Laura Jo Phillips (11 page)

After a long silence Saige looked at Darleen.  She couldn’t really see the woman as the hood was pulled so far forward that it effectively hid her.  Saige remembered the first time she had met Darleen, and how beautiful she had been with her long silky hair, perfect features and sexy body.  From the brief look she had seen earlier of Darleen, there was nothing about her now that resembled the beauty she had been a year earlier.

“Darleen,” Saige began hesitantly, “we only met twice, and neither occasion was good.  But in spite of everything, I want you to know that I am sorry for what happened to you.”

“Thank you for that, Saige,” Darleen said.  “I am not really sure why you would care what happened to me after what I did, but I appreciate it.”

“Darleen, I don’t know what was done to you, but your current condition tells its own story.  Nobody deserves whatever you went through.”

Darleen’s head turned slowly towards where Lio still stood at the far end of the room, all but forgotten by Summer and Saige.  After a long moment, Darleen turned back to Saige. 

“May I ask you a question?” she said.

“Certainly,” Saige replied.

“When you said that my heart was not pure, but not evil, was that true?”

“Yes, it was true,” Saige replied.  “I have been given a gift which allows me to see the hearts of those around me.”

“Are you sure that there is no evil in my heart?” Darleen asked.  Saige realized that this was not a casual question.  Darleen was very concerned about this.

“If you had asked me an hour ago whether I thought you intended Riata, or any of us, to die that day, I would have said yes,” Saige said.  “But now, after looking into your heart, I know that is not true.  The heart of a murderer is black.  The heart of one who has a hand in the death of another is also black and it is not a blackness that fades with time.  You have done things in your life that were not always right, but you have never done anything with evil intent.  If you had, there would be blackness in your heart that would never leave you.”

Darleen did not appear to react to what Saige had said, but Saige had sharp hearing now, and she heard the soft sigh of relief that escaped the dark hood.

“Darleen, I don’t mean to be rude, but I would like to ask you something if you don’t mind?” she said.

 “Of course Saige,” Darleen replied.  “You may ask me anything you like.”

“It appears to me that you have changed a great deal in the past year,” Saige said.  “Have you?”

“Perhaps,” Darleen said.  “I don’t know if I’ve changed so much as I have a new set of priorities.”  Darleen paused a moment as though considering what she was about to say.  “I spent an entire year locked inside my own head,” she continued.  “That’s a lot of time with nothing to do other than search for memories to help you forget where you are, and what is happening to you.  It didn’t take very long to realize that my entire life was boring, monotonous and shallow.  I don’t have one single memory that is happy enough, sad enough, or exciting enough that I would ever want to relive it in my own mind.  So I promised myself that, if I ever got free, I would find something worthwhile to do.  It didn’t matter what.  Just something.  So that if I ever end up stuck in my own head again, I will at least have something to remember that is worth remembering.” 

“That sounds like an admirable goal for anyone to have,” said a gruff voice from the doorway. 

Saige had known Doc was there the instant he had stepped into the hallway because of her sharp loboenca senses.  Summer and Darleen, however, had not known, and they both jumped when he spoke. 

“I apologize,” Doc said.  “I didn’t mean to sneak up and startle y’all like that.”

“Its okay, Doc,” Saige said.  “Doc, this is Summer Whitney, and I believe you’ve met Darleen Flowers.  Ladies, this is Doc.”

“Nice to meet you,” Summer said politely while she took in the craggy faced man.  With his white hair and mustache and faded jeans, he didn’t really look much like any doctor she had ever seen.  She didn’t want to be impolite, but she couldn’t help but feel skeptical of the man’s abilities.  Darleen was in bad shape and she didn’t need someone poking and prodding at her who didn’t know what he was doing.

Doc smiled, his blue eyes crinkling with silent laughter.  “Your feelings are written all over your face Miss Whitney,” he said.  Summer blushed but Doc raised a hand.  “Oh no, don’t be embarrassed,” he said.  “I know I don’t look much like a doctor, but I assure you, I know a thing or two.”  Doc then turned to Darleen’s black cloaked and hooded figure.  

