Darkness Past

by Sherryl Hancock

  Ten minutes later, Elizabeth walked out onto the patio where Cat sat. She looked around and saw Cat sitting in a chair, smoking. She was singing along with the song playing in the background—T’Pau’s “Heart and Soul.” The chorus hit home, talking about giving heart and soul and not making her beg for more.

  Elizabeth watched as the song continued. Cat turned her head, looking directly at her , and sang the line about having lost her way and trying to find something in her lover’s eyes. It went straight to Elizabeth’s soul, and she felt immediately guilty, although she didn’t know quite why.

  Elizabeth walked over and sat down next to Cat. Cat finished the cigarette she had in hand and reached for another one. Elizabeth noticed a number of butts in the ashtray in front of Cat. She was chain-smoking, not a good sign.

  “Can we talk?” Elizabeth asked gently.

  Cat nodded, looking straight ahead, her face a cool mask.

  “Things have just been crazy lately,” Elizabeth said, her tone reasoning. “The restaurant is doing business hand over fist, and the club is getting more and more popular… Plus you’ve been working so much lately…”

  Cat gave a short laugh. “We’ve been three people down on a six-man team, Bet. Of course I’ve been working a lot. That’s not about us.”

  Elizabeth had no idea what to say.

  “I think we’re just…” Elizabeth’s voice trailed off as she saw Cat’s gaze sharpen.

  “Bored,” Cat supplied. “But don’t say ‘we,’ Bet. I’m not bored.”

  “That’s not what I was going to say,” Elizabeth snapped, then pulled herself up short, knowing that getting mad at Cat wasn’t going to help.

  In her heart, Elizabeth knew it was true. She was restless, and she didn’t know what to do to fix that. If she talked to anyone, they’d just tell her that was what a relationship was about. Living with one person day in and day out. Elizabeth just didn’t know how to handle that. What she did know was that she didn’t want to get into a big nasty fight with Cat.

  It would be far too easy for her to run fast and loose in Los Angeles, and that would only get her into trouble again. Her aunt was the California Attorney General now—any headlines involving her niece would reflect badly on Midnight. The last thing Elizabeth wanted was to face her uncle’s wrath if she did anything to hurt Midnight’s image. Elizabeth had witnessed Rick in his fury a couple of times, and she knew she didn’t want that turned on her.

  “Please, Cat,” Elizabeth said, putting her hand on Cat’s arm. “Can’t we just go back to the room?”

  Cat looked at Elizabeth’s extensively manicured hand, then at her own hands. She had two broken nails, no polish on at all, and her hands had cuts on them from a barbed-wire fence the week before. Far from what Elizabeth’s hand looked like. Maybe Kana was right. They were so different. Was that ever going to change? Cat didn’t think so, and she wondered how long it would take to tear them apart.

  Sighing, Cat stubbed out her cigarette, drank the last of her drink, and tossed another twenty on the table. She got up, taking Elizabeth by the hand and leading her to the elevators. Inside the elevator, Cat turned to Elizabeth and kissed her, pressing her back against the wall of the elevator. At first Elizabeth responded, but as the bell rang for the floor they were on, Elizabeth pushed her away.

  “Someone might see,” she said, her voice hushed.

  Cat’s lips curled in a sardonic grin. Shaking her head, she walked out of the elevator and headed for their room. Inside, she tossed her jacket aside, kicked off her shoes, and went to bed. Elizabeth climbed into bed after her, but Cat’s back was to her, her arms curled around the pillow under her head. Elizabeth knew with a sense of dread that this was the beginning of the end for them. It made her heart ache. She lay there crying silently, knowing that this was her fault and there was nothing she could do to make it right.

  ***

  “When will you be back?” Linda asked plaintively.

  “On Friday,” Kashena said, not for the first time.

  “Why can’t Baz take care of this?”

  Kashena sighed, pausing as she was putting her laptop into its case.

  “We’ve already talked about this, Linda,” she chastised. “And complaining about it isn’t going to change anything. Baz already has a security assignment. I have to take care of this.”

  Linda pouted, not liking that Kashena would be gone so long.

