Darkness Past

by Sherryl Hancock

  “Are you alright?” he asked, sounding mildly concerned. “Were you hurt in the attack?”

  Samantha sat up with an effort. Kashena noted that her husband made no move to help her.

  “No, I’m fine,” Samantha replied. “I simply fainted a little bit ago.”

  “Fainted?” Jeffrey queried. “Why?”

  “She’s been through a bit of a shock, Mr. Cobb,” Kashena put in when Samantha couldn’t come up with an answer.

  Jeffrey looked at Kashena in speculation.

  “She watched her bodyguard gunned down in front of her,” Kashena said.

  “Yes, he did his job well,” Jeffrey agreed.

  “His job?” Kashena repeated incredulously.

  “Jeffrey,” Samantha said, putting herself between Kashena and her husband, “I think I need some coffee. Could you get me some, please?”

  Jeffrey looked hesitant. He glanced at Kashena, whose look had turned to stone. Finally he nodded, walking out of the waiting room. Samantha immediately turned to Kashena.

  “I’m sorry for what my husband just said,” she said sincerely. “Jeffrey tends to forget his manners in stressful situations.”

  Kashena raised an eyebrow at the smaller woman. “I see,” she answered simply.

  Samantha grimaced, knowing that Jeffrey would only stick his foot in his mouth repeatedly where Sebastian was concerned. Kashena, being Sebastian’s best friend, was likely to tell Sebastian what Jeffrey had said. The fact was, Jeffrey had never considered Sebastian anything but hired help, nor would he change his mind now. As far as Jeffrey was concerned, Sebastian had served his purpose in keeping Samantha from being hit in the attack.

  It showed the polarization of the differences between her husband and Sebastian. Something that had been slowly but surely becoming clearer in the time that she’d known Sebastian Bach. She had no idea how she was going to handle Jeffrey being there. She was worried sick about Sebastian, and now here was her husband. It was going to be difficult no matter what happened.

  ***

  “What do you mean he’s not dead?” the man snapped at his companion. “You told me that man was the best in his field!”

  “I’m sorry, sir,” the man replied to his temporary employer. “He was, but I guess Bach was better.” He rubbed his hands on his pants nervously, wondering if he’d still get paid for the job; he was supposed to have split it with the now-dead hitman.

  “Well, it should keep them guessing for a bit, regardless,” the man who’d ordered the hit reasoned. “At least for the moment. They’ll have more than they can take soon…” he finished with an evil smile.

  ***

  As Samantha had suspected, the next two hours were extremely tense, with Kashena leaning against the far wall of the waiting room, as far away from Jeffrey as she could get. Unfortunately, it wasn’t far enough not to hear repeatedly the comments that Jeffrey made. He had no idea why Samantha didn’t want to leave the hospital.

  “There’s nothing you can do,” he said snidely. “You’re not a doctor, for God’s sake.”

  Samantha glanced over at Kashena to see if the woman had heard. Indeed she had, because her dark blue eyes narrowed as she stared across the room, pointedly looking away from Jeffrey.

  “Jeffrey,” Samantha began quietly, “I need to make sure he’s okay.”

  “Why?” Jeffrey asked, his voice louder than necessary.

  Kashena turned to look at the man, her lips pursed in consideration. She was evaluating whether or not wiping the floor with him would be construed as assault. Given that he was a lawyer, it might be considered an environmental improvement.

  Samantha noticed Kashena’s look and hoped the other woman wouldn’t say anything. In truth, however, Samantha was getting fed up with her husband’s attitude.

  “He saved my life, Jeffrey,” Samantha said, her voice louder this time in her rush to defend Sebastian. “I think that warrants a great deal of respect and appreciation.”

  Jeffrey actually had the temerity to give a sarcastic snort.

  “He’s paid to protect you, Samantha. That’s what he did.”

  Samantha saw Kashena’s chin come up slightly and her body tense. She bit her lip, not sure what was going to happen now. She refused to try and run interference for her husband again—he didn’t have any sense of propriety or even courtesy at all, and it was making her mad.

