Expecting Darkness

by Mandy M. Roth

  Cormag continued to follow, as did his other men. He glanced back at them. “I want to be alone with him. Allow no one to disturb us.”

  They hesitated but nodded all the same, knowing better than to question his decision. He’d never ruled through fear, but they were smart enough to know this would end poorly for all involved. He also knew that no one in the club above would ever hear Islay’s screams. Cormag had seen to the construction of the club himself long ago, making sure the walls were thick and the basement deeper than need be. Should the smallest of sounds escape, it wouldn’t matter. The pulsing sound of the music from the club above would easily drown it out.

  A row of holding cells lined the right side of a long corridor. The left was an open area with a long conference table and many chairs around it. Off the conference room were bleeding rooms. They’d been used a lot before he’d taken his organization legit and mainstream. Once, before he’d sided with light, Cormag had humans brought in and bled. They’d been willing participants, but it was still a gruesome act. While that was part of his past, torturing those who were a threat to his daughter was every bit a part of his present.

  Islay walked to one of the large cells and took a seat in a chair in the center of it. He bent his head, his shoulders shaking as he broke down. “They approached me months ago, telling me they could change Jessie.”

  “Change her how?” demanded Cormag, his vampire side wanting freedom and answers.

  Islay continued, “They could see to it her genetic makeup suited mine—that she’d be my mate, not his. Not fucking Searc’s.”

  Cormag balled his hands into fists. “When did you realize Searc and my daughter were destined for one another?”

  “The moment she came into all our lives,” whispered Islay. “The way he sniffed the air around her, his eyes swirling with the change, his entire body coiling with the need to protect her even when she was just a babe. I knew deep down then she was his. I’d hoped I was wrong. As she grew, I watched the two of them around one another. When she turned eighteen, I knew without a shadow of doubt I was right, and it killed me inside.”

  Cormag remained silent.

  “He wasn’t part of our day-to-day lives and had nae been for nearly a century,” said Islay, his head still bent. “He dinnae deserve her. She was light, goodness, and happiness. He’d already found his version of salvation. He dinnae need her or value her. I have been here every day, loving her, watching over her. Nae him.”

  Cormag exhaled slowly. “What is it you did, Islay?”

  The man lifted his head, his gaze locking on Cormag. “I made a deal with the devil.”

  He eased closer, waiting for the man’s sins to be confessed.

  “I agreed to give Jessie to The Corporation for one month’s time. In that time they told me they’d alter her genetic makeup, making her mate material for me. They said it wouldnae be hard as Searc and I are first cousins, so we’re nae far off from one another genetic wise. They assured me no harm would come to her and she’d nae remember anything. That they merely needed a viable test subject for their new experiments, and in the end I’d have her to myself.”

  Cormag struggled to keep his demon down enough to listen to what his second had done to his daughter. He knew of The Corporation because he worked hand in hand with PSI and they’d been dealing with the evil conglomerate as of late.

  Islay put his head in his hands, shaking his head. “They lied.”

  “Tell me everything.” Cormag ground out the words between clenched teeth as he paced the cell like a caged beast.

  “They provided me with a sedative to give her. I slipped it into some wine and gave it to her during our dinner—the day after you’d left for Scotland.”

  Cormag made a move to go at the man but drew back, needing answers before he beat the life out of him. How could Islay have betrayed him? Betrayed Jessie? It wasn’t as though Islay hadn’t had a front row seat to all that The Corporation had done in the past few months. He knew and yet he’d tried to broker a deal with them so he could circumvent fate?

  Torturing men had once been something of an art form to Cormag, but he found his mind could not settle on a pain that seemed enough for Islay. There was no amount of suffering that would sate Cormag’s need for revenge. Jessie was the one good thing he’d done in his life. She was pure. She was light. And Islay had threatened that light.

  He would die.

  It didn’t matter that Cormag had seen Islay as a son of sorts over the course of their three hundred years together. If anything, that made the treachery that much worse.

