Dark Star

by Roslyn Holcomb

  “It’s a long story,” he sighed. Even as he talked his eyes were in constant motion, scanning the windows like a sniper as Deringer drove with quiet efficiency.

  “Shorten it,” Tonya said.

  “More guys coming here to kill you. If you don’t go into hiding with us you’re going to wind up dead.”

  Tonya took a deep breath as her stomach clenched on a wave of fear. He was telling the truth. There was no way to mistake the sincerity in his voice. “Okay you can make it longer than that.”

  Nate nodded. “I assume you know by now that I didn’t join the Peace Corps.”

  Tonya barely nodded her head to indicate affirmation. Much as it shamed her to admit it, when he’d left her she’d put forth considerable effort to find him. No way in hell would she tell him that, though. She listened as he continued his explanation.

  “I became an...I guess you would call me a bounty hunter. I hunt down bad guys.”

  “I know what a bounty hunter is. I do write mysteries, you know. But seeing as how I’m not a fugitive, I don’t see what it has to do with me.”

  “See, here’s the thing, one of the guys I’ve been hunting found out about you and he hired someone to take you out to get back at me.”

  Tonya stared at him for a long moment, still not altogether convinced this wasn’t some sort of bizarre joke. “Found out about me? What about me? I haven’t seen hide nor hair of you in more than ten years,” she said, proud that she managed to say it without a hint of emotion in her voice.

  Nate had the grace to look ashamed. A bit of color rose up under his swarthy complexion as he looked down at the toes of a pair of heavy boots that seemed to be primarily held together with duct tape. Despite her anger, Tonya almost smiled. Though he looked markedly different from the boy she’d once loved, one thing about him hadn’t changed -- he still didn’t give a damn about clothes.

  “That’s pretty much my fault. See, I’ve kind of kept tabs on you over the years.”

  “How the hell do you kind of keep tabs on someone?”

  “I mean, every now and then I’d check in just to see how you were doing.”

  Tonya’s mouth opened but she was totally incapable of making a sound. It was as though she’d suddenly been anesthetized. Her throat was paralyzed which was bad enough, but the fact that her brain didn’t want to function was even worse.

  “I think Maximilian was able to find you because we have a mole in our organization.”

  Tonya was beginning to realize that Nate was probably not an ordinary bounty hunter. She had no idea what he’d gotten himself involved in, but she watched the news and with the world’s current political state anything was possible. She started to ask what organization he worked for then decided she didn’t want to know. He probably wouldn’t tell her anyway. The panic that had seized her vocal chords finally eased, at least a little bit. “Can’t I just go home? This is just more than I can handle. My mama will be losing her mind. And Callie is pregnant. She doesn’t need to be upset.” The hysteria that she’d been holding off for quite a while now came to the forefront and her voice rose to a strident pitch that was painful even to her own ears.

  “I’ve got to get rid of this guy before I can let you do that,” Nate said.

  “How long will that take?”

  “Right now I don’t know.”

  “You mean you want me to stay with you indefinitely? I can’t do that. I have a life.”

  “You won’t if the Rooster gets a hold of you, little sister.”

  “If I have any problems I’ll call the police or hire security,” she said.

  “And get a whole lot more people killed. This guy is ruthless. He’s not above gunning for your mama or anyone else for that matter,” Nate said with a bleak expression.

  Tonya gasped. “Well, considering that you threatened to kill a whole hotel full of folks I can’t see that he could be any worse. Besides how is my disappearing going to keep him from doing that anyway?”

  “You know I’d never hurt you or anyone you cared about.”

  “No. I don’t know that. How could I, considering?”

  “I meant physically. I know I hurt you emotionally, but it couldn’t be helped,” he said.

  “I really don’t want to talk to you. Just answer my question. How is my disappearing going to keep anyone safe?” she said.

  “Because he’ll think you’re dead or being held by a friend of his.”

  “This is absolutely bizarre. I have to at least call my mother. She’s probably frantic by now. Someone was bound to hear the gunshots behind the hotel, and then for me to just disappear. You know she’s going to think the worst.”