  “Jeffrey,” she said sharply, “go home.”

  “What?” he asked, sure he hadn’t heard her right.

  “I said, go home, Jeffrey,” Samantha said, standing and gesturing toward the door.

  “What are you talking about?” he asked her, standing too, his look perplexed.

  “I want you to leave,” Samantha clarified.

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re pissing me off, that’s why,” she snapped. “You’re an inconsiderate snob, and I’m tired of listening to it tonight. So just go home.”

  Jeffrey’s mouth dropped open in shock. He glanced at the blond woman standing at the far wall, her lips curling into a smirk. It annoyed him. He turned his gaze to his wife.

  “I think you’ve been keeping far too much company with the lower classes, Samantha,” he said condescendingly. “You’re starting to talk like them.”

  “Better them than you,” Samantha replied with an angry look.

  She turned away, walking over to where Kashena stood and then sitting down in a chair, her arms crossed in front of her chest. Jeffrey stared after her, shocked. He narrowed his eyes at Kashena, a sneer on his lips. Turning on his heel, he strode out of the waiting room.

  The room was silent. Samantha sat doing her best to calm down.

  “Very nice,” Kashena murmured in approval, a grin in place.

  Samantha glanced up at the other woman and saw her smile. Laughing softly, she shook her head.

  “I’m just sorry you had to listen to him this whole time,” she said.

  “Fortunately, Marines are known for their self-control,” Kashena said, grinning still.

  Samantha laughed again.

  At one point during the night, alarms started going off at the nurses’ station. Samantha and Kashena heard them, and through the windows of the waiting room they saw two nurses and a doctor running down the hall. Kashena pushed off the wall, striding to the door. Samantha was right on her heels. When they reached the scene of the commotion, all three medical personnel were trying to calm Sebastian down

  “Sir, you have to lie back down!” the doctor was yelling as the nurses tried to push Sebastian back toward the bed.

  “Move or I’ll kill ya,” Sebastian told the doctor, refusing to budge at either the nurses’ insistence or their attempts to move him.

  Kashena pushed her way through and past the doctor, knowing what needed to be done. Samantha stood in the doorway looking terrified. Sebastian’s blood was dripping on the floor from where he’d ripped the IV out of his arm.

  “Baz, calm down,” Kashena said, standing in front of her partner. “Samantha is fine. You need to lie back down.”

  “She’s okay?” Sebastian asked, not sounding convinced.

  “She’s right there,” Kashena said, pointing to the doorway.

  “I’m fine, Sebastian,” Samantha assured him, moving to help Kashena coax him back to bed. “Please lie back down.”

  Sebastian stood where he was, his eyes scanning Samantha from head to toe. Reaching out, he touched her cheek as if checking to see if she was real or an illusion. Then he closed his eyes, weakening instantly as the adrenaline left him. Kashena reacted quickly, levering his body against hers and moving him toward the bed. After helping him to lie down, Kashena moved back, letting the doctor and nurses reconnect what they needed to.

  To Kashena’s surprise, Samantha moved to the other side of the bed and took Sebastian’s hand in hers, her eyes watching him worriedly. Kashena nodded slowly to herself. Samantha’s actions said a lot, and it comforted her somehow that Sebastian’s sacrifice hadn�
��t been for nothing. Samantha Cobb actually cared about him, and really did feel that it hadn’t been his job to give up his life for hers. It wasn’t just words.

  Once the monitors and IVs were hooked back up, the nurses left. The doctor looked at Kashena and Samantha.

  “It’s usually against hospital policy for anyone to be in the recovery room,” he said, “but it’s obvious to me that we’d have been in serious trouble here if it hadn’t been for your presence.”

  Kashena grinned, glancing at Samantha, who laughed softly.

  “Just make sure he rests,” the doctor said, smiling.

  “No problem,” Kashena said.

  Sebastian was asleep from the moment his head hit the pillow. Kashena and Samantha alternated sitting in the one chair in the room over the next few hours. At one point, Samantha glanced around the room, perplexed. Then she rolled her eyes.

