Darkness Read online

  “I don’t know if you rushed out of that guard house or if you were already outside but that prick on the passenger side tried really hard to turn me into Swiss cheese. Those explosive devices could have gone off in my hands before I threw them into that van. I could have been blown to bits right along with those pricks. How dare you?” She glared at him. “You think you’re the only one having a bad day? I just wanted to come to Homeland to have some fun, meet New Species and teach some classes. That was my only agenda. Now I’m locked in a room with a paranoid idiot.”

  The silence was absolute. She replayed what she’d just said to him and closed her eyes. Shit. Get hold of yourself, damn it. I’m falling apart faster than a recruit on day one of training.

  He released the chair, gripped her rib cage and yanked her right out of her seat. Her feet didn’t touch as he walked across the room and dropped her ass-first on the table. He grabbed the chain linking her handcuffed wrists in front of her body and forcibly raised her arms by jerking them up. He sidestepped the table and she fell back as he hauled her along the surface, only stopping when she was stretched out flat atop it.

  “Fight your way up,” he snarled, bending enough to get in her face again. “I dare you. Show me how skilled a crime lab technician is at hand-to-hand combat.”

  She lay still. He hadn’t hurt her. She might have a bruise or two on her ass from the hard surface when he’d dropped her but that was the extent of it. The tabletop was cold. He kept a fisted hold on the chain to keep her arms restrained above her head. It was imperative that she defuse the edgy situation. She could use her legs by bending them up and kicking out at him, try to knock him back, but it would only prove that she wasn’t who she claimed.

  “I’m sorry I called you an idiot. I was just really upset that you accused me of such a horrible thing. I risked my life out there. It wasn’t staged.”

  He reached down and grabbed the front of his pants. Kat had forgotten that she only wore a pair of panties and a bra until that moment. Real fear shot through her that he’d sexually assault her. He was a big bastard, really strong, and probably weighed double what she did. She was tough but doubted she could fight him off for long. Every muscle went rigid in preparation to at least try. He didn’t expose his dick but instead tore the drawstring tie from the sweatpants.

  She slightly relaxed until he began to secure her to something above her head. She twisted enough to look up and saw the bolted-in ring then peered at his face.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Making sure you stay exactly where I want you.”

  She felt exposed, stretched out practically naked on her back. “I want to sit in the chair.”

  “I want the truth.” He straightened and took a step back.

  Kat tugged on the handcuffs but the thick cord held. She glanced at the sides of the table but couldn’t roll over without falling against the chairs on the left or into him on the right.

  “Who are you really? Let’s stop playing this game. Your ID was good but my officers are better. Someone fucked up when they created your history. Our security check only tracked you back three years then you end. There’s nothing on you.”

  She stared up into his eyes, hoping he might be bluffing, but she saw the truth reflected there. Shit. That rat bastard Mason had screwed up the paper trail and, in fact, had blown her cover.

  “I got divorced,” she lied. “I took back my maiden name.” It was worth a try.

  He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Here’s an interesting twist. Checking the current database showed you exist but when we searched outdated internet sites that social security number belonged to an Eleanor Brinkler. She was a seventy-year-old housewife who died ten years ago.” He slowly raked his gaze down her body then back up. “I’m no expert on what an eighty-year-old looks like but I’m certain you’re nowhere near that age.”

  Kat panicked but tried to mask her features, struggling to think of something to say.

  He stepped closer. “You don’t look dead.” He stared at her chest. “You’re breathing.” His gaze met and held hers. “What is your real name? Who sent you and why?”

  “This has to be some horrible mistake.” It was all she could say. She was nailed and Robert Mason had sent her into one hell of a mess. Her cover identity had been a muddled rush job.

  Darkness leaned forward, putting his face close to hers again. “I don’t want to hurt you.” His voice lowered to a rasp. “Don’t make me do that, sweetheart. I have enough memories to assure I suffer nightmares almost every time I sleep. Just tell me who you really are and why you came to Homeland. You’re busted.”

  She licked her lips, tempted to tell him the truth. Mason never should have sent her to Homeland undercover. It would probably get them both fired, but it would be even worse if she talked. No one wanted an agent working for them who cracked under pressure. Darkness was just doing his job and he was good at it. She respected that.

  “You look so soft and fragile.” He paused, watching her. “Let me tell you a few things about me. Have you ever heard of a human named Darwin Havings?”

  Kat blanked her features but her heart rate jumped. Havings was currently number thirty-two on the list of the Department of Homeland Security’s most wanted. He’d been a rich bastard with businesses mainly in the Middle East and ties to third-world countries. He was also suspected to have invested heavily in Mercile Industries. That last association had earned him a hard look from authorities and what they’d uncovered was some pretty nasty suspicions but no actual evidence. Havings was rumored to be wrapped up in drug and sex-slave trafficking. They’d also found indications that he might be guilty of stealing from the US military in Afghanistan and selling the stolen weapons to rebels. That had put his name on the wanted list.

  “Nope. Is he an action star?” A crime lab technician wouldn’t be familiar with that name because it hadn’t been in the news.

  “He’s a bad human I’ve met.”

  She had to remember to regulate her breathing, something that was tough to do since she was frantically trying to figure out how that meeting was possible. Why? How? When? A horrible suspicion gripped her that her dickhead boss might have been right. Are they in business with Havings? The NSO would be the perfect place for him to hide. We don’t have jurisdiction at Homeland or Reservation. He could flip us off from inside the gates and there wouldn’t be a damn thing we could do about it.

  “I was one of a group of Species he took from Mercile.”

  “Why?” She relaxed slightly. That meant it had happened in the past when Darkness had been a prisoner of the company. Havings would have had access to New Species then. Is the connection still active?

  “It was a test.” He growled, cocked his head and continued to watch her eyes. “They put explosive collars around our necks. We were biological brothers and they knew we were aware of the connection because they showed us proof. We were birthed from the same batch of embryos they’d created from two particular humans they had matched up. They always created multiple embryos, often from the same pair of humans, sometimes by pairing one or both with other donors for different physical characteristics. Our animal genetics varied but our human DNA showed a familial match. That was why he wanted us. He knew we’d protect each other and do anything for our brothers.”

  Jesus. Some of her control slipped and she knew her expression revealed the sympathy she felt. “Why explosive collars?”

  “We knew they’d set them off and kill our brothers if we didn’t follow orders.”

  “That’s fucked up.” Also a terrorist tactic—an extreme one. She didn’t mention that last part.

  He cocked his head and leaned in. His nose tickled as it brushed against her throat. He inhaled deeply, seeming to smell her. Kat didn’t protest but it made her aware of him in a new way. It was kind of sexual.

  “We’re protective of our own by nature and they used that,” Darkness whispered. “Do you want to know what they made us do?”