Dealers of Light (18 page)

“Yes, uh, just tell him I’ll be with him in about ten
minutes, tell him something to keep him there.” Her voice cracked.

“Are you okay?”

“Fine, just tied up right now. Tell him to wait.”

“All right.
I’ll try, but he seems really buggy, like he’s ready to jump out of his skin.”

“Don’t confront him. Just call the police if you need to.”

“Oh, I will, don’t worry.” Rosa hung up.

Cara hoped
Rosa could string the man along until Rolf arrived. She didn’t want the receptionist to confront him and get hurt. Dusty growled by the office door, she tried to pull him back. “
Sit, Dusty.”
But he wouldn’t stop.

Opening her desk drawer, she frantically scrounged the contents and
extracted a letter opener—heavy brass with a unicorn on one end. She hefted it in her hand. It would have to do.

Shouts
erupted, muffled by the door, and she jumped. She dialed Rosa’s number—no answer.
Damn!

A
crash echoed outside her office. That must have been the door between the waiting room and the back area. Oh God, he’d kicked it down. Her heart pounded. Dusty lunged forward, snarling.

A sharp bang and the door vibrated. Cara dr
agged Dusty by the collar and scrambled behind the desk. A second shattering impact and the door splintered inward, sending shards of wood flying. Cara put up an arm to shield her face, and Dusty almost pulled her shoulder from the socket, hurling himself at the Taker who crawled through the jagged opening.

The Taker
stood in the shambles, breathing heavily and glaring at her, hands balled into fists at his sides. She screamed and struggled to hang onto Dusty, staggering back to stay upright. Dear God, the Taker would kill her dog if she let him go. She’d never live with herself if that happened with him protecting her.

Outside,
the office collapsed into an uproar of yelling and screams. A wooden chair crashed into the maniac’s back, but he shrugged off the impact and started toward her.

She
retreated only a few steps until stopped by the bookcase beside her office window. With the letter opener in one hand and holding Dusty by the collar with the other, she faced her attacker.

S
he wouldn’t go down easy.

The man
stomped toward her, his cold, intense gaze fixed on her. “You’re coming with me.”

“
No, I’m not.” She gripped the letter opener until her fingers hurt, and fought to keep her hold on Dusty who still lunged repeatedly, snarling and twisting. 

The Taker stepped within
three feet of her. Dusty reared up and his collar snapped. He leaped at the man, crunching down on his arm when it lifted in a blocking gesture. The attacker slung his arm backward, sending Dusty in a spinning arc toward the door. Then the Taker came for her.

He launched himself
, hands stretched toward her neck. Cara bent her knees and thrust out with the letter opener. It caught him in the shoulder and stopped him only a few seconds. He chuckled, grabbed the weapon and tossed it away. He rushed her again and grabbed her neck with both hands. She brought her arms up between his then thrust them out to the sides as Tor had taught them, which broke the hold. She jerked a knee up, slamming into his groin.

He groaned but lashed out with a blow
, a ring on his finger grazing her cheek.  She stumbled into the bookshelf, putting her hand to her throbbing cheek.Holding his crotch, he moaned, but managed another attack.  Dusty recovered and attacked the man from the rear, chomping down on an ankle. Cara leaped over her desk and crashed into the wall. A searing pain ripped though her skull. Metallic tasting blood seeped into her mouth, and she put a hand against her jaw. The man scrambled over the scraped top of her desk with Dusty hanging on his right leg by the teeth.

The Taker
reached down to wrap his hands around her neck again, jerking her to her feet. She punched him in the stomach but his hold did not loosen. Darkness shaded her vision. She gasped for breath and clawed at his forearms. Suddenly, the man lifted up from behind, and his hands dropped from her neck. She doubled over, spent, and gasping for air.

Rolf
tossed the man across the room. He crashed against the wall but landed on his feet. Shards of wood and plaster rained down around him. He stood and faced Rolf, eyes wide then the Taker stepped to the side and, without a pause, dove through Cara’s closed window. Glass and wood shards flew about the room at his abrupt exit. Rolf ran to the window. Dusty came over to Cara and licked her face. She pulled herself up on one elbow, but a shooting pain in her shoulder stopped her movement. Her throat ached.
Bastards
. Why did they always have to choke her?

Sirens
blared and, a minute later, several policemen rushed into the room. The clinic staff gathered outside her door, peering in past the policemen. One of the cops put a hand under her elbow to help her stand then Rolf was at her side, his arm circling her waist.

“Are you hurt?” Rolf
’s voice surprised her with its gentleness.

“Not sure yet.”
She rubbed her left shoulder and gingerly lifted her arm in the air.

“We’ll call an ambulance,” one of the policemen said and
put a hand to the radio clipped to his shoulder.

“No!” Cara pointed at him. “No ambulance.”

“Are you sure? Seems like you got pretty knocked around.”

“I’m fine. I don’t want to go to the hospital.”

He eyed her skeptically. “Can you tell us what happened?”

“Some guy broke in here and demanded to see me. When the receptionist told him to wait, he went berserk and started breaking down doors
then he attacked me.”

“Did you know him?” the other cop asked.

She hesitated, then said in a firm voice, “No, I didn’t know him.” She turned, searching the room. “Oh God, Dusty. Is he all right?” Her dog was by the door, the sweet pooch. Her protector. She held out her hands and he edged forward, panting and staring at her. She put her arms around him, nuzzling his furry neck, and kissed his head. “My hero.”

“
Come sit down.” Rolf guided her to the only chair that survived the attack.

