Shadow of My Heart

chapter Seven



“Did I hear someone at the door?” Cara asked sleepily as Raven rolled her off his chest and slipped off the bed.

“It’s my brother. I’ll get it,” Raven said, pulling the covers up over Cara and kissing her on the forehead. “Just rest, while I see what the problem is.”

When Raven walked into the front room, he was surprised to see Derek waiting for him. He must have Shadow-walked through the door.

“I’m sorry to bother you. I know this is a bad time. But Fred Black has been murdered. Joe wants you to come back to the office.”

“Fred? The security guard?”

“He’s the one. His only family is a sister in New York City. I think he was killed checking out Amanda’s apartment. Joe will fill you in when you get back.”

“Raven?” Cara called, walking into the living room while tying the belt on her robe. She paused as soon as she saw Derek.

“You remember my brother, Derek?” Raven said, running a hand through his hair. “He came to tell me one of our security people has been killed. I don’t want to leave you, tehila. But I have to go take care of this.”

“Of course,” Cara answered with a shudder. “You should go.”

“I’ll make it as quick as I can. If you’re feeling better, we can go to dinner. I made reservations for us at Toni’s on the pier at eight o’clock.”

“That would be nice. Are you sure you will be back by then?” She sniffled. Her eyes watered, and she brushed her hand quickly across her eyes. Was she crying?

“I’ll call you if I’m going to be delayed. Don’t look at me like that, Cara, or I won’t be able to leave you,” Raven said, crossing over to her side and taking her into his arms. He kissed the top of her head. “I’ll be back before you know it. Derek, stay with Cara. I don’t want her to be alone right now.”

“That’s not necessary, Raven. I’m feeling much better,” Cara said.

“He’ll feel better if you let me stay. Might as well deal with it. Besides we can get to know each other a little better. We are going to be family,” Derek said, winking and giving Cara one of his charismatic smiles.

“It’s true, tehila. I’ll be much quicker if I am not concerned about you while I’m gone. I know Derek can be trying, but please let him stay with you,” Raven encouraged her.

Cara looked up at Raven, then over at Derek. How could she resist them with their dark good looks and charming smiles? Besides, she knew Derek would watch her from Shadow if she refused. Shaking her head, she gave in gracefully. “Okay, you win. Derek can stay.”

Raven kissed her hard, then walked into the shadows in the corner of her living room and disappeared.

“I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that. The disappearing act makes me think I’m going out of my mind,” Cara admitted, grabbing a tissue off the table and wiping her nose.

“You should go back to bed. Raven will get mad at me if you have a relapse.”

“That’s silly. Besides, I would like to get to know you,” Cara said, curling up in her favorite wingback chair. “Let’s sit and have a chat. I haven’t seen you since that night at the awards banquet. Who is the new girl de jour?

“Not you, too. The playboy thing is just an act, you know, part of my cover,” Derek said, sitting across from her on the loveseat.

“Really? It seems to bother Raven quite a bit.”

“Yeah, well, he needs to get a life and loosen up some. I think being with you is helping with that.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Can I get you a cup of tea or something?”

“I’ll get it. Here, cover up,” Derek said, handing her the lap quilt that was lying on the back of the loveseat. Then, he walked into the kitchen and grabbed two cups out of the cabinet. Cara felt slightly bemused at how caring and take-charge the two brothers were. Did they know how much alike they acted?

The tea was soon made, and Derek handed her a warm cup. She blew on it absently as he settled back on the loveseat with his own cup.

“You and Raven are very much alike. Why does he always seem so upset at you?”

“It all started with a prophecy our foster father had,” Derek said. “Isanti Quiet Thunder is our tribal shaman, and he has mentored us in Shadow-walking since we were young. I think Raven was fifteen or so when Isanti got sick. He had a high fever, and we were all afraid that he might die. He was hallucinating, out of his head, if you ask me. Raven and I brought him water and food, though he didn’t eat. The only way to get the water into him was to dribble it into his mouth while we wiped him down. On the third night, he suddenly sat up in bed and pointed at Raven. You are the beginning, he said. You will find the woman who will lead the others in our tribe to their true mates. If you fail, the Shadow-walkers will pass into legend. Scared the shit out of me. Oh, sorry about the language.”

