Red Dawn (15 page)

I lean down and place my forehead against the cool metal railing. I was going stir crazy in that room, but the urge to crawl out of my skin persists even in this open space. A gentle breeze skirts across my ankles. It’s a welcome sensation.

“He has to make it,” I say, breaking the comfortable silence. Nik rests a hand on my back in response, gently massaging my tense muscles in a slow circular motion. It’s heavenly. Guilt kicks in immediately and I stand up, causing his hand to slide off. “We’re running out of time.”

“It’s the middle of the night. There isn’t much we can do right now anyway,” he points out. “We just have to be patient.”

“How can I be patient when we’re about to lose our only lead?” I ask miserably. “Maybe we should just call Aldo. Tell him what we’ve discovered.”

“You’re not in this alone, you know.” He reaches over and brushes a strand of hair from my face. It’s a small gesture, but it sets off sparks within me. Electricity shoots through my body, igniting my desire for him. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of Nik’s touch. And even though I know it’s wrong to want him this way right now, the need to feel his lips on mine outweighs my guilty conscience.

There’s nothing gentle in his kisses tonight. They’re savage and raw as we seek to escape the reality of our situation. I want nothing more than to lose myself in Nik right now. Our lips battle for position, warring with one another for dominance. I run my hands through his silky hair, down his back, under his shirt, across his abdomen. I stop short of ripping his shirt off. His skin is cool to the touch despite the cruel Louisiana heat. I drink in his scent as he caresses my body, exploring new places and tempting me in ways no other guy could.

I don’t know how long we stay like that, devouring one another, but we don’t stop until the door to the room opens and the doctor clears his throat, demanding our attention. Talk about awkward! I pull away from Nik and smile guiltily as he shoves his hands in his pockets.

“I’ve done all I can,” the doc announces, shifting his hefty medical bag from one hand to the other. “The patient will likely sleep through the night and the better part of tomorrow. He’ll need plenty of fluids. I’ve shown your friend Keegan how to put a fresh bag on the IV.”

We listen to him raptly, hoping for good news.

“I also left some painkillers on the nightstand. He can take two pills every four hours when he regains consciousness.”

“So he’s going to make it?” I ask, daring to feel encouraged. Maybe our luck is starting to turn around.

“Hard to say,” the doc replies sounding tired. He rubs his forehead, dragging a hand across his face. I guess you never get used to tough cases. “There’s a lot of internal damage, but I got the bullet out and stitched him up as best I can. As long as you can keep it from getting infected, he’s got a good chance of recovering. What he really needs is a hospital,” he finishes emphatically.

“Thanks for your help.” Nik slips the doc a couple of bills for his trouble and sends him on his way.

**********

I wake to the sun beating down on me. Some jerk, probably Nik, opened the blinds. I sit up groggily and discover that once again, I’m the last one up. I slip out of bed and stretch my muscles. Keegan’s been busy. There’s a fresh stack of towels and a butcher’s bag on the table. I wonder if he got any sleep at all last night. For his sake, I hope so.

For the first time, I realize that I’m alone with the patient. The bathroom door is closed, but I don’t know if it’s Nik or Keegan in there. The Shadow begins to moan and it’s up to me to check on him. I approach the bed cautiously, not quite sure what to expect. Most of the linens have been changed and the bloody sheets stripped away although he still wears the tattered jester costume. The blood has dried a dark brown against what’s left of the rich fabric.

Hell’s bells! I’m shocked to see that he’s no longer shifting. He’s settled on one form and it’s the last thing I would have expected. The body in the bed belongs to that of a young Indian girl. She has smooth brown skin and inky black hair. Her upturned wrist reveals an intricate tattoo. Mehndi, I think it’s called. It’s beautiful. I’m inclined to trace the pattern with my finger, but I don’t want to disturb her. Not yet anyway. Unconscious, she looks wholly innocent. I can hardly believe my eyes. Could this be the real face of The Shadow? She’s so young. She can’t be much older than me. Maybe nineteen or twenty? Not that it matters, I think, turning away so that I don’t have to look at her face. When she wakes up, I have to know what she knows. One way or another.

