Darkness Read online

  “They just let them drive around Homeland?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. They only guard the walls. The inside is clear of guards. It’s just that they kept that ankle bracelet on me and assigned two guards who were always on my ass.”

  “They hit on you, didn’t they?” He stared at her shirt. “You have nice tits.”

  It took a lot for Kat to keep her cool. She rubbed Missy’s wrist with her thumb, trying to reassure her. “You know it. They didn’t stand a chance though.”

  Mason paced again. “We’re going to get Jerry and he’s going to get us that money.”

  * * * * *

  Darkness jerked awake when his phone rang. He opened his eyes, stared at the screen of the laptop a few feet away. Lights were still on inside Kat’s home. He answered the phone. “Darkness here.”

  “This is Book. We have a situation. Get to Security now.”

  “Are we under attack?” Darkness was off the bed in an instant, moving fast to his closet. He threw it open to grab a uniform.

  “A call came in and it’s still live. Your female is currently planning on breaching Homeland with someone named Mason. He’s at her house and has a gun to Missy’s head. She’s lying to him, I assume, since most of what she’s said is bullshit.”

  Darkness nearly dropped the phone and spun toward the laptop. “I’m looking at her house.”

  “He’s inside.” Book hesitated. “Bluebird is transcribing what we know so far. Kat called in saying Mason had a gun to Missy’s head and to record the conversation. We’re doing that. She also said not to call the police. Mason will shoot them if human police arrive. We put a trace on it immediately. It’s a cell but the tower is in the location of her home and I verified the sound of her voice myself. It’s real.”

  “Wake a pilot and get a helicopter ready.”

  “We’re already on it. We’re up in ten. I’ll fill you in. Move!” He hung up.

  Darkness dropped his cell on the bed and rushed to dress. He almost forgot the phone but grabbed it and his boots, not taking the time to put them on. He threw open the balcony door, scanned the ground below and leapt, landing on the grass. Pain shot up both legs but nothing broke. He ran toward the helicopter pad.

  Kat was in trouble. He’d warned her Mason was a danger. She’d ignored him and sent away the team he’d assigned to guard her. His rage grew as he ran, spurring him on. The sound of the helicopter blades assured him they hadn’t left without him but were preparing to take off.

  Trey Roberts and Book met him. He was surprised to see the human there so fast but he shifted his attention to Book, panting. “Give me the details.” He sat on the ground and put on his boots. There weren’t enough males yet to make up a full team but he hoped they hauled ass. He wanted the helicopter in the air.

  “It sounds as if he was the brains behind Boris,” Trey answered instead. He held his phone, reading the screen. “I’m getting the transcripts texted to me. My guess is that Mason and Boris were partners. He tried to access the money they ripped off from the NSO but he’s bitching about how it was transferred to another account. Boris fucked him and he wants to find him in order to get the millions they extorted from the NSO.”

  Darkness stood, stomping his boots on the ground since he hadn’t put them on well. “We recovered the money. I beat it out of Boris. Mason doesn’t know that?”

  “My guess?” Trey glanced up from his phone. “Boris used online banking. He probably transferred the money to the account info you got out of him but had already blocked Mason from the money. He probably did it before he came here after Jeanie Shiver. Greedy fucker. He wanted it all. Now Mason is flipping out because he’s under investigation and wants a way out. That money would assure him a good life somewhere else.”

  More males rushed to the area and Darkness threw up a fist and then pointed to the helicopter. He was taking charge of the team. He didn’t care if he stepped on Trey’s toes or anyone else’s. Kat was in danger. “Let’s go.”

  They climbed inside the helicopter and Darkness grabbed a headset. “Get us in the air,” he demanded of the pilot, twisting in his seat to glare at the male.

  The pilot nodded and faced forward. They lifted off and Darkness put on his seatbelt. He glanced at the dimly lit faces of the males who’d come. They were six in all. He touched his head and all of them put on their headsets.

  “Pilot, land us eight or ten blocks away. The human will still hear us but maybe he won’t connect the dots because of the distance. Are you patched in to Security?”

  “It’s Darren, and yes I am, Darkness.”

  “Have them find you a landing site. I don’t care if we have to stop traffic in a street. How far out are we?”

  “Ten minutes if I really push it. They want to know if we want police assistance.” The pilot waited for instructions.

  “No,” Trey answered. “This guy could have a police scanner. I’d have one and this guy is smart. We’ll steal a car. It will be faster than jogging.”

  Darkness was ready to run it but using a vehicle would be faster. “You know how to do that?”

  Trey grinned and touched his sidearm. “Yeah. Leave it to me.”

  “Thank you for reaching Homeland so fast.”

  Trey cleared his throat. “I was already here.”

  Darkness frowned. “Tim sent you this late? Why?”

  The human broke eye contact. “Tim didn’t send me. I was already at Homeland when this went down. Let’s talk about it later.” He glanced around at the other males. “It’s personal.”

  Darkness let it go. He trusted the male. It didn’t matter why he’d been at the NSO in the middle of the night. He was more worried about Kat. Was she alive? He saw Trey remove his phone and scan the screen, reading texts. He should have had Security send the transcripts to his phone.

  “Trey? Is she alive still?”

  The male looked up and nodded. “She’s drawing him maps of Homeland. He hasn’t fired the gun. They are apparently in the kitchen and she just asked Missy to make them coffee. I can’t tell this guy’s mood from reading dialogue but he isn’t threatening to shoot them again. He’s more focused on getting that money.”

  Darkness could breathe easier.

  “We’re almost there,” the pilot said. “I’ll do a hard touchdown. We found a park. The house is eight blocks north. I’ll get directions.”

  “I’m on it,” Trey announced. “I know the area. I dated a girl who lived nearby once and know where that street is. I had them text me the exact address. I’m pulling up a map now just to make sure.”

  Darkness released his belt and held on to the seat. Book sat closest to the side door and opened it. The air blew in and amplified the sound of the helicopter blades. He turned his head as the helicopter banked sharply and lowered. It went down fast, as Darren had warned. Streetlights came into view and a small building he identified as a public restroom sat in the distance. The helicopter landed with a jarring bump. He tore off his headset, barely taking time to hook it to the wall.

  He was out third in line and turned to Trey. He didn’t enjoy turning control over to the human but he wasn’t sure where Kat’s home was. The streets confused him and most of the homes looked too similar. Trey motioned the helicopter to take off and pointed toward a street. He ran and Darkness followed. The sound of the helicopter faded.

  They reached a street lined with homes. Trey turned left. “Damn.”

  “What?” Darkness caught up to him.

  “I thought there’d be more traffic. Wait. There’s a car.” He threw up a fist and they all stopped.

  A small four-door sedan drove toward them and Trey rushed into the path of it and withdrew his sidearm, aiming it at the driver. He pointed to his vest with his other hand where the NSO white lettering showed. The driver slammed on the brakes.

  Trey approached the driver. “I’m with the NSO,” he yelled. “You’re in no danger. Don’t panic. Put down your window.”

  It was a female and Dark