  “It’s too quiet in here for him,” she said. “That’s what’s wrong.”

  Kashena laughed out loud, realizing that not only was Samantha right, but she knew Sebastian pretty well.

  “He does need his music,” Kashena agreed.

  “His chaos,” Samantha added.

  “Yeah,” Kashena said, smiling. “Maybe we can smuggle him in a radio once he’s in his own room.”

  “I think that would make him feel more comfortable.”

  “Roger that,” Kashena said.

  Things between the two women changed in that moment—they became friends. Kashena liked anyone who cared enough about Sebastian to know his habits. Samantha respected Kashena for her friendship with Sebastian and her obvious concern for his wellbeing.

  Dawn was breaking when Sebastian stirred again. Opening his eyes, he located Kashena leaning against the wall, a cup of coffee in hand. He also saw Samantha sitting in the chair next to his bed, her hand in his. She was asleep.

  Giving her hand a little squeeze, he whispered her name. She woke immediately.

  “You’re still here?” he asked, his voice gravelly.

  “Can’t go anywhere without my bodyguard,” Samantha said, smiling at him.

  “You still have work,” he said, his tone concerned.

  “A day or two away isn’t going to compromise any of my cases.”

  “If you say so,” he replied, looking both pleased and surprised by Samantha’s response.

  Samantha simply smiled. Kashena walked over and looked down at her partner.

  “Still alive?” she asked blithely.

  “Currently,” he replied with a grin.

  “Roger that.”

  Sebastian chuckled softly. His eyes were already closing again. He was asleep moments later.

  “I’ll be back,” Kashena told Samantha.

  Walking outside, Kashena went out to the smoking area. She wasn’t inherently a smoker, but she found that smoking the cigars she did calmed her nerves more often than not. Standing in the quad, she leaned against a nearby wall and lit a cigar, staring up at the sky, which was clouded over and looking like rain.

  “Agent Marshal?” a blond man queried, his English accent clear in the quiet quad.

  Her head came up, deep blue eyes assessing the man walking toward her purposefully. He looked somewhat familiar, but in a way she couldn’t put her finger on.

  “I’m Marshal,” she answered.

  The man extended his hand. “Joe Sinclair,” he said, smiling at her.

  Kashena took his hand. Not only did he look familiar, his name sounded familiar too. She waited in silence for him to tell her as she shook his hand.

  “Midnight sent me,” he said. “She’s asked me to take over for Agent Bach while he recovers, at least until we assess any further danger to the Deputy AG.”

  Kashena nodded, her eyes not giving anything away.

  “Can I see your badge?” she asked, her tone and look direct.

  Joe grinned, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his index finger.

  “That’s gonna be tough—it’s at home in a redwood shadow box. Perhaps this will help,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a business card as well as his cell phone.

  He handed Kashena the card, pulled out his phone, and dialed a number. He then handed the phone to Kashena. Leaning back against the wall, he reached for a cigarette, his light blue eyes on her as he lit it.

  The phone was answered on the third ring.

  “Chevalier.”

  “Ah,” Kashena stammered, not having expected to be connected with the AG herself. “Attorney General Chevalier?”

  “Yes,” Midnight said, smiling at her end. “Agent Marshal?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I assume Joe just got there?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Kashena answered again.

  “I’ve sent him to keep an eye on Deputy Cobb, until things settle down a bit,” Midnight said. “I’ve also sent one of my people to keep an eye on your charge while you’re there with Agent Bach.”

  “I—” Kashena stammered, suddenly realizing she’d left Sierra without protection in her haste to get to Sebastian. “I’m sorry, ma’am, I—”

  “It’s okay, Kashena,” Midnight said. “I want you to be able to be where you’re needed right now. I just want to make sure we cover all our bases while we’re at it.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Kashena said, grimacing still, feeling like she’d let both the AG and Sierra down.

