Evanesce (The Darkness #2) (8 page)

“Girl, quit calling me that. And yes, I got the plan.” Her argumentative tone poked at Brooke’s temper, but she caught herself before snapping.

“We just—” The lock clicked on the door and Brooke was on her feet in a flash, dashing forward to position herself behind it. Greta entered, once again carrying two trays of food. With the movements of a skilled hunter, she approached silently from behind.

“Miss?” Confused, Greta looked around the room. Seizing the opportunity, she threw her arm across Greta’s throat, effectively cutting off her air. She quickly put her into a sleeper hold by applying pressure to both sides of her neck. Red rushed forward and caught the trays before they clattered to the ground.

Greta immediately slumped in Brooke’s arms and she released her hold on her windpipe, lowering her carefully to the floor, while Red moved to check the door; making sure the bread had worked to prop it open. She nodded at Brooke in confirmation and then pulled the door open inch by inch.

Grabbing one of the silver trays, Brooke gained her feet and together they slipped out the door, letting it close behind them. Brooke grabbed Red’s hand, tight. “We have to stick together, okay? No matter what.” There was no way she was leaving the house without Red. Red nodded and they moved quickly down the long, dark hallway.

“Girl, where you learn moves like that?” Red asked in a loud whisper.

“Self-defense classes,” she whispered back. Reaching the end of the long tunnel-like hallways, Brooke held her hand up to stop them. The door was locked with a keypad off to the right. Sending up a silent prayer, Brooke keyed in the code she had seen in the lab and hoped like Hell it was the right one. Nothing happened for a few beats and a feeling of dread grew in the pit of her stomach.
Come on, please…

The light snapped to green and the door unlocked, relief filling each of the women. Turning the knob slowly, Brooke opened the door, straining her ears to listen before looking out. There was a short hallway and then a long steep row of single wooden stairs. Brooke knew that straight up those stairs was the main floor of the house. A few mores twists and turns and they would be at the main entrance, where freedom waited, calling to her like a beacon.

Gripping Red’s hand tight, the two ran up the stairs, Brooke wincing each time one of the boards squeaked under the pressure of their weight. At the top, the door was open, a fact that had Brooke’s heart jumping up her throat like it was on a damn trampoline. Peering out, she ensured there was no one in sight before tugging Red forward. A few steps into the carpeted foyer, the sound of voices drifted towards them. Panicking, she pulled Red into what she thought was an empty room and shut the door.

Panting, she leaned against the door, trying to catch her breath.

“We have to hide here, Red. I’ll check if it’s safe in a few minutes.” When there was no reply from Red, Brooke turned her head, searching. “Red?” The other woman stood frozen, unmoving in the middle of the room.

“What are you—ahh…” Brooke stepped up beside Red, concerned why she was non-verbal. The room was not empty as she had expected. It wasn’t empty at all and the scene before them was a terrifying one.

Cots. Rows and rows of cots and each one was occupied with a tiny infant. Some were sleeping, wrapped in thin blankets. Others were squirming, having come loose from their bundle. A few were wailing, a loud sound that would make any dog in the surrounding area sit up and take notice. How Brooke didn’t hear them, was beyond her. The adrenaline was a roar in her ears, blocking out everything except listening for footsteps of anyone that might be approaching. A quick count revealed twenty-four cots. Twenty-four babies either stolen are birthed by a mother that was likely a prisoner in the same house of horrors she was trying to escape from.

Covering her mouth, Brooke suppressed a scream of disgust. Children. Helpless infants all lined up and ready to be sold by the indescribable monster, Marcus. An auction straight from a mother’s worst nightmare.

“Red,” she tried to get her attention. “
Red,
” she said with more force. When that still didn’t work, she reached out and lightly shook her. The haunted, empty look in her eyes when Red finally acknowledged her, broke Brooke’s heart into a million tiny pieces.

“My sons. My daughters…” she moved towards the cots. “I—I have to find them. I—I—I didn’t get to—to hold them,” she stammered, peering over the cots at the tiny faces. Her heartbreak was written all over her face as she searched from cot to cot for her children.

