Shadow of My Heart - By Caryn Moya-Block Page 0,3

stared at computer screens. Picking an unoccupied spot, Raven and Joe stepped into the room through a quickly made portal.

Derek looked up with a smile. He went over to the coffee machine and grabbed two cups, which he handed to Raven and Joe.

“You made good time,” Derek said. “The general is waiting for you in your office.”

“Why don’t you join us?” Raven suggested as they fell into step and headed down the hall.

Joe sighed as he drank his coffee. “Nothing tastes better than a cup of hot coffee after walking in Shadow,” he said. “I never feel like myself until it fills my stomach with warmth.”

“Maybe that’s why it’s called a cup of Joe,” Derek teased.

“You’ll make a good wife someday, Red Hawk,” Joe replied. “You make a darn good brew, just the right amount of cream.”

“All right, cut the chatter,” Raven said. “We’ve got a sticky situation here. Any idea who the leak in the general’s organization might be?”

“Anyone who saw the orders could be the one,” Derek said. “It might be that cute blond who works as his secretary.”

“You mean the cute blond you’ve been trying to get a date with, don’t you?” Joe asked.

“I’ll be happy to check her out. I mean look into the situation,” Derek said.

“The general will decide what he wants done,” Raven said. “He may have an idea of the identity of the blond-haired man meeting with Adar, once he sees the sketch I’ll draw up.”

They stepped into the elevator, and Raven pushed the button for the sixth floor above ground of the Isanti building. His office, apartment, and conference room were located on the top floor.

“Quiet Thunder called me again yesterday,” Raven said. “It’s time to prepare for the continuation of our tribe and for the prophecy to come true. The Nuni Nagi Tribe will be extinct if we don’t find the right women to mate.”

“He just wants to retire and give you the helm of Isanti, Inc.,” Derek complained. “Sometimes I wonder if there really is a prophecy. All that doom and gloom and needing to find a special woman to mate.”

“Don’t be disrespectful,” Joe said. “Quiet Thunder has mentored us since we were young. If he says there are special women out there we need to find, then I believe him. That man has powers I’ve never seen before. I saw him make a branch produce fruit in one day by holding it in his hand. He actually handed a piece of fruit to me to eat. I wasn’t sure whether to eat it or run away. He can be a spooky old man at times.”

“Let’s talk family business later,” Raven said as the elevator door opened. “Right now we have to brief the general and help him track down a traitor.”

Raven remembered the day he met the general while in college. The general’s son, David, was his roommate. Raven and the general hit it off right away. Raven liked and highly respected the older man.

“I brought the general some refreshments while he waited, Mr. Darkwood,” Katherine Sloane, Raven’s administrative assistant, said as they entered.

The general had recommended Katherine when her husband was killed in Afghanistan. Derek had been particularly insistent that Raven hire her. For the past few years, since her arrival, things in the office had smoothed out, and Raven appreciated every minute that she was in his employ.

“Thank you, Mrs. Sloane. I’m sure he appreciated it,” Raven said. “Please make sure we are not disturbed while meeting.”

“Hey, beautiful. Miss me?” Derek said smiling.

“I just saw you an hour ago, Mr. Red Hawk. I’m sorry, but I’ve been too busy to miss you.”

“Ouch. You always aim for the heart, Katie,” Derek said, clutching his chest.

“Come on, Derek. Stop flirting and get in here,” Raven said in exasperation. Why did his brother always have to flirt with the help? Opening the double doors, Raven walked into his office. The silver-haired general stood up and walked over to shake their hands.

“What information do you have for me, Darkwood?” General Holland asked.

“Here is the recording of the meeting, Sir,” Raven said, handing over the recording device designed by Isanti, Inc., to survive passage into the Shadow Dimension. “Let me get a paper and pencil so I can sketch the possible supplier. The meeting was interrupted by a thorough search. Someone tipped them off to our presence. This man came in wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses. He may be their contact in the U.S. But someone must be supplying him with