When she finally tugged on her hand, he smiled and let go. “Enjoy the rest of your day, Miss Willis.”

“I thought we’d gotten beyond the formal stage, Larem.”

“Sasha, then. I’ll see you in a couple of days.” Then he bowed his head slightly before walking away.

Chapter 4

Duke’s day had truly sucked big-time. He hated patrolling the alley outside the Paladins’ headquarters. It was hard enough to be polite to every Paladin who strolled by, but it really burned his ass to put up with those damned Kaliths acting as if they owned the place.

Things had been changing over the past few months and not for the better. Colonel Kincade had had his faults, but at least he’d known the guards were the real heroes around the place. The Paladins fought like madmen, but they could afford to be reckless with their lives. They weren’t playing for keeps, because even if the fuckers were killed they didn’t stay that way. Freaks.

The guards, though, were pure human stock, guaranteed to bleed and die if their wounds were bad enough. That was why the Paladins usually bore the brunt of the fighting, but not always. Sometimes the barrier went down too often or stayed that way too long for the Paladins to handle it all on their own. That was when the guards were thrown into the battle as sword-fodder.

Duke punched out, picked up his gear, and left the building. Home next or a quick stop at the local watering hole for a cold one? No contest.

It didn’t take him long to reach the bar where the guards hung out. He spotted a few of his buddies at a big table on the far side of the room. He signaled the waitress to bring him a microbrew and a burger before weaving his way through the clutter of tables and chairs.

“Hey, Duke, come park your ass over here,” one of them yelled.

He tossed his bag in the corner and pulled up a chair. He knew most of the guys at the table, but the one on his immediate right wasn’t familiar.

He stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Duke. You must be new.”

“I must be,” the guy said after giving Duke’s hand a firm shake. “My name’s Rusty. I just transferred in from California.”

“What brought you up here? From what I’ve heard, the California office is a pretty cushy assignment.”

The guy shrugged, his gaze sliding past Duke as if to see who might be listening before answering. “Seems lately all the action is up here.”

What the hell was that supposed to mean? “I don’t understand.”

Once again, Rusty seemed to hesitate. “I heard rumors about the stuff the Paladins have been pulling up here. Like hanging out with the enemy, arresting the local administrator—you know, stuff. That last one was a shocker for sure. I’d always heard good things about Colonel Kincade.”

He quit talking long enough to stop a passing waitress. He held out a twenty-dollar bill. “Miss, would you bring me and my friend each another beer.”

“Hey, you don’t have to do that,” Duke protested.

“You can buy the next round.” Rusty munched on a handful of pretzels. “So what did you think of him?”

“Who?” Duke asked, although he could guess.

“Kincade.”

Duke wasn’t exactly thrilled with the direction of this conversation. Still, there was no reason not to answer. “The man always gave the guards a fair shake, but he had problems with the Paladins and their pet Others. A couple of months back, they arrested him and shipped his ass back east for the Regents to deal with. No idea what they had on him. Some folks think they faked the charges because he didn’t put up with their crap.”

Duke was one of those folks, but he kept that to himself.

Rusty sneered. “Yeah, I’d heard that, too. I could hardly believe it when I saw a pair of those Others wandering through headquarters all alone. Maybe Kincade had the right of it.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Rusty took a long pull off his beer. “I hear Kincade’s replacement is a woman. Is that true?”

Duke nodded. “Sasha Willis. She seemed nice enough at first.”

Rusty’s eyes lit up with interest. “Something happen to change your mind?”

Okay, maybe Duke should shut up now before he said something he shouldn’t. “Nothing. She’s been real friendly. I just get twitchy when people start poking their noses in our business.”

That much was true, but it was watching her act so friendly to that bastard Larem that had Duke seeing red. Time to change the subject.

“So tell me, Rusty, are you a baseball fan?”

Sasha stared at the door, waiting for a knock that seemed destined never to come. Not that her guests were late, but a lot rested on the success of this meeting. She had so many questions and suspected that if anyone had the answers, it would be Devlin Bane and Dr. Laurel Young.