Doc looked at her for a long moment.  “Miss Flowers, would you mind putting your hood back so I can get a glimpse of what we’re up against?” he asked.

Darleen flinched slightly, but she reached up and pushed the hood back as Doc had asked.  Doc’s eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in fury.  His gaze went to where Lio stood at the back of the room.  “This the man that done this to you?” he asked.

Darleen nodded.  Before Summer could even think to stop him, Doc crossed the floor to Lio, doubled up one fist and punched the man square in the jaw.  Since Summer had ordered him to stand in that place and not move, Lio’s head jerked with the blow, then sprang back into place, but there was no other sign of movement or reaction.

Doc turned to face the women who were all staring at him in surprise.  “I apologize, ladies,” he said in his rough voice.  “I just couldn’t help myself.”

“Not a problem,” Summer said with a shrug.  “One good punch in the jaw is the least he deserves for what he’s done to Darleen.”

Doc nodded and turned his attention back to Darleen, who was sitting motionless, her eyes glued to the table in front of her.

“Miss Flowers, I’m not gonna pretend I’m happy with what you did last year, but I am gonna tell you that, after what I just overheard, I think you deserve a second chance.  And even if I didn’t, I would still do my very best to treat you medically.  So, if you think you can trust me, come on with me to the med-lab and lets us see what we can do for you.”

“All right,” Darleen said softly.  Summer was surprised to feel Darleen’s cold hand reach over beneath the table and grasp her own.

“Do you want me to come with you?” she asked as she gave Darleen’s thin hand a careful squeeze.

 “Yes, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course not,” Summer replied.  She stood up, still holding Darleen’s hand.  “Saige, do you mind if I leave Lio here?  I don’t want him tagging along for this.”

“Are you positive he can’t just walk away?” Saige asked.  “Maybe we should post some guards on him.  I do have three babies in the house now.”

Summer reached out with her mind to Lio’s Controller.  “I’m positive,” she said after checking it carefully.  “But there is no reason to take any risks with your children.  Posting guards on him can’t hurt.”

“Good.”  Saige closed her eyes and fell silent for a long moment.  She smiled and opened her eyes.  “Faron is sending a young male-set to keep an eye on him while you go with Doc.  I need to check on my daughters.”

Summer smiled. “You just talked to Faron with your mind, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I have that ability,” Saige replied.  “Sometimes it comes in very handy with three Rami to keep tabs on.”

 “I bet it does,” Summer said with a grin.  She turned back to Lio and sent his Controller orders to keep him standing in the corner, face to the wall, until she returned.  Then she and Darleen followed Doc out of the meeting room.

Chapter
13

Lio was furious.  And in shock.  And his jaw hurt.  Damned old man.  When he got free of this Controller, that old man was going to pay for that punch.

Lio turned his mind back to the puzzle of how he was going to get out of his current situation.  He knew that it was impossible to do.  Few knew that better than he did.  Except that the
berezi
had found a way out.  And if she could do it, then he could as well.  There was nothing a female could do that Lio Perry could not do.

As he stood staring at the wall inside the home of the Lobos, he racked his brain trying to figure out how the
berezi
had overcome the Controller.  He had heard her tell the others that she could control it with her mind, but that had to be a lie.  He’d never heard of anyone able to do such a thing.  It was ridiculous.  Ludicrous.  Impossible.  It was also something he knew he could not do himself.  Therefore, she had lied, and there was another way around the Controller that she had found and did not want to reveal.  Yes, that made sense.  Females were so sneaky, so under-handed.  Never trust a female.  He knew that. 

His nose itched and he wanted to scratch it but his hand refused to obey him.  Just like the rest of his body refused to obey him.  This was the fault of that damn
berezi
.  And Darleen.  That damn Darleen.  When he got out of this, he was going to make them both pay and pay and pay for this. 

