Darkness Torn Asunder by Alexis Morgan Page A

Dan’s fine cuisine.”
    She couldn’t quite make out what Emmett mumbled as she walked away, but it didn’t matter. At least he’d started talking to her again.

Chapter 9
    B y the next night, the ache in Emmett’s chest was back and worse than ever. He’d been fine earlier in the day, but the problem had come on suddenly and continued to worsen as the day wore on. For the past half hour, he’d taken to pacing the length of the bar unable to shake the feeling that there was something important he should be doing. Good thing he had the early shift and would be off soon. The pressure of a busy Friday night could test his already shaky control. Most of Dan’s regulars were great, but there was always the chance that some asshole would decide tonight was the night he’d want to take on the world. Emmett flexed his fists, wishing the idea of pounding on somebody didn’t hold such appeal.
    He’d ducked outside for a while on his break to watch for Jana. She must have gotten some late patients, because the lights had still been on in the clinic. If things didn’t slow up enough for him to check on her again, he’d ask Dan to do it.
    Another five minutes went by and then another. With each passing second, the buzz dancing along his nerves got stronger. This was insane, but something was wrong out there on the street. Finally, he tossed down his towel and headed into the office, where Dan sat frowning at some numbers on his computer screen. He looked up as soon as Emmett walked in.
    Unable to stand still for even a few seconds, Emmett shifted his weight from one foot to the other and back. “Sorry to interrupt, boss, but I really need to check on Jana. I won’t be gone long.”
    The other man leaned back in his chair and gave Emmett a hard look. “Is something wrong or is this your usual just making sure she gets to her car okay?”
    Dan was the one person he could be honest with. “That’s part of it, but that problem we talked about last night is acting up big-time. And before you say anything, I’ve got a guy coming in after I get off tonight to talk about it.” He held out his hand to show Dan how it was trembling. “Maybe it’s nothing, but my gut is telling me otherwise.”
    Dan hesitated only long enough to save the file on his screen. “Go check on Jana and don’t rush getting back. You’re almost off duty anyway.”
    “Thanks, boss.”
    Emmett ran out of the bar onto the sidewalk outside. Looking up the street, he could see the windows in the clinic were now dark. Damn, Jana had already left work. Worse yet, she was nowhere in sight, and her car was still in the parking lot with the driver’s door standing open and the dome light on. He cursed as he started forward to look for her. Before he’d crossed the street, his cell phone rang.
    It was tempting to ignore the call and let it go to voice mail. He kept moving as he checked the name on the screen: Trahern. That’s all it took to ramp up his fear for Jana.
    He answered the call. “What’s going on, Trahern?”
    There was a lot of background noise, shouting and the clash of metal, making it damn hard to hear what Trahern was trying to say. “Damn it, speak up! I can’t hear you.”
    The background noise faded a bit, enough so that Trahern’s voice came through more clearly. “I said can’t make it tonight. The barrier’s been down most of the afternoon. It’s back up, but now we’ve got to play clean up. Some of the crazies got past us.”
    Son of a bitch! The puzzle pieces started tumbling into place, and Emmett didn’t like the picture that was starting to form. Before he could ask Trahern to explain, a woman’s angry voice rang out from somewhere across the street. Emmett would have recognized that sound anywhere. An ice storm of fear washed through his veins when he heard Jana calling out a second time, this time followed by the rough sound of male laughter. Emmett froze at the edge of the street to track the sound. It had to be