  Nate shook his head. “I’m sorry. There wasn’t supposed to be any gunfire. This should’ve been a simple extraction that even a Boy Scout could’ve pulled off.” A muffled snort came from the front seat and he glared at the back of Deringer’s head. “As for calling your mom, that’s a definite no. Nobody can know. It’ll just put them all in greater danger. Your mother is a fabulous lady, but do you really think she’d be able to keep this to herself?”

  Tonya didn’t bother to answer, they both knew the truth: Anita Stephens was many things, but discretion wasn’t her strong suit.

  “Regardless of all that, I’ve got to go home. I appreciate you guys trying to rescue me and all, but I can’t do this.”

  “You need to come with us.”

  “Oh, you have got to be kidding. I think I’d rather take my chances with the bad guy.” As she said it, she realized she actually meant it. When they’d first showed up at the hotel she’d been so freaked out by being attacked twice in one day she hadn’t really been thinking clearly. Even though she was still terrified, there was something she feared even more -- Nate. Even after all these years, being around him had the same effect on her -- made her want to curl up with him in the nearest bed and not come out until spring thaw. It was ridiculous. The man had abandoned her like yesterday’s news, but the urge to kiss him was almost overwhelming. Pathetic.

  “Onion, you don’t mean that. You’ve got to cooperate with us. There’s no other way,” Nate said, reaching out and grabbing one of her flailing hands.

  Tonya struggled to pull her hand away. Pure rage coiled in her belly and she fought against him like something possessed. When he wouldn’t release her she swung with her left hand and connected with the side of his face with a satisfying smack. His head snapped in response to the blow and he gave her a long look.

  “Okay, I probably deserved that.” He grabbed her hand when she swung again. “Look, you have every right to be pissed at me but we don’t have time for this right now. If beating the hell out of me will help you feel better I promise you’ll have ample opportunity, but right now you’ve got to come with us.”

  Tonya watched as the outline of her palm reddened his cheek, a bit ashamed at what she’d done, but he was right he had deserved it. “I’m not going off to God knows where with someone I haven’t seen in forever. You might be crazy, but I’m not. Now please take me back. I don’t know what I was thinking when I left with you in the first place.”

  “We can’t do that. Please calm down.We’re not going to hurt you, but you’ve got to do this.”

  “No way,” Tonya said, suddenly realizing that they’d pulled into another alleyway and the vehicle was no longer moving. The light had dimmed considerably once they turned off the street and she strained to see.

  “I didn’t want to do this...” Deringer said as he turned, reached over the seat and touched her bare arm with a small electronic device.

  Nate reached for Deringer’s hand, but he was just a half second too late. Tonya heard a strange clicking sound and there was a cool sensation on her arm as the gizmo zapped her. She had a brief moment of panic as she assumed the man was using a Taser on her, but there was no pain and she sighed in relief. Before she could ask what they were doing, she became light-headed and quickly realized that she’d been drugged. Her vision grayed and t
unneled in, and she tried to form words, but she couldn’t get her mouth to work properly. Even a scream was impossible, the dizziness became more pervasive and she could barely discern either man’s face in the dim light. Then she knew nothing more.

  * * * * *

  Tonya awakened slowly. Aware only of an incredibly deep thirst and a head that throbbed incessantly, she reached for the carafe of water she kept on her bedside table and quickly realized she wasn’t at home. That’s when she noticed the voices. Nate and Deringer were talking just a few feet from where she lay.

  “Why in the hell did you do that?” asked Nate. “She’s going to hate me forever for this,” he said.

  “Hate to break it to you man, she already hates you. We didn’t have time to squabble with her all night. She’s pissed with you and would’ve fought you even if you’d been offering her the Hope diamond. It was pointless. She was heading toward hysteria and would probably have jumped out the car and ran the first chance she got. After cutting your throat.” Deringer said.

  Try as she might to focus, Tonya’s overriding thirst distracted her. “Water,” she said though it really sounded more like a croak. “Could I have something to drink?”