“What did he mean, exactly?”

“Hell, if I know. But Raven took the words to heart. He wouldn’t even look at a woman for the longest time. I’m not sure he isn’t a virgin.”

“I don’t think . . . that is, he seemed experienced. Uhm . . .” Cara stammered, feeling her face warm.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“I’m not embarrassed.”

“Cara, your face is bright red,” Derek said, chuckling. “What I was trying to explain is that the prophecy messed with Raven’s mind. The future of the tribe is dependent on him. He takes responsibility for everything that involves the tribe. What’s worse is everyone lets him. Why should they worry, when Raven will do it for them? Our foster father gave him Isanti, Inc. He is in charge of everything and everyone.”

“That seems like an awful lot to heap on one person.”

“Exactly. Don’t get me wrong. Raven is honest to a fault. He didn’t even take a salary until we all insisted. He needs to relax, have some fun. Take a vacation. You can show him how.”

“Me?”

“Cara, he needs you. I guess we all do. You are the answer to the prophecy.”

“I think you’re being a little melodramatic, don’t you?”

“Maybe,” Derek said, shrugging his shoulders. “So what are you going to wear to your special dinner tonight?”

“What am I going to wear?”

“Well, it’s a special night. You want to look good, right? Do you have another dress like that slinky red one you wore to the awards banquet?”

“Well, I did go shopping last week.”

“What did you buy? Come on, spill.”

Cara smiled conspiratorially. “I’ll guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”



§



Raven walked out of Shadow and into his office, rubbing his arms to help warm up. He had forgotten his coat at Cara’s. Joe was already in the office, waiting for him with a cup of coffee in his hand.

“Here,” he said, pushing the mug into Raven’s hands. “I figured you would need to warm up some.”

“What is this about Fred being killed?” Raven asked, in a hurry to get back to Cara and his proposal.

“His body was found in the park next to Amanda’s apartment. He was shot in the heart at point-blank range.”

“Amanda Patterson’s apartment? Was she there at the time?”

“No, Amanda had been picked up by the local police about an hour before the shooting, giving her a sound alibi. But it could have been one of Adar’s group, probably cleaning up loose ends. David Lear was found dead in his apartment this evening. Our best guess is that one of the terrorists saw Fred at Amanda’s apartment, and when they couldn’t find her, they followed him into the park and killed him.”

“Such a waste,” Raven said, shaking his head. “Why was Fred at Amanda’s apartment? Did you send him to pick something up?” Raven could tell that Joe was deeply upset. He kept running his hand over his shorn head. Was Joe blaming himself over Fred’s death?

“No. I’m not sure why Fred would have gone over there,” Joe said. “Maybe he wanted to talk to her before the police arrived to arrest her. I know he felt bad about her going to jail. Blamed himself about not stepping in and stopping her before she sold the picture of Cara. Fred was like that, trying to save everyone, even from themselves. The police want us to come over and make a statement. Let’s go, so you can get back to Cara.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Joe. You can’t save everybody. Cara knows I had to come.”

“Fred was a good man. He deserved better than this.”

“Did he have family?” Didn’t Derek mention a sister?

“It was just him and his little sister. He wanted to bring her out to New Mexico for an interview. He talked about her all the time, wanted to get her out of the security business. He said she was a whiz with the computer. I told him to have her interview with Isanti, Inc. He was going to talk to her about it when he went back to New York for a visit. Now, he’ll be going back in a box.” Joe did blame himself. He really liked Fred. Raven motioned toward the door and followed Joe into the hallway.

“Has his sister been told? Raven said, hitting the elevator call button. “Check up on the girl. See if there is anything we can do. I hate to think Fred’s job here at Isanti got him killed.”

“The police should have already informed her of his death,” Joe said as the elevator bell dinged, signaling its arrival. “Fred would tell you it was part of being in security. His father and uncle were both on the New York City police force. Both killed while on duty.”

As the door opened, Raven followed Joe inside and hit the button for the parking garage.



§



Cara was in the bathroom, just finishing the final step in getting ready, a mist of her favorite fragrance, when there was a knock at the door.

