Awaken Me Darkly (14 page)

“How do you know him?”

“I do not
know
him. I have heard of him.”

“From the exiled Arcadians?” I couldn’t help but bring us back to them.

Her lips pursed. “Yes. From the leader.”

“And just who is the leader?”

Her lips pressed together in mutinous silence, and her steps became wilder.

Okay, I would come back to that question. “Was your brother involved in any way with Rianne Harte?”

Grinding to a halt, she blinked over at me, and I could tell she was considering each of her coming words. “He spent some time with her, but what they did when they were alone, I know not. So if you want to know if he slept with her, I cannot verify that.”

An image of Kyrin in bed with another woman had me fighting a crest of irritation. With Kyrin and with myself. “Who is the leader of the exiled Arcadians? I’ll need to speak with him.”

“The leader is—” She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and drew in a deep breath. Her back was pressed against the wall. “The leader is Atlanna en Arr. A female. And the others are inconsequential.”

Atlanna…the name sent a strange wave of that humming energy through me. I don’t know why.

My chin tilted to the side, and I watched Lilla for any sign of emotion. “Is this Atlanna your sister?”

“No.” Lilla chuckled, an amused sound that danced throughout the room. “Unlike your people, we are not named after our parents. We are named according to class.”

Interesting fact, and one I hadn’t known. “And just what class is en Arr?”

“Royalty.”

She could be lying to impress me. I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t have the time to delve further on that subject just yet. Kyrin en Arr, however, had the bearing of a king, so that fit. “Let’s talk more about Atlanna. How did she know Sullivan Bay?”

“They were lovers.”

“Were? Is he dead?”

I received no response.

I tried not to let my temper overcome my intentions. Most witnesses forced me to mentally beat every bit of information out of them, so in this Lilla was no different. Usually I handled the situation with patience—at least, I liked to think I handled each situation with patience. Today, I was hanging at the razor’s edge of tolerance.

“Is he dead?” I demanded again.

“I honestly do not know,” she sighed.

“Where is Atlanna now?”

“I do not know that, either.”

We were getting nowhere this way, so I tried another line of questioning. “Who killed William Steele? Do you know that?”

“No.” She glanced away from me.

“I think you’re lying. I think you and your brother are involved. I think your brother needs to be interrogated. Violently.”

A raging fire flared to life in her eyes. Had I been closer, she would have attempted to claw my face apart. “No matter what you discover,” she growled, “my brother was not involved.”

My back straightened, and my pulse leaped. “No matter what I discover, huh? That means there’s evidence against him.”

A gasp slipped from her, as if she’d just realized she’d said too much. “He is not responsible.”

Nostrils flaring, she pointed a vengeful finger in my direction. “I’m finished speaking with you. I’ve told you everything I know. Will you now free my brother?”

“No. You answered some of my questions, but not all. I want to know about Kyrin. I want to know what the exiled Arcadians desired from Steele. I want to know—”

“Get out. Get out before I kill you. I do not know any more. I do not remember.”

My fists curled at my sides, and I remained in place. “You
do
remember.”

She remained silent, but small phantom fingers began to pry at my mind, suggesting I leave peacefully. The woman dared to try and control me again. I ground my teeth together. “You want to be stunned again?”

“Get out!” she screamed, and the pressure in my mind eased.

I’d get nothing more from her now, that much was clear. Just how long would I be forced to wait for her to calm down?

Time was quickly becoming my greatest enemy.

“I’ll leave,” I said, “but don’t think for a single moment that our conversation is over. You
and
your brother’s lives depend on your memory improving.”

I
spent an hour in the gym, sweating out my frustrations, pounding my fists and feet into the punching bag. I even utilized the virtual combat program, beating the shit out of computer-generated other-worlders. Unfortunately, my dark mood loomed even blacker when I strolled into the conference room fifteen minutes late.

I was determined to sit through this meeting and gather all the information I could. Even it if killed me—or I killed someone else. I’d already stuffed my car with the case files and secured documents from each abduction case. Secretly, of course. I’d paid Mandalay to hack into the mainframe and add my name to the list of those allowed inside the “Confidential” storage area. As soon as I exited, she removed my name. She hadn’t asked me why, just thanked me for the money. When I got home, I planned to go through them line by line and see if anything had been left out of the copies given to me.