  Nate rushed over to the bed. “Of course, little sister. Anything you need.” He walked over to the table on the other side of the room where there was an ice bucket filled with beverages and returned with an ice-cold bottle of water.

  Tonya tried to sit up, but quickly realized that she was too weak to support her own weight. Her entire body felt rubbery and insubstantial with no muscle function at all. . .what the hell? Had she been sick? She felt as though she had the flu.

  Nate helped her sit up. After propping a few pillows behind her for comfort, he handed her the bottle of water. He took it back when he realized that she lacked the strength to even unscrew the cap. Tonya took the bottle again and turned it up. Her throat was so parched she almost drained it. Now that she felt almost human again -- aside from the throbbing headache -- she turned to Nate who had remained beside the bed.

  “Not to sound melodramatic, but where am I? What is going on? Did I hit my head on something? Man have I got a beast of a headache.” She looked around the room as she spoke. It was tastefully decorated and she was pretty sure it wasn’t a hotel room. Though English cottage style wasn’t really her taste, she could appreciate the soft pink and green floral design, and the casually mismatched furniture. It wasn’t overdone and the antique oak four-poster was lovely with a patina of age that no designer could create. The cost of the furniture alone was enough to confirm that this was probably a private home, but whose and why was she here?

  “Do you remember the conversation we had before in the car?”

  Tonya frowned, straining to recall. All she remembered was Nate and a strange man showing up in her hotel room. She shook her head, but regretted it immediately as the motion sent exquisite shards of pain slicing through her skull.

  Nate gave her a sympathetic look. “Sorry about that. It’s typical for the drug. That’s why I don’t like using it.” He glared at Deringer. “Fortunately it’s only temporary and your memory will return.”

  “Wait a minute. You drugged me?” Tonya asked, struggling to think clearly.

  Nate exhaled heavily as he pulled up a ladder back chair from the desk on the other side of the room. After sitting down he succinctly recited the events that had occurred over the past few hours. Tonya closed her eyes as the memories flooded back. Despite the death threats and mind-numbing fear, the shock of seeing Nate had somehow had more impact than the threat of being kidnapped by some international badass who wanted to kill her.

  “Are you sure about all this? It just seems like it has to be some big misunderstanding. Or maybe it’s some crazy trick you’re playing on me,” she said grasping at anything to make sense of the bizarre circumstances.

  “Do you really think I would make up something like that, Onion? I mean seriously. I know you’re pissed at me, and you have good reason to be, but I’d have to be one sick bastard to do something like that,” he said.

  “Stop calling me that,” she snapped. The nickname brought back too many sweet memories.

  “Why? Your ass is still so gorgeous it makes me want to cry.”

  Vintage Nate, part courtier, part good old boy. “Personally I wouldn’t believe you if you had your tongue notarized.”

  “I might lie about few things, okay, a lot of things, but I’d never lie about your ass. Some things are sacred.”

  “I’m not talking about my ass. I’m talking about this nutty situation you’ve dragged me into,” she said.

  “I admit to being dishonest with you in the past, but you have to believe I wouldn’t risk your life for any reason,” he said.

  Tonya sucked her teeth, then took the water bottle up to finish it. The situation was totally Looney Tunes, but for some reason she did believe him. More fool her. “Can we start with simple questions? Where am I and what do you plan to do with me?”

  For the first time, Deringer addressed her directly. “You’re in a safe house. We plan to take you to another safe house where we can hide you until the danger is over.”

  “So you’ve kidnapped me.”

  Nate sighed. “More or less.”

  “Oh, my God. Mama will be out of her mind.”

  “Yeah, probably. We had no choice. Trust me, I wouldn’t choose to piss that lady off if there was any other way.”

  Tonya acknowledged the truth in that. Nate adored her mother and they got on like a house on fire. But like everyone else he was scared to death of her. “How long do you plan to keep me? I can’t disappear indefinitely. I have a book coming out. A promotion tour. Contracts.”