Lio worked himself into a mental temper tantrum so intense that, for a time, he saw only a red haze instead of the wall before him.  The worst part about having a temper tantrum when you couldn’t move was that you couldn’t burn off the adrenaline with physical activity.  So it took a lot longer than usual for the tantrum to cool.

When it did cool, Lio again tried to think.  There had to be a way out of this.  There just had to be.  He felt a twinge in his shoulder where that disgusting Jasani shifter had cut him open, and remembered his shock when the man had removed the skin-bomb.  Of course he knew about the skin-bombs.  Hell, he’d even implanted a few of them himself on new employees.  It wasn’t a big deal.  A quick little pinch with an injector device the Xanti had designed, and the victim never even knew it was there.  Who had implanted one on him, he wondered, and when?  It made him angry that he’d had one and hadn’t known it. 

It had to be that damn Za-Linq, he thought.  He didn’t like Za-Linq.  There was something about him that set off Lio’s warning bells.  Za-Queg had set off his warning bells too, but Za-Queg had been right up front about his own underhandedness and deceit.  Lio understood that, and respected it.  Za-Linq, on the other hand, tried to pretend everything was on the up and up, and that he wasn’t really working for himself. 

Yes, Lio decided, it had to be Za-Linq.  Probably did it while I was sleeping.  If Za-Queg had done it, Lio thought, he would have done it while Lio was wide awake and knew about it.  Like the time he’d planted the tracking device in the back of Lio’s ear, not long after they’d started working together. 

Lio thought about that device now, wondering if it were possible that Za-Linq was aware of it.  Or even if it still worked.  Probably, he decided.  Xanti technology was quite good.  But it certainly would not work from inside the Dracons’ ranch.  They’d tried every single device they could come up with but no matter what they did, the moment a listening device, or a remote imager, or a transponder, or anything else was on Dracon land, it stopped transmitting.

Not that any of it mattered since Za-Linq had detonated the skin bomb which, unfortunately for Lio, worked fine as it was a receiver rather than a transmitter.  Which meant Za-Linq knew Lio was in Jasani custody.  And that the office had been compromised.  Lio didn’t really blame the Xanti for detonating the device.  It was what he would have done.  What bothered him about it was that now the Xanti thought he was safely dead, which meant they wouldn’t be bothered about trying to free him from Jasani hands.  If there was a way for him to let the Xanti know he was still alive, then maybe someone would try to free him.  Of course, they might just try to kill him.  Again.  But it was, at least, a chance. 

Chapter
14

Summer and Darleen followed Doc outside the Lobo’s house and across a wide, graveled path to a long, low building.  He unlocked the door and stepped aside to allow them to enter first, reaching in to flip the lights on for them before entering and closing the door behind them.

“This is all new,” Darleen commented softly.

“Yes, a lot has changed over the past year,” Doc agreed easily as he moved across the med-lab, flipping on machines and lights as he went.  “Since it was discovered that the Xanti were involved in matters, the Jasani Military has increased its readiness.  And since the only two Arimas known to exist, along with the only six Jasani daughters, all live here on this ranch, there is a heightened military presence here as well.  Bunkhouses, kitchens, armories, training facilities and this med-lab, along with a larger med-center in the valley, have been built to accommodate the increased guards and security measures that have been set up.”

Doc pulled on a white cotton smock over his clothes, then scrubbed and gloved his hands while he spoke.  When he was finished he gestured to Darleen.  “If you’ll get up there on the table we’ll see what we can do.”

Darleen moved to sit on the exam table, the black cloak still covering her from the neck down.

“According to Lio, there is a tool in his office that will remove this polymer coating in one step,” Summer said.  “He called it a
deionizer.
”

Doc raised one brow, then stepped up to the exam table.  “I need to remove this,” he said to Darleen, touching the cloak lightly with his fingers.