Iris Johansen - Dark Summer

"Good percentage, isn't it? Good enough to convince my superiors that Marrok and his dogs of summer were worth the investment."

Marrok smiled sardonically. "But not without an immediate payback."

"Not quite immediate. And you couldn't expect us to fund you without receiving something in return."

"No, I didn't expect that." He turned back to Devon. "You've gotten practically no sleep in the past twenty-four hours. Why don't you go inside and try to catch a nap?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Yes. I have to talk to Lincoln, and you don't need to hear it. As Lincoln said, you're bitter enough about being involved without getting in any deeper."

Bitter? Of course she was bitter. Yet she found she didn't like the idea of being sent away like an outsider.

But what else was she but an outsider? Her heart was touched by those dogs, but they weren't her problem. Marrok certainly wasn't her problem.

"You can't help, Devon." Marrok's gaze was on her face. "And once you get a little rest and get your balance back, you'll not want to help."

"I didn't say I wanted to help." She turned and started up the porch steps. "And I wouldn't be interested in anything the two of you are going to say to each other. I'll call and talk to Nick and let him know that everything is okay."

"And take a nap."

"If I feel like it." She closed the screen door behind her. She wouldn't look back at the two men. Close them out. She'd make her call, then lie down and block all this craziness from her mind. She was dialing Nick as she walked toward the bedroom.

"How are you?" she asked when he picked up.

"Fine. Did you get the computer?"

"No. Things didn't go well." That was an understatement. That moment when she'd stared down at that chalked outline on the floor of the clinic seemed a long time ago. "And they may get worse."

"For us?"

"I don't think so. Marrok has changed his mind. He doesn't want us here."

"And that's what you wanted. When?"

"Soon. Is Janet okay?"

"Sure. She's alternating between being belligerent and following her natural instincts and trying to run the place."

"Gracie?"

"Missing you. But she loves everyone. She's getting along just fine."

"Good. I'll be down to see you as soon as I get a little sleep. Bye, Nick."

"Devon, you sound… Why don't I come up there, and we'll talk?"

"Thanks. But I don't need a shoulder to lean on. I've just been hit in the face with something that's pretty strange. I have to decide whether to accept it." But she'd already accepted it, she realized. That moment of shock following Lincoln's almost casual statement had broken through the haze of bewilderment that had enveloped her. There might still be moments of disbelief and doubt. She would never be entirely certain until she was a witness herself. But she had accepted the possibility, and she couldn't turn her back on that knowledge. "I'll talk to you later, Nick." She hung up.

She moved slowly toward the bed. If she had accepted that there was such a panacea as shi'i'go and it had been somehow transferred to Ned and the other dogs, then it could change everything. The potential was enormous and a little scary.

Try walking in my shoes , Marrok had said. Yes, she could see how difficult and conflicted it would be for him. So many irons in the fire, so many ways he was being pulled. Responsibility for the panacea, revenge for the death of his friend, protectiveness toward the dogs, determination to keep Danner from gaining control. How would she have balanced all those elements not for a few days but years? Probably not the way Marrok had handled it. Marrok's instincts leaned toward reckless violence and she had always been reasonable and logical.

But she had not been behaving reasonably and logically since Marrok had entered her life. She had made impulsive decisions and been driven by emotion. She had not only wanted to keep others from being killed by Danner, she had wanted revenge for her friends who had been murdered. Marrok had remarked on her gentleness, but where was the gentleness in that? The answer was plain.

She was walking in Marrok's footsteps and discovering things about herself that she had never known.

NINEtwenty…

She had slept for hours, Devon realized drowsily. The room was dark except for the pale moonlight streaming through the window. She had been too on edge to go to sleep immediately, her mind had been in turmoil and her emotions stretched to the limit. Sheer exhaustion had finally prevailed.

And she felt better now, calmer, more able to manage this horror of a situation. God help her, she'd better be able to cope. She felt as if she'd been more of a sounding board than an active player. That had to stop.

She sat up in bed and swung her feet to the floor. Take a shower, dress, and grab a sandwich from the refrigerator. Then she'd be ready to deal with Marrok.

But Marrok didn't seem to be around to be dealt with. The house appeared to be empty. Where the hell was he? She'd try the bunkhouse. She wanted to see Nick and Janet anyway. After eating a ham sandwich and drinking a glass of milk, she went out on the porch.

"Sleeping beauty is awake at last." Lincoln was standing at the far end of the porch. "Rest well?"

"Yes." She said. "But I'm no beauty, and this is no fairy tale."

"I beg to differ. You're not my type, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it's obvious that Marrok finds you very attractive." He tilted his head. "I can see how he'd be drawn to you. The rule of opposites."

"Where is Marrok?"

"He took off with Walt Franks several hours ago. I think he's checking up on his canine charges."

"Don't you know?"

"Marrok keeps me as much in the dark as possible. I believe the dogs may be scattered within a few hundred miles' radius but that's all." He smiled. "And Marrok is exceptionally good at making sure I remain in ignorance. I can't tell you how often I've tried to bug his helicopter or car. He's always found me out."

"No wonder he doesn't trust you."

"Trust doesn't enter into our relationship." He leaned against the porch railing. "You have to have a code to define the rules. Marrok has no code. He grew up as a savage, and that hasn't changed with the years."

"I think it has."

"But you don't know him as well as I do. He hasn't been anything but obstructive since the day he came into my office."

"Which means you didn't get your way," she guessed shrewdly.

"Very good." He chuckled. "But my way is the right way, the civilized way. Marrok should no more have control of those dogs than Danner. They have no background or experience to make the necessary judgments."

"And you do?"

"Modesty prevents me from-Yes, I could do it. Given the chance I could do the job. My superiors have total faith in me."

"And what would you do with Ned and the others?"

"We would be humane."

"Would you kill them? Experiment?"

"Only if it was necessary. The stakes are bigger than you could imagine. I realize such an admission could alienate you, but I want to be totally honest."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you to get in my way," he said bluntly. "Stay out of it. Marrok sucked you into his ugly little world, and I can see he holds a certain fascination for you. You didn't like it when he sent you away."

"I don't like orders."

"If that's all, then I'll be very happy. But I believe it's more. Women do seem to be drawn by the primitive type. I have no idea why."

"This conversation is totally absurd."

"But it had to be said. I'd prefer you to realize that Marrok will be brought down. Either by me or Danner. There's no doubt about that."

"But in the meantime, you're still going to help him?"