See, agents were always given
copies
of the main file, never originals, and the main file was locked away and strictly for top brass. Supposedly, the practice was meant to preserve the original document from tampering. Pure crap. The government wanted their sticky little fingers in everything, that’s all; they wanted to control what we knew. And what we didn’t.

Conversation ceased as I eased into the only unoccupied chair at the table. To my left was Jaxon, and to my right sat Jack. Ghost, Kittie, Jaffe, and Mandalay, the only other female, were facing me.

Behind them hung a virtual screen that contained five vertically lined pictures of the abducted. Beside each photo was the date, time, and location of each abduction. Below the photos was a map, each location pinpointed.

Jaxon gave me an encouraging smile to show his support.

I nodded in acknowledgment. Jaxon was a good man, one of the best on the force. A scar slashed from the top right side of his face to the bottom of his jaw—compliments of a rogue alien—yet he always managed to appear saintly. Maybe that was because he never spoke out of turn, never uttered a single sexual innuendo.

“How’s Dallas?” Ghost asked, his deep, rich baritone filling the space with sadness.

“The same.” I wanted so badly to tell them the truth, that Dallas might survive. But I didn’t. If they knew about Kyrin’s blood—and what I needed to do to get it—I’d be banned from Lilla’s cell forever.

Silence hung in the air, heavy and heart-wrenching, as each of us became lost in our own private thoughts of Dallas.

Finally, Jack cleared his throat and said, “Mia, Mandalay’s been telling us about the Harte abduction. She’s taken over since Johnson is sick. Mandalay?”

“Yes?” she said briskly, shuffling the papers in front of her.

“Continue.”

“Yes, sir. Harte was taken from her home a little after two P.M. Her roommate, also her sister, claims they were watching movies. Harte went to the kitchen to make a sandwich and never returned.

There’s no sign of a struggle. No indication of foul play or unlawful entry. We haven’t been able to track down the boyfriend. Kyrin something or other. The sister didn’t know his last name. Only that he’s Arcadian.”

“Interesting, isn’t it?” Jack interjected with a raised brow. “That another Arcadian is in the picture.”

I didn’t comment. My stomach was too busy churning with dread. Kyrin had known Harte, had dated her. Even Lilla had admitted to that. Having an entire A.I.R. squad know it, though, didn’t bode well for Kyrin.

“Mia,” Jack said. “Tell us what you learned from Lilla.”

I drew in a calming breath, then pushed the air from my lips. “She mostly glossed over things we already know. However, I did learn that there’s another Arcadian female involved. Her name’s Atlanna en Arr, and she was seeing one of the abducted men, Sullivan Bay. She’s also the leader of a band of Arcadian exiles.”

“Mandalay?” Jack said with a quick glance to our computer expert.

“Already on it, sir.” Mandalay’s fingertips flew over the keyboard in front of her. Curly locks of red hair fell around her temples and brushed her wrists. By appearance, she was a commanding woman, tall, big boned. By nature, she was not a fighter. She worked better with probabilities and possibilities.

She paused, faced Jack. “There’s no Atlanna en Arr mentioned in our database.”

“What about this Kyrin guy?” I asked, trying to be subtle.

“He’s not listed either,” Jaxon said. “We already checked.”

“Did Lilla give any clue as to where this Atlanna is?” Jack asked me.

“No,” I answered honestly.

“Think you can find her?”

What I thought didn’t matter. I
would
find her. “Give me two days.”

“Done. Okay, let’s recap the rest of what Snow missed.” Jack shot me an irritated glance, and I hoped that would be my only chastisement for my tardiness. “Ghost and Kittie questioned Isabel and Sherry yesterday evening. Nothing was learned from Isabel, now deceased.”

I heard several men mutter, “Bitch.”

“From Sherry we learned a bit more,” Jack continued. “According to her, she’s known Hudson for three months. Apparently, Lilla paid her to have sex with him regularly, and the man never knew.

Sherry said Lilla promised to pay her a huge bonus if she got pregnant. No luck, though.”

Very interesting. “Why did Lilla want Sherry to have Hudson’s baby?”

“Sherry didn’t know,” Kittie said. “Lilla introduced the two at Club Ecstasy.” He tapped his blue lighter against the table surface. “Hudson had no problem screwing the two women, but the moment Lilla started seeing Steele, the man flipped.”

