Love in the Shadows (5 page)

They climbed into the jeep and headed
out of town. When they got close to the lab, Joe pulled the jeep
off the road behind some trees, where there were plenty of shadows.
They all got out. Joe reached down next to a tree and inserted his
hands, palms together, into a wavering shadow. Then, he pulled his
palms apart creating an entrance into the Shadow Dimension. He took
Katherine’s hand and entered into the cold of Shadow. For once, the
frigid temperature almost felt good. They waited as Charlie closed
the portal back to Earth. Joe kept Katherine right behind him when
he took the lead. Hugh and Charlie followed.

They could still see and hear
everything on Earth around them, as if they watched through a dirty
window. The small group headed for the front gate. An
eight-foot-high, chain-link fence surrounded the lab. The main gate
was open and armed guards blocked the road.

No one could see them in the Shadow
Dimension, so Joe’s team walked through the gate without a
problem.

Inside the perimeter, they split up.
Joe motioned Katherine to stay with him, and they moved to the
door, while Hugh and Charlie headed around the building.

Because the door was motion-sensitive,
Joe and Katherine waited until someone or something triggered the
sensor. Finally, a couple of people headed outside, and the door
opened. Being in the Shadow dimension, Joe and Katherine could not
manipulate physical objects on Earth. Long ago, Katherine had
learned patience in her work, but the need to get to Derek ate at
her. They moved into the one-story building.

Feeling where to go, Katherine followed
her heart and led the way to Derek. Joe didn’t question her and
stayed close to her back. As they passed down the main corridor,
they could see people in white coats working in different labs.
There were large windows and glass enclosures with lots of bright
sunlight. Without shadows, Katherine and Joe couldn’t exit the
Shadow Dimension.

They continued down the hall and turned
left into a different wing. Katherine felt a tug on her heart and
stopped in front of an entrance with a coded lock. Through the
door’s glass window, she saw several doors leading off the main
hall. She felt that Derek was close and thought he was located in
the room about halfway down the hall. She motioned Joe forward, and
he peered through the window.

A guard stood at the door where she
believed Derek was held, and two surveillance cameras in the hall
were pointed at the same entrance. She also saw alarm sensors on
the hinges. This was definitely a high-security wing.

They waited to see if someone might
come down the hallway and open the door for them. After fifteen
minutes or so, Joe motioned her to follow him out.

Katherine could not believe how close
they were. She wanted to wait until someone came by and opened the
door, even if it took all day. How could she leave when Derek was
so close? Joe stopped several feet down the hall and glared at her.
She bit her lip. Everything inside demanded she find a way into the
wing. Finally, she wrenched away from her feelings and started to
follow Joe. She sent a telepathic call through her link to Derek.
Her mate would feel that she was near.

“Derek
…”

“I feel you are close.
What’s the situation?”
Derek
asked.

“They have you in a
high-security wing that is lit up brighter than a Christmas tree.
Joe is pulling us back to the jeep. We’ve got to figure a way
in.”

“I’ll keep my eyes open. I
was pretty drugged up when they first brought me here. The only
time someone comes in the room is to escort me to the
bathroom.”

“It is so hard for me to
leave you,
” Katherine sent.

“I know you and my old
friend Joe will get me out. It’ll be all right,
Katherine.
”

Katherine’s throat tightened, and her
eyes burned. Derek was trapped in a room, being tortured for
science, and he had tried to reassure her. She followed Joe glumly
down the hall to the outside door, and they slipped outdoors as
someone walked in.

Hugh and Charlie met them at the gate,
and they shadow-walked back to where the jeep was hidden. They
returned to the heat of the Amazon rainforest.

Katherine opened her mouth to ask why
they were giving up. Joe raised his hand. “Save it ‘til we’re back
at the hotel.”

Katherine shut her mouth with a snap.
They all climbed back into the jeep and headed back to town. One of
the limitations of the Shadow-Walker tribe was that tribe members
had to visit a place in person before they could use Shadow to get
there. Now that they had visited the lab, they could go straight
in, but there were no shadows in the lab to use for
exiting.

§

Joe motioned Katherine into the
passenger seat of the Jeep. She sat, her body stiff with anger. He
should take her off the team. She needed to be reminded who was in
charge. If she wanted to be part of the team, she needed to take
orders without question. He shouldn’t have had to wait for her when
he signaled her to leave.

Joe gritted his teeth. Now that he had
surveyed the lab, he knew it would take careful planning for an
extraction to work. He’d figure out how best to get Derek out. He
wasn’t taking any chances with Derek’s or his team’s lives. He
needed to get Hugh’s and Charlie’s reports before making any more
decisions. This was his job. Joe wasn’t the head of the security
branch for nothing.

He drove into the hotel parking lot and
parked the jeep. “Katherine, go into the office and find out where
they recommend we eat. We’ll meet in my room in ten.”

§

Katherine knew an order when she heard
one. She sighed and went into the lobby. The hotel was run by a
family that seemed to consist of grandparents, parents and two
toddlers. The father manned the front desk, and Katherine asked
about places to eat. She could hear one child screaming and one
crying in the background. She gave the tired father a big smile of
understanding. “My wife has gone into Manaus for food,” he
explained in broken English.

When she asked about where to eat, the
father suggested the bar across the street. It was also a
restaurant and the only place in the village that served three
meals a day. Katherine walked back to Joe’s room and knocked on the
door. She needed to tread lightly. Joe was angry with her. She
didn’t want to be sent home.