“Can you get that, Derek? I’ll be right out.”

Cara hurried into the front room to find Derek fighting with one man, while four others were rushing into the room.

Cara stood there a moment frozen and unsure what to do. Where was her cell phone? She had left it on the kitchen table while getting ready. Knowing she needed to call for help, Cara turned to run over to the table. She reached the phone just as one of the men grabbed her. The phone slipped from her fingers and fell to the floor. She was about to dive under the table to get it when she saw one of the men by the door aiming his gun at Derek’s head. Grabbing the vase of roses off the table, she launched it at the man’s head, while yelling out a warning.

“Derek, he has a gun.”

The gun went off, but Cara couldn’t tell if Derek was hit. She heard him groan and was afraid he was wounded.

The man who had knocked the cell phone out of her hand grabbed her arm. As she struggled to get away, a second man with a scar running down his face grabbed her by the other arm. She continued to struggle, but the sounds of fighting behind her had stopped. Was Derek dead? Were these the terrorists Raven had warned her about?

She turned to see a man with black hair who appeared to be the leader giving orders to the other two men in the room. The two men rushed out the door. Derek was nowhere to be seen. At least, he wasn’t lying on the floor dead.

Cara tried to wrench her arms out of her captor’s hands, but they only held her more tightly. The man giving the orders walked up to her and grabbed her by the jaw, turning her face to him.

“Lovely,” he said, the first word she had heard uttered in English.

“You, bastard,” Cara shouted, kicking him in the groin with her four-inch stiletto heel.

The man yelled out a barrage of words Cara assumed were obscenities. Then, he punched her, hitting her across the cheek. Her neck snapped back, and darkness overcame her.



§



Cara’s scream echoed in Raven’s head. He and Joe had just arrived back in his office from the police department. He was sinking to the floor, holding his head when he felt Derek get shot in the shoulder. Then, he was seeing out of Cara’s eyes.

He felt her fear, anger, and rage rush through him. He heard Cara yell at the man Raven knew to be Faheed Adar, and then he felt the pain of the blow and blackness as Cara fell unconscious.

Raven almost blacked out himself, but he fought to stay conscious. He had to get to Cara. Joe rushed over to Raven and helped him to a chair.

“Sit a minute,” Joe said. “You need to recover before you can act.”

“They have her, Joe,” Raven said in a cold fury. “Adar hit her.”

“Derek?” Joe asked.

Raven reached out to Derek. He could feel his brother’s pain as his own, but Derek was alive. “Knife wound in the back, bullet wound to the shoulder.”

Sorry, Bro, Derek sent telepathically. There were too many for me to stop them from taking her, but I am following in Shadow.

Raven started barking orders. “I want five men, armed, and in my office in ten minutes. Have Rick ready the infirmary. Derek is losing a lot of blood, and I don’t know what they’ve done to Cara. I can sense her, but she is unconscious, and I can’t connect. Get everybody ready to walk Shadow. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Raven rushed down the hall to his private suite. He pulled on a black-leather pants and top. The pants had places to hold the knives, mini cross bow, twelve bolts, and other supplies that Raven quickly grabbed. The knives and bolts had obsidian blades and tips with handles made of bone. Raven tied his hair back with another leather tie and rushed back to his office.

He was glad to see Joe and the men waiting for him when he walked in. He reached out to Derek. Where?

They are heading north on the Pacific Coast Highway. If you come in at LAX, you can get cars and follow from there.

How are you holding up? Raven asked.

Hurts like hell. Losing a lot of blood. Better hurry, sent Derek

Raven, Joe, and the five warriors Shadow-walked onto LAX property. They had flown ops out of LAX before and knew the best places to Shadow-walk in and out. Raven had arranged to have two SUV’s waiting for them. Two cars driven by Counter Terrorism Los Angeles pulled up as the group walked out of the hanger. They all climbed in.

Derek? called Raven.

They just pulled into a warehouse on 96th street. It’s set back from the street. I’ll meet you at the side door.

