Blood Dark (30 page)

C
aitlin marched down TSCD corridors
, taking a left and then a right towards the elevators. With no time to lose, she burst through the door into the stairwell, descending the four levels towards the detainment unit.

Kane had taken her on the back of his bike back to her car. There hadn’t been any parting words. She knew as much as he did that there was nothing more to say. He hadn’t even dismounted the bike. She waited a moment to see if he would, but he’d seemingly had no intention. A sick sense of loss had consumed her as she’d got into the driver’s seat, as if it truly was going to be the last time she ever saw him.

As she’d switched on the engine, he’d done the same.

She’d made a three-point turn in the road before looking in the rear view mirror as she came to standstill again, her foot poised on the accelerator.

Kane had offered a simple and subtle salute: two fingers flicked outwardly a couple of inches from his forehead.

Caitlin smiled at the gesture born out of knights lifting their visor to reveal their eyes and let their enemy know they were going to fight fairly. The battle was still on, and Kane was putting their best chances in her hands.

As such, he’d made her a part of the team, the only team she’d ever felt a part of, and she wasn’t going to let him down. She wasn’t going to let them down.

She wasn’t going to let her locale down.

He’d driven off first, spinning on his back wheel before disappearing into Blackthorn’s night air.

For a while, she’d cried. But when she’d arrived back at her apartment where she’d got changed before heading back to the TSCD, she’d adopted the steady resolve she knew she needed to see it through.

Passing the first sign for the detainment unit, Caitlin checked her watch. Keeping to as close a time as she could was going to be essential, granting Eden enough time to get what he needed.

She slid her card through all the respective doors on her way to the front desk of the detainment unit.

Looking through the glass, she faced the back of Simon Hodge’s head. Her card swiping would have alerted him that she was coming but clearly whatever TV show he was watching, whatever had created the accompanying deep belly laugh, was more commanding than her presence.

She rapped on the glass with her knuckles, only for him to reluctantly look over his shoulder at her. Even more reluctantly, he pulled himself from his chair.

He was never in a hurry for anything. Never had been. He sauntered his way across his office, his shoes squeaking on the high-polish. He rested his elbows on the counter like he was the gatekeeper to Aladdin’s Cave.

‘I’m here to see Caleb Dehain,’ she declared.

He placed the clipboard in front of her.

‘And I’d like him on lock-down before I enter, please,’ she added, signing the form before signing the section for lock-down too.

‘You’re questioning him alone?’

‘I hear he doesn’t cope well with an audience.’

She slid the board back to him.

Caitlin followed Hodges down the slight decline as they passed two empty cells before passing four closed doors.

She saw Hade’s name on the left, Jake’s on the right. Alisha was in the cell next to Jake and then, finally, there was Caleb’s.

Hodges slid open the viewing door. ‘Into lockdown position please, Dehain.’

It was common practice in the cells before anyone entered alone. They’d move into the sole chair to the left or right of the wall. They’d place their ankles against the chair clamps before lifting their hands above their head to the wall-mounted cuffs. All four would be operated from outside the door. The guard would then check the security of it before letting anyone into the cell.

Hodges keyed in the four-digit code; Caitlin memorised the number.

He disappeared inside and, a few seconds later, exited again.

‘All yours,’ he said, before wandering back down the corridor to watch it all on the silent screen, if he didn’t get distracted by whatever TV show he’d been watching before she’d interrupted.

She’d met with too many big players over the years to feel that anxious, but Caleb Dehain was something different – and now she knew it more than ever.

She placed the chair directly opposite his.

She met his gaze.

And he looked far from happy to see her.

With his strong, stubbled jaw and bangs of dark hair skimming those vibrant green eyes, he looked more the predator than Kane ever did. Despite rumours dictating he and Kane were of the same ilk, Caleb most definitely had something about him that just edged that side of unhinged. She was grateful his wrists were secured by cuffs, his ankles to the floor, because in Caleb she sensed a true darkness. Kane used his when he had to; Caleb struck her as someone who had experienced the darkness taking a hold of him. If she was to shadow read him, if she didn’t have a choice not to, it was going to be one hell of a ride in there.

