Dark Obsession

by Sydney Somers

  “Don’t make it about you, Rae. We both know there are things beyond your control, things you can’t do alone no matter how much you want to believe you can. Things you can’t fix. Things you can’t undo.”

  “Maybe not. Maybe if I hadn’t cut him out of my life he would have always been reminded of what he’d done, or of the kids who’d been tainted by his experiments.” Or maybe if she’d turned away from him sooner, when the network had tried to intervene, he wouldn’t have seen how her abilities improved, her perseverance possibly inspiring him to try again.

  “You’re smarter than that.” The edge to Parker’s voice surprised her. “You know none of this is any more your fault than it was the first time.”

  The logical part of her brain knew he was right, knew what happened had nothing to do with the choices she’d made. And yet…

  She drew in a deep breath. In a few hours they’d be on their way home and she’d dig deeper, find her father and keep him from running more tests—

  “Stop.”

  Rae hadn’t noticed Parker had moved until she felt his mouth near her ear. Reaching down the side of the chair, he removed the phone and set it on the table behind him. He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Before they reached the bed, he dragged the T-shirt she’d borrowed over her head.

  For a long moment he stood there, raking his gaze over her, and when he came back to her eyes, his wolfish grin faded.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She shook her head. Even if she’d been able to voice the emotion that suddenly wedged deep in her throat, she wouldn’t have.

  Not until right that second had she realized that part of her had been afraid that his need for release—no matter how much he’d downplayed it—had driven him to insist it was her and her alone he wanted. Had been afraid that when he woke up, she might see regret on his face knowing what he did about her past.

  Only once before had she confided her past to a lover, and his reaction had too closely mirrored those of her father’s colleagues. She’d been so wrapped up in worrying that her team’s opinion of her might change if they learned the truth, she’d convinced herself that Parker’s hadn’t mattered.

  Wrong. How could she have been such an idiot? Standing there naked and vulnerable, she realized just how much it would hurt if he turned away from her.

  God, she didn’t want to love him again, didn’t want to ever leave herself open to that again. She wasn’t sure she could hold it together a second time.

  But it wasn’t regret or love she saw on his face now, or love that she felt when he dragged her down on the bed.

  He hovered over her, a triumphant smile hugging his full mouth, though she didn’t have a clue why. And she didn’t care, not when he slid down her body and found the center of her with his mouth.

  “Just a second.”

  Before Rae could punch the correct floor button on the elevator for the field office, Parker caught her hand. Warmth spiraled up her arm before she casually pulled free. It was the first time he’d intentionally touched her since they’d boarded the plane in Michigan.

  “The others are waiting.”

  He shrugged. “So let them wait.”

  Knowing it would be a waste of time to rush him, she simply watched and waited. He stared at the console, his expression thoughtful before turning to face her. She wouldn’t have imagined that angling his body slightly would bring him so much closer to her.

  The move was intentional, she realized, catching the flicker of a smile on his lips. She was willing to bet he’d purposely kept his distance earlier, letting her think he was sticking to their “one night” deal.

  “You said—”

  “I lied,” he cut in, snagging the bottom of her shirt and tugging her closer.

  She could have resisted, could have backed up, but the second his palm cupped her cheek all she could think about was kissing him.

  His gaze dropped to her mouth, and she knew he was thinking about it too. She just couldn’t figure out what he was waiting for, why he stared at her lips like a man half-starved but held back.

  Another inch closer, another drawn-out pause that left her more on the edge than any legion of demons ever could. A heartbeat shy of when she would have pushed up on her toes to meet his mouth, Parker bent his head.

  Soft and warm, his lips opened over hers. At the first taste of him, her eyes drifted shut, her last breath tumbling out in a soft rush. His hand slid around her nape, his grip firm, but the kiss soft, teasing.

  She leaned into him, moaning as their tongues touched, a feather-light stroke that sizzled though her veins.

  Vaguely aware they were inching backward, she came up against the elevator wall. He didn’t crowd her, but as the lazy exploration continued, she wanted him to. That he didn’t, not even when she dropped her bag and looped her arms around him, her fingers raking the ends of his hair, only made the kiss hotter.

  God, she was experiencing meltdown at the cellular level and she could barely feel him against her lips. His tongue slid a little deeper, and she pushed up on her toes, getting closer.

  He broke away, his breathing coming faster than hers. Not taking his eyes off her, he hit the button on the panel.

  “I lied,” he repeated, looking ready to turn away only to catch her mouth in another lingering kiss that was over much too fast.

  He stepped back a few seconds before the doors opened and then strolled out without a backward glance.

  She only let him get a few feet ahead of her. “Parker.”

  He stopped, waited, his expression guarded when she reached his side. He was probably expecting her to tell him to forget about whatever seduction scenarios were running through his mind. And she probably should, but that wasn’t what she said.

  “Just do me a favor and steer clear of Darcy for a while.”

  He gave her an amused look. “You think I’d kiss and tell?”

  It wasn’t the kissing she didn’t want getting around before she’d even reached her office. “Please?”

  He cocked his head, his gaze turning calculating. “Meet me on the roof later this afternoon.”

  That was the price he wanted to keep his silence? “You’re not fond of heights.”

  He only grinned at her, digging his ringing phone out of his pocket. “I’ll manage.”

  His jaw tightened when he glanced at the display screen. She’d seen the same look on his face in the stairwell.

  He hit a button and stuffed the phone back in his pocket without answering. “Just someone who hasn’t dealt well with their gene mutation.” His smile returned, but didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’ll come find you later.”

  He turned away before she could tell him he was crazy. Crazy for making her want to meet him.

  Alone in the hall, Rae headed for her office, not surprised to find Adrian waiting for her.

  Eager to get her thoughts off Parker and back on finding her father, she set her bag in the corner, not bothering to sit.

  “Tell me about the gatekeeper.” She’d deliberately avoided bringing it up on the phone because she wanted to see his face. She couldn’t imagine he would lie to her, but that didn’t mean someone higher than Adrian on the network’s chain of command would be okay with it.

  Adrian was old school and as hardcore loyal as they came. If he’d been ordered to leave the subject alone, he would. But at least this way Rae would be able to see if he was holding back.

  Adrian tensed but didn’t appear caught off guard by the question. “Now it makes sense why Darcy didn’t know a lot of what Burke said when you found him.”

  “So you’ve known all along what that symbol meant.”

  He nodded. “It’s only a myth.”

  “Not according to my father.”

  Adrian’s eyes widened and he straightened in his seat. “You found him? Burke told you where he is?”

  She shook her head. “Burke doesn’t know where he is.”

  “And you believe him?” Adrian’s
tone said he clearly didn’t.

  “According to Burke, he hasn’t seen him in a few weeks.”

  Adrian frowned. “Where?”

  “Red Crossing.” Her gaze drifted to the wall of symbols. “Why didn’t you say anything? We’ve been busting our asses trying to figure out how it ties in and you knew all along.”

  “For all we know it’s an exaggerated story, and that’s not something any of us can afford to put our faith in.”

  “And how many of us once believed the possibility of absorbing a demon’s abilities was just a story?”

  Adrian pushed to his feet. “There’s proof to back that up.”

  She gestured to the wall. “So that symbol popping up all over the place all of a sudden is just a coincidence?”

  “It is if those skilled in translating the ancient texts made a mistake with their interpretations at some point.”

  “And if you and the network are wrong?”

  A sad smile blinked across his face and he sighed. “You sound like him.”

  “I’m nothing like my father.” It stung a little that Adrian of all people would make that comparison. “Is that why the network rejected the likelihood of it being authentic, because my father believed it?”

  “He didn’t just believe it, Rae. It consumed him. Changed him. You more than anyone else know that.” He flinched as though he hadn’t realized how harsh that sounded until the words left his mouth.

  He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Don’t use this to try and figure him out, Rae.”

  “This is not about understanding my father.”

  Adrian gave her a sympathetic look. “Why did he experiment on you, Rae?”

  She shook her head. “This isn’t about me and my father. It’s about missing kids and it’s about that.” She pointed to the blown-up symbol in the middle of the board.

  “Why you?” Adrian pushed, his voice hardening.

  Despite her determination to stay focused on the present, his question hit too close to home. “This isn’t about what he did to me.”

  “Why you, Rae? Why his own daughter?”

  “I don’t know, damn it. I’ve never known.” There was no way of keeping the old hurt from trickling in beneath the anger and frustration.

  “That symbol and any story behind it, truth or fiction, will never answer that question,” Adrian said quietly.

  Rae blew out a breath, unable to deny that she’d spent too many years wondering how her father could have used her that way. But she wouldn’t let those lingering doubts and questions get in the way of finding him.

  “You came to me because you thought I could help. If both the hostiles and my father believe in the gatekeeper, then it’s important. We just need to figure out how to use it to find him.”

  “Maybe you’re right. It still doesn’t change the fact that no matter what your father believes, we won’t be able to figure out what he’s doing and where he’s keeping those kids by looking at any ancient texts.”

  Parker stared at the ringing phone in his hand, wanting to ignore the third call he’d received in the last hour. His gut hadn’t stopped churning since the first time Private Number had flashed across the screen earlier, and the need for fresh air had finally sent him back to the elevator.

  Once he’d hit the ground floor, he hadn’t stopped walking until he was a few blocks away from the field office.

  Tired of playing games, he just wanted to shove the phone in his pocket. Instead he found himself answering.

  “You’ve been avoiding my calls.”

  “Not interested in whatever you’re trying to sell.”

  “You know your mother better than anyone else, Parker. Do you really think she was capable of murdering her own child in cold blood?”

  “She was tainted.”

  The feminine voice on the other end laughed, the sound empty and hollow. “A convenient excuse provided by your Shadow Destroyer network.”

  His network? Did that rule out anyone affiliated with the network then? Was he dealing with someone else who knew their secrets?

  It wouldn’t be the first time. Weeks ago an up and coming senator, who’d headed up a demon worshipping cult, had even known about the incident with Parker’s mother, had tried using it to get to Blair.

  Could the person on the other end of the phone have worked with the senator or have gotten their information from the same source Holson had?

  “Come on, Parker. Could it really have overtaken her so quickly that she would attack her own child before trying to get away?”

  He didn’t say anything, afraid that if he did, he’d start questioning what happened all over again.

  “Who did she get the sword from?”

  “Why are you asking when I’m guessing you already know it had belonged to my father?”

  “And how did she feel about the sword?”

  The emphasis on feel made the hair on the back of his neck stand at attention.

  “She loved it, didn’t she? Cherished it perhaps?”

  He started to pull the phone away from his ear, wanting to hang up even when he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

  “Even tainted, could she really have used something she had always treasured as a tool in the death of her daughter?”

  “Stop.”

  “You were supposed to go over to her house that afternoon. Why didn’t she wait and kill the two of you?”

  His pulse began to race and he gripped the phone tighter. “She wasn’t herself anymore.”

  “You don’t believe that any more than I do. Don’t take my word on it. Talk to Blair. Ask her about the time she lost control.”

  The line went dead as she hung up.

  Parker stared at the phone for a long minute, then turned back to the field office. Someone was bound to be looking for him by now and he hadn’t yet talked to Adrian about more information on Hurst and Burke.

  If he thought about his job and finding Hurst, about meeting Rae later, then the pain in his chest didn’t make it so damn hard to drag in his next breath. It didn’t matter what the call had been about, he needed it to stop. Needed to find the bitch screwing with his head.

  When he hit the field office, he headed straight for Braxton, whom he found leaning back in his chair, eyes closed. Parker couldn’t say for sure, but the telepath looked like he’d slept in his clothes.

  “Did you even go home last night?”

  Braxton shook his head. “Left to go to the clinic for a while with Quinn, but came back.”

  “Anything new to go on?”

  “Most promising lead so far had been tracking custom-made manacles Hurst used to keep the hostiles…cooperative. The original company is no longer in business, but parts of the business were sold off a few years back.” Braxton leaned forward in his chair. “I found a guy who managed to find a shipment sent to the U.S. a couple months back.”

  “Where?”

  “It was rerouted to another destination once it hit the east coast and I’ve been having a harder time tracking it from there.”

  “Can you look into something for me? I’ve been getting some calls from a private number. Any way you might be able to track it down and get me a name or address?”

  He took a sip of his coffee and swiveled his chair closer to his computer. “I’ll access your phone logs and see what I can do. Is this to do with tracking Hurst?”

  “No, this is personal.” Which unfortunately didn’t make it a priority. Seeing as he’d gone this long, he could handle waiting a while longer. “Thanks.” Parker started to leave, then stopped. “Hey, have you seen Blair around?”

  The telepath’s fingers were already gliding across the keyboard. “Last I checked she was camped out in a corner of the training room with her laptop.”

  “The training room? Unusual place to research isn’t it?”

  Braxton shrugged without looking away from the screen in front of him. “Pregnant women are weird that way.” He cursed under his breath.

  “W
hat did you say?”

  Both Parker and Braxton turned to see Drew standing behind them.

  Braxton slouched in his chair. “Shit.”

  “Blair is pregnant?” Drew stood there gaping at them. “She told you she’s pregnant?”

  “Not exactly.” Braxton winced, tapping his temple in silent acknowledgment he’d found out the cheating way.

  “How long have you known?”

  “A few days.”

  Parker couldn’t decide who he felt worse for—Brax for letting the cat out of the bag, or Drew for not having heard it from Blair himself.

  Looking more than a little shell-shocked, Drew glanced around. “Where is she?”

  “Training room,” Parker offered, though he was sure Drew had already overheard that part too.

  “Right.”

  Braxton finally stood. “Maybe you should wait until she says something.”

  “If it were Quinn, would you wait?”

  “Just give me a heads up if she looks like she wants to hurt me for telling you.”

  The look on Drew’s face before he strode away said he’d rather have front row seats for the show.

  Parker rocked back on his heels. “I guess I’ll give them a minute then.” More than a minute given Drew’s reaction to the news. Considering he’d only just found out about his five-year-old daughter, Molly, a few months ago, they were probably lucky Drew hadn’t passed out.

  Which turned out to be a distinct possibility when Drew reappeared a few minutes later, his face bleached of color.

  “She’s pissed at me, isn’t she?” Braxton wasn’t looking a whole lot better than Drew.

  Drew nodded. “Not sure.”

  Parker and Braxton exchanged curious glances at the conflicting responses before the telepath cocked his head. “So which is it?”

  “Both.”

  Braxton shook his head. “You’re not making much sense, dude.”

  “Two,” was all Drew said.

  “Too pissed, or two times as likely to kick my ass?” Braxton frowned when Drew dropped into the closest chair.

  “Two babies.” It was almost a whisper.

  Parker grinned.

  “Twins? My baby sister is pregnant with twins?” Braxton’s face split into a wide grin.