Page 56 of In Darkness Transformed
Safara shuddered and surrendered her blade. “Thank you.”
They made their way across the field with Hunter. Along the way, Eli wrapped his arm around Safara’s shoulders and was pleased when she reciprocated by slipping hers around his waist. He adjusted his longer stride to match hers as they fell into step together.
Mike and Doc looked pretty damned relieved to see them. Doc was just finishing up bandaging the arm of a young woman when they arrived. Eli and Safara hung back and let Hunter take the lead. He quickly reassured the civilians, telling them that the danger was past and the culprits were being transported for processing. He made it all sound so official that the people didn’t have any trouble accepting him as the real deal.
It was time for the four of them to head out. “If you have no further need of us, we’ll be going.”
Hunter flashed him a quick smile. “See you soon.”
At least Mike and Doc held their questions until they were back in the SUV and driving away. Eli filled them in on what had transpired, answering what questions he could, and making a mental list of the ones he couldn’t. After they made a quick stop at the grocery store for supplies, it didn’t take long to reach the turnoff to his cabin. Doc dropped Eli off at his truck and then led the way up to the cabin.
Once there, they took turns taking a shower and changing into fresh clothing. When he finished his turn, Eli went out to the porch to join Safara, who was about to call her father. He figured if she wanted privacy, she would say so. When she didn’t ask him to leave, he sat down in one of the chairs and tugged her down onto his lap.
The minute she started talking, Eli could hear that her dad had gone ballistic. He wasn’t about to let the man yell at his daughter for making the only decision that made sense in the long run. He snatched the phone from her hand and took charge of the situation.
“Jakes, shut the fuck up. And before you ask, no, I won’t give the phone back to Safara just so you can yell at her some more.”
He let the man rant a little bit before cutting him off again. “No,youlisten. You weren’t there, so don’t second-guess the situation. If those guys hadn’t shown up today, things would’ve turned out a lot differently for your daughter, not to mention the other people the rogues were tormenting. And for the record, the Paladins have been aware of your people for a while now. Sooner or later they would’ve shown up on your doorstep.”
After pausing several seconds to let the man absorb that shocker, he continued. “So here’s how I see it. You can haul your ass up here to meet with these guys, or you can hide down there in your office. It’s your choice, but one way or another, you’re going to have to face them eventually.”
Then he hung up and turned off the phone in case Jakes called back.
Instead of ripping into him for his high-handed behavior, Safara shoved the phone into her pocket and cuddled in closer. “I understand why he’s worried, but you didn’t say anything I haven’t tried to tell him for years. Maybe he’ll listen to you.”
He held her close while he still could. The time was coming when he’d have to walk away. She and her people were going to have enough to deal with now that the Paladins were aware of them. He wouldn’t bring his troubles raining down on her head. Maybe the guy in the blue pickup had nothing to do with the black-ops crew looking for him, but the chances of that were pretty minimal.
Safara’s thoughts seemed to be running along the same lines. “Do you think that other guy means that black-ops bunch knows where you are?”
“No way to know until we talk to him. It might not have been the smartest move telling Lonzo to bring him up here. But since he’d already found Doc and Mike, it was only a matter of time before he followed them right to my door. I’d rather know what’s going on for sure than to stick my head in the sand.”
She kissed his cheek. “You mean like Dad has been doing all these years? I would’ve loved to see the look on his face when you told him that the Paladins already knew where we were living.”
It was time for some hard truths. “It will take time for him and your people to trust the Paladins. They will still need to hide their origins from the rest of the human population, but at least they won’t be constantly looking over their shoulders for fear that there’s a bogeyman following them with a sword in his hand.”
He took her hand in his and kissed her palm. “I can’t stand the thought of you living in fear for the rest of your life when I can’t be here to have your back.”
Safara stiffened in his arms and then slugged him on the chest. The blow didn’t do any damage, but it was clear he’d said something that she didn’t like. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“Don’t sweetheart me, Eli. We both agreed it was dangerous to get caught up in each other’s lives, but you never said you planned to disappear completely.”
Her hand settled softly against his cheek. “I don’t want to lose you, Eli. Not yet and never completely.”
“And I don’t want to go.”
Her words cut deep into his heart. The thought of never again holding her in his arms made him furious. It was bad enough he’d lost his career and most of his friends. She was all that made this new existence bearable. He turned his face to kiss her palm again, wishing like hell he had something more optimistic to say. “The longer I stay, the better the chance the military will figure out where I am, or those special-ops guys will get their hands on me. Either way, I’ll disappear from your life. I’d rather leave on my own terms than be dragged away in chains.”
When she sighed and settled back against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. These last few moments of peace and quiet would have to sustain him in the lonely times to come. He hoped she knew how much she meant to him. Thanks to his profession, he’d never had the time for any long-term relationships. When it came to the few short-term ones he’d had, never once had he been even mildly tempted to use the “L” word to describe his feelings.
It was killing him to know that the only woman who had ever claimed his heart would be far better off without him in her life. Maybe he was being a coward for not telling her how he felt, but there was no use in admitting how much he cared when he couldn’t stick around for the long haul.
Maybe Safara was feeling some of the same frustration. She captured his mouth with hers, taking the kiss from zero to sixty instantly. He gave as good as he got, trying his damnedest to tell her without words how much she meant to him. Damn Mike and Doc for being inside, because he would’ve already had Safara in his arms heading right for his bed.
But they were there, and unless he was mistaken, he was pretty sure there were multiple vehicles headed their way. All things considered, he shouldn’t be sitting on the porch with his hand up Safara’s blouse. She was aware of the approaching vehicles, too, because she gave him one last quick kiss and stood. “I’ll go set out the food.”
He followed her inside and picked up his gun. Mike joined him at the windows with his weapon in hand until they knew for sure the new arrivals were friendly.
Lonzo’s van pulled into sight with Jakes’s cruiser only a short distance behind them. Bracing himself for what could be one helluva confrontation, Eli stepped back out onto the porch and prepared to greet his guests.