Cara woke, lying on a cold cement floor. Her body ached in too many places to count. How long had she been here? Her hands and feet were tied with what felt like wire wraps that were cutting into her skin. Someone had placed a black cloth bag over her head.

Her head hurt terribly, and she could feel a split in her lip. Her one eye seemed to be swelling shut. She couldn’t get it to open all the way. She hurt so badly that a moan escaped her lips.

“So the Bitch awakes,” said a voice.

A swift kick was delivered to her ribs. She cried out in pain and anger. What kind of person would kick a bound woman?

“Azeem, get the camera ready,” said the voice.

Then, rough hands grabbed her and held her up. She was having a hard time keeping her feet under her. She must have lost her shoes in the struggle because her stocking feet slipped on the cold cement. The smell of unwashed bodies and cigarettes made her stomach roll and nausea threatened to overtake her.

“Put her down on the table,” said the voice again.

Then, she was lying on a metal table with her knees hanging off. Hands were holding her still, and suddenly the bag was ripped off her head. She blinked, looking up into the face of her captor. He looked at her once, then turned to a man holding a video camera.

“Are you ready, Azeem?”

The man nodded in reply. “Excellent.”

Her captor turned back to her.

“I am Faheed Adar, and the men of Isanti, Inc., are my enemies. I am going to show them that they are no longer safe from my wrath, that their women and children are not safe, and I’m going to start with you.”

He pulled a knife from his belt and studied her for a moment. Cara stiffened in dread. Was she about to die?

“Now, beg for your life,” he said, running his thumb along the blade of the knife.

Cara had to stall for time. Raven was close. She could somehow feel him nearby.

“You’re a monster,” she answered.

“You American women display yourselves like whores in the market place,” he said, using his knife to push her dress up. “In my country, women can be punished for this. Should I punish you?”

Cara started to struggle. She had to get away. This man was a lunatic.

“Hold her you fools. Doran,” Adar shouted at one of his men.

The man with the scar ran up to help the first. They had pulled her hands above her head, and each man had grabbed one of her legs, pulling her thighs apart with bruising force. Then, Adar grabbed at the rip in her dress and pulled it apart up to her armpits. Cara whimpered. She couldn’t help it. Biting her lip, she tried to quiet her terror.

“What?” Adar said. “No, begging? You Americans are so arrogant.” He reached out and cut through first one side of her panties and then the other. “Of course, begging will not save you.” He continued dragging the knife down the inside of her thigh, cutting her on the way down. Her breath hissed with the sting and feel of warm blood running down her skin.

“But Allah will forgive me for falling under your spell,” he said as he put the knife back into its sheath. He reached for his pants and started to lower his zipper. He pushed his pants down and held his shaft up for her to admire.

“See what Allah has blessed me with, and think what a pleasure it will be to take me into your body. The last pleasure of your life.”

Adar laughed and nodded to his men.

Cara continued to struggle. She would not accept this as her fate. She watched in horror as Adar grabbed her thighs and pulled her close to the end of the table.

Just then, Raven appeared from out of Shadow behind Adar. He grabbed him around the neck and twisted. The sound of breaking bones was loud in the room. Then, he threw Adar to the side.

“Nobody touches my mate.”

Before Cara could blink, more men appeared out of the shadows. A knife flew through the air and into the heart of the man on her right and then Raven shot the man holding her on the left side with his crossbow before he scooped her off the table and headed for a door.

“Finish up here,” he said to Joe.

Everything went dark and cold. Raven had Shadow-walked. They came out into the infirmary in New Mexico. Cara recognized it from the last time she had been here.

Raven’s heart had almost stopped when he had seen what Adar was up to. He struggled with having Cara’s terror in his head. But his rage helped him put that aside. What did Cara think of him now that she knew he was a killer?

Cara arrived naked in his arms at the infirmary. Her clothes had not been made with all-natural fibers. She was shivering, and Raven feared it was from shock.

Dr. Rick walked in, wiping blood off his hands from working on Derek’s shoulder. So Raven grabbed a sheet and wrapped it around Cara. He sat down, holding her in his lap.

She hadn’t spoken yet, and Raven felt a stab of fear. Had he lost her? Was she now sorry to have ever met him?