There was one major problem with the plan. Earlier in the day, she’d discovered some substantial irregularities in the Paladin financial records. Someone had authorized salaries for three additional Paladins, only these particular individuals were apparently phantoms. Their names didn’t appear on any duty rosters, nor had she been able to find any personal information on them.

She clenched her hands until they hurt. Without a doubt they weren’t phantoms at all. No, they had crossed from another world, one that bred crazed killers. Everyone knew the Seattle Paladins were sheltering the bastards, but it had come as a shock that they were using Regent funds.

The whole idea made her furious. How many Paladins had died because of them? Eventually she’d have to confront Devlin with the evidence, but unfortunately, right now she needed his support, as well as that of his wife. Devlin Bane was crucial to maintaining stability in the region. She couldn’t risk exposing the problem—not yet anyway.

The Regents thought the Seattle crowd was unruly now. She could only imagine how bad it would be if she toppled their leader and brought him up on charges of treason and theft. Not that he’d spend a single minute in a civilian jail or courtroom. The only option when it came to a Paladin who was out of control was a lethal injection. The thought made her physically ill.

The long-awaited knock finally came. She drew a calming breath and pasted a smile on her face, hoping it looked more sincere than it felt. Nervous now that the moment was upon her, she wiped her sweaty palms on her slacks and opened the door.

“Devlin, Laurel, please come in.”

As they entered the room, Laurel made no effort to be discreet as she checked out Sasha’s suite. “Nice place.”

“Thanks. It’s still a hotel room, though. I’m looking forward to finding a place of my own.”

Sasha led the way toward the living area. “I haven’t had a chance to look yet, but I hope to squeeze in some time this weekend.”

“So you’re planning on staying in Seattle for a while?” Devlin asked the question as he settled into the corner of the sofa. “I’d gotten the impression you were the scouting expedition and that the Board of Regents would assign someone permanently after you reported back.”

Okay, so he had contacts back in the Midwest that she hadn’t known about. The Regents’ plans for the area were supposed to be a secret.

“I’m hoping they’ll consider assigning me permanently. After all, by the time I’ve finished my assessment, I will know the inner workings of this sector better than any current member of the Regents would. Any other person would have to start over at square one.”

“Makes sense to me, especially if you find you like it here,” Laurel said, frowning. “You know, maybe I could help with your apartment hunt. I own a condo here in town that’s just been cleaned and painted top to bottom. We’d planned to put it up for sale, but I’m in no hurry, especially with the market as poor as it is. It’s even mostly furnished.”

Sasha considered the offer. That would so simplify her life. “If you’re sure, I’d love to see the place.”

Laurel pulled a key ring from her purse and laid it on the coffee table. “When you get a chance, check it out and let me know what you think. We can work out rent and stuff if you like it.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Another knock at the door signaled it was time to play hostess. “I had the hotel prepare some hors d’oeuvres for us and bring up some of my new favorite wine from a local vineyard.”

On her way to the door, Sasha glanced at Devlin. “Unless you’d prefer I sent down for some beer?”

Laurel laughed. “Oh, does she have your number, mister!”

“Very funny, Laurel.” Devlin looked mildly insulted. “Seriously, wine will be just fine.”

For the next half hour, the three of them made small talk. Laurel and Devlin gave Sasha recommendations about restaurants and told her the sights worth seeing around town. Sasha told them about her first visit to the famous Pike Place Market.

“You know, until they started slinging salmon over the counter, I didn’t believe they really threw fish around. I was just glad I wasn’t in the line of fire.” Sasha laughed at the memory and mentioned other shops she’d checked out.

She looked at Devlin. “One of your men was nice enough to suggest whale watching while I’m here.”

The Paladin looked puzzled. “Who was that? I don’t recall any of them mentioning they’d gone. Not that I’d mind if they did. They all deserve more time off than they get.”

“Larem Jones. I ran into him after I left your office the other day. Since he was headed in the same general direction, we stopped for coffee.”

She poured herself another half glass of wine, but that didn’t keep her from noticing the concerned looks exchanged between her guests.

“Oops, did I let the cat out of the bag? If he was AWOL for a day, please don’t let my big mouth cause him problems,” Sasha said.