Love in the Shadows Read Online Free Page A

“Disconnect, Katherine. I’m speaking with him
now. I’m helping him. You have to stay out of his mind. He won’t
let me help him if he feels you. Let me help him. Let me get a fix,
so we can save him.”
    Katherine nodded. She would do anything
to help Derek. She pulled herself up and leaned against the
wall.
    Raven knelt on the floor. Cara crouched
above him as if to shield him. His long black hair came undone and
swept forward, hiding his face. Black hair like Derek’s. Oh, how
Katherine missed him. Tears trickled down her cheeks. He was hurt,
and she couldn’t help him.
    Don’t cry, not over me.
Please don’t cry, Katie.
    Derek? Are you okay? What’s
going on? I felt a knife cutting you.
    I didn’t want you to feel
any pain. I’m so sorry, honey.
    Don’t be ridiculous. I want
to be with you. I need you, Derek.
    You don’t know how happy
that makes me. I need to shut our link down now. I love you,
Katherine.
    Katherine felt the beginning of what
seemed like someone crushing her hand. She gasped, and then it was
gone and so was Derek. Raven stood looking at her, a worried frown
on his face. Cara stood next to him, one arm wrapped around his
waist.
    “I know where he is, and the plane is
leaving within the hour. Unfortunately, Derek is in an area where
we’ve never been. So we can’t shadow-walk in. We’ll get him back.
You can count on it.”
    “I want to go. I want to help him. Let
me go with the team.”
    “Katherine, you can’t walk into Shadow
by yourself. I’m afraid you would be a liability to the team. I
can’t let you take the risk. Not when we could lose both of
you.”
    “Please, Raven. I can’t stay here, safe
and sound, while he’s hurt. Please let me go to him.” Is this what
Derek felt was his duty, this overwhelming need to save
everyone?
    “We don’t know what the situation is
down there, or who is holding him prisoner. I know you want to
help, but you have no training. Derek wouldn’t thank me for putting
you in danger.”
    “Dammit, I’m not stupid. I can follow
orders, and I’m not made of glass. If you don’t let me go with your
team, then I will go on my own. I will not be left behind, not when
Derek is in trouble.”
    Cara reached up and whispered in
Raven’s ear. He didn’t look happy about what she said. He nodded
grudgingly.
    “All right, report to Joseph Running
Bear. He’ll be the team lead. But if he tells me that you are
causing problems, I will authorize him to put you on the next plane
home— with or without your permission.”
    Katherine couldn’t believe he changed
his mind. Raven wasn’t just the CEO, he was the chief of the tribe.
For him to back down was huge. She gave Raven and Cara a quick hug
and started to hurry down the hallway to the elevator.
    “Katherine,” Raven said, causing her to
pause and turn back. “Be careful, we love you, too.”
    She waved and continued on her way.
These people were more than her employers and friends. They were
her family. She would help get Derek out of whatever mess he was
in. Bring him home and plan a big wedding. It was time to claim her
life back, and part of that meant saving her man.

Chapter Two
     
    Derek struggled to think clearly. There
was too much light. He remembered checking out of his motel and
going to the bar in town for lunch. He had planned to shadow-walk
back to Isanti, Inc. Then, that French woman Colette offered to buy
him a drink.
    When he started to feel bad, she
offered to help him to his hotel. Derek tried to tell her he had
checked out. Then everything went dark.
    Now, he was trying to come out of the
haze. The emptiness in his stomach told him lunch had long passed.
His vision cleared, and he saw two large lights like those in an
operating room shining down on him. He lay on a table, his hands
and feet manacled with large metal straps.
    Derek tugged at them,
testing their strength. They were thick, and he succeeded only in
cutting himself. There were no shadows for him to escape