Tears were coursing down her face. He held her gently. He could feel the pain in her face and ribs coming through their telepathic bond. The cut on her thigh was throbbing.

Rage at being powerless to help her overwhelmed him. But he pushed it away. That’s not what she needed from him.

He rocked her gently, kissing her lightly on the face and eye. Just then, Dr. Rick came over.

“Put her on one of the beds, Raven,” he said.

“Oh, Raven,” Cara cried out and grabbed his shirt.

He looked at Rick and continued to hold Cara, still soothing her. She’s in shock, Rick, Raven sent mentally.

“Hush, love,” he whispered to her. “I am here, darling. You are safe now.”

Cara just held onto him and cried, burying her face in his shirt.

“You’re breaking my heart, Cara,” Raven said. “Please, tehila, I have you now.”

Rick came up with a syringe in his hand. He patted Cara on the shoulder, trying to get her attention.

“Miss Hamilton,” he said. “I’m Dr. Rick, and I’m going to give you a shot. It’s going to make you sleepy. But don’t worry. You’ll feel better when you wake up.”

“No!” Cara cried out. “Raven.”

“Listen to me, Cara,” Raven said, pushing all his love telepathically into her mind. “I want you to let Rick help you.”

“Don’t leave me,” she whimpered.

“I’ll be right here. Now, Dr. Rick is going to give you the shot. Are you ready?” he asked softly, still sending her love and encouragement through their link.

Cara nodded her head. She felt the needle go into her arm. How she hated that! Then, she felt herself getting sleepy. She fought it. Dark was a scary place. She could hear Raven telling her it was all right. His voice kept getting fainter.

Finally, she was asleep. Raven very reluctantly placed Cara on the bed. Rick was already bringing in equipment and bandages. Cara wasn’t letting go of Raven even in her sleep. Raven kissed her hands and gently untangled them from his shirt. He continued to hold her right hand. Touching him seemed to comfort her, and if he would admit it, her touch helped him too.

Dr. Rick began his examination. He rolled in a portable x-ray machine. Taking pictures of her ribs, he reported they were bruised but not broken. Next, he cleaned her cuts and put butterfly stitches on them. When he was finally done, he turned to Raven.

“You should go get some rest. She should feel much better in the morning.”

“I’m not leaving her. I don’t want her to wake up and be alone.”

“You aren’t going to do her any good exhausted,” Rick started to argue. But seeing the look on Raven’s face must have convinced him it was a lost cause. “Very well. I’ll have a cot brought in.”

“Don’t bother, Rick. I won’t be using it. How’s my brother doing?”

“He’ll survive with some rest. No gallivanting around or going on missions until I clear him for duty.”

“I’m sure he’ll enjoy the nurses fawning on him.”

“How is she?” Joe asked from the door. “All the men are back, and except for a few bruises, everyone is fine. Here is your father’s knife. I destroyed the video camera, and except for the outside guard, all of Adar’s men were taken out. I was tempted to keep the footage of Adar dying with his pants down. But I figured you would want all the images destroyed.”

“You figured right. Cara is sleeping, and both she and Derek will mend with some rest,” Raven said, standing and grabbing his friend by the forearm. “I need you to hold down the fort until Cara is well. I’ll be glued to her side for now. Order a cleaning crew to take care of her apartment, and can you fetch my coat and some clothes for her? I want her to be comfortable when she wakes up.”

“You got it, Boss. Are you all right? You look like shit.”

“I almost lost her, and I still might. She was terrified. I felt it. I don’t know how she’s going to react.”

“You came for her,” Joe said. “She can feel us even when in Shadow. She knew you were going to save her.”

“Gentlemen, Cara needs to rest. I suggest you finish this discussion another time or in another place,” Dr. Rick chimed in.

“We hear you, Rick. Give her time, Raven. I’ll see you later,” Joe said, heading out the door. Dr. Rick followed him and shut the door behind them.

Raven got up and shut off the lights, before stripping off his shirt and pants. Then, he pulled down the sheet and climbed into the bed, slowly drawing Cara into his arms. She snuggled closer and sighed contentedly as he covered them both.

“I’m not letting you go, tehila,” he whispered to her.