Part 24 (1/2)
”Yeah,” Damali said. ”Go get your car keys, take a nice, long half-hour ride in the country. Call home on cell before you put your keys in the door, and let Shabazz and Rider have a conversation with a man who is losing his mind, first.” She nodded to Bobby.
”Go take a walk with Dan at Carlos's and make sure he doesn't do anything rash, and that he's home by the time we have to leave for our flight.” She shot a glance at Jose, her nerves too frayed to put things in politically correct terms. ”Go find 'Nita's a.s.s and take Krissy over to my house so she can have a good cry and get washed up; give her some of my clean clothes, and let her talk to somebody female-off-site, nowhere near her mom or pop. I'll be in this yard until Berkfield calms down.”
When she received grudging nods, Damali sighed, finally hugged Krissy, and whispered in her ear. ”It ain't your fault, been there.
Just be cool. We'll talk later, but... oh, chile, we'll talk later.” Krissy's head was bobbing up and down on Damali's shoulder as new tears began to fall, when Berkfield began yelling again. It took everything within Damali not to go over and slap him. But at the same time, she could dig it. Then again, after seeing what this did to the family, her own past transgressions began to rip a hole in her soul. All she could do was hand Krissy off to the most rational, kindest, most compa.s.sionate one on the team, Jose.
”Go 'head, now, hon,” Damali said, as she'd heard Marlene tell her so many times before. ”I'll talk to your dad. He's not himself, but he loves you.” She sighed as Berkfield started a new wave of hollering.
”Krissy, I forbid you to leave this house, young lady! Where the h.e.l.l are you going! Jose, your a.s.s is mine if you take my daughter off this lot! Bring her back here!”
Damali ran her hands over her face as her gaze locked with Rider's and Shabazz's. Rider nodded. It was a gesture mixed with a silent been there on your behalf, kiddo, and yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll talk him off the ledge. Shabazz's eyes were cool as he strained to hold Berkfield and echoed the same silent response. Damali began walking, but something was mentally messing with her so bad that she stopped, turned, and stared out into the dense brush beyond the shed. When Kamal walked out of the thicket and rounded the shed, Damali covered her heart with her hand.
”I heard gunfire report,” he said as Shabazz stood slowly and released Berkfield. ”Felt you all hyped from five miles away. Ain't been able to lock with Mar. You cool? She cool? Talk to me.”
Berkfield was on his feet, but seemed torn and no longer in angry pursuit of Krissy. Rider glanced at the shotgun on the ground and got between it and Shabazz.
”Everything's cool, partner. You cool?” Rider said in an even tone.
”Kamal, the timing...” Damali held her head, shut her eyes, and turned her face to the sun. ”We cool. Glad you're healed and not coming out of the bushes in Jag. Thanks for the help in Philly, brother. Aw, Lawd. Rider, grab your brother!”
Rider and Berkfield had been flipped and dropped hard in two seconds. Shabazz was liquid motion and charging so fast that for a moment Damali wasn't sure if she could stop him, but she ran headlong toward him, anyway.
”I didn't come to fight, mon!” Kamal shouted, but took a stance, anyway. ”The teams are fracturing all over the world! Hear me out!”
Shabazz slowed to a jog but squared off.
Where was Big Mike when they needed him! Damali glanced at Kamal. ”Talk fast, man. A lot of weird s.h.i.+t has been happening.”
Rider and Berkfield came up moments later, huffing and joining the circle.
”Major dark energy is topside now,” Kamal said. ”Teams are turning on themselves. The were-human ranks are feeling the charge first. Just like the psychics, anybody with special sensitivities.” He glanced around. ”You ain't exempt, mon. You need to listen.”
”I know about the contagion and I don't have to do s.h.i.+t.”
Shabazz said in a low rumble, ”but stay black and die! We're a Neteru squad, man, so you know we got the word first. All right, so you stepped to the lups in Philly, much obliged. But for putting your tongue down my woman's throat, full team in effect, was way the f.u.c.k outta order-so kiss my pure human a.s.s.” He looked at Rider, Berkfield, and Damali. ”Step aside and get out my way.”
”You ever go through a full-moon blast, motherf.u.c.ker?” Kamal said in a low, quiet growl. ”Ever have that kinda adrenaline hit your system with a Level-Seven charge giving it topspin-after being away from your woman for over twenty years behind bulls.h.i.+t? Then you suddenly realize, all the bulls.h.i.+t is gone-she can't have babies, so the only thing keeping you away from her is no longer a problem?” Kamal spit, his glare on Shabazz narrow. ”You lucky that's all I did that night!”
Shabazz lunged; Kamal lunged, a shotgun blast report gave Damali, Rider, and Berkfield just enough time to catch fabric and stop a collision.
”Are you insane?” Marlene said, incredulous as she walked down the back steps and stared at Kamal. ”Are you out of your d.a.m.ned mind? Tell me you didn't walk into this yard and challenge Shabazz in his own house?”
”No!” Kamal said, his eyes wounded before he tore his line of vision from her.
”You need to let me talk to him, Shabazz,” Marlene said quietly.
”I'm not letting you do s.h.i.+t!”