It’s another grueling day. Between the cramped room and the incessant moaning of the patient, I think I’ll lose my mind. Nik suggests meditation, and for once I heed his advice. It can’t hurt. Especially since I’ll need a level head to pump this girl for information when she wakes up.  Nik continuously reminds me that she’ll have to be handled delicately. As if I need reminding. Her face says it all.

When the girl finally wakes, she’s thirsty. Keegan offers her a glass of water, which she warily accepts. It’s obvious she’s afraid of us. Perhaps in her shoes, I’d be feeling the same way. Keegan does his best to soothe her fears, but it doesn’t appear to be working.

“Look, if we wanted you dead, you would be,” I cut in. Keegan’s soft-fuzzy-bunny approach isn’t getting it done. It’s time to try something else. “You’ve been shot. I imagine there are lots of possible suspects given your line of work, but let’s be real. This was probably tied to the Dwyer theft. That was your last big job, right? Perhaps your employer is cleaning up loose ends? What do you think the odds are that I’m right?”

“Well, with you people hounding me, pretty likely.” The girl has grit. She sounds more irritated than scared now. Perhaps I’ve misjudged her. She might be tougher than she looks. She’d have to be in her line of work, I remind myself.

“Lucky for you, the shooter missed your heart,” Nik tells her quietly.

“Barely,” I cut in, wanting to emphasize the fact that she’s lucky to be alive… for now.

“We saved your life,” Nik tries again. “That must be worth something.”

Keegan grabs her hand. It’s the act of a desperate man. “We’re only looking for information.”

“I told you last night,” she replies, focusing on me. “I’m dead if I talk.”

“Looks like you might be dead either way,” I point out. “They won’t just give up when they find out that you’re still alive.”

“Ha!” She laughs eerily before breaking into a fit of coughs. Keegan offers her more water and this time she doesn’t hesitate before taking it. “I’m good at disappearing. I’ll start over somewhere else with a new face and a new name.”

I stalk across the room and grab a compact out of my bag. I open it up and hold the mirror in front of her face so that she can see what we see. “Like this?”

The girl pales instantly, realizing that we’ve seen her true identity. So much for her tough façade.

“We aren’t a threat to you,” Nik says, turning his magnetic eyes on her. I hope for Shaye’s sake that she can hear the sincerity in his words. “But we need to find the people so desperately trying to kill you.”

She doesn’t respond.

“The research you stole is very important to us. It will save lives, most notably that of our friend Shaye,” I tell her. I bring up a picture of Shaye on my cell phone and force her to look at it. It’s a ridiculous shot of Shaye dancing on her bed in pink and orange polka dot pajamas. I smile as I remember taking it the first night of the semester. “She’s innocent in all of this and she’ll die unless we recover the cure.”

The Shadow still doesn’t respond. This time she actually rolls onto her side so that her back is facing me. The movement appears difficult and is no doubt painful. She’s determined to ignore me, but I’m relentless.

“If you don’t help us, you will single handedly be responsible for the deaths of thousands. Does that mean nothing to you?” I shout, losing my temper.

Nik puts a hand on my shoulder. As usual, it has a calming effect. I take a deep breath and start again. This girl’s already been shot. Violence isn’t going to get me anywhere. “Shaye is a really good person. She likes everyone. Even me. She’s actually my only friend. Imagine that?” I joke, perching gently on the edge of the bed. “She likes trashy reality shows, horseback riding, and she’s a terrible dresser. She wears all sorts of crazy stuff. Shaye has personality to spare. She’s the kind of person who doesn’t care what anyone else thinks.”

I notice that some of the rigidity has left The Shadow’s spine. That seems like progress. I can only hope her resolve is wearing thin. I sneak a quick peak at Keegan. His face is drawn. My words are causing him pain, but he nods, encouraging me to go on.

“Shaye has faith in people,” I continue. “Like she had faith in Dr. Philips when he promised to find a cure for the blood disease. She believed that he would save her.” I pause, struggling to find the right words. What else can I say to convince this girl that she’s making a mistake? “Shaye doesn’t deserve this, she deserves to live. Please, help us. We need to know who hired you. Who would do such a thing? And why?”

She cracks then.

