Awaken Me Darkly

“What about this Kyrin guy?” I asked, trying to be subtle.



“He’s not listed either,” Jaxon said. “We already checked.”



“Did Lilla give any clue as to where this Atlanna is?” Jack asked me.



“No,” I answered honestly.



“Think you can find her?”



What I thought didn’t matter. I would find her. “Give me two days.”



“Done. Okay, let’s recap the rest of what Snow missed.” Jack shot me an irritated glance, and I hoped that would be my only chastisement for my tardiness. “Ghost and Kittie questioned Isabel and Sherry yesterday evening. Nothing was learned from Isabel, now deceased.”



I heard several men mutter, “Bitch.”



“From Sherry we learned a bit more,” Jack continued. “According to her, she’s known Hudson for three months. Apparently, Lilla paid her to have sex with him regularly, and the man never knew. Sherry said Lilla promised to pay her a huge bonus if she got pregnant. No luck, though.”



Very interesting. “Why did Lilla want Sherry to have Hudson’s baby?”



“Sherry didn’t know,” Kittie said. “Lilla introduced the two at Club Ecstasy.” He tapped his blue lighter against the table surface. “Hudson had no problem screwing the two women, but the moment Lilla started seeing Steele, the man flipped.”



“Possible motive for Steele’s death,” I said. “Hudson was jealous.”



“Possible, yes,” Ghost said. “But it doesn’t explain the other abductions.”



I said, “Anyone talked to Hudson? Maybe he can help us wade through the crap and find the diamonds.”



“He won’t help willingly, that’s for sure. But no, no one’s talked to him yet.” A frown marred Jack’s face as he twisted a pencil between his fingers. “He had his nose repaired this morning, and only returned to his cell a little while ago. Jaxon plans to question him after this meeting.”



I eyed my boss, gauging his reaction. “So Hudson doesn’t know about Isabel?”



“Oh, he knows,” Jack said. “The good doc let it slip before surgery. Hudson didn’t give a flying rat’s ass, though. Said his life would be calmer now that the girl was gone.”



My eyelids twitched at such blatant heartlessness. “I want to be there when Jaxon questions him.” Maybe I’d destroy a little of Hudson’s attitude while I was there.



Because he knew me so well, Jack shook his head. “I don’t want you in the room. You’re not his favorite person right now, and the sight of you may make him violent. Worse, he might refuse to talk. I’m not budging on this,” he added when I opened my mouth to argue. “I’d say the same thing to a man.”



I needed to be there for that interview. I needed to know what Hudson knew—and I didn’t want to wait for Jaxon’s formal report. “I’ll observe from a two-way,” I suggested.



Jack studied me for a long while. I fluttered my lashes, trying to appear innocent. A sigh slipped from him. “All right. You can go, but if I find out you stepped one foot”—he held up one finger—“one damn foot out of observation, I’ll kick your ass into next week. Understand?”



“Absolutely.”



Jack turned his attention to Jaxon. “What did you learn from Steele’s family?”



“When I reinterviewed her, the wife admitted that he was seeing another woman, but she doesn’t know who it was.”



I crossed my arms over my chest. “She claimed they were happily married in her first interview. If she knew about his infidelity, why did she stay?”



“I asked the same question. Says she was pregnant when she found out and couldn’t stand the thought of raising her baby alone. Says she loved him.”



“Could have been lying,” Mandalay said.



“True,” Jaxon acknowledged.



“Does she have an alibi?” Jack asked.



“Yeah. Since Steele’s disappearance, she’s been staying with her mother. Already verified. I learned something else, though. Steele had dinner with an Arcadian male the night before he was kidnapped. Kyrin,” he said, checking his notes. “The same Kyrin who dated Rianne Harte, is my bet.”



My stomach rolled. This was what Lilla had warned me about. This was what she feared would implicate him. And by God, it did.



“We need to find this man,” Jack said. “I want him questioned ASAP.”