“Possible motive for Steele’s death,” I said. “Hudson was jealous.”

“Possible, yes,” Ghost said. “But it doesn’t explain the other abductions.”

I said, “Anyone talked to Hudson? Maybe he can help us wade through the crap and find the diamonds.”

“He won’t help willingly, that’s for sure. But no, no one’s talked to him yet.” A frown marred Jack

’s face as he twisted a pencil between his fingers. “He had his nose repaired this morning, and only returned to his cell a little while ago. Jaxon plans to question him after this meeting.”

I eyed my boss, gauging his reaction. “So Hudson doesn’t know about Isabel?”

“Oh, he knows,” Jack said. “The good doc let it slip before surgery. Hudson didn’t give a flying rat’s ass, though. Said his life would be calmer now that the girl was gone.”

My eyelids twitched at such blatant heartlessness. “I want to be there when Jaxon questions him.”

Maybe I’d destroy a little of Hudson’s attitude while I was there.

Because he knew me so well, Jack shook his head. “I don’t want you in the room. You’re not his favorite person right now, and the sight of you may make him violent. Worse, he might refuse to talk. I’m not budging on this,” he added when I opened my mouth to argue. “I’d say the same thing to a man.”

I needed to be there for that interview. I needed to know what Hudson knew—and I didn’t want to wait for Jaxon’s formal report. “I’ll observe from a two-way,” I suggested.

Jack studied me for a long while. I fluttered my lashes, trying to appear innocent. A sigh slipped from him. “All right. You can go, but if I find out you stepped one foot”—he held up one finger—“one damn foot out of observation, I’ll kick your ass into next week. Understand?”

“Absolutely.”

Jack turned his attention to Jaxon. “What did you learn from Steele’s family?”

“When I reinterviewed her, the wife admitted that he was seeing another woman, but she doesn’t know who it was.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “She claimed they were happily married in her first interview. If she knew about his infidelity, why did she stay?”

“I asked the same question. Says she was pregnant when she found out and couldn’t stand the thought of raising her baby alone. Says she loved him.”

“Could have been lying,” Mandalay said.

“True,” Jaxon acknowledged.

“Does she have an alibi?” Jack asked.

“Yeah. Since Steele’s disappearance, she’s been staying with her mother. Already verified. I learned something else, though. Steele had dinner with an Arcadian male the night before he was kidnapped. Kyrin,” he said, checking his notes. “The same Kyrin who dated Rianne Harte, is my bet.”

My stomach rolled. This was what Lilla had warned me about. This was what she feared would implicate him. And by God, it did.

“We need to find this man,” Jack said. “I want him questioned ASAP.”

I couldn’t allow other agents to search for him, not with Kyrin’s warning ringing in my head. If anyone other than me searched for him, he’d slip into hiding so fast he’d have wind-burn.

“What do you have for us?” I asked Jaffe, hoping to change the subject.

“Well,” Jaffe said, speaking for the first time since I’d entered the room. He was a small, nervous man, with thinning ash blond hair and wide-spaced hazel eyes. Those eyes always darted left and right, as if trying to judge his escape route. He was damn good with numbers and patterns. “There’s no obvious MO for the killer. There were two weeks between the first two abductions, but the third was taken only three days later. And eight days passed between the third and fourth.”

“Keep searching,” Jack commanded. “You’re missing something. Even chaos can form a pattern.”

He turned his attention to Mandalay. “What about the victim’s body?”

“Unfortunately,” Mandalay responded, “there was no blood evidence. Nor was there anything under his fingernails. No fibers—alien or human—to indicate where he was held or how he was transported. The voice recorders around the area have no alien recordings at any time on the day of the murder.”

“What about Rianne Harte’s home?” Jack asked. “What was found there?”

Mandalay shook her head, sending red curls flying. “Nothing, sir.”

“Wonderful. Just fucking wonderful. I expected better than this.” Jack shoved to his feet and strode to the side table. He poured himself a cup of coffee, then drained the steamy liquid in one gulp. He turned back to us. “We’re no closer to finding the victims than we were yesterday. Pressure is rising, people, and will continue to do so until we’re successful or we lose our jobs.”