Bound by Darkness (Paladins of Darkness, Book 7) - Softcover

Alexis Morgan has always been an avid reader, and she loves spending her days with hunky heroes and gutsy heroines. She’s published more than forty books, novellas, and short stories, including contemporary romances, American West historicals, and paranormal romances. She has been nominated for numerous industry awards, including the RITA© from the Romance Writers of America, the top award in the romance genre.

Chapter 1

Slamming his fist into the wall wasn’t the smartest thing he’d ever done, but it was that or punch his roommate.  Since the current situation was none of Lonzo’s fault, Larem aimed his temper at something that wouldn’t bruise—or hit back—although right now a good down-and-dirty fight held some appeal.  The pain was slow to register, but his blood stood out in stark relief against the white paint.  

“Damn it, Larem, was that really necessary?  I hope to God you didn’t break anything.  It’s your night to do the dishes.” Lonzo’s comment was an equal mix of worry and disgust.  “We both know Devlin has no choice in the matter.  Besides, it’s only temporary.”

Larem flexed his hand gingerly.  Nothing broken.  Nothing solved.  He was still caught between two worlds, neither of which particularly wanted to lay claim to him. 

“Yeah, why not make it easier on everyone concerned and tell the Regents to make one big cage and stuff all of us into it?” 

Swallowing hard against the bitter taste of his rage, he slowly turned to face his worried friend.  “Or better yet, shove us back across the barrier.  With any luck, our own people will solve the problem of what to do with us with a few swings of a sword.”

Lonzo had his own temper and shoved Larem hard enough to send him bouncing back against the wall.  “Larem, don’t be such a dumb ass.  You know that none of us would let that happen.”

Larem got right back up in his friend’s face.  “Correction, Lonzo.  None of you would want that to happen, but you’re paid  to follow orders.  Once the Regents decide they want us gone, what can you do to stop them?  If you refuse to rid the world of a few inconvenient Kalith, they can always find someone who will.”

A deep voice joined the discussion.  “You’re wrong, Larem.  That’s not happening.  Not now, not tomorrow, not ever.  We owe you and the others too much.”

Larem wanted to believe Devlin Bane.  He really did, but he’d been betrayed too many times by his own kind to easily accept that his former enemies would behave any differently.  Before he could respond, another Paladin came out of the conference room and headed straight for Larem.

“This new policy is nothing but crap, and you know it.”  Hunter Fitzsimon glared at Devlin, his green eyes blazing with pure rage.  “I have more reason than most to hate what comes boiling across the barrier at us, but Larem is different.”

Devlin rolled his huge shoulders, no doubt trying to shrug off some tension. “Listen all of you.  You’ll get no arguments from me on that score, but until this new rep from the Regents is actually here, I can’t do anything about it.  Arguing by e-mail won’t get the job done, but when he gets here, I’ll make our case.”  

“Yeah, right, and if he doesn’t buy it?  What then?”  Hunter turned his attention to Larem.  “Pack up your things.  You’re coming home with me and Tate.  The apartment over the garage is yours as long as you need it.”

Devlin looked as if he wanted to argue some more, but then the big man shut his mouth and shrugged.  “He’s right, Larem.  I can’t promise the new guy will listen to me.  If you’ll feel safer putting some distance between yourself and this pencil pusher, I wouldn’t blame you.  Better yet, go camp out with Penn and Jora in Wyoming if you want, at least until the dust settles and we know more what we’re dealing with.”

For the first time since Devlin had called the morning meeting to order, Larem didn’t feel quite so alone.  As tempting as it was to take off with Hunter or even to pay a surprise visit to Penn Sebastian, the thought of hiding out didn’t set well with him.  A warrior both by training and by nature, he would not run.

“I’ll wait to see what happens.  Besides, I’m not the only one affected by this order.”  Larem nodded down the hallway to where Barak q’Young stood with his sister, who had two Kalith children at home.  “We can’t all go into hiding.”  

Devlin sighed, clearly tired of dealing with all the “bureaucratic bullshit” as he usually called it.  “This guy is supposed to show up by the end of the week.  I’d suggest we do business as usual until then.”

