Love in the Shadows (2 page)

§

Seven months later

Derek put a bottle of healing potion to
his lips and drank the smoky liquid. He grimaced at the taste.
Quiet Thunder, the Nuni Nagi tribe’s shaman and his foster father,
would say Derek’s discomfort served him right for stealing the
formula and using the potion without permission.

This assignment in the Amazon was
dangerous. The place was full of poisonous species. Walking through
the jungle was perilous. Derek wasn’t taking any chances. Drinking
the potion every day guaranteed that his body would heal from
anything poisonous he encountered.

He opened a door into the Shadow
Dimension and slipped inside. He left Quiet Thunder’s workroom at
his ranch in Montana behind and focused on his motel room in the
Amazon. The cold of the Shadow Dimension took his breath away. The
world here was black and gray with swirling eddies of mist, so cold
and deadly. His thoughts went to the first Native American
tribesman, his ancestor, who had discovered the tribe could enter
another dimension. What had he thought when he entered this alien
world and how had he known how to get out again? Shaking his head,
Derek once more concentrated on his motel in the Amazon rainforest.
You could get lost so easily in the Shadow Dimension. It was
crucial to focus on where you were traveling.

Coming out of Shadow into his hotel
room, he glanced around, making sure no one had entered while he
was gone. The faded blue paint on the walls and the small rumpled
bed made him glad he would be checking out. At least the power was
currently working.

After living in the desert of New
Mexico, he had had to adjust to living in the Amazon. Even now,
over the whirr of the window air conditioner, the sounds of the
jungle filled the air—monkeys screeching, birds calling, the drone
of insects. If the air conditioner went off, the heat and humidity
would turn his room into an oven in just a few minutes.

Where are you?
The phrase filled all the empty spaces in his
heart, warming him as it finally settled deep in his soul. Such a
simple phrase, one he had been ignoring for the last seven months.
Each time he heard Kate’s telepathic call, it tore open the wound
in his heart. He had tried to give her a chance to get over him, to
find someone who wasn’t a murderer. But he had weakened. Above all
else, he wanted her to be happy.

This time there was more
to the message.
Come back to me.
Derek sighed and ran his fingers through his
hair. It was time to go back to Isanti, Inc., headquarters in New
Mexico. Time to face the truth.

He had done what needed to be done. Any
Shadow Walker warrior would have done the same. Still, he had never
meant to kill Amanda. He had tried only to protect Raven and Cara.
There were plenty of witnesses to verify his claim. Amanda
Patterson threatened Raven and the wedding guests. The police
didn’t even blink twice when they took the report.

Katherine tugged at him, calling him
telepathically to come back. He feared she wouldn’t be able to
accept him, especially after he killed Amanda. Then, the general
called this morning and said to finish up and get home before Katie
got on a plane and came after him. She wanted him.

Thinking about it, Derek smiled. He
could picture Katherine on the phone, pacing back and forth in
front of the window that showcased the New Mexican desert. At each
turn, her red hair would fly around her like flames, as she
demanded his return. He couldn’t wait to hold that fire in his
arms. If she wanted him back, he was more than willing to oblige.
He had loved her for so long.

He threw his few belongings into a
leather satchel before checking to make sure he hadn’t forgotten
anything. Not that he carried much with him while on assignment. If
everything worked according to plan, he would shadow-walk into
Katie’s office in a couple of hours. He couldn’t wait to get
home.

Derek walked into the one
and only cantina in the village and took a seat at the bar. He
needed to settle his account before he left town. He waved at the
bartender and pointed toward the chalkboard listing today’s
special. There were only a few people sitting around the run-down
establishment, including the French blond, Colette Pelletier, who
kept flirting with him. She worked at the secret lab the general
wanted investigated, so he had encouraged her by flirting back and
had tried to get information about the place where she
worked.
She looked pretty, but Derek
wanted only one woman, and that was his Kate. Anyone else was just
part of his job.

The bartender came over
with his food, and Derek plopped down two 100-
real
bills before ordering a beer.
That should take care of anything he owed and still leave some
extra for a tip. It would not be too long until he could finish
this assignment, make his report and see Katherine.

§

Katherine Sloane sat at her desk at
Isanti, Inc. The rhythmic pinging of her pen hitting the wooden
desktop went unnoticed even while it echoed through the office. She
stared off into space, her fingers flicking back and forth,
thinking about Derek “Red-hawk” Darkwood. If he didn’t come home
and make love to her, she would kill him. Okay, maybe not kill him.
But enough was enough. She needed to see him, hear his laugh, know
he was within reach.

She threw her pen down and rose from
her chair before walking over to the window and its view of the New
Mexican desert. The sun bounced off the sand and red rocks. Cactus
littered the desert floor. If there were no tint on the windows,
the view could have been blinding.

Seven long months of frustration and
sleepless nights had passed since the night of Derek’s brother’s
wedding. Derek had killed Amanda Patterson, saving his brother from
being murdered. Derek seemed to take the death badly. Katherine had
wanted to comfort him, but she didn’t know how.

Amanda had been one of the women
determined to go after Raven for his money and prestige. As with
all the others, Derek stepped in and drew the woman’s attention to
him instead, before he let her down and broke off the relationship.
It was a pattern Katherine had seen over and over for the past five
years. There wasn’t much she didn’t know or hear about in the
company, and Derek had drawn her attention from day one.

At first, it was just curiosity. Who
was the person behind the easy smile and flirtatious manner? She
felt drawn to him, and the strength she sensed lay hidden below the
surface. Most people looked down on the playboy of Isanti, Inc. But
working for General Holland meant undercover. Katherine suspected
there was more to Derek than people saw on the surface.