  “Kashena,” Midnight said, her voice softening. “See the guy standing in front of you?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “He’s been my partner for over twenty years. If something happened to him, and it has, I would and have dropped everything to be there for him. So relax, okay? I know where your head is right now. I want to make sure you’re able to stay with Bach as long as you need to, while Sierra is protected too.”

  Kashena blew her breath out, ever amazed at the woman she worked for. Was there no end to the understanding Midnight had? She was very much a cop’s cop—of that there was no doubt.

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Kashena said finally. “I promise to get back on the job as soon as I feel Baz is stable.”

  “I’ve assigned Christian Collins to Sierra. Joe can give you his cell number. Just let him know when you’re ready to take over again,” Midnight said. “And Marshal?”

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “Make sure you take care of yourself while you’re at it,” Midnight said, knowing full well how often she’d failed to eat or take care of herself when one of her people had been in the hospital.

  “I’ll do my best, ma’am,” Kashena said.

  “All I can ask for,” Midnight replied. “Put Joe on, will you?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Kashena said, handing Joe back the phone.

  “All clear?” Joe asked into the phone, laughing out loud the next minute. “I figured the direct route was fastest,” he said, his eyes on Kashena. “You got it. I’ll give you an update once I make contact with DAG Cobb. Let me know what happens down there.”

  Joe hung up his phone a moment later, pocketing it again as he took a long last drag of his cigarette.

  “Any questions you want to ask?” Joe asked her.

  “Christian Collins?” Kashena replied.

  “My cousin, a narc, and a very good cop,” Joe said. “And you can trust him to keep her safe.”

  Kashena’s eyes narrowed slightly. She was wondering if Joe knew the nature of her relationship with Sierra Youngblood. His look gave nothing away, however.

  “I hope you understand,” Kashena said, gesturing to the cell phone in his pocket. “I had to check.”

  “I would have been worried if you hadn’t,” Joe replied. “How is Agent Bach doing?”

  “They said he’s stable,” Kashena said, sounding immensely relieved. “The bullet nicked his heart but didn’t do a lot of damage, thankfully.”

  Joe nodded, remembering countless times he’d been relieved to hear a good prognosis on one of his friends. From what Midnight had told him, Kash
ena and Sebastian Bach were best friends. Much like he and Midnight had been forever. He understood her concern, and her need to be at the hospital at this point.

  “Can you take me into Agent Bach’s room and let Samantha Cobb know I’m cleared?” Joe asked with an engaging smile.

  Kashena chuckled. “I can do that, yes.”

  ***

  Sierra was doing her best to focus on her work, but her mind kept going to Kashena in San Francisco. She ached to be there with her, to help take away some of the stress of what she must be going through. The idea of Sebastian being shot, when she knew how close he and Kashena were, was beyond her comprehension. What Sierra did know was that she wanted to be there for Kashena. It felt like she was failing Kashena, and that wasn’t sitting well with her at all. She’d considered throwing caution to the wind and driving to San Francisco, regardless of what Kashena said, but the sensible part of her knew that she needed to be cautious, not only for herself, but more importantly for Kashena. The idea that she’d put herself in danger, possibly giving her stalker a chance to get to her, was a concern, but more because it would get Kashena in trouble if something happened to her. She chuckled at herself, amazed at how quickly she’d become so enamored of the Special Agent. Worrying more about her than your own skin! she chided herself silently.

  She’d just made a point of refocusing her thoughts on the brief she was reading when there was a knock on the door. She called for the person to come in. She figured it was her secretary again—oddly enough, Amanda had checked on her repeatedly since they’d received the news about Sebastian Bach being shot and Kashena going to San Francisco to be with him. Sierra suspected that Amanda had an inkling of what was going on between them.

  When she looked up, she was surprised to see a man standing in the doorway. He was very handsome, in a dark, dangerous-looking way.

  “Chief Deputy Youngblood, I’m Sergeant Christian Collins. AG Midnight Chevalier asked me to look after you while Agent Marshal is in San Francisco.”

  Sierra noted his English accent. She was surprised by his statement but nodded all the same.