Not being able to stand seeing her torment, Brooke rushed to her side, trying to tug her away. “Red, I don’t think they are here now. These…these are infants. As in just born, and you—” Red’s head whipped around to pin Brooke with furious eyes.

“Shut up. You know nothin’. My children are here. They are
here.
” Tears sprang to Brooke’s eyes at the utter despair in Red’s voice.

“I really wish they were, God, Red. But I promise you, we
will
make these bastards pay. We will find your children and make sure they can never do this to any other woman,” Brooke’s promise was fierce and true. She would shut this operation down, even if it killed her to do it.

Red was too far gone to listen to reason. Ripping her hand out of Brooke’s grasp, she spun and rushed to the other side of the room, examining more cots. A table crashed in her wake, the noise deafening. Cringing, Brooke followed her. Looking to the right, she noticed a partition was slightly pulled across. Peering around it, she gasped. The room was filled with hospital style beds, all unoccupied except for one. A woman was currently strapped down by her hands and ankles, her swollen belly evident by the bump under the white sheet pulled tight across her. Duct tape was plastered across her mouth, restraining her from crying out. Her eyes met Brooke’s, a silent plea for help.

“This is the birthing room,” she whispered under her breath as the realization dawned on her. The unimaginable scenarios kept getting worse in her captivity, day after day. In the other room, Red was making a racket as she frantically searched for her children in each of the cots. The utter devastation of not knowing which child may be hers was tearing her apart. Brooke needed to calm her down fast, before they were discovered. As much as it ripped her heart out to turn her back on the helpless woman, Brooke had to ignore the way she pulled on her restraints and yelled behind the tape on her mouth. She couldn’t come back and save anyone if she didn’t make it out herself first; alive.

Mouthing an
I’m sorry,
to the woman, Brooke left the room in a hurry to get to back to Red. A few feet away from Red, the door suddenly burst open and Milo stormed inside.

“You fucking cunts!” he shouted as soon as he spotted them frozen in place. Seeing him raise his arm, Brooke sprang into action, leaping and knocking Red to the ground just as he fired his gun at her. Landing with an
oomph
, Brooke immediately raised up on her elbows.

“Red? Red, are you hit?” Red moaned and pushed Brooke off.

“Girl, you fucking heavy. I’m good.” Her snark was back which was a good sign. Brooke was almost relieved to hear it. Grabbing the silver food tray, she motioned for Red to follow as she crawled under the cots. Pointing to the door, she indicated where she was heading. Red nodded, starting to shimmy behind her.

Brooke gained her knees on the other side of the row of cots, spotting Milo coming towards them. The distance to the door was too far, she was going to have to fight. Casting a glance at Red as she crawled out and gained her feet, she accepted the hand up.

“We got this,” she told Red and raised her silver tray like a bat. Milo scoffed at her measly attempt to ward him off and tapped his gun in a cocky manner.

“I have a fucking gun,” he informed her as if she couldn’t see it.

“Thanks for the clue, fucking Captain Obvious,” Brooke snapped back. Dropping her voice to just above a whisper, she squeezed Red’s hand once before letting it go to step forward towards Milo. “You’re not going to shoot either of us, you coward. You don’t have the power or the authority. Only Marcus can give that order and since he isn’t here…” Brooke looked around before continuing. “
I’m
the one that has the power. You can’t kill us, you’d lose half your inventory. And if there’s one thing that I’ve learned during my time in this hideous place; it’s that money is everything to Marcus.” She spread her arms wide. “So go ahead, do your worst. Douche,” she added.

Milo’s face turned purple with rage and he ran towards her, his fist raised. Brooke stood perfectly still, staring him down. At just the right moment, she swung the tray with all the power she could muster, catching him square on the side of the face. Yowling, he clutched at his cheek and Brooke seized the opportunity. Grabbing Red’s hand, they ran out of the room at top speed.

Brooke stopped when her arm was nearly yanked out of its socket. Confused, she looked back. Marcus had Red by the throat, holding her a few feet off the ground. His cold stare settled on Brooke.