Damali's, Berkfield's, and Rider's heads pivoted and everybody held their breath.
”You're not letting me?” Marlene said, c.o.c.king her head to the side as her voice became unnaturally quiet.
”Kamal is dropping some serious science, yo, about the other teams that we might need when we get over to Tibet. We don't know what we'll face if our contact squad is compromised,” Damali said quickly, trying to avoid another sonic boom. ”Let's just all get the info we need, chill out, let bygones-”
”We need her help,” Kamal said, not addressing Shabazz's outburst, but seeming to own enough wisdom not to allow Marlene to get cranked up to the next notch of rage, even if it might serve his purpose. He let his breath out hard.
”My men and I went into battle with lupine-demons in Brazil. We didn't do it to code, we s.h.i.+fted for it... then we couldn't shake the power of it. My men ain't been right since. We have to eat red meat, and you know what we ate before-the temptation is... beyond... Listen!” he shouted, talking with his hands and searching Damali's eyes with a furtive gaze before finally staring at Marlene. ”Drum won't eat store-bought. He's taking down deer, anything in the wild. Ahmed... full moon hit and he broke down and sired-all right!” Kamal looked at Shabazz. ”No matter what you think, I'm here, not tracking Mar to cause a problem, but because I need her magic, whatever she got in dat black bag of hers to get my team's head right. We can all feel something really big coming, real bad, and we cannot be borderline.”
He was still waiting on clothes so he wouldn't freak Damali out with another instant materialization, trying to chill, sitting on the back deck in a towel, when he heard a pair of female footsteps approach. He knew who it was right away and didn't move. Ah, man, and he was trying so hard to just be cool and mind his business. Now what?
The rational part of his brain told him to just get up, go in the house, and lock himself in a room somewhere. He didn't need drama or to be tempted to find himself in another compromising position. Whatever was in him was p.r.o.ne to do whatever, and until he could get that under control, s.h.i.+t like this he didn't need. But the near miss with Damali from the night before was producing a surreal erection as he heard a shy voice call his name. He sighed.
The new and very dangerous part of him smiled.
Carlos leaned forward in the deck chair and folded his hands between his knees, resting on his forearms and simply glanced up.
See, he wasn't looking for trouble; trouble had conveniently found him.
”Hey, Juanita,” he said in a low murmur. ”Want some breakfast?”
She hesitated on the steps and then came across the deck to sit beside him. ”Can we talk?””Yeah,” he said, giving her a sideways glance, amused at how she'd begun to slowly strip the towel away from his body with her eyes. But he didn't move. The internal battle was crazy. Walk into my parlor said the spider to the fly... Umph, umph, umph...
the woman was fine, he'd give her that.
He watched Juanita play with her long brown hair; nervous energy permeated her entire aura. So did extreme desire, but he let it ride on the wind for a moment. He inhaled the scent of it, let it hit the back of his tongue, and toyed with it in his mouth as he decided what to do with her. Why was she here, what did she want beyond the obvious?
”Last night,” she said quietly, her eyes riveted to his. ”You did it again.”
”Did what?” Carlos tilted his head and stared down as her hand rested lightly on his exposed thigh.
”Called me from the house, like before... and I felt... I couldn't help coming to you, and then they spiritually closed ranks and I felt the connection snap.” Confusion and desire made the words slip from her lips in small breathy whispers. ”I saw it in your eyes, disappointment. Like before, but this was so much worse... I don't want you to be angry at me, or think that I don't feel the same, but, if it's just for a moment, and not gonna last... If Jose ever found out, he'd never take me back after that, and-”
His hand moved to the nape of her neck of its own volition and gathered her silky brown hair into a slowly tightening fist. Her words halted abruptly. Antic.i.p.ation stopped her breathing and made her bottom lip quiver.
”Always cherish life moment by moment,” he whispered, and pulled her into a hard kiss, then released her hair and offered a half smile.
She sat back in the plastic deck chair, hyperventilating with her eyes closed. But the conquest would be so easy that it annoyed him more than anything else. He had his mind set on penetrating liquid silver, although relieving temporary tension did have its merits.
”If you stay here, you know what's gonna happen, right?” He shook his head and stared out across the canyons, estimating time and Damali's whereabouts.
Juanita nodded, her trembling fingers caressing her mouth where his kiss had bruised it before she reached out to touch his. She peered at him beneath half-shut lids.
”Tell me something that would inspire the risk?” he murmured, inhaling deeply as he nuzzled her shoulder, but didn't turn to give her access to fully embrace him. Her shudder and hard swallow was beginning to warm him to the possibilities, but given the time, and the more important issues on his agenda...
”Carlos,” she whispered, sliding from the chair to pool at his feet. ”That time, I thought I would die if you didn't... and last night, I...” Her hands covered his then slowly traveled up his forearms and shoulders, until they found his hair. ”I remember. Can't forget.” She kissed his forehead through a breathy whisper and centered her body between his thighs. She rested her forehead on his, her small sips of air gaining in depth and force as she spoke. ”So much has happened. I know so much more about how and why we did breakup. I thought I was sure, resolved. But when you called me, it brought it all back.”