Darkest Day (StrikeForce #3) Read online

  I was watching the guards finish securing him when I glanced to the side to see Portia hurrying toward me.

  “Holy shit, it’s true,” she said, staring at Maddoc. Then she looked at me. “How?”

  “I got lucky,” I said. I filled her in on what else I’d found at his house, and she put a hand on my arm, trying to comfort me. We both turned to look at Maddoc.

  “I’ll send a crew for cleanup,” she said. “And we’ll deal with any funeral arrangements. Did he have anyone else?”

  I shook my head. “Not that I know of.” We stood in silence for a while, watching the guards working on Maddoc. “I’m going to need answers out of him,” I said quietly.

  “I know.”

  “I’m going to need some leeway. Preferably without Amy all over me about his rights.”

  “I’ll make sure you get it. Just don’t kill him,” she added in a quieter tone.

  “I won’t.”

  She looked at me dubiously.

  “He’s no good to me dead. There might be more to get out of him, and I’d be really pissed if I realized that after he was already dead.”

  Portia shook her head. She opened her mouth, then closed it and shook her head a little. “I don’t want to know,” she said.

  “Nope.”

  “He’s pretty beat up,” she said. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded. “He’s mostly that beat up because I was trying to get answers out of him and, you know, he’s stupid so he wasn’t giving anything at first.”

  “Just admit that you kind of enjoyed hitting him. I know I would.”

  I laughed, and it turned into a wince. Which, of course, she noticed.

  “You are hurt.”

  “I’m fine. He got a couple of good hits in. I just need some sleep.”

  “Go to the med wing.”

  “I—“

  “Look, I am mostly fine with not knowing what the hell you’re doing out there. But the fact is that you’re on my team, and I need you in top form and you can’t be if you’re in pain at something as benign at laughing. Get your ass to the med wing now.”

  I gave her a sharp salute. “Yes, ma’am,” I said, and she rolled her eyes. I picked my mask up from the table I’d set it on. “I’d feel better with closer eyes on him considering what happened last time,” I said.

  “I’ll have someone at this end of the wing 24/7. No way is that mess happening again.”

  I nodded. “Thanks.”

  “Med bay then sleep,” she called as I started walking away, and I waved at her over my shoulder.

  I got to the med wing, and Dr. Ali, who was the team’s head doctor, surgeon, and all around medical genius, was on duty. She shook her head and whisked me into a room. I peeled my uniform off and she had me strip down to my underclothes. I explained what happened and she felt around a little. When she pressed on my ribcage, I drew in a harsh breath.

  “Okay. X-ray,” she called out to someone else, and a moment later someone was waving this weird wand-thing over me.

  “Stop fidgeting,” Dr. Ali murmured, her eyes on the screen that, I guess, was displaying whatever the x-ray wand was capturing. I tried to stay still, but then I looked up to see Ryan standing in the doorway, watching me.

  “Three broken ribs,” Dr. Ali said, shaking her head. “What did you do, get into a fight with a Mack truck?”

  “Something like that,” I said, my eyes still on Ryan. Dr. Ali turned, noticing him, then looked back at me.

  “Do you want him to leave?” she asked me, and I shook my head. Ryan seemed to take that as an invitation to come in. He stood near the other side of the bed.

  “I’m going to tape your ribs. It’s all I can do, and I’m counting on the quick recovery you all seem to have to do the rest. I’m also keeping you overnight for observation.”

  I was about to argue, but she kept talking over me.

  “You’re severely dehydrated and I don’t know if you noticed but you’ve got some tremors happening.”

  I didn’t answer.

  “Overnight, and I’ll release you first thing in the morning. It wouldn’t kill you to be stuck here for a while, preferably with some pretty good painkillers. Right?”

  “Will they knock me out?”

  She gave me a kind smile, one that changed her normally serious, almost severe features into something quite beautiful. “If you want them to. You need the rest, Daystar.”

  “Okay,” I said with a painful sigh, and Ryan seemed to relax a little.