“You. Are. Becoming. A. Nuisance.” He ground the words out through gritted teeth. He applied pressure on Red’s neck, her color turning a deep red as she struggled for air.

“Let her go, please,” she begged. “Please let her go, this is my fault.” Marcus considered her, tilting his head to one side.

“Drop the tray. Come here.” Marcus didn’t ask, he commanded as was his usual approach. Milo staggered into the doorway, his expression murderous as he stared right at her.

Brooke looked from the scene before her to the door that lead to her freedom less than five feet away.
I can make it…

Red squeaked and Brooke’s eyes snapped to hers. She was nodding, telling her to go. Brooke only had a split second to decide before the decision would be made for her. As much as her instincts were screaming at her to run, to save herself; she couldn’t do it. With a clatter, she dropped the silver tray to the ground in defeat.

Red made a keening sound and then everything happened at once. She twisted her body and suddenly there was a knife in her hands, one that Brooke hadn’t seen before. The two women locked eyes and Brooke knew what she was going to do.

“Red no!” she screamed just as she raised the knife and plunged it into her own throat, catching Marcus’s fingers in the process. Blood spurted out in every direction, coating Marcus, spraying into Brooke’s face. Marcus yelled and dropped Red to the ground, where she gurgled and clutched at her throat.

“No, no no,” Brooked yelled, horrified at what she was seeing. Milo headed her way, cutting off her moment of grief.
Run, Brooke. Now.

Spinning, she ran for the door and fumbled with the buttons on the keypad. Crying harder in relief when it flicked green, she yanked the door open and ran down the vast concrete steps. Hearing the commotion behind her, she darted left, hoping to throw them off track.

Marcus’s thunderous roar could be heard behind her, but she couldn’t stop. Legs pumping hard, she fought for the strength to run as fast as she could. Tears choked her and blinded her vision, but she didn’t give up. Escape was the only option. The green grass covered the property on all sides, she had no idea where she was going. She needed a place to hide until she could reach the main gate…maybe there was a phone, a megaphone, a smoke signal—it didn’t fucking matter.

A searing pain ripped through her head as her hair was yanked. Landing with a hard thud on the ground, she looked up into the slimy face of Dr. Daniels.

“Dear. This was very foolish of you,” he told her. Gasping for breath, Brooke rolled over and with a cough, sat up.

Dr. Daniels tsked at her, and removed a hankerchief from his pocket. Taking his glasses off his nose, he began to clean them as if it was just any other regular day. Marcus and Milo appeared behind him and Brooke knew it was over. Her escape plan had been ruined. Grabbing her by the arms, Milo dragged her back to the house. She kicked, she screamed, bit, scratched and punched but it was no use. She had no weapons and he had her at such an angle and any self-defense tactics she could have tried, would be useless.

Entering the foyer, Milo tossed her onto the floor next to Red. Sliding in her blood, Brooke checked frantically for a pulse. “Red? Red can you hear me?” Crying, she knew she was gone. She had found her own freedom.

Marcus crouched down next to her and gently moved the hair back from her face, wiped the tears from her eyes. Cupping her face in both his hands, he leaned in close, placing a kiss on her forehead like a doting father.

“You’ve cost me today, beautiful girl. Red was nearing the end of our employment relationship, but I had other uses in mind for her. Now I have to take a loss on this asset. That doesn’t please me. Doesn’t please me at all,” his voice was cold and thick was malicious intent.

“You will need to compensate me for this loss, Brooke. But first, you are going to have to pay for your actions here today.” His mouth set in a cold smile as he looked over his shoulder at Milo.

“Take her.”

N
ora touched her
lips as she had done countless times that morning. The memory of Gabe’s mouth slanting over hers as he fought for possession was haunting her. Her body longed to run straight back into his arms to finish what they’d started, but her mind was screaming at her to keep her distance. Gabe was trouble all wrapped up in an irresistibly sexy package. It grated on her last nerve that she was still attracted to him after all this time; after all he’d put her through. To make matters worse,
he
knew she wanted him. He’d barely been back in town a few weeks and he was already under her skin.