I couldn’t allow other agents to search for him, not with Kyrin’s warning ringing in my head. If anyone other than me searched for him, he’d slip into hiding so fast he’d have wind-burn.



“What do you have for us?” I asked Jaffe, hoping to change the subject.



“Well,” Jaffe said, speaking for the first time since I’d entered the room. He was a small, nervous man, with thinning ash blond hair and wide-spaced hazel eyes. Those eyes always darted left and right, as if trying to judge his escape route. He was damn good with numbers and patterns. “There’s no obvious MO for the killer. There were two weeks between the first two abductions, but the third was taken only three days later. And eight days passed between the third and fourth.”



“Keep searching,” Jack commanded. “You’re missing something. Even chaos can form a pattern.” He turned his attention to Mandalay. “What about the victim’s body?”



“Unfortunately,” Mandalay responded, “there was no blood evidence. Nor was there anything under his fingernails. No fibers—alien or human—to indicate where he was held or how he was transported. The voice recorders around the area have no alien recordings at any time on the day of the murder.”



“What about Rianne Harte’s home?” Jack asked. “What was found there?”



Mandalay shook her head, sending red curls flying. “Nothing, sir.”



“Wonderful. Just fucking wonderful. I expected better than this.” Jack shoved to his feet and strode to the side table. He poured himself a cup of coffee, then drained the steamy liquid in one gulp. He turned back to us. “We’re no closer to finding the victims than we were yesterday. Pressure is rising, people, and will continue to do so until we’re successful or we lose our jobs.”



“Let’s go back to this Kyrin character,” Ghost said. “He was seen with victim number one the night before the abduction. He was also dating Harte. There’s a possibility he knew the others and had some sort of contact with them. So my question is, who’s going to hunt him?”



“Let me take care that,” I said, hoping I didn’t sound too eager.



“You’re finding Atlanna, remember?” Jack said.



I spread my arms wide. “And I can’t do both?”



“You’re not Super Woman,” Kittie remarked with a grin.



“No,” Ghost said with a grin of his own. “She’s Super Bitch.”



Laughter rippled through the room, the kind of rough, biting laughter that came from people who encountered depravity on a daily basis. Jaxon tried to hold his amusement back, but soon gave up and burst into guffaws. Even I lost my scowl and had to smile. I was a super bitch.



“Fine,” Jack said. “Kyrin’s yours.”



Those words affected me on a deep, primal level. Mine, I thought. All mine.



Standing, Jack slapped his hands against the table surface. “All right, people. You know what you’re supposed to do. So get it done.”



I accompanied Jaxon down the long, winding corridor that led to A.I.R. sector five. Our ID cards allowed us to bypass the motion detectors, the heat sensors, and the weight-sensitive floor tiles without a single pause.



Jack had dismissed us five minutes ago, and I’d already called Dallas’s doctor twice. The first time, he put me on hold. The second, he didn’t make the same mistake. I learned Dallas’s tissues were indeed rejuvenating. Dr. Hannah had discovered a foreign chemical in Dallas’s blood, a substance he’d never encountered before, and he’d treated both aliens and humans.



I knew the chemical came from Kyrin.



The good doctor was running more tests, but as of now, Dallas was stable. Still, I couldn’t help but hear a countdown in my head. Three more days until Kyrin reappeared, demanding his sister—unless I found him first.



“You ready for this?” Jaxon asked. He gazed down at me, his features tight with concentration.



“More than you know.” I forced Dallas and Kyrin to the back of my mind. I had to concentrate on the here and now.



When we reached the end of the hallway, we waited at the metal security station doors.



“After you, Jaxon,” I said.



He positioned his head in front of the blinking blue retinal scan. The computer said, “Scanning now,” and flashed the light over his entire face. “Thank you, Jaxon Tramain.”



Jaxon straightened his shoulders and flicked me a glance. “Your turn.”



God, I hated these things. I rested my chin in the recession plate, and the metal monster clamped onto my head for a full optical scan. If one of the antiquated lasers ever received a power surge, I’d be sentenced to permanent medical leave and given an SGA, a sightseeing guidance automaton.