“Come,” she heard and let herself
in.

Joe, Charlie and Hugh sat at a small
table. They were leaning over it and seemed to be drawing a map.
Each one pointed out features and things they had noted. Katherine
walked to the table and joined them.

When they finished, they had a complete
map of the facility. Hugh had noted the power source and backup
generator, as well as two windows in the wing where Derek was held.
Both windows were too high and too small for access. Charlie noted
the guard positions and outside surveillance cameras, as well as a
back entrance that was code-locked. Katherine and Joe helped fill
in the interior with what they had discovered.

Then, they started to list
complications. The most important was the lack of shadows. They
also needed a way past the coded doors.

“If everything is electric, then a
power failure would fix most of our problems. We’d have to make
sure the generators didn’t come on, of course,” Charlie
said.

“We don’t know for sure that the doors
will automatically open. They might automatically close and lock.”
Hugh scratched his head.

“What about a fire alarm?” Katherine
suggested. “Wouldn’t they want all the doors to open in case of
fire?”

“Good suggestion,” Charlie said. “That
would get everyone out of the building, leaving us free to get to
Derek.”

“I think we need some more information,
but I can feel a plan coming together,” Joe said. “Tonight, Hugh
and Charlie, I want you to do a little more recon. Do they ever
turn off the inside lights? Even a few would give us some shadows.
We can’t get Derek out, if we can’t shadow-walk. Katherine, you and
I are going to do a little snooping. I bet all those scientists are
too good to clean the place, which means they probably hire a
cleaning crew. Cleaning crews normally have keys to all the
rooms.”

“The only place to eat is the bar
across the street. They serve three meals a day,” Katherine
said.

“Let’s go then. I’m starving,” Charlie
said.

“What I tried to point out is if any of
those scientists want to have a night out, there is only one spot
in town,” Katherine explained.

“Come on then. Let’s go get some lunch
and check the place out,” Hugh suggested.

Katherine smiled and followed the men
out the door. Could they get a plan together to save Derek? She
needed to trust Joe and his men.

The cantina was small. Its
dark tiled floors were muddy from where people tracked in the
earth. There wasn’t much on the menu, so they all ordered
feijoada
and
arroz
. It was late to be
having lunch, so the place was empty. When they finished, Joe threw
down some bills to pay the tab. Then, they headed back to the
hotel.

“I’ll meet you here at seven-thirty.
Maybe you can charm some information out of a lab nerd,” Joe told
Katherine as he headed into his room.

“I’ll have to shadow-walk back to my
apartment and get some more clothes.” At least, she warned him this
time. Of course there were several hours before their meeting. She
waved and walked through her door.

Katherine laid on the bed.
She tossed and turned feeling tied up in knots.
When she knew it was impossible to rest, she reached for
Derek. If he could give her some new information, it might help
with the rescue plans. He was awake and feeling better.

“Hey, beautiful….”
he sent

“I need to see the room
you’re being held in,”
Katherine sent to
him.
“Reach for me and allow me into your
mind.”

“Okay, I’ll try,”
he sent back.
“You’re
already in my heart. Might as well take my mind, too. Will you
respect me in the morning?”

“Very funny,”
Katherine sent.

Then, she felt Derek reach for her, and
she flew into his mind. Through his eyes, she could see the bright
lights and cameras on the wall. There was also a mirrored window,
and she bet it hid an observation area.

By lifting Derek’s head, she could make
out the door across the room. He lay on a metal-covered table and
wore only a pair of briefs. She also took note of the restraints
holding his arms and legs. She tried to see if there were any
shadows in the corners. The room wasn’t very big, and the two large
lights illuminated the space.

They were giving Derek fluids
intravenously, and Katherine could feel Derek’s pain as a dull
ache. Most, if not all, of the cuts had closed and were on their
way to being healed. She could also feel his hunger and wished she
could bring him some food.

Katherine felt Derek
chuckle in her mind.
“Being hungry is the
least of my worries, Kate,”
he sent
“Can you imagine how uncomfortable it is to lie
here for days? I’ll be lucky if I can walk out of here.”
Katherine thought she felt some real concern
behind Derek’s teasing words.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to
walk out of there, and if you’re not, then I’ll carry
you.”

“Working out some? You
won’t be any good at flirting with the lab nerds if you don’t look
your best,”
Derek sent. He must have
picked that out of her thoughts. Was he jealous?

Katherine knew he was right. Still, it
hurt to think he would send her away. It got harder and harder to
leave him.

“Make sure that’s all you
do, beautiful. I’d hate to have to kill some lab nerd,”
Derek added as she pulled her mind back into her
body.

At least, she had more information for
the team. Realizing that staying in bed was useless, she
shadow-walked back to her apartment in New Mexico.

If she flirted for information, she
needed to look the part. She changed into a pair of tight- fitting
jeans, which had Derek salivating at Cara’s bachelorette party, and
a skimpy T-shirt that barely covered her midriff. Then, she put her
hair up in a ponytail and did her makeup. The final touches were a
pair of large hoop earrings and a belly-button jewel.

Derek still hovered in the
back of her mind. Their link seemed to be strengthening now that
she shared his thoughts. She let him see through her eyes as she
looked in the mirror. She smiled when she heard him groan in her
head and felt the shot of lust that went through his body.
Just information, beautiful. If one of those lab
techs touches you…

Don’t be silly. I don’t
want anyone touching me but you.

Katherine picked up one of her favorite
paperbacks and prepared to wait until seven-thirty.