Page 61 of In Darkness Transformed

“You’d be great at it. You should accept the offer.”

She hoped so. “I plan to. I’m not sure how my father will react, but I think we’d be fools to miss this opportunity. It’s not like I’d be the only Kalith working for the organization.”

Now for the hard questions. “So what about you? I’m guessing they want to recruit you as well. Will that be a problem for you if I’m working there, too? After all, we promised not to get too tangled up in each other’s lives.”

As he stared down at her, those deep green eyes sparked hot. “Honey, looking back, we blew past that barrier over peach pie that first day at the park.”

Eli brushed his lips across hers. “I know I said I needed to disappear, not just for my sake but for yours. Even with the Paladins backing my play, I’ll still be at risk of discovery. If that happens, all hell might break loose. But here’s the thing—I’m not sure how I would’ve ever found the strength to walk away from you. From us.”

She kissed him back. “That’s good. Otherwise, I would have to park myself up here on the mountain full-time to make sure you didn’t go all noble on me and sneak off somewhere to hide. Besides, Lonzo figures we’re a package deal. I kind of like that idea.”

It was time to step off the cliff. “As it turns out, I love you, Eli Yates Jervain.”

His arms clamped down tight around her. “I love you, too, Deputy Safara Dennell.”

He claimed her mouth with a kiss that took no prisoners. It left them both breathing hard and wishing the cabin weren’t full of people. As they waited for their pulses to come back to normal, his mouth quirked up in a small smile. “One thing, though. Give me a heads-up before you tell your father that not only are you going to quit your deputy job to work for the Paladins, but marrying me is part of the deal and nonnegotiable. I’ll want to have my sword handy.”

She laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you. Besides, I think he figured that out for himself. The good news is that he didn’t ask to borrow my sword.”

Eli gave her another quick hug. “In that case, let’s go run everybody off so we can pick up right where that kiss left off.”

“Good thinking.”

EPILOGUE

For the first time since the helicopter crash, Eli had a future again, one that included friends, family, and a woman who loved him as much as he loved her. It was all good. Lonzo promised to set up a meeting with Devlin Bane, the head Paladin in the Seattle region.

Safara’s father had been the first to leave. On the whole, he’d taken all the news better than Eli had expected, at least the part about Safara going to be the liaison between his people and the Paladins. The jury was probably still out on her relationship with him.

Mike and Doc promised to check in on a regular basis to let Eli know they were okay. Tyson planned to hole up somewhere close by until arrangements were made to bring him to Paladin headquarters.

Lonzo hung back with Eli and Safara to finalize a few details. “Unless something unexpected comes up, you should hear from us in the next couple of days. We can’t predict what the barrier is going to do, so don’t think we’re blowing you off if it takes longer than expected.”

They shook hands. “Not a problem. We’ll be here.”

As they walked outside, the Paladin’s cell phone rang. He walked to the far end of the porch before answering it. Whatever the person on the other end of the line said had him pounding his fist on the porch railing. “Fuck! What the hell is going on?”

Eli knew not to crowd the man, but whatever had set him off was serious. He had to know if it presented any kind of threat to him or Safara. “Lonzo, what’s up?”

“Nothing I can talk about.” He started down the steps. “Guys, we’re out of here.”

Hunter made no move to get into the van. “What’s happened now?”

Lonzo grimaced, his big hands clenched into fists. “Another one of us has gone missing.”

Barak looked worried. “Someone local?”

“I’ll tell you what I know on the way to headquarters.”

The brief conversation had ramped up the tension in everyone, but it was Tyson’s grim expression that caught Eli’s attention.

“Tyson, do you know something?”

Lonzo spun back to stare at the marine, who slowly nodded. “I might.”

Most people would’ve cringed to have that many large, angry men crowding him. Tyson stood his ground. “I was recruited right after I died that last time, and I’ve suspected for a while now that I wasn’t picked just because of my sniper skills. They do a full physical complete with scans and a shitload of blood tests on potential recruits, and not everybody makes the cut. Based on what I’ve learned here today, I figure someone has caught wind of the Paladins’ existence.”

His words hung in the air, leaving everyone else speechless as they considered the implications. Finally, Eli broke the silence. “Lonzo, if you’re putting a team together to hunt these bastards down, I want in.”

Lonzo let out a slow breath before nodding. “What about you, Tyson? Just whose side are you on now?”

The man in question slowly rose to his feet and came to attention. “I’m on ours.”