Love in the Shadows (11 page)

Joe reported the alarm
going off here at your house. Cara insisted on coming. We aren’t
going to lose you.

The word “again” hovered in the air
unsaid. Joe Running Bear appeared in the back door, crossbow in
hand. Once he saw that everyone was okay he leaned lightly against
the door.

Cara gave a satisfied smile to Raven,
and Derek was sure he and Katherine had been correct. Stacey
Johnson was destined to be Hugh’s.

“Shit, where did
you
all
come
from? I could have sworn Derek and his girlfriend were the only
ones here when I arrived.” Stacey pulled away from Hugh. From the
look on Hugh’s face, he released her reluctantly. “I must be losing
my touch.”

“Why don’t we all sit down? There’s
coffee ready. Miss Johnson can explain to all of us why she came
barging in,” Katherine suggested while moving to the cupboard where
the mugs were stored.

Derek smiled. The boardroom tiger was
apparent in Katherine’s voice. She wasn’t going to forgive Stacey
for her earlier lies.

§

Raven and Joe escorted Miss Johnson
into the dining room. Just when Katherine had thought life would
get back to normal, this woman had showed up. Katherine gritted her
teeth and pulled mugs down from the cabinet.

Derek stood next to her with a tray in
his hand. He brushed her cheek with his fingers before placing the
mugs on the tray. Derek stared at her a moment, searching her face.
“Let’s go find out what Stacey is talking about.” Katherine nodded
and followed him with the coffee pot in her hand. She made sure to
paste on her business face.

Everyone took a seat around the table.
Joe sat closest to the door, while Hugh sat next to Stacey. Derek
set the tray on the table and held a chair for Katherine. He sat
down next to her and reached under the table to place his hand on
her knee.

Katherine poured coffee into the mugs,
and they were passed around.

“All right, Stacey. Tell us what the
problem is,” Derek said.

“The problem is you blew your cover.
You know better than to carry a picture of your girlfriend while on
assignment, especially not one with the Isanti building in the
background. Now, anyone who wants to know can find out that the
legendary spy “Red Hawk” is in truth Derek Darkwood.”

“What difference does it make? Derek is
done with the spying business.” Katherine spoke quickly. The doctor
in the Amazon mentioned finding her picture in Derek’s
wallet.

“The spying business isn’t done with
Derek. There are a lot of disgruntled people who would like to know
how Derek got his hands on the information he’s collected for the
government. Now, there is this group of doctors from that lab in
the Amazon who want a piece of him. What exactly happened down
there? Why did the doctor kidnap you?”

Derek looked at Raven. Katherine was
sure they were talking to each other telepathically. No one could
reveal Quiet Thunder’s healing potion without bringing dangerous
attention to the Shadow Walker tribe.

“The doctor was a nutcase, Stacey.
That’s all I can tell you,” Derek said.

“All you’re willing to tell me, right?
I know there is something weird about you Shadow Walkers. You
proved it again when I arrived. How did you all get here so fast? I
know Derek and his girlfriend were the only ones in the house.
Don’t you think I scouted the area before I came in?”

“Fiancée, Miss Johnson. I am Derek’s
fiancée.” Katherine wanted to scream. How many times did this woman
need to be told? Derek’s hand squeezed her knee. His touch calmed
her ire. It didn’t really matter what this woman thought. Derek was
hers.

“It’s on a need-to-know basis, Stacey.
Right now, you don’t need to know,” Hugh replied for the
group.

“How did you find out this information,
Miss Johnson?” Raven sat forward in his chair.

“I was assigned to take out a known
assassin. When I caught up with him, he had both Derek’s and
Katherine’s pictures on his person. I immediately contacted General
Holland, and he ordered me to investigate further. The general is
very fond of Derek, and when I gave him my report, he sent me to
find Derek and warn him. The hardest information to find was this
house. Derek buried its existence pretty deep. If I can find it, so
can the assassins.”

“Why would they want Derek killed?”
Katherine asked, confused. Derek sat quietly in his chair. Why did
he seem unconcerned?

Of course, I’m
concerned.
Derek’s voice echoed in her
head.
I put you at risk. I was a fool to
carry that picture
.

Katherine covered his hand
with hers, threading their fingers together.
I chose to come save you. I was already at risk,
Katherine sent telepathically
.

“I’m not sure killing him is what they
want to do,” Stacey said. “I couldn’t ask the assassin I took out.
I found the pictures after I killed him. But, he did occasionally
kidnap someone if the money was good.”

“I think she’s right about the mole.”
Joe Running Bear grimaced. “I take full responsibility. I should
have known we had a security breach.”

“Why do you think we have a mole?”
Raven asked.

“There has been some weird computer
activity,” Joe said. “It triggered one of my alarms on the system.
I looked into it and wanted to speak to you about it this morning.
The computer used to access the encrypted files was
Katherine’s.”

“Katherine has been on leave, first to
the Amazon and then with me for over a week.” Derek pointed
out.

“I know that. I’m not accusing her,”
Joe said. “Someone used her computer or routed the search through
her station. Hugh and Charlie are looking into it.”

“What was the mole after?” Raven
asked.

“Mostly, it looks like information on
Derek,” Joe explained. “There were a few searches looking for
Shadow Walker assignments for General Holland. They didn’t find
anything, of course, because we don’t keep that information on the
network. It worries me that there may have been a way to track
information through Katherine’s computer. Doesn’t she send the
billable hours report to the general’s office for
payment?”

“I do, but that’s all it is,” Katherine
said. “There are no dates. Just the number of hours and which
account should be billed. The accounts are coded. The general’s
office is the only one who should be able to decode them.”
Katherine wrung her hands. Did she do something wrong?

