a knife cut someone else?

  Raven leapt forward and caught Katherine as she fell. Cara wrapped her arms around Katherine as she felt a third knife cut across her arm. Katherine cried out and looked at Raven in horror.

  “They’re cutting Derek. Oh, my God, they’re torturing him.”

  For a moment, Katherine was connected with Derek, sharing his pain. She felt him stiffen and push her out of his mind. Derek didn’t want her to be hurt. Katherine didn’t want him to be alone.

  Raven grabbed her shoulders and forced her to focus on him. “Disconnect, Katherine. I’m speaking with him now. I’m helping him. You have to stay out of his mind. He won’t let me help him if he feels you. Let me help him. Let me get a fix, so we can save him.”

  Katherine nodded. She would do anything to help Derek. She pulled herself up and leaned against the wall.

  Raven knelt on the floor. Cara crouched above him as if to shield him. His long black hair came undone and swept forward, hiding his face. Black hair like Derek’s. Oh, how Katherine missed him. Tears trickled down her cheeks. He was hurt, and she couldn’t help him.

  Don’t cry, not over me. Please don’t cry, Katie.

  Derek? Are you okay? What’s going on? I felt a knife cutting you.

  I didn’t want you to feel any pain. I’m so sorry, honey.

  Don’t be ridiculous. I want to be with you. I need you, Derek. />
  You don’t know how happy that makes me. I need to shut our link down now. I love you, Katherine.

  Katherine felt the beginning of what seemed like someone crushing her hand. She gasped, and then it was gone and so was Derek. Raven stood looking at her, a worried frown on his face. Cara stood next to him, one arm wrapped around his waist.

  “I know where he is, and the plane is leaving within the hour. Unfortunately, Derek is in an area where we’ve never been. So we can’t shadow-walk in. We’ll get him back. You can count on it.”

  “I want to go. I want to help him. Let me go with the team.”

  “Katherine, you can’t walk into Shadow by yourself. I’m afraid you would be a liability to the team. I can’t let you take the risk. Not when we could lose both of you.”

  “Please, Raven. I can’t stay here, safe and sound, while he’s hurt. Please let me go to him.” Is this what Derek felt was his duty, this overwhelming need to save everyone?

  “We don’t know what the situation is down there, or who is holding him prisoner. I know you want to help, but you have no training. Derek wouldn’t thank me for putting you in danger.”

  “Dammit, I’m not stupid. I can follow orders, and I’m not made of glass. If you don’t let me go with your team, then I will go on my own. I will not be left behind, not when Derek is in trouble.”

  Cara reached up and whispered in Raven’s ear. He didn’t look happy about what she said. He nodded grudgingly.

  “All right, report to Joseph Running Bear. He’ll be the team lead. But if he tells me that you are causing problems, I will authorize him to put you on the next plane home— with or without your permission.”

  Katherine couldn’t believe he changed his mind. Raven wasn’t just the CEO, he was the chief of the tribe. For him to back down was huge. She gave Raven and Cara a quick hug and started to hurry down the hallway to the elevator.