She reminded herself to focus on her breathing, to keep herself as steady as she could. The vampire would sense some level of stress, but she had to give away the bare minimum. She licked her upper teeth to reduce her lip sticking to them as his eyes penetrated hers.

Eyes that belonged to the vampire leader.

‘Caleb Dehain, my name is Agent Caitlin Parish, but you already know that. You have been made aware that you have been formally arrested under section 2.3 of the Vampire Disciplinary Clause – but that’s not why I’m here.’

His eyes narrowed slightly, laced with curiosity.

‘I’m going to get straight to the point,’ she said. ‘You know they believe you’re responsible for The Alliance murders. You think you and Jake are going to walk in the next twenty-four hours because nothing can stick. And considering I gave you the means to find alibis, you’re practically home and dry if you keep this silence up.’

It was subtle, but she saw the hint of a flare in his eyes at her confession.

She leaned forward. ‘Except I have a motivation for what you did, Caleb. Because the assassination attempt
did
happen. Jake did kill Trudy Lawrence, and
you
covered it up. Your whole case rests on it being impossible that your brother would still be alive if it’s true.’ She paused. ‘Unless, of course, you summoned a witch that night. A very
powerful
witch.’

This time his eyes flared for sure, his pupils constricting slightly.

‘I know what happened, Caleb. More relevantly, I have Leila here in this very building. And, as you already know, I have Alisha too. How long do you think it will take me to persuade them to talk?’

Caleb lowered his gaze, before those deadly green eyes snapped back up to hers.

‘Or we can make a deal,’ she said. ‘None of my team know any of this and it can stay that way. But in exchange for my silence, I want the whereabouts of the rest of the supplies for the lycans.’

Caleb smiled, but it didn’t reflect in his eyes. ‘You’re working for Malloy?’

‘We both have a vested interest in preventing the lycans from changing. The question is, do you have enough vested interest to get you and your brother out of here? You give me what I want and, in less than twenty-four hours, you’ll walk.’

‘I’m supposed to believe you?’

‘It doesn’t matter if you do or you don’t. We both know this is me asking politely. This is as close as I’m allowed to get to you without raising the guard’s alarm. But even if I do cross the line, it’ll take at least two minutes for Hodges to get down here –
when
he eventually notices. I can get a lot of shadow reading done in two minutes. So you either tell me what I want to know, or I’m going to take it from you. The supplies, Caleb:
where
are they?’

K
ane stood
in the shadows on top of the building opposite, his arms folded as he looked down at the chain-linked entrance to the TSCD car park.

He glanced up at the polluted night sky, the lack of moonlight helping mask their surroundings as much as the increasing thickness of the fog.

Jask leaned against the wall beside him, one foot resting back against it. On the far side of him, Phia paced in the darkness.

Kane had insisted it was a bad idea bringing her – the distraction of it was one sure thing he could do without. But Phia had consistently reminded Jask it was her sisters in there and had insisted she wanted to be there when they got out. Her presence also meant they could afford to bring an extra bike since Jask had taught her how to ride. That meant with Eden included, they could all get out of there promptly with no need to take anyone else from Jask’s pack.

But because Phia had insisted on coming, so had Jessie. She’d equally contended that if anyone hurt Eden, she’d bring the whole building to its knees. Kane had seen enough of her kind in action to know she meant literally.

They hadn’t told Caitlin they would be there.

He checked his watch. She should have already been in with Caleb if all had gone well. Trusting Eden to get all three girls out of the back way was a big enough leap of faith, but leaving Caitlin going it alone up to that point was a whole other matter.

Alone in Caleb’s cell, trying to force the truth out of him.

