Unraveling Darkness Read online

  His fingers knotted in the ends of my hair, and he stared down into my face with an almost stunned bewilderment at what had just happened. “Fucking hell, Darcy. That was amazing.”

  My heart began to slow, and I smiled. “Yeah, it was.”

  We curled in together, him pulling me so my back pressed against his chest, and his arms wrapped around me. I felt safe here, cocooned within his embrace, and as I felt sleep trying to claim me, I tried not to think about how I’d feel in the morning when they all left.

  Without me.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Confusion and anxiety filled my dreams. Numbers danced in front of my face, and I knew I was supposed to have remembered which order they needed to go in, that it had been crucially important, but none of them would stay still. They darted around like lightning bugs, and the positions certain numbers always took in my surrounding space were all wrong. Instead of number one being the closest, it was number nine, and normally I saw eight behind one, but now it was four. Seven should be right in the center of my vision, but that had been replaced by five. It was all wrong, and, to make matters worse, none of them would stay in the same place.

  “I trusted you, Darcy,” my father’s voice said, and I looked up to find him standing in front of me. Behind him were the patio doors he’d been shot through, and I frowned at them in confusion. Hadn’t he been shot already? How did I know the number if he wasn’t already dead?

  But I didn’t know the code, did I? I’d gotten it wrong, and that was why I couldn’t get the numbers to stay in one place.

  “We trusted you, too,” said Alex from behind my back, and I turned to find all five men standing behind me. They each wore identical expressions of disappointment.

  Kingsley pressed his full lips together and shook his head. “Now you’ve forgotten it, haven’t you? If you’d just told us right away, we wouldn’t be in this position.”

  My mind blurred. “But I’ve already told you what the code is. You already know!”

  He shook his head. “No, you didn’t. You’ve been keeping secrets from us, and now you’ve forgotten the code, and it’s lost forever.”

  I didn’t understand what was happening. I’d told them, hadn’t I? Unless that part had been a dream and the code was still locked inside my head. But the trouble was that the numbers weren’t inside my head. They never had been. They were dancing around me, and they wouldn’t stay still.

  I blurted it out to Kingsley.

  Isaac stepped in. “What are you talking about, Darcy? Is this something else you haven’t told us?”

  My dad joined in, and I cowered away, feeling ganged up on. “What happened to you, Darcy? You used to be such a good girl, and now it’s all lies, lies, lies.”

  “No, that’s not true.” I shook my head, frantic.

  “You’ve let me down. You’re such a disappointment to me, and to your Aunt Sarah, too. It’s a good thing I’m dead, because otherwise I don’t think I’d have been able to live with you in my life.”

  A spot of blood suddenly appeared on his chest and started to grow. But he didn’t react to it, just stood there, shaking his head at me as the red spread, taking over his entire chest.

  And behind me, the guys echoed his words ...

  Such a disappointment.

  I WOKE GASPING AND coated in a sheen of sweat. The sheets clung to my body, and my heart thumped. It took me a moment to piece together the events of the last few days and realize it had only been a dream. It had been horrible, but my first fear was that I’d forgotten the code again. I was still able to see the numbers, wasn’t I? I visualized the code my father had given me and exhaled a sigh of relief when the numbers popped up in my vision, as clear as they had been when I’d gone to sleep.

  Despite having already told Isaac and the others what the code was, I refused to allow myself to forget it again. Not that I wanted to consider the possibility, but if something happened to them, I’d be the only other person who knew it, though I assumed Isaac had given it to Devlin. But perhaps he hadn’t. Maybe Isaac was keeping it back, too, making sure they were kept on this assignment. It had been my only piece of leverage, and now it was theirs.

  I realized something else. Kingsley was no longer with me.

  What time was it? Had he left to get ready for the day? Or had he sneaked out not long after I’d fallen asleep, seeking the solitude of his own bed? The thought of him leaving weighed heavy on my heart for some reason. I’d have preferred it if he’d stayed with me. Between my legs felt slippery from where we’d had sex, and I had that low pleasurable ache from being fucked good and hard.

