Darkness Calls. Caridad Pineiro
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searched the crowd, hoping to meet a gaze or see a face that would trigger the feeling again.
Across the way, David was scoping out the crowd. For a brief moment their gazes connected across the length of the club. She motioned to him, pointing to where she was headed, and spoke softly to confirm it, hoping the wire would pick up her voice over the noise of the band and the crowd. In her ear, she heard David acknowledge her words and saw him nod. He would make his way across eventually.
She pressed through the bodies, shooting a glare at one young man who groped her as she inched past. Continuing onward, she finally reached the open door and the cool current of air she had savored earlier. There was a bouncer by the exit, sitting in a chair tilted far back on two spindly legs. She was surprised the metal chair could hold his weight.
Walking to the door, she stopped and he stared up at her, his gaze sharp and questioning. “Ya leave this way, ya gotta get back in line,” he said with a growl, obviously annoyed.
Diana shrugged. Getting back in the line wasn’t a problem. She was here to see and be seen. While the bulk and attitude of the bouncer might put off many, it might not have been enough to discourage the two victims or the killer who had followed them.
She exited through the door into the chill of the alley. It had rained while she was inside. The dark stone walls and cobblestones glistened with wet, and water had puddled in various spots. The sky was dark with heavy clouds that obscured a half moon.
Goose bumps erupted on her skin from the sudden change in temperature. She rubbed at her arms and glanced at the back section of the blind alley. The shadows were strong, and unlike the area leading to the street, there were no lights.
With the lack of moonlight, it would be easy for someone to hide there, waiting. And yet, with no way out, they’d have to take the victims past the bouncer at the open door or the crowd at the far end of the alley. Unless the alley had a back way out.
She took a step toward the darkness, keeping the wall of the building behind her so as not to be surprised. She had gone deep into the alley, but had not yet reached the end when the eerie sensation from before returned. The hairs on the back of her neck tingled, as did those on her arms. As her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, a colder, deeper silhouette took shape a few feet in front of her.
It was a man. She squinted, but it was too dark to see his face even though he stood close. Too close for her to pull out her weapon. It was a true Mexican standoff, the two of them considering each other in the dim light, neither one speaking. In her ear, the running comments of various agents crackled and she tried not to let them distract her.
A few feet away, a small spot of moonlight appeared as the wind drove the clouds away. If the man across from her would only move that short distance, it might give her the answers she needed. “Step into the light,” she said, striving for a tone of authority despite the situation, hoping David and the others would hear.
The seconds of silence stretched out after her command and then came his short bark of a laugh. “And why would I want to do that?” he asked, his low voice gravelly, as if it had been a long time since he had used it. There was a trace of an accent. Southern, she thought. Louisiana, she confirmed as he issued his own determined instructions.
“Darlin’, if you have a lick of sense, you’ll turn right around and head back into the club.”
He surprised her with his tone of concern. She couldn’t take that statement at face value as the others might have done, turning their backs on this man and then finding themselves…
It was likely David would be here within minutes. His instructions were to keep her in sight, and he had known where she was heading. But she couldn’t wait for her partner. If this was the man, a delay might prove fatal and she had no intention of ending her life in an alley that stank of stale urine.
“Step into the light where I can see you and I’ll go,” she said calmly, not trusting that he would listen. Preparing for what she would do if he didn’t.
“Do you think—”
“You’re a fool?” she finished for him.
He expelled a harsh breath and challenged, “I’m not the fool who’s running around with a killer loose.” Despite his comment, there was resignation in his voice, as if he, too, recognized that there was little either of them could do. She wasn’t surprised therefore when he said, “On three, we both move where we can see each other.”
“On three.” She counted down. As promised, she took the few steps to her right, mirroring his movement.
As they both reached the safety of the light, she detected a note of surprise in his features before he carefully schooled them. He had a severe yet handsome face. His eyes were a flat, unholy black against the dark of the night. They were intense, unblinking. Soulless, she thought for a moment, but then abruptly, as her gaze finally met his, there was a moment of connection. Within her, there was a sudden strange sense of…recognition. She berated herself silently for letting her imagination get the better of her.
“Satisfied?” he asked, his voice still husky. He stood mere feet away, a commanding presence. Tall and strong-bodied, he was dressed all in black, like most of the crowd inside. Only, on him, it was more than just a color. It was an aura of dangerous energy that made her take a step back.
“Who are you?” she pressed, aware that they were still the only ones in the alley. She listened to the chatter on the wire. Nothing to indicate help was on the way.
Before Diana could register his intentions, he closed the distance between them and grabbed hold of her wrist, yanking her to him.
Years of training took over. An elbow to his face had him rocking backward and she followed with a jab that straightened him, leaving him totally vulnerable for a full-force roundhouse kick. She connected to the side of his head with a thick thud, and he tumbled to the rough cobblestones. Before she could react, he was on his feet and moving toward her once more.
Diana struck out with a quick chopping motion. He blocked her blow forcefully and thrust her away, which sent her flying into the brick wall.
Her head hit hard and stars danced across her vision. She fought off the dazing blow and pressed her hands against the rough surface of the wall, struggling to find purchase so she wouldn’t fall to the ground. The chatter had ceased in her ear, which meant the wire had stopped working, not that it had been doing much good up to this point.
As her assailant neared again, David finally called out, “Hold your position or I’ll fire.”
She closed her eyes and held her breath for a moment. When there was silence, she struggled to focus her blurry gaze on her attacker, his hands on the top of his head. David stood behind him, inches shorter, his gun pointed at the base of the man’s skull.
David looked at her and asked, “You okay?”
Her cheek was throbbing painfully and she realized that the man’s defensive block had caught the side of her face. She raised her hand to the back of her head. There was a lump growing there beneath her hair. Even though her head was swimming and her vision was unclear, she told herself the bumps and bruises were nothing but minor discomforts. “I’m okay,” she replied, and took a step toward the man.
“Who are you?” she asked, getting right next to his face, her nose nearly bumping the edge of his jaw.
He smiled tightly and was about to answer when the bouncer realized that something was going on in the alley. “Boss man, you okay? Should I call the police?” the muscular man asked her assailant.
David kept his bead on her attacker and Diana approached the bouncer. “You know this man?”
“That’s Ryder Latimer. He’s the owner of the club. Came out to make sure nothing funny was going on,” the bouncer explained.
Diana sighed harshly and glanced at her partner, who lowered his weapon, holstered it and then spoke softly into the wire, calling off the imminent arrival of reinforcements.
She