“This wasn’t supposed to be about a sick girl,” she starts defensively. “It was about righting an injustice. I was told it was The Dwyer Group who stole the research. I was told they were using the work of a certain doctoral researcher, and that they’d cut him loose during the final phase of the project in order to retain all profit and patents.”

“Well, obviously they lied to you!” It’s hard to suppress my outrage. She should know better than to accept a story like that at face value. It’s a safe bet she wasn’t born yesterday. “It took a team of researcher’s years to develop the cure. That team is led by Dr. Philips, who you framed. I’ve met him myself and can assure you that with the exception of Philips, who, thanks to you, is currently on the run and trying to stay alive, the research team is fully intact.”

Nik grabs her hand and crouches on the floor so they’re at eye level. “You can still make this right, you know. Tell us who hired you. Give us a chance to set this right and save lives.”

Once again, she doesn’t respond.

Her indifference infuriates me. How can she be so stubborn knowing there are so many lives at stake? Blood boiling, I decide to take a walk and get some air before I completely lose my shit. After all, she’s no good to us dead.

Chapter Twenty

“She’s ready to talk,” Nik tells me as I crest the stairs leading up to our room.

“Oh, really?” I retort. “Because I so enjoyed being jerked around earlier.” I wonder how long he’s been sitting out here waiting for me. The way his chair is tipped back and his feet are propped up on the railing suggests it’s been a while. Oh, well. It couldn’t be helped.

The walk did me some good. My nerves aren’t quite as frayed and I’m determined to get what we need. It’s good to know The Shadow is ready to talk because I was running out of humane options. And, despite everything, I really didn’t want to hurt the girl. She is human, more or less.

“You should’ve called me,” I tell Nik as I let myself into the room. Keegan is still sitting by the bed watching the girl. She’s resting now. I hold the door open so that Nik can pass through and then slam it shut with gusto.

The Shadow startles awake.

“Oh, good,” I say sweetly. “You’re up.”

“We need to talk,” she tells me, propping herself up carefully on a pile of pillows. For a minute I actually feel sorry for her. She’s still in a lot of pain and unable to move very easily. It’ll take some time before she’s back on her feet. “It’s not what you think.”

“It doesn’t really matter what I think,” I explain, leaning against the dresser. “It only matters that you give me the people who hired you.”

“You have to understand. I did check him out. He worked at The Dwyer Group for eight years,” she tells me looking forlorn.

Is it possible she actually feels guilty? Maybe she’s not the soulless merc I pegged her for. Then again, maybe I’m giving her too much credit. Who knows what other kinds of things she’s done in her line of work?

“Look, I don’t take a job without doing my homework. Everything he told me checked out. I had no reason to doubt the validity of his story or the job.” She looks at Keegan and Nik for support. She’s clearly figured out they’re more sympathetic to her situation than I am, and for whatever reason, she seems to want our understanding. “Big companies like that? In my experience, greed and corruption are standard. The cutthroat attitude is pretty much the standard M.O.”

“Get to the point,” I tell her. She’s wasted enough of our time with her obstinate attitude. I am not up for any more stalling on her part. “I don’t want to hear excuses.”

She appears stung by my words, but continues. “And yeah, maybe my ego got in the way. It was a tough job and I knew that if I could pull it off, it would be a gold star on my resume. A job like this?” she tells us. “It’s a career maker. My reputation would have been solid.”

“His name?” I ask.

“Xander Jacobs,” she replies. She looks to Keegan and Nik again. “I am sorry about your friend. I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.”

“It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?” I return, anger coursing through me. “How do we contact him?”

**********

Keegan volunteers to stay with the girl until she gets back on her feet and can take care of herself. Nik and I decide to go after Xander Jacobs, but not until we know what we’re getting into. I hate to admit it, but Nik’s right. The direct approach probably isn’t going to work on Jacobs. After all, this is probably bigger than one guy. We can’t afford to go into this blind.

“We need more information on Jacobs,” Nik says, rocking on the balls of his feet.

We’re out on the balcony again, but things aren’t quite as steamy as they were last night. Nik’s crouched down, elbows resting on his knees. He’s fraught with energy and looks like a spring that’s about to be sprung. I, on the other hand, am the picture of tranquility, sitting on the railing, balancing precariously on three inches of less than sturdy looking metal.