  “Let’s get you sitting up so I can tape you up.” I started sitting up, and Ryan put a hand behind me to help me.

  “Thanks,” I murmured. I glanced down at myself, embarrassed that he was seeing me in my granny panties and sports bra, of all things. At least they were the sorta cute purple ones, I thought, and then shoved the thought away. What the hell did that even matter?

  “Do you mind helping out more or should I call a nurse in?” Dr. Ali asked Ryan. “Assuming it’s okay with She-Who-Fights-Mack-Trucks, of course?”

  “It’s fine,” Ryan and I both said.

  “Okay. Daystar, reach up and rest your hands on his shoulders. It’ll help keep your arms out of my way, but it’ll hurt less than trying to hold your ams up with your ribs in this condition.”

  I nodded and rested my hands on Ryan’s shoulders. I totally didn’t notice how firm, warm, or just generally big he was under my palms. Not at all. I looked off to the side, and he stood still while Dr. Ali wrapped my ribs, securing the tape when she was finished.

  “Here,” she said, tossing my t-shirt to me. I grabbed it and pulled it on gratefully, then she helped me get settled again.

  “Once I give you your pain pill, you’re going to fall asleep. Do you want it now?”

  I glanced at Ryan. “In a minute. I think I’m about to get bitched out by my partner,” I told her.

  “Good,” she said. “I’ll be back in five minutes, then.”

  “Oh, wait. Can I work tomorrow?” I asked her.

  She nodded. “You can. Just try to take it easy. Let him have some fun for a few days.”

  “Thank you. She never leaves anything for me to hit,” Ryan said, and Dr. Ali laughed.

  When she was gone, he was serious again. “You should take tomorrow off.”

  “Nope.”

  He blew out a breath. “Maddoc, Jolene? You didn’t think to fucking call me before you went after fucking Maddoc?”

  “You say ‘fuck’ a lot more when you’re pissed.”

  “No fucking kidding,” he muttered. “Maddoc,” he said, shaking his head and looking up at the ceiling.

  “He killed Virus,” I said quietly. “Or someone else did and he go the job of removing the body. I had the feeling it was him, though.”

  Ryan nodded. “Portia mentioned that. I’m sorry. I know he used to be a friend of yours.”

  If not for Virus, AKA Damian, I probably never would have crossed paths with StrikeForce. Alpha had set a trap for me, tricked me into coming right into it when I’d thought they’d had Damian. Not to protect him, exactly, but to prevent him from spilling the beans about my secret identity. I was protecting Mama. And myself.

  “Thanks,” I said. “One more in the line of fire thanks to me,” I said, and then I blinked hard, feeling stupid tears flood my eyes.

  Ryan sat on the edge of the bed. “He was a big boy. He made his choices. You can’t be responsible for everyone.”

  “If I’d just let him steal more shit, he never would have been tempted to partner up with Death and those assholes.”

  “So you were supposed to become more of a criminal to save him? Come on. You have to know how crazy that sounds.”

  I took a deep breath, and it hurt. A look of concern crossed Ryan’s features. “I can’t argue with you now. You need to take your pain meds and get some sleep.”

  “No use arguing. It’s done and we both know I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

  He glanced away and nodded. “I know.
”

  “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Portia gave us a later shift so you could rest up. We’re on at eleven.”

  “Great.”

  He stood up and patted my leg once. “Get some sleep. Don’t do that beating yourself up shit. There’s no reason to.”

  I nodded, and after a moment he left. Then Dr. Ali came in and dropped two pills into my hand. It wasn’t long before I was totally out, blissfully feeling nothing at all.

  I woke up the next morning, got Dr. Ali’s permission to leave, then went up to my suite to change into my official uniform. I should probably eat something, I thought as I finished clumsily pulling on my boots. Eating was the last thing I wanted to do, but then I’d just be bitchy later if I ended up hungry.