  Islay’s face grew pensive. “Whatever they’d given me for her knocked Jessie out quickly. I met my contact in the back of the restaurant parking lot and paid the staff there to look the other way. The Corporation took her and told me she’d be well taken care of and that they’d be done with their experiment in four weeks. I knew I could cover for her being gone for that length of time. I had her cell phone and knew I could send texts to you to make you think all was well. And I could lie and tell you she was fine whenever we spoke. She’d be all done just before you were to arrive back.”

  Cormag’s rage deepened. “Had I nae left early and without warning, I may nae have arrived back at all. That yer doing too?”

  Islay nodded. “That came about recently. They offered me yer position if I just stopped getting in their way when it came to Jessie. I know what you did, Cormag. I know that when you die you set it all up for Searc to take over.” He hit his chest. “I’ve been by yer side for three hundred years. He walked away yet you still want him to rule in your stead?”

  Cormag crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the man. “I’ve always sensed his character is higher than yers. Plain to see I was right. He’s never tried to have me killed. If Searc wanted me dead, he’s man enough to try to do it himself. And he’s never put my baby girl in harm’s way.”

  Islay flinched. “I didn’t mean for her to be hurt.”

  “W-what, exactly, happened?” asked Cormag, hanging on by a thread. He wanted to strip Islay’s flesh from his body slowly and listen to his screams, but he needed all the details first. Needed to know what had been done to his precious daughter and what danger she might still be in.

  “They had her less than four hours and I knew something was wrong.” Islay touched his chest as tears streaked his cheeks. “I felt it deep inside. I reached out to my contact only to find the number was no longer in service. I knew then I’d been double-crossed.”

  The urge to tear out the man’s throat was nearly all consuming. For a moment, all Cormag heard was his demon thrashing at him from within, wanting to be gifted the opportunity to end the traitor. His demon was one most feared, and for good reason. It was ruthless.

  “I went to the university. I’d seen my contact there once before with a professor when I’d been shadowing Jessie. It took some doing and a couple of days, but I managed to locate where Jessie was being held. I got there to find her strapped to an exam table, in a gown, her legs open.” Islay choked back a sob and wrapped his arms around himself. “She was begging them to stop. But they were already done artificially inseminating her.”

  Cormag uncrossed his arms and dug his nails into his palms. He could smell the blood dripping freely from him. It was Islay’s blood he wanted to spill. He wanted to paint the walls with it as a warning to any other who ever dared to think to threaten his daughter.

  “It was nae easy, but I managed to get her out of there. I took her to her condo, cleaned her and dressed her, praying what they’d tried to do wouldnae take root. And I begged her to forgive me. She was so drugged she dinnae know what was happening.” Islay swallowed hard, refusing to meet Cormag’s gaze. “I called some of our Para-Regs to come and watch over her condo because daylight was nearing and I dinnae trust my demon to be with her nonstop at the main house. I feared what it would do should it sense the tests were successful.”

  Cormag thought about how he’d sensed something differe
nt with his daughter the moment he saw her again. About how he’d instinctively known she was expecting. “The tests more than worked.”

  Islay nodded. “I wasnae sure at first. I had hopes they dinnae. The shifters I tasked with watching her during the light hours each made mention of changes in her scent. I knew then what that place had done to her. I knew she was with child and I dinnae know how to tell her, or to tell you. I tried to keep her close to me, but she was scared to be near me.”

  Cormag’s stomach clenched, knowing that his daughter had lived in fear the entire time he’d been gone. He’d left her with a man he trusted only to find out he’d left her to be tested on and violated. He was her father and should have been there to keep her from harm. Begging for her forgiveness would never be enough. If she were more like him, he’d deliver Islay’s severed head as a gift to say how sorry he was, but she wasn’t like him at all. Jessie would never tolerate violence for any reason.