Amanda had been determined to have
Derek. She wasn’t in her right mind, blaming Raven for keeping her
and Derek apart. It was a shame she was killed, but Katherine
understood why it happened.

At the reception, Katherine had asked
for one dance. She and Derek were supposed to be together, destined
soul mates, marked by Shadow. Everyone in the tribe knew it. She
rubbed the small heart burned onto her left breast that had
appeared when she walked into the Shadow Dimension for the first
time. It was the outward sign of a Shadow-Walker’s mate, Derek’s
mate.

If Derek strolled in the door right
now, she would punch him. She couldn’t stand the looks of pity the
other tribal members had been giving her ever since he walked away
from her. Derek was supposed to be retired from active duty. All
the Shadow Walkers were leaving General Holland’s team. It was time
to produce the next generation. Every man’s first responsibility
was to find his mate with Cara’s help. How could Derek leave
her?

His flirting and teasing manner had
reminded her she was a desirable woman. It had brought her alive
after grieving her husband. Why did he need to be a hero and work
for the general? Her late husband Kevin had been the same kind of
man, a hero. She had watched him go off to war with a cocky grin on
his face. He never came home to her. She didn’t want the same thing
to happen to Derek.

It was a good thing the office was
quiet this morning. Her need to see Derek walk in the door made it
difficult to concentrate on her job. Who was she kidding? The
longer Derek stayed away, the harder it was to get things done. Her
mind whirled with thoughts of him. Everywhere she looked, memories
assailed her. She hadn’t realized how much she looked forward to
seeing him every day. He would flirt and tease, making her laugh.
Her heart ached with needing him.

She loved working as the administrative
assistant to Raven Darkwood, the CEO of Isanti, Inc., and Derek’s
older brother. She loved the tribe and how they tried hard to keep
some of their history alive, even though they were not recognized
by the United States government as an official Native American
tribe. The Nuni Nagi had once followed herds of buffalo across the
plains of the United States. Now, they were business tycoons. There
were few members left.

One of their legends spoke of a beloved
warrior and his mate sacrificing their lives for the tribe. It was
said that the Great Spirit gave them the secret of walking into
Shadow as compensation, so they could disappear from their
enemies.

Katherine went back to her desk and
opened one of the many files stacked on top. She looked through the
building permits for the new tribal school in Montana, one of many
projects she worked on. Cara was project manager for the school and
a new housing development being set up for the tribe. One day the
tribe would build a whole community on the site and Katherine and
Derek might own a house there.

The phone rang, and Katherine reached
to answer. She was surprised to see the call came from Isanti Quiet
Thunder’s ranch in Montana. “Isanti, Inc., Raven Darkwood’s
office.”

“Kathy, it’s me, Gwen.”

“Hi. Is everything okay with Isanti?”
Isanti was the tribe’s shaman and Derek’s foster father. He was a
tribal elder, and everyone worried about his advancing
years.

“He’s fine. Have you been practicing
your shadow-walking?”

“Yes, Cara and I shadow-walked to Italy
last week. She took me to get proper clothes to stay warm in the
Shadow Dimension.” Cara tried to make sure the women of the tribe
were just as capable as the men.

“Great. Italian leather is the best.
I’m sorry to do this, but I have to cancel on the girls’ get
together this weekend. I’m going over to England for a while. Can
you let Cara know?”

“Oh sure. Let me be the bearer of bad
news. Don’t worry. Except for practicing our shadow-walking, I
don’t think we had anything else planned. The martial arts
instructor Cara hired asked for this weekend off. So our next
lesson won’t be for a while. I guess Cara and I are the only women
who really need training. You and your sisters already know all
this stuff.”

“Don’t feel bad. As daughters of Isanti
Quiet Thunder, he taught us how to hunt and hide since we could
walk. Safety of the tribe is important. I’ve got to go. Hang in
there. I’m sure Derek will get his head together and be home
soon.”

“Thanks, Gwen. Give my love to
Isanti.”

Katherine sighed and disconnected the
call. She had celebrated with the rest of the tribe when Raven
married Cara, fulfilling the prophecy handed down from the tribe’s
shaman. Then, Derek was forced to kill Amanda. After that,
everything kind of went to hell.

The next day Derek had disappeared. No
one had seen him since. She knew he worked for General Holland,
using his ability to walk between this dimension and the next, to
spy for his country. He stayed out there, risking his life. Why did
she fall in love with men who needed to be heroes? First her
husband, and now Derek. She wanted to scream. Why couldn’t she find
a man who would put her first, instead of going off to save the
world?

She walked down the hall to the break
room to start a new pot of coffee. Raven would be chairing a
security meeting in half an hour, and as his assistant, she made
sure refreshments were available. Sitting next to the coffee
machine was the bag of chocolate hazelnut coffee she loved so much.
It was one of the gifts Derek had left her. She kept it for those
times she needed a pick-me up, or a special treat. Everywhere she
looked, she was reminded of him.

Why hadn’t she admitted that she loved
Derek? Katherine took the glass carafe to the sink to fill with
water. She should have trusted him, trusted her feelings. When she
had her chance, she let it slip away. She should have told him
while he held her so tenderly in his arms.

She had been afraid to get in too deep,
afraid to commit herself long-term and possibly lose her heart
again. When Derek disappeared she realized living without him was
too painful. It was too late. She was already in too deep. She
walked back to the coffeemaker and poured the water in the top
before reaching for the filters and the can of regular ground
coffee. Most of the men thought her flavored coffee was too
frou-frou to drink.

She tired of waiting for Derek to make
his move. This morning, she had called the general. The only thing
she could pry from the man was that Derek was in the Amazon. She
told him to send Derek home, because if the general didn’t do it,
she would be on the next plane to find Derek.