  I made my way down to the dining hall, where Jenson gave me an update on what had happened after I went to the hospital wing. True to her word, Portia had sent a crew to Maddoc’s house and she’d had them retrieve all of what was in Maddoc’s SUV. Jenson and David had gone as well, and looked through the house. They had all of the evidence in David’s lab and were slowly going through it. They’d also started arrangements for Damian’s funeral. I thanked Jenson, then tried not to think about it for a while.

  “I’ll go through all that crap from the car and house with you guys,” I said after a while.

  David nodded. “We’ll start going through it tomorrow. We have shifts tonight, and I know you’re on in a bit, huh?”

  I nodded, then glanced at the clock. “I think I’m going to go for a quick fly before I have to work. Catch you guys later.”

  Chapter Seven

  I was just on my way up to the flight bay when my comm beeped. “Daystar, Portia wants to see you in her office if you can spare a minute,” Delilah, Portia’s receptionist, said.

  “Okay. I’m on my way up now,” I said, thinking longingly about the flight it looked like I wouldn’t be taking. I took the elevator up to the top floor of Command’s central tower, and when I got off, I saw that Ryan was already there, waiting in the reception area.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey. Did you get summoned, too?”

  He nodded.

  “We’re in trouble over something, then. Probably something I did,” I said, trying to think of what she could be reprimanding us for this time.

  “Maybe that reporter you threatened?” he said.

  “Or that super watcher guy who you caught taking pictures of my ass,” I said. “He was pretty pissed about his phone.”

  “He was lucky it was his phone, and not his face,” Ryan said mildly. “It could have been the chick with the pheromone powers.”

  “Skank,” I muttered, and he laughed.

  “Either way, we don’t know a thing, right?” he asked, and I nodded.

  “Must have been some other supers doing that shit,” I said, and he laughed.

  “How are you feeling this morning?”

  I shrugged. “Better than last night, for sure. Still a little tender, but not too bad.”

  He nodded. “You talked to Jenson yet today?”

  “Yeah. She filled me in on everything with Maddoc’s house and all that.”

  “Caine and Daystar? You can go in now,” Delilah said, and we walked to Portia’s office doors. Ryan pushed one open and I walked through ahead of him.

  “Hey, guys. Have a seat,” Portia said. She was scribbling something on the yellow legal pad she always seemed to have on her. While most of the team used tablets and phones for just about everything, Portia was very analog. We waited, Ryan folded into the chair beside mine, looking like he didn’t quite fit on it. After another moment, she looked up at us.

  “How are you feeling this morning?” she asked me.

  “Much better. Thanks for taking care of the arrangements so quickly,” I said, and she nodded.

  “Not a problem. Again, I’m sorry. You’ve had too much loss lately.”

  I just nodded, and she gave a small nod back.

  “Okay. You both know that our first group of new recruits is ready to join the team. I’m taking one as my patrol partner, and David is going to partner another. Which leaves two more newbies. I want you to each take one of them as your patrol partner.”

  We both sat, staring at her. And then we both started talking at the same time.

  “We’re the most effective team you’ve got out there—“

  “—bring in more bads than anyone else on this team—“

  “This is totally going to screw with our arrest rate.”

  “—I don’t have the patience for that shit anyway.”

  Portia held her hands up, and after a moment, we both shut up. “Okay. I get it. You’re not happy about this,” she said, giving us both an annoyed look. “I know. You’re my top team. You’re my two most effective officers. Okay? Yes. So who better to train our newbies? Huh?”

  “We’re effective at least partially because we work so well together,” Ryan said. “We read one another well and there’s no ego shit involved when we’re out on patrol. You throw somebody new into the mix, and that gets screwed up.”

  Portia sighed. “Look, I know you are in a comfortable work situation right now. And I know that it works. Okay? I gave this a lot of thought. I was going to ask Jenson and Toxxin first, but when it comes down to, you two are not only my most effective officers, but also my strongest. You can take on a newbie as a partner and still be okay if you get into a tough spot. Anyone else, basically fighting on their own and responsible for an untested partner? We’d be in a bad situation.” She stopped, meeting each of our eyes.

  I hated it when she was right. I could see her logic, and it made total sense.