  It was why he’d never be able to tell her what he was going to do to Islay. She’d want to lock Islay away or try to save him from himself even. That couldn’t be. His gross violation of Cormag’s trust had resulted in harm to Jessie. There was only one outcome for such a crime.

  Death.

  “She started having nightmares. Whitney alerted me to them, worried for her,” said Islay.

  Whitney was a trusted wolf-shifter who worked for Cormag at the Para-Reg office. He’d nearly asked the wolf to stay in the main home while he was gone, but he’d thought he was being paranoid and going overboard. He knew now he’d made a mistake.

  “Erik came to me next, realizing she was suffering from night terrors as well. He’s made it difficult for me to get near her.” Islay glanced away. “Like he’d sensed I might be a danger to her.”

  Cormag made a mental note to seek out Whitney and Erik and personally thank them both for what they’d done.

  “While she wasnae supposed to remember what had happened to her, I think she did—at least in the dreams. It left her terrified of me.” Islay looked up; his eyes were rimmed with red and tears continued to run down his face. “Maybe that was what Erik was sensing. I do nae know. I just know he’s stuck to her like glue and has refused to swap out positions. He’s even got Shane refusing to leave guard duty.”

  “For guid reason,” snapped Cormag, hate burning through him. “Tell me how Searc came to be part of all of this.”

  Islay eyed him. “The Corporation knew they were mates. I do nae know how, but they did. When I went back to the university, after I freed Jessie, I demanded to know all they’d done to her. The professor in charge of the experiments there laughed in my face. He told me they were tasked with creating the next generation of super soldiers and that Jessie was one of the chosen few. They said they’d given her body what it craved—its mate’s sperm. I dinnae believe him. I dinnae know they had samples from Searc stored away. That the reason they’d asked me for a dress of hers months prior to that was so they could use her scent to get what they needed from Searc. They’d had a long con and I played into their hands. I dinnae know. After I burst in to retrieve her, they offered me yer position. It was then the plot to kill you began. I was hurt and angry with you for picking Searc above me, and I was scared you’d learn of what I’d done to Jessie.”

  “Searc dinnae know of any of this?” asked Cormag.

  Islay shook his head. “He’d have killed me and them for daring to touch Jessie. It’s already all he can do to keep from outright claiming her when he’s around her. We’ve all seen it. When he finds out what I’ve done, he’ll kill me slowly.”

  “And you think I willnae?” he asked.

  Islay sat up straight. “I hope you do. It’s what I deserve. I betrayed her trust in me. I turned her against me. I took her and delivered her to madmen. She’s with child now—a child they’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on. They know Jessie was created in one of their past experiments. They see her as a crowning achievement and this pregnancy as a way to continue their work. They’re going to come for her. And when they take her, we’ll never find her or the babe again.” He broke down in tears.

  There was movement behind Cormag, and he turned to find another of his men there. “Sire.”

  “Aye?”

  “There was an incident on campus. An attack at the library. Labrainn’s granddaughter was present. She was injured.”

  Islay gasped. “Meena?”

  “Yes,” said the other vampire.

  “Cormag, it’s begun. Meena was another they had their sights set on. The professor in charge of the experiments wanted to try to breed her himself. Rudy has been obsessed with her for months. Almost as obsessed as his assistant is with Jessie. They’ll make a play for Jessie now.” Islay shook harder. “Rudy came to the club tonight, telling me that he knew Jessie was pregnant. And that they had big plans for her and the child.”

  Cormag snarled. “They’ll nae touch my daughter.”

  “Kill me if you want, but protect her. Please. I meant what I said, I love her.”

  Cormag wanted to call Searc at once and tell him everything. He wanted to demand his daughter be brought back to him so he could watch over her, but deep down his demon knew she wouldn’t be safe near him just yet. That if Labrainn’s granddaughter had just been attacked, Jessie would be next, and the most likely spot to find her would be with Cormag.

  It went against his natural-born need to protect his daughter, but Cormag held back from summoning or calling Searc. At this point, he couldn’t be sure if his calls were being traced or if by summoning Searc, he’d be playing into the enemy’s hands.

