Darkness Read online

  Slade captured his son and hoisted him high, putting him within reach of the handholds on the wall. “Go for it.”

  His son laughed and started climbing again. Salvation didn’t have to be told. He ran at the wall and jumped, that time managing to catch two handholds at once. He quickly reached Forest but stayed next to the other young one.

  It confused Darkness. “Salvation is taller and stronger. Why doesn’t he climb above Forest?”

  Fury answered his question. “They are a team. If Forest slips, Sal will help him.” He shot Darkness a pointed look. “They are like brothers. They will always be there for each other.”

  The words were meant to sting and they hit their mark. Darkness felt guilt. “I need to go. I’m late for my shift.” He quickly left.

  Chapter Ten

  Kat smiled and glanced around the main room in Security. The banks of monitors were impressive. It was a top-of-the-line system. She felt honored to get a tour.

  “What do you think?”

  “It’s great.” She pointed to one wall. “Those are all exterior monitors there?”

  Jinx nodded. “Yes. They cover the wall sections. To your left is the interior of Homeland in general areas. The right is the exterior shots of Homeland, beyond the gates.”

  She peered right. Protestors paced the sidewalks and cars drove by on the street. On another screen was the view of a nearly deserted street. The monitor under it showed a park. She glanced at each screen, realizing they had views of everything within about a block of their walls.

  “Do you get a lot of people who try to breach the walls at various points?”

  “Not often. We have officers on the wall and the humans see them. It dissuades most from attempting it.”

  “What about by air?” She knew the answer already but a crime lab technician wouldn’t.

  “We have a mile radius no-fly zone around all NSO lands. We closely monitor air traffic. Anything incoming needs prior approval.”

  “What if someone does breach the air space?”

  “We have the means to take them down.”

  She pondered that, questions forming.

  “I can’t discuss it further,” Jinx murmured. “Sorry. Some precautions are classified.”

  Kat let it go. “No problem.” She knew the military had worked with the NSO and their task force to protect their land. Her attention drifted left and she watched the monitors covering the front gates. At least thirty people were working to repair the damage, repaving the scarred ground and putting up new gates. A redhead caught her attention. There was something about him that seemed familiar.

  “Can you zoom with these cameras? Do they move?”

  “Sure.”

  She walked forward, hoping it didn’t seem suspicious. “Can you show me? Like, zoom in on this guy here?” She pointed to the construction worker smoothing freshly poured concrete over the scarred area where the van had exploded.

  “Do it,” Jinx ordered.

  The image was sent to a larger monitor at the front of the room and the operator of the security system brought the man into sharp focus for close inspection. The face of the construction worker filled the screen and he glanced around, lifting his chin just enough for her to get a really good look at him. Her anger simmered.

  “Show her the mobility of the cameras,” Jinx ordered the woman at the controls.

  The camera angle moved, panning across the other construction workers. The man behind the wheel of the concrete truck came into view and Kat clenched her teeth. She studied each face on the monitor.

  “Very cool.” She tried to make her voice sound ordinary.

  “Would you like a tour of our interrogation rooms?”

  “I’ve seen one of them already. I’ll pass.”

  Jinx winced. “Sorry. I forgot about that.”

  “Speaking of, is there any way I can talk to Darkness? I had a question for him and want to make sure he’s still not irritated with us.”

  “Ask me.” Jinx inched closer.

  “It can wait.” She forced a smile. “I’m ready to leave now. Thank you so much for the tour.”

  “Do you have any suggestions?”

  “I do better when I think about things for a bit. We’ll discuss it tomorrow. Is that okay?” She wanted to get out of there before she lost her temper. It was burning hotter by the second and she had to hide it.

  “I’ll take you out to your escort, who will drive you back to your guest cottage.”

  “Thank you.”

  He led her out of Security and she was happy to see Sunshine waiting behind the wheel of a Jeep. She waved to Jinx, thanked him again, and climbed into the passenger seat. The woman grinned at her.

  “Did we meet your expectations?”

  “What?”

  “Our security measures?”

  “They are great.”

  “I’ll take you home unless there’s somewhere else you’d like to see. I’m on duty for a few more hours but they told me to take you wherever you want to go.”

  Kat hesitated. “Do you have Darkness’ number? I really need to ask him a question.”

  “Sure.” The woman reached inside her shirt pocket and withdrew her cell phone. She tapped the screen a few times and handed it over.

  Kat took it and slid out of the seat. “Give me a minute.” Her heart began to pound as she listened to the phone ring twice. It was stupid and she knew she should just keep her mouth shut. She was putting her ass on the line if she actually spoke to him. His deep voice answered.

  “Darkness here. What do you need, Sunshine?”

  “It’s Kat.”

  “Why do you have the female’s phone?” He didn’t seem happy.

  “I borrowed it with her permission. She’s about ten feet away, staring at me.”

  “What do you need?”

  She hesitated.

  “Kat? Is something wrong?”

  Just say no and hang up. You can’t do this. Just keep your damn mouth shut.

  “Kat?” His voice deepened. “What is it?”

  Fuck it. “Is there any way you can get near the front gate?”

  “I’m actually very near there. I just came on duty.”

  She closed her eyes. The sick feeling in her stomach increased. She had to make a decision and it was a tough one.

  “Kat?” He softened his tone in a way that reminded her of the night before. “What is it? Are you well?”

  Shit! She opened her eyes and focused. “You know how you expect me to trust you but you don’t trust me?”

  “You want to discuss this now? I said I’d see you later.” Irritation sounded in his tone.

  “I’m trusting you because this could get me in some serious shit. Do you understand?”

  He was silent for long seconds. “What is it?”

  “See the redheaded guy getting a sunburn and smoothing out concrete? Look at the driver of the truck that’s working nearby? Also, the woman with black hair who is helping install that new gate, on the right side facing the main street? Watch them closely, okay?”

  Darkness growled. “Why?”

  She bit her lip and then decided she’d already crossed a line. “We work for the same dickhead. I’m putting my ass on the line. That’s all I can say.”

  “Are they a danger to the NSO?”

  “I don’t know why they are here. That’s the truth. There could be more of them but those are the ones I recognized. They might have come to get a look inside your gates to see how much damage was done. I just don’t know.”

  “How did you know they were here in the first place if you don’t know why they came?” He sounded angry.

  “I just toured Security. I spotted them on the monitors. Just…watch them, okay?”

  “We’re going to talk more about this later.”

  “I imagine so.”

  “Would you be in trouble if they were to suspect you pointed them out?”

  “Big time.” Her stomach roiled, just considering Maso