It was his turn to pace, to run his hands back through his hair as he braced himself.

And Rob could be in there – somewhere in that building.

‘Ease up,’ Jask said from behind. ‘I can feel your tension from here.’

Kane checked his watch again.

She’d aimed to have it done within the hour, two hours maximum depending how long Leila took to persuade. He wanted them all to be back at the compound by dawn.

He’d never put that much faith in anyone. He guessed he’d soon find out if he was ever going to do it again.

C
aitlin took
a left and then a right before coming to the glass doors at the far end.

She pushed them open, the gentle brushing sound as they closed behind her exacerbating the sense of hush in the room.

The largest conference room in the building was awash with quiet activity, the rows and rows of tables filled with books making it look more like a library. The scent of old paper lingered in the air, the turning of pages echoing intermittently between hushed voices. The interpreters worked away speedily, agents wandering amongst them, information being logged and recorded.

She glanced at the map of the locale on the wall to the right, the crosses no doubt indicating where the attacks had happened – at least the ones they knew of so far – before she looked across to the far corner of the room, where Coles summoned her over.

She crossed through the tables, nudging one table as she avoided the other as she headed towards Coles.

‘I’m looking for Leila McKay.’

He indicated over towards the empty desk. ‘Probably in the bathroom again. That woman goes more than anyone else I know.’

‘I need a quick word,’ she said.

‘Shall I send someone to get her?’

‘No, no, I can do it. I’ll take her to one of the side rooms. We might be a little while.’

She made her way back out through the doors, heading down the corridor towards the toilets.

Placing her bag on the floor and releasing her gun from her holster, she pushed open the first cubicle door and then the next, each vacant in turn. She stepped up to the final one, next to the window.

The breeze swept beneath the door, the subtle sound of glass scraping against metal.

Caitlin examined the window beside her – at the array of horizontal glass slats embedded in metallic strips secured by screws. She ran her forefinger over the heavily painted screw heads that would be easy enough to remove with the right object to turn them.

Seemingly Leila wasn’t planning on hanging around for long – and the set-up couldn’t have been more perfect.

Caitlin rested her hip against the windowsill, placed her gun back in her holster, and folded her arms as she stared at the cubicle door. ‘It might only be a twenty foot drop onto the roof, Leila, but they’re notoriously badly constructed. You’ll go straight through the tarpaulin.
Or
you could come out here and talk to me about how we’re going to get you out of here safely – you
and
Alisha. She was arrested in the early hours of yesterday morning. I know you know why.’

There was silence inside.

‘My name’s Caitlin Parish. If you watch the news – and you strike me as the type who does – you’ll know who I am.’

The cubicle door clicked open. She was met with wary but curious hazel eyes.

Leila was slighter in build than Caitlin but about the same height, her russet hair falling over her shoulders in kinks. She looked like she’d had an even rougher few days that Caitlin had.

‘We
really
need to talk,’ Caitlin said. ‘Please don’t try anything stupid.’

Leila frowned and glanced past her, seemingly uncertain as to whether she was doing the right thing or not.

‘I know everything, Leila. I know you saved Jake Dehain’s life. I know it brought you together with Caleb. I know what he is. I know that you were a serryn. I know that something happened between you and Caleb that caused the split in the fourth dimension, the very problem you have been brought here to solve.’

Her pallor, pale enough to begin with, turned ashen. Leila’s frown deepened. ‘How?’

‘It’s a long story and one we don’t have time for. Sophia is safe. She knows I’m helping. She’s waiting for you. I have someone who’s going to take you to her. You and Alisha. I can get you into the detainment unit where Alisha is. We have Caleb too, Leila.’

Her eyes flared, her cheeks flushed. ‘Caleb? Caleb’s
here
? In this building?’

‘Yes. In the cell right opposite the one your sister is in. I know what you have to do. I know the only way that dimension can be closed is for you to finish what you started. I have a way you can do that.’