  “And it’s not the first time you’ve taken a new team member under your wing, Caine,” Portia said. “You trained me. And then you trained Toxxin. And then you trained Chance, and then Jolene.”

  “Jolene didn’t need any training,” he said.

  “Well, either way. You know I’m right,” Portia said. We sat in silence for a few moments.

  “I’m just going on the record and saying that I think this sucks. I mean, I think you’re right, but I’m not happy about it,” I said.

  “Duly noted,” Portia said.

  Neither Ryan nor I said anything and after another tense few moments, Portia continued. “We have the first two patrol slots open, then. Your current one and the one immediately after it.

  “I’ll take our current one,” Ryan said. Then he glanced at me. “You don’t like getting up early anyway.”

  “Thanks.”

  He nodded. A glance at him told me he was fairly irritated. His jaw was clenched, his hands in fists on his thighs as he sat in the chair.

  “It seems like you have something you maybe want to say,” Portia said to Ryan.

  “There is a mass murdering madman out there, and Jolene is number one on his hit list,” he said quietly, an undercurrent of anger lacing his words. “I think that’s more important than training a couple of newbies.”

  I was touched by the sentiment, but I punched him in the arm anyway.

  “What was that for?” he asked, staring at me.

  “I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” I said. “I don’t need a body guard, and I don’t need a knight in shining armor. I’m stronger than anyone who comes after me. And I’m not stupid, either.”

  “I know that,” he said. “Are you serious? I know all that better than anyone.”

  “Then what’s with this whole thing?” I said, gesturing toward him.

  He leaned toward me. “I’d still worry. Not because I don’t believe in you.”

  “Why then?”

  He glared up at the ceiling. “Because I am your friend,” he snarled. “Friends worry about one another when murderous stalker assholes are after them, no matter how capable they are.”

  He kept his gaze locked on mine, and I ended up smiling at him. “Okay.”

  “Okay?”

  “Okay
,” I repeated.

  He shook his head.

  “All right then,” Portia said. “Is there anything else either of you would like to get off your chest? It’s not like I don’t have a team to be running or anything like that.”

  I stood up and so did Ryan. “So when does this bullshit start?” I asked.

  “With your next shift,” Portia said.

  “I am not promising anything in terms of not clobbering whoever you pair me with if they act like a moron,” I warned her.

  “I wouldn’t expect you to.”

  “And I’m also not happy with you at the moment.”

  “Nah, really? I couldn’t tell. Dismissed,” Portia said with a smile. I gave her a final glare and then walked out of the office, Ryan right behind me. We didn’t say anything until we got onto the elevator.

  “What a complete bunch of bullshit,” he muttered.

  “Seriously. And what the hell is she even thinking? She seriously wants me training anyone? Woman has lost her damn mind,” I said.

  “Two people on the team with your attitude. Scary,” Ryan said, and laughed.

  “That’ll teach her,’ I said, and he chuckled. We got off the elevator and walked through the corridor to the residence tower. “So who’d she bring up again? One speed chick, right?”

  He nodded. “One of the firestarters. A telekinetic. The guy, I think. And the shapeshifter guy.”

  I grimaced. I didn’t particularly like the idea of pairing with any of them. Then I sighed. “Well, this apparently isn’t new for you, this whole partner switch, but I was used to having you around and I’m feeling kind of pissed right now.” It was true. It was weird how much I already missed the idea of working with Ryan, the ease and comfort between us. Four hours straight, seven days a week patrolling with someone could wear on even the most agreeable people. Neither of us was especially agreeable, but we seemed to work together fine.

  “I’m not any happier than you are,” he said. We got to my room, and we stood outside of my suite. “Every time you have to switch partners, you have to get used to things all over again. How it’s okay to talk to someone and what annoys them. Who’s better on point and who’s better standing back and waiting to jump in. That shit. The transition period with you was almost non-existent,” he said, and I nodded. We’d each just kind of settled into our roles seamlessly. “I don’t think I’m going to be that lucky twice.”