“Are you sure you don’t need an ambulance, ma’am?” the policeman asked.

“I’m not going to the hospital,” she said. Geez, she’d be a sitting duck there. She had to get away from here. Anxiety welled in her chest. She squeezed her shaking hands together in her lap.

“We
need a little more information.” The policeman scribbled in his notebook. “Can you give us a description of the man?”

She
recited as much information as she remembered. “Rosa saw him, too. You should get her input on his appearance.”

The police rambled
through the clinic, surveying the damage and interviewing the staff. Cara lifted a hand to Rolf.

“Get me out of here,” she whispered. “Please.”

He nodded and lifted her, his strong arm banding her shoulders. Dusty followed. Bless him, Rolf said all the right things and, after promising to come to police headquarters if any further information was needed, they were allowed to leave. He escorted her to his car and, a few seconds later, she lost consciousness.

###

“Cara?” Anxiety squeezed Rolf’s chest as he looked down at Cara in the bed of his spare bedroom. The pressure was unlike any he had experienced, except what he’d felt for Sakhet. Fear Cara had been seriously hurt by the Taker ate at his insides with bitter echoes of the past. He would find the bastards and rip out their black hearts.

“Cara?”
He reached out and touched her cheek, reveling in the velvety texture beneath his fingers. Gods, he wanted to take her in his arms.

She blinked several times until her eyes focused and found him. Dusty lay beside her on the bed and crawled up to lick her face when
she moved. She rested her fingers in his fur.

“How are you?”
Rolf asked, voice constricted.

“I’m not sure
.” She held out a hand. “Help me up.”

He put an arm under her shoulders and lifted
as she struggled to rise to a sitting position.

“
Aww
,” she moaned.

Rolf sat on the side of the bed with one arm
around her shoulders to support her. She pressed her fingers to her temple and touched bandages at different places all over her face. She groaned as her finger traced the contours of her cheeks and forehead.

“I think you should lie down
.” Rolf eased her to the pillow.

“You’re right. I feel horrible.” She closed her eyes.
“And a little nauseated.”

“I really should take you to the hospital, but I’m afraid the Takers
might find you. You have to tell me if you think it's necessary. I can only do so much for you.”

“No, you’re right. I don’t want to go to the hospital. I’ll be fine. Just let me stay here a while.
Could I get an ice-pack for my head and, um, some Ginger Ale?”

“Of course, but I want to help you
. Will you give me your permission?” He waited for her to nod, then put his fingers on the back of her neck. A gentle flow of Light filtered through his fingertips and the crease on her brow eased. “Better?” His hand lingered, luxuriating in the softness of her skin.

“I think I’ll live now.” She gave him a half-smile
and sank deeper into the bed. “Oh, please call Amber. Tor will have heard about the clinic on the radio. They’ll be frantic.”

“I will. Just relax.” He left the room and went downstairs to find Sean so he
could get her some ice and the soda, but his man must still be out at the Taker’s house.

Cara’s condition alarmed Rolf
. She’d taken quite a beating before he arrived. It was astonishing the Takers would make such a bold move to attack her so openly. They must be concerned she had witnessed the attack on Nicki and survived. But why?

He called Amber
to assure her Cara was going to be okay and would stay with him tonight. He promised to have her call first thing in the morning.

He rambled through the refrigerator and found a two-liter bottle of ginger ale and poured some in a glass. Next
, he opened several drawers and located the zip-lock bags. He filled one with ice and carried both glass and bag down the hall.

Sean came in the front door as Rolf crossed the foyer.

“Sean, I’m glad you’re back. How did it go?”

“Sir, w
e successfully hacked into the Broadband cable and I downloaded everything on the four computers there.” Sean took the bag from his shoulder. “Your friend did a good job keeping the cops away. We had no interference.”

“Four
computers?”

“Yes, whoever is working with Desmond is very techno-sav
vy. Something big is going on.”

“Will they be able to detect your interference?”

“No, sir.” Sean gave him a confident grin. “I’m even
more
techno-savvy.”

“Very well,” Rolf said. “Get on it immediately. I’ll meet you in the control room in five minutes.”

Sean hurried away. Rolf climbed the sweeping stairs to the second floor and entered Cara’s room.

“Here you go.” He handed the pack to
her. She placed it on her face, then took the glass and drank.

“Thanks
, I’m pretty sure ginger ale is the nectar of the gods. Just what I needed. Your Light helped a lot, by the way.”

“Cara, listen,
my man Sean just came back.” He sat on the side of the bed. She motioned with one hand for him to go ahead. “Will you be all right while I see what’s been uncovered?”

She nodded and put the pack on her face, her voice muffled beneath it. “I’m okay.
Let me know what he found.”

“I will.” Rolf
pulled the covers up to her chest. Despite the bruises and bandages, he still wanted to gather her in his arms. But he had to resist, the news Sean uncovered couldn’t wait.

Sean
was busy in the control room, typing and focused on the screen before him. Rolf glanced at the video monitors viewing the perimeter of his house.

“We hit the jackpot, sir. I’ve got the entire hard dr
ive files along with most of the temporary files as well.”

“
That’s good.” A swell of relief coursed through Rolf. They would soon know Desmond’s plans. 

Sean’s fingers flew over the keyboard.
“Yes, and it wasn’t easy hacking through all the security measures.” 

“How soon until you know what’s on them?”

“Give me twenty-four hours. I didn’t know they were encrypted until I opened up the files. I’ll need time to break it.”

“Very well. We need to know what they hope to accomplish as soon as possible.”