“That might be our fault. The Shadow
Walkers caught the general’s aid selling secrets to the terrorists
last year. The codes could have been compromised.” Stacey shrugged
her shoulders.

How do you want to handle this?” Joe
asked. Everyone turned to look at Raven.

“I think we need to set a
trap.
”

“I can’t believe you’re letting that
woman stay in our house,” Katherine fumed as she looked out at the
lake from the master bedroom. So much for her first day back to
work. Even now, her boss and the other tribal members conferred in
the dining room with Stacey—that lying deceitful agent.

Derek showed her a special panel in the
closet that led to a safe room. If someone attacked the house, she
was to go there immediately.

“Her being here is another layer of
defense, Kate. She’s here to protect us.” Derek’s voice sounded
concerned. Katherine was too mad to take much notice. She turned as
Derek rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Stacey and I worked together
on a couple of missions. I trust her, Kate.”

“Well, I don’t. She tried to come
between us. She knew I was more than your girlfriend.”

“It was a test, and you passed
beautifully. If her lies convinced you to leave me, then you might
have been the mole. You stayed, calling her bluff quite
beautifully, if I may say so. Katie, you have nothing to be jealous
of. I was never interested in Stacey.”

“Why can’t she go stay with Hugh? He
can’t seem to take his eyes off her.” Now she was
whining.

“Hugh is staying here to guard us as
well. When he can’t be here, Joe will send Charlie or one of the
other members of the tribe. Now tell me: What is really upsetting
you?”

“I looked forward to going back to work
today. Cara and I were going to meet with the wedding coordinator.
Life was supposed to be getting back to normal. Now
this…”

“I can only say I’m
sorry,
tehila
,
for bringing this to us. I promise to keep you safe.” Derek turned
and left the room.

Katherine wanted to call him back. He
looked so dejected. This wasn’t his fault. It was wrong to blame
him. Still, she stood there mute. Tears filled her eyes. Why was
she pushing Derek away?

She angrily brushed away the tears and
stiffened her spine. She had chosen this man and his tribe. She
would stand with him.

Katherine went down the back stairs
that entered the kitchen. She hoped to stay unseen while starting
dinner for everyone. Tribe members had been in and out all day,
setting up security cameras and alarms around the house and the
perimeter of the tribe’s landholdings. No one would get in without
their knowing about it. She entered the kitchen and was surprised
to see Stacey peeling potatoes at the sink. She looked up and
smiled in welcome. But Katherine noticed that Stacey looked
sad.

“I found a roast and put it in the
oven. With all these men to feed, I thought you could use
help.”

Katherine didn’t know what to say so
she stood looking at her nemesis.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Stacey said
as she turned back to the potatoes. “I needed to know your true
feelings about Derek. I’m glad he has you. He so often feels
unworthy.”

“Unworthy? Why would he feel that
way?”

“He has always portrayed himself as the
playboy, the drunk, the womanizer. After a while, you believe the
lies you weave.”

“What lies do you believe,
Stacey?”

“We don’t know each other well enough
to go there, Katherine. Maybe one day I’ll tell you. Now should we
boil the potatoes or roast them?”

Katherine stepped forward and pulled a
baking dish out of the cabinet. “Let’s roast them, and then I’ll
help you make the salad. Have you seen Derek?”

“I think he’s talking with
Raven.”

“Well, then tell me how you met
Hugh?”

§

“Derek, the evidence looks so damning.”
Katherine and Derek sat in Raven’s office at a table next to the
window. Katherine leaned her head on her hands as tears sprang to
her eyes. She blinked rapidly while trying to hold it together. She
hadn’t slept well the night before, knowing Stacey and Hugh slept
down the hall in the two guest bedrooms. Spending time fixing
dinner had brought about a peace accord between her and Stacey, at
least for now.

Katherine loved her job and had been
excited to come to work today. Here she felt appreciated, as if she
really made a difference. Joe had left a few minutes ago after
checking the space for listening devices. This room was
clear.

“Nobody thinks you had anything to do
with this.” Derek ran his hand down her hair.

“I know that. But how can they not? Two
of my passwords were used to gather sensitive information. How did
they get my passwords?” This was a disaster. She was careful. How
did this happen?

“I don’t know, baby. Joe and Hugh are
working on it now. You are a Shadow Walker’s mate. I share your
mind. Everyone knows you are innocent.”

The door opened, and Joe walked back
in. “Where did you get this, Katherine?” He held a small figurine
of a hawk in his hand.

“I found it on my desk one morning
before the wedding. I thought it was a gift from Derek like the
others he used to leave on my desk in secret.”

“It’s not from me. Why do you ask,
Joe?” Derek reached over and squeezed Katherine’s hand.

“It had a listening device inside it.”
Joe turned the figurine over and showed them the sliding door in
the bottom. “Whoever is behind this has been planning this for a
while. He knew that you left anonymous gifts on Katherine’s desk.
He even used a hawk.”

“Can’t you use the security footage to
see who put it on her desk?” Derek asked.

“There are no cameras in her office.
Don’t forget that Raven lived here until after the wedding and
still maintains an apartment on this floor. He didn’t want to take
a chance of one of us coming out of Shadow up here. This floor is
camera-free. There is a camera in the elevator.”

“So you see who came up to this floor
and try to triangulate that person to the computer being used,”
Katherine said.

Joe nodded at her and smiled in
approval. “That’s exactly right. It may take a few hours, but Hugh
is already going over the footage. Until we figure this out, I need
you to act like everything is normal. Take note of anyone coming up
here. The rest of the floor has been swept for listening devices
and is clear. Be careful anyway.”