  For now, he’d hunt them before they could hunt his daughter. And his demon was telling him without a shadow of doubt that, for now, Jessie was with the man she should be with—her mate.

  The father of her unborn babe.

  Searc.

  With a sigh, Cormag did the next best thing. He phoned PSI.

  Chapter Ten

  Jessie followed closely behind Searc as he went for the front desk of the hotel. The place was the sort of hotel her father would insist on staying at. He tended to gravitate to high-end things as well. The inside of the entranceway looked as if it was made entirely of white marble. It was on the floor, the walls, the counters. Everywhere. It was so opulent that it came off as somewhat gaudy. The total opposite of her tastes.

  Huge bouquets of orange flowers were set about the entranceway. The arrangements were taller than her and likely cost more than most people earned in a week. Seemed a waste, but it wasn’t her place to point it out.

  Searc slowed his pace, and she realized it was for her benefit. Something her father also did as well. The harder she looked at him from behind, the more she began to see the similarities between Cormag and Searc. Their self-assured walk, the way they carried themselves, their accents, their tempers, their overprotectiveness, the clinging to kilts despite the times.

  Holy crap, I have the hots for a guy who is just like my dad.

  She faltered in her step and tripped over nothing, the thought that jarring. Searc spun around, caught her by the elbow gently, and eased her upright. The look he gave her was one that questioned if she was capable of handling something as simple as walking.

  She’d have taken offense but she’d spent her entire life around vampires. They tended to think of humans as simple and weak. Since she wasn’t much off from a human, she could only guess he saw her in the same light.

  “You guid?” he asked, his body near hers.

  She nodded. “Sorry. Got lost in my own head for a minute there.”

  He released her. “One foot in front of the other there.”

  She gave a mock salute and he grinned before continuing onward.

  A short, somewhat pudgy man with a head of unruly dark brown hair was behind the counter, working on a computer while standing. He wore a maroon uniform with gold trimming, much like the other employees they’d walked past. The moment he looked up and spotted Searc, a broad smile sli
d over his face. He rushed out from behind the counter, his hand extended.

  “Searc! How have you been?” he asked, an Italian accent evident. He yanked on Searc’s hand, forcing him to bend to his level before kissing both cheeks in an overdone, dramatic fashion.

  Jessie hid her laughter at Searc’s obvious discomfort with the act. She was surprised to see Searc didn’t push the man away. He accepted the embrace and the kisses, though his gaze said he wasn’t exactly thrilled by it all.

  “Guid, Giuseppe,” said Searc, clearing his throat and straightening to his full height once more. He made the man look downright tiny in comparison. “I need a room. I do nae know how long. I’ll need clothes and personal items purchased and sent up for her and me. This will be cash and keep my name off the books. No one is to know I’m here or that she is either.”

  “Of course. Discretion is my middle name.”

  Searc snorted. “I thought it was Luigi.”

  “That too.” The man turned to Jessie, smiling wide. He reached for her. “A friend of Searc’s is a friend of mine. I’m Giuseppe, and you are?”

  “Jessie,” she said, taking his hand in hers, liking him at once.

  Giuseppe drew her into his embrace, which was a lot firmer than one would think upon looking at him. “Come now. We hug.”

  She laughed and returned his embrace. He then launched into kissing her cheeks as well. She merely smiled and mirrored his actions, kissing his cheeks in return.

  When he pulled back, his gaze went to her stomach. His gaze narrowed a second before pure excitement passed over his face. Mr. Discretion-is-my-middle-name tossed his hands in the air and spun, jumping up and down. He then lunged for Searc, pulling him close. “You no tell me congratulations were in order!” His hands flew around wildly as he spoke. “It’s been a long time since I encountered one of your kind who was having a child.”

  Having a child? One of his kind?

  Searc paused and cleared his throat, doing his best to work himself out of the small man’s grip.