  “What am I supposed to do while you’re gone?” she asked, her voice still whiney.

  Kashena had to squash the irritation she was feeling. The last thing she needed this morning was this.

  “I don’t know,” Kashena said. “What do you do all day when I’m at work?”

  “Hang out with my friends,” Linda answered. She didn’t like the direction of this conversation.

  “So do that,” Kashena said, then narrowed her eyes as she saw an excited light in Linda’s eyes. “But not in my house.”

  “But Kash…” Linda began.

  “No,” Kashena said. “Don’t even start with me on this, Linda. I don’t want those people in or around my house. Do you understand that?”

  “God, I’m living here with you!” Linda exclaimed. “You’d think I could have some friends over every now and then.”

  “Get a new set of friends and we’ll discuss it,” Kashena replied.

  “You don’t trust my friends?”

  “Not as far as I could throw them,” Kashena said unapologetically. “Wait, let me qualify that—I could probably throw some of them way farther than I’d trust them.”

  “Kash!” Linda cried, sounding offended.

  “Look,” Kashena said, holding up her hand to fend off another diatribe. “They’re not welcome in my house. That’s the end of it. You want to hang out with them, go to their place.”

  Linda crossed her arms in front of her chest. “So I’m like a prisoner here.”

  Kashena rolled her eyes at Linda’s dramatic statement. “No, prisoners aren’t allowed out. I’m encouraging you to go out, just don’t bring any criminals back with you.”

  “My friends are not criminals!” Linda yelled, jumping off the bed to face Kashena.

  Kashena looked down at Linda, unimpressed with her declaration. Glancing down, she saw that Linda’s hand was balled into a fist. Her eyes moved back to connect with Linda’s, her face still impassive.

  “Do it,” Kashena said evenly.

  “Do what?” Linda asked, her tone still angry.

  Kashena’s lips curled into a sardonic smile. “Whatever you think you’re going to do with that fist you’ve made.”

  Linda stared back at Kashena, sensing the threat Kashena didn’t verbalize. Kashena’s deep blue eyes narrowed as she waited for Linda to act. Linda swallowed a couple of times, feeling nervous suddenly. Kashena had never been violent, although she was certainly capable of doing a lot of damage if she ever was. Linda finally drew her courage up, shaking her head.

  “You wouldn’t hit me,” she said. “I know you wouldn’t.”

  “Just remember the term ‘reciprocating force,’” Kashena said with a pointed look at Linda’s still balled-up fist.

  Linda actually took a step back this time, her chin coming up as she unclenched her hand. Kashena nodded as if Linda had just conceded defeat, because in truth she had.

  Zipping up her laptop case, Kashena went back into the bathroom to do a last check for anything she might have forgotten. When she walked back into the bedroom, she saw that Linda had moved to sit in the middle of the bed. She looked a bit stunned. Kashena almost felt sorry for her. Linda was finding that Kashena wasn’t nearly as pliable as she used to be.

  Picking up her laptop case and looping it over her shoulder, Kashena leaned over and kissed Linda on the lips.

  “I’ll be back Friday,” she said softly.

  Linda nodded, her eyes lowered.

  Kashena stared at her, trying to determine if Linda was putting on an act now or not. She kissed the girl agai
n, bringing her hand up to cup Linda’s cheek. This time Linda responded by wrapping her arms around Kashena’s neck, kissing her back. When their lips parted, Kashena smiled.

  “That’s more like it,” she said, winking at Linda.

  Linda smiled.

  Kashena left the house five minutes later, bound for Sierra’s house to pick her up so they could head to the airport.

  They’d only driven together one other time, the first day Kashena took over security for her. Sierra had ended up having to take the rest of the week off to take care of her son, who was home sick. When Kashena drove up to Sierra’s house, she got out of the state-issued Suburban she was driving. She walked up to Sierra’s door and rang the bell.

  Sierra answered a few minutes later, looking harried.

  “God, I’m running so late!” she exclaimed. “I’m so sorry, Agent Marshal, but I haven’t even dropped my son at day care yet. He was still not feeling well this morning… I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Kashena said. “We can drop him at day care before we go to the airport.” She glanced at her watch. “We’re still ahead of schedule. Are these your bags?” she asked, indicating the luggage in the entryway.

  “Yes,” Sierra said.

  “Okay, I’ll go get these in the car. You just do what you need to do.”

  “Great, okay,” Sierra said, smiling. “Thank you.”

  “No problem,” Kashena said, looping Sierra’s garment bag over her arm and picking up the matching suitcase.

  Fifteen minutes later they were headed toward her son’s day care. Not before Colby had to interrogate Kashena. He wandered out to the Suburban and stood looking up at her with dark eyes like his mother’s.

  “Who’re you?” he asked.

  “I’m Special Agent Supervisor Kashena Marshal.”

  “Are you my mom’s bodyguard?”

  “Yes I am.”

  “Can I see your badge?”

  “Sure,” Kashena answered, smiling as she unclipped her badge and handed it to the boy.

  “This is like that other lady’s badge,” Colby said, running his finger over the badge’s surface.

  “Which other lady?” Kashena asked.

  “The one that brought my mom home last week.”

  “Oh, that was SAC Sorbinno.”

  “Yeah, her,” Colby said. “Do you have a gun too?”

  “Yes,” Kashena answered.

  “Can I see it?” he asked excitedly.

  Kashena lifted her jacket aside, showing him the holstered weapon.

  “That is so cool…” he said, his eyes bright.

  Sierra came out of the house then, her eyes searching the area. She saw her son.

  “Colby, do you have your backpack and overnight case?” she called to him.

  “No, Mom!” he called back.

  “Come get them. Hurry up, please!”

  Colby turned and ran toward the house. Sierra waited for him, then locked up the house after he came out with his backpack. Sierra was carrying a small suitcase.

  Kashena opened the passenger door of the Suburban for Sierra, then opened the rear passenger door for Colby. As he climbed in, Kashena nudged him.

  “Hey,” she said, “can I have my badge back now?”

  Colby grinned, his eyes twinkling mischievously as he handed back the badge.

  Kashena narrowed her eyes at him, then grinned back. Sierra was watching from the passenger seat, smiling too.

  After they’d dropped Colby at day care, they headed for the airport.

  “I really am sorry I was so late,” Sierra said, feeling bad that she was now causing them a time crunch.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Kashena said. “I always build in an extra hour or so for variables.”

  “Such as Chief Deputy AGs that can’t get their shit together in the morning?” Sierra asked with a grin.

  “Yeah, like that,” Kashena said, grinning back.

  Sierra nodded. “I see.”

  Sierra was still trying to get over the fact that after all these years, Kashena Marshal was now her protector again. It still bothered her that Kashena didn’t seem to remember her at all. She kept waiting for Kashena to suddenly realize who she was, but she didn’t. Sierra knew it was going to drive her crazy.

  Kashena pulled up to the terminal area, waving down an airport police officer.

  “I’m Special Agent Marshal, from the AG’s office. I need to park in VIP parking. Can you open the gate, please?” Kashena said, showing the man her credentials.

  “Yes, ma’am,” the officer said. “Do you need a skycap for the bags?”

  “That would be great,” Kashena said.

  “I’ll send one right over. What airline?”

  “Southwest.”

  “You got it, Agent Marshal,” the man said, then waved her around to the side.

  Kashena parked the Suburban in the VIP lot and got out. She pulled the bags out of the back. The skycap came and took the bags, telling them to meet him up front.

  Twenty minutes later they were checked through a special security gate. Sierra watched, fascinated, as Kashena took out her gun, removing the ammunition clip and then pulling back the slide to remove the chambered round. The security officer looked at a piece of paper Kashena handed him as well as her credentials. He nodded, handing her back both. Kashena then reloaded and holstered her weapon. Glancing up, Kashena saw Sierra watching with interest. She smiled and nodded toward the gates. Sierra followed her through.

  “So what was all that about?” Sierra asked when they were seated at the gate.

  “I have to carry my weapon on the plane, so they have to check my gun letter and credentials to make sure I’m legal.”