Like anything had been usual for Larem in a long, long time.  “Are we done?  If so, I’m out of here.”

Without waiting for an answer, he headed for the gym, intent on working off some anger banging blades with someone, anyone.  A few seconds later both Hunter and Lonzo caught up with him.  He’d rather have been left alone for a few minutes, but couldn’t fault them for trying to show their support.  The least he could do was show his appreciation by bruising them up some.

They walked into the gym and headed straight for the rack of practice weapons.  Larem reached for one of the blades the armorer had recently added to the collection specifically for the Kalith warriors to use.  After a few warm up swings, he stripped off his shirt and faced off against his two friends.

“All right, gentlemen, who wants to bleed first?”

Hunter’s wolfish grin was a mirror reflection of Larem’s own.  With a quick salute the battle was on. 

 

“Look, I know you have your orders.  But you do know that it’s not too late to change your mind, right?”            

It wasn’t a question and they both knew it.  Sasha was used to her father issuing edicts and expecting her to obey them to the letter.  That didn’t mean she liked it, especially when in this case where her father wasn’t the one in charge of her current mission. 

“Yes, Dad, it is.”  She kept her voice level and met his gaze head on.  “I wish you’d accept that.”

Her father sat at his desk, staring at her over his steepled fingers, ready to pounce at the first sign of weakness.  She wasn’t going to back down now just because he wanted her to. 

These days she took her orders from the Board of Regents as a whole, not just him and that did not make him at all happy.  The group oversaw the Paladins and their ongoing mission to protect the world from invasion by the dark forces from the opposite side of an energy barrier.  She’d known about the Paladin’s secret world of death and violence since her early teens, although her knowledge was largely secondhand. 

From the minute she’d graduated from college, Sasha had pushed and prodded, trying to convince her father to let her join the organization.  Finally, another Regent and family friend had intervened on her behalf.  Slowly, she’d worked her way up the ladder, earning the trust and respect of those around her.  Now she was finally going to get the chance to make a difference in how things were done.

Another party entered the conversation from his seat across the room.  “Chaz, lay off the girl.  You know as well as I do that she is well qualified for the job, and she deserves the chance to prove herself.”

Her father didn’t even glance in his old friend’s direction.  “Shut up, George.  She’s my daughter.  That gives me the right to interfere when I think it’s in her best interest.”

“And who’s to decide what’s best for her?  She’s worked long and hard to get this opportunity.  Don’t screw it up for her because you’re not ready to cut the apron strings.  She’s all grown up.  It’s time you realized that.”

 Sasha hid her smile.  George was her honorary uncle and godfather.  He was also one of the few men who could chastise her father and get by with it. 

“I don’t doubt my daughter’s abilities, George.  But as both her father and a Regent, I have some misgivings about what kind of situation we’ll be sending her into.  We both know Kincade made a mess of things.”

George strolled over to perch on the side of her father’s desk.  “You’re thinking he wasn’t working alone.”

“I’m thinking we don’t know.  Neither of you can blame me for not wanting Sasha caught up in any fallout.”

“Oh, Dad, come on.  I’m going to go through files and reestablish some positive communication between the Paladins and the Regents.  Once I’ve got a feel for where things went wrong, I’ll be in contact with the Board with recommendations.  It’s not like I’m expecting to become anyone’s new best friend.”                     

“Yes, well, when it comes to the Paladins, what we expect and what we get are often two different things.” 

She noticed the time and stood up.  “I’d better get going.”

“Do you have everything?”   

Her bags were packed, and she had her one way ticket in hand.  In two short hours, she’d board the plane that would carry her to her new home in Seattle.  The Regents probably intended that her assignment there be only a temporary fact-finding mission.  Certainly that’s what her father wanted, but she had no intentions of returning to St. Louis anytime soon. 

Instead, she planned on proving herself worthy of being the first person of her generation to be appointed as a full-fledged Regent.  For now, that remained her own little secret, a dream she wasn’t about to share with her father even if he probably had his suspicions.  He was already unhappy about her new assignment.  Up until now, her job duties had kept her insulated from actual contact with Paladins and that was about to change. 

He hated the idea.  She couldn’t wait.