“Thank you, Mia Snow,” the computer said, releasing me.



Now that our identities were verified, we endured a simultaneous palm scan and the doors buzzed open. We entered a long white hallway. To both our left and right sides were sealed entrances, each leading to private cells.



These rooms were rarely occupied for long. Other-worlders brought in were usually interrogated within hours. Then they were either set free if exonerated, or executed if guilty. It was that simple.



I passed Lilla’s cell. Thirty-two. And kept my gaze straight ahead. I’d worry about her later.



Cell 66, our destination, was Hudson’s location—which lacked one more six to be accurate, to my way of thinking. He was human, yes, but he was involved in an alien investigation, so here he stayed. The bastard would be treated with the rights of an earth-born citizen, but he sure as hell didn’t deserve it.



When we arrived at our destination, Jaxon placed his hand on scanner 66A, and I placed my hand on scanner 66B. A yellow light enveloped our fingertips.



“Don’t believe anything I say, okay?” Jaxon said. “You know I have to tell him what he wants to hear if I hope to get any information.”



“I know.”



“Just don’t kill me afterward.”



“Hey, do me a favor and ask Hudson about his daughter. Ask him why he claimed an alien as his own.”



“Alien?” Jaxon blinked. “You think Isabel was alien? Which species?”



“I don’t know. Ask him that, too.”



He nodded just as the lock above each door buzzed, allowing our entrance.



Wiping all expression from his face, Jaxon stepped inside Hudson’s cell.



I entered Observation. From the two-way, I saw that Hudson lay on his cot. A bandage covered his nose, and his eyes were swollen and ringed with bruises. As if to the beat of a drum, he moaned every other second.



Jaxon strode to the edge of the cot, squatted, and peered at the injured man. “You okay, George?” he asked. “You in pain?”



Hudson blinked, but didn’t move. “Do I look like I’m in pain?” His voice was nasal and pinched. “Asshole,” he muttered.



As if he wasn’t laughing smugly on the inside, Jaxon uttered a sympathetic sigh. “Want some meds?”



“What I want is for you to get the hell out.”



Jaxon features softened. “I can’t do that. You’re in trouble, George, and we both know it. Let me help you.”



I knew Jaxon was deliberately using his first name. Made him seem friendlier, more personable. But Hudson didn’t take the bait. Hell, he’d had the same training we’d had.



“Help me?” he squeaked out, turning his head and riveting his eyes on Jaxon. He would have shouted if his nose hadn’t been packed full of gauze. “You don’t give a shit about me.”



“You’re an agent. Of course I care,” Jaxon said, as if that explained everything. His expression was so compassionate, I almost believed him. “Besides, we have something in common.”



“What’s that?”



He leaned forward, like he was sharing a great secret. “We both hate Mia Snow,” he whispered.



That seemed to defuse Hudson’s anger.



Jaxon, you are so good, I thought.



“I thought everyone here worshipped that bitch.”



“Not me. She took my promotion. I should have become squad leader, but she slept with Pagosa, and he gave it to her.”



“No shit?” Hudson’s ears perked, and his lips cocked. He propped himself on his elbows. “I always figured she was blowing Pagosa to get ahead.”



Jaxon flicked a glance to the mirror. To me. His eyes were sparkling with mischief, but his tone was dead serious. “She’s a girl. That’s the only way she can get ahead.”



If anyone else had uttered those words, I would have burst into that cell and pounded some ass. But Jaxon’s comment had worked. Hudson now considered him a freaking genius.



“Damn right,” Hudson said, slamming his fist onto the cot. “I could eat that bitch for breakfast, then make her beg for more.”



Maintaining his friendly, casual tone, Jaxon said, “Mia thinks you killed Steele.”



“That’s bullshit.” Hudson jerked to a sitting position, grimaced, then sank back onto the bed. “That’s bullshit,” he repeated. “I didn’t have anything to do with that.”