  “Gun letter?” Sierra asked.

  “Yeah,” Kashena said, pulling the paper out of her jacket and handing it to Sierra.

  The letter was printed on the Attorney General’s letterhead. It stated that Kashena Marshal was a sworn peace officer who needed to carry her weapon in the commission of her duties. The letter was signed by Midnight Chevalier herself.

  Sierra handed back the letter, smiling. “I didn’t realize what all it took to do security work.”

  Kashena chuckled. “Well, off-duty peace officers are required to carry their weapon while in the state, so it’s not just the security work.”

  “Oh,” Sierra said.

  Their flight was called for boarding shortly after that. Sierra was surprised to note that as a peace officer, Kashena was allowed to board before other passengers.

  “Another perk to the job,” she told Sierra with a wink.

  The flight to Los Angeles was uneventful. Sierra noticed that Kashena was very watchful of everything around them. It made her feel very safe. So safe, in fact, that she was able to sleep on the plane for the short one-hour flight. Kashena touched her lightly on the hand to wake her.

  “Deputy Youngblood,” she said softly. “We’re landing.”

  Sierra sat up, realizing with a start that she had been leaning against Kashena’s shoulder. Sitting back, she smoothed her hair nervously, then glanced at Kashena. Kashena caught her glance and simply smiled. Sierra felt relieved—she had been worried that the other woman would give her an odd look, or at least frown at her.

  Once off the airplane, Kashena took charge again, carrying both her laptop case and Sierra’s small carry-on bag. She touched Sierra on the elbow to get her attention, then nodded toward the baggage claim. The two of them headed there, Kashena’s eyes scanning their surroundings constantly. At the baggage claim, Kashena handed Sierra her carry-on, and then stood by to grab their suitcases off the carousel. She then led the way to the rental car agency.

  Once there, Kashena handled the paperwork for the rental, then led Sierra out to the car. Kashena opened the passenger door for her, then got in on the driver’s side, starting the car and turning on the air conditioning. Getting out, Kashena put the bags into the trunk, then got into the car again.

  “I have the m
ap to the hotel where the conference is,” Sierra said, having pulled the map out of her purse.

  “Great,” Kashena said, smiling.

  She took the map, glanced at it, looked around them, then looked at the map again. Then she handed it back to Sierra. Putting the car into gear, she drove out of the parking lot. Sierra was amazed to note that she didn’t glance at the map again.

  “Have you been to this hotel before?” she asked ten minutes later when Kashena had taken the three different freeways listed on the map.

  “No.”

  “You mean, you’re following this map by just looking at it once?” Sierra asked, sounding amazed.

  Kashena grinned. “I’m part Indian tracker,” she joked.

  Sierra laughed softly. “I guess you are. I’d have been hopelessly lost by now.”

  Kashena looked over at her. “I don’t believe that,” she said seriously.

  Sierra felt her breath catch. Did Kashena remember her? She waited for Kashena to say something else, but she didn’t, just turned back to her driving. The disappointment Sierra felt was almost crushing. She sighed, turning to look out the passenger window at the LA landscape of concrete and steel. What she didn’t see was Kashena’s glance over at her, brows furrowed.

  “Everything okay?” Kashena asked.

  Sierra nodded, still looking out the window.

  There were a few long minutes of silence, during which Kashena turned on the radio, scanning the stations until she settled on a soft-rock station. Finally, Sierra turned her head to look at Kashena.

  “Agent Marshal?”

  Kashena grinned. “You can call me Kashena, or Kash if you want to.”

  Sierra smiled. “Okay, Kashena,” she said, then hesitated, not sure if she should even ask what she wanted to so desperately.

  Kashena waited in silence, glancing over at Sierra a couple of times.

  “You don’t remember me, do you?” Sierra blurted out before she lost her nerve.

  A slow smile spread across Kashena’s lips, her deep blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight.

  “I remember you,” she said softly.

  “You do?” Sierra asked, unconvinced.

  Kashena nodded. “The University of San Diego, Indian Studies class…” she said, her voice trailing off.