“Yes, I have everything I need, Dad.”  She checked her watch again.  “My ride should be here any minute, so I’d better get moving.”

“Report in as soon as you get there.”

She smiled at the gruff worry in her father’s voice.  He might not always show it, but he did love her. 

“I will once I get checked into the hotel.  After that, I’ll stay in touch by e-mail.  I expect to be pretty busy at first, what with getting to know everyone and finding a place to live.”

He rose to his feet and walked around to her side of the desk, probably hoping his superior height would give him the advantage.  “Sasha, I’ve already told you that there’s no need for you to rent an apartment.  A hotel room will suffice for the length of time you will need to assess the situation in Seattle and report back to me—I mean the board.”

They’d been over this same ground again and again, neither one willing to give an inch.  It was time to leave.  She kissed her godfather on the cheek.

“Thanks for everything, Uncle George.  I appreciate everything you did to make this possible.”

"You’re welcome, my dear.  I’m sure you’ll have the Seattle sector whipped into shape in no time.”  Then he winked at her.  “And don’t worry about your father.  I’ll keep an eye on him for you.”

Her dad was not amused.  “Very funny, George.  Go drink some more of my good scotch and stay out of this.”   

Then he followed her to the door still talking.  “Sasha, once we know the situation, the Board can take it from there.  The main thing is to make it clear that we have policies in force for a reason.  Despite everything that’s happened over the past couple of years, we expect those policies to be followed.”

She clenched her teeth.  “Both you and the rest of the Regents have made that perfectly clear.” 

In large part, she agreed with those policies, but sometimes change couldn’t be stopped, only controlled.  Knowing her father’s opinion on the subject, she kept that to herself.  Yes, the Seattle Paladins had stepped out of bounds a few times, but they were still doing the job.  Someone had to go out there and see what was going on, but that someone needed to keep an open mind. 

“Take care, Dad.”  She kissed him on the cheek.  “Don’t worry about me.  I’ll be fine.”

 

Chaz stood at his office window and watched until he saw his daughter climb in a cab on the street ten floors below.  That bright red hair of hers stood out in any crowd.  Damn it, it had been too much to hope that she’d back down.  He was still furious that she’d managed to rally enough support among his peers to get this assignment.  Starting with the man standing beside him.

“George, I really wish you would‘ve stayed out of this.”

His friend shrugged.  “Chaz, you and I both know that she deserves this chance.  We need someone out there that we can trust to do the job right.  Would you rather the Board pick someone else, someone we can’t control?”

Chaz laughed.  “If you think you can control Sasha, especially from two thousand miles away, you have sorely underestimated your influence over her.” 

George clapped him on the shoulder.  “Come on, Chaz, how much trouble can she get into?  We both know Devlin Bane and the rest of the Paladins have no use for number crunchers.  At best, they’ll tolerate her.  At the worst, they’ll ignore her.  Certainly, they won’t trust her.  Meanwhile, we’ve managed to buy ourselves some time to deal with Kincade himself.  We have to find out who else was involved in his shenanigans before we assign a new Regent to that sector.” 

“That’s just the problem, George.  Sasha doesn’t see her assignment to Seattle as a stopgap measure.  She has every intention of doing the job right.”

“Well, then, on that note, I should get back to work.  The sooner we managed to break Kincade, the sooner we can move on.”

 

Chaz waited with George until the elevator arrived.  “Keep me posted on your progress.”

“I will.  Now go relax.  Sasha is fine.” 

Easy for him to say.  Who knew what kind of mess she was walking into out there on the coast?  If only that bastard Kincade had kept his greed under control, things would have turned out differently.  But he hadn’t, leaving everyone else to clean up his mess.  

As he walked back into his office, Chaz considered his options, which were both few in number and limited in scope.  As a last resort, he could fly to Seattle himself, but Sasha would never forgive him for swooping in to take over.  As much as he hated her getting involved even deeper with the day-to-day lives of Paladins, he was proud of her for her single-minded pursuit of her dreams.  If he could avoid crushing them completely, he would.

Having a second pair of eyes on site was the best he could do.  Sasha would report in, but only because she had to and even then only what she was willing...