  “Yeah, I know. Those IHOP books are pretty good.”

  “They’re not IHOP books. They’re Waffle House books.” What was wrong with people? Waffle House was clearly superior.

  “Yeah, who’d have thought a bunch of books about Waffle Houses would be best sellers?”

  “They’re not about Waffle House. They’re about a waitress who solves murder mysteries and works in a Waffle House.” Tonya put a hand to her head. “May I please have an aspirin? What on earth did you two give me, hemlock? I feel like hot fried hell.”

  “I didn’t give you anything. Dare did,” Nate said and then shrugged as though to acknowledge that he was splitting hairs. “The headache is an unfortunate side-effect of the drug. It’s fast acting but packs a kick like a Georgia mule. Fortunately, it’s not available to the public.”

  “Well, thank God for that!” she said.

  “For our purposes it can be delivered swiftly without breaking the skin. That’s safer for us, but yeah, it’s a nasty drug.” Nate got up and walked over to what she assumed was a bathroom. She heard a cabinet door open and close, then he was back with an aspirin bottle. She took the tablets he offered, and then hesitated. After all he had drugged her before.

  Nate spoke up when she paused. “I promise little sister. No matter what, I won’t drug you again.” He took the two aspirin from her hand, tossed them into his mouth and swallowed. Tonya wavered a moment longer, but seeing no ill-effect in him and really wanting to be rid of the headache, she took the open bottle and shook out two more tablets. Deringer offered her a fresh bottle of water and Tonya drank it down after the pills. She lay back against the pillows, suddenly feeling incredibly exhausted. She gave Nate a suspicious glare.

  He shook his head. “No, I didn’t drug you again. More side-effects from the knockout drug. Take a little nap and when you wake again you’ll feel fine.”

  Tonya struggled to keep her eyes open. She had lots more questions to ask, but she quietly lost the battle. As she drifted off to sleep she realized that she still had no idea where she was.

  * * * * *

  Nate stood by Tonya’s bed looking down at the woman who had held his heart in her hands for almost a third of his life. There had been a few changes in her appearance and those were for the good -- sh
e’d put on a little weight, softening her features and lending some curves to her rather angular body. Her skin, which glowed in the same hues as the Sahara at dawn was still wrinkle-free and her large almond-shaped eyes hadn’t lost the warm sparkle that reminded him of well-aged bourbon. Memories of those eyes had kept him sane during some of the horrific moments in the past twelve years. Sometimes when he was on the hunt, or being hunted, he’d recall the way she used to look at him -- the love and tenderness she’d offered with her whole heart. Somehow the knowledge that there was someone in the world who had once loved him had a way of soothing and consoling him, regardless of the circumstances in which he found himself. He watched as she sighed and snuggled down into the pillow.

  Her hair fell from her face in long irregular dreadlocks. When they’d been together she’d worn it long and straightened, but right after she and Callie opened their bookstore she’d cut it off. The locks suited her, adding an air of womanly allure, an Earth Mother appeal. Her long high-bridged nose had been almost too big for her face when they were younger, though it was balanced by sharp cheekbones and a notably broad jaw. The features were more symmetrical now that her face had filled out. But it was those eyes that had captured him from the beginning and still held him in thrall.

  University of Alabama, October 1994

  The room was unbearably crowded and the heat was stifling. Nate stepped outside to catch his breath. Though it was already October, there was no hint of chill in the air -- it was still as warm and humid as late summer -- a not uncommon occurrence in this part of southwest Alabama where November tornadoes happened occasionally. Nate found a secluded corner in front of the house away from the crowd and leaned against a tree. The Denny Chimes struck the late hour and he looked up at the red brick and limestone structure that glowed in the light of the harvest moon. The air was redolent with the smokiness from that afternoon’s bonfire. He didn’t really know why he was in such a melancholy mood tonight. They had a hard-fought Crimson Tide victory. The beer was cold and the women were plentiful. Usually that was enough to engage his attention, but tonight there seemed to be something missing.