  I pressed my fingers to my lips, holding back my smile. Even if Kingsley had left, that didn’t change what we’d done together. Being with him had been something I definitely wanted a repeat performance of. I wondered if he’d tell the others. Would he and Clay compare notes? Would they all discuss how it felt to have their fingers inside me? Poor Lorcan would most likely still be in the sick bay, and I wasn’t sure how close Alex and I had gotten. We’d spent the night in bed together, but I still wasn’t completely sure what had happened, if anything. It might have all just been my imagination, dreaming as vividly as I did. Did my vivid dreams, which I’d had since I’d been a child, have something to do with how suggestible I was when I was under hypnosis? Were all those things perhaps linked to my synesthesia—my mind working in a different way than others?

  Guilt filled me, but it wasn’t to do with not having told them about my synesthesia yet. No, I’d just remembered I’d given no thought to my poor aunt next door. I hoped she hadn’t heard Kingsley and me last night. She already suspected there was something going on between me and the guys, and I didn’t know how she’d feel if she knew I wasn’t exactly being selective about any one of them. It felt right to me, and I got the impression they felt the same way, but I didn’t know how someone on the outside would view things. Aunt Sarah could be a little judgmental at the best of times, and, with everything else going on, she was bound to not approve.

  Still, I felt bad that I’d abandoned her in her room, even though she’d said she wanted to be alone. I should have told her that I’d had food put to one side for her. I’d meant to, but then I’d gotten caught up in Devlin and Isaac’s plans to shut me out, then Kingsley had come to see me and I’d forgotten everything else.

  Getting up, I used the adjoining small bathroom, then pulled my clothes back on—they still lay on the floor where Kingsley had thrown them. I opened the bedroom door and poked my head out into the corridor beyond. Seeing no sign of life, I slipped out and went to the room next door where my aunt had taken herself to rest. I knocked lightly with the backs of my fingers. “Aunt Sarah? It’s Darcy.”

  I paused, listening for movement beyond. Surely she wouldn’t still be sleeping? A buzz of worry zinged through me. I hoped she was okay.

  I knocked harder this time. “Aunt Sarah?”

  Again, I got no reply, so I reached down and tried the handle. It turned smoothly, and the door swung open to reveal an empty room beyond. She’d remade the bed. I frowned. Was she in the bathroom?

  Stepping more fully into the room, I crossed the floor to the adjoining door of the bathroom. Again, I knocked, but got no response, so I turned the handle and pushed the door open to reveal a tiny bathroom identical to the one I’d just left. But there was no sign of Sarah.

  I glanced back at the bed. I’d assumed the bed had been remade, but maybe she’d never slept in it?

  Worry escalated inside me. Yes, she may have gone up to try to find some breakfast, but I doubted she’d have done so without me. Maybe she’d heard Kingsley with me last night, and had thought it best not to disturb me, not wanting to embarrass any of us.

  With concern pushing at my back, I left the room and hurried to the elevator—not quite at a run, but certainly a fast trot. There didn’t appear to be anyone around, and I found the solitude unnerving. Where was everyone? Had something happened while I’d been sleeping, a
nd no one thought to wake me?

  I punched the button on the elevator to take me to the living quarters. My anxiety bubbled like acid in the back of my throat. I didn’t know what I imagined, but I didn’t like it. I hopped from one foot to the other, willing the tin box I was stuck inside to hurry up.

  Though only seconds had passed, it felt like forever. Finally, the doors slid open, and I rushed out, pushing through them before they’d even opened fully. A blast of voices and activity hit me, the smell of bacon and coffee lingering in the air, combined with something acrid and sharper—burned toast.

  I spotted Kingsley’s broad shoulders, standing talking to someone. He must have sensed me approaching, and glanced back over his shoulder. His lips tweaked in a small smile, but I didn’t return it.

  “You’re awake,” he said. “You were sound asleep when I left, and I didn’t want to disturb you.”

  I didn’t care about that any more. “Where’s Aunt Sarah?” I scanned the people sitting at various tables, or lining up to help themselves to the breakfast buffet. I spotted a couple of the guys—Lorcan was out of the medical bay and was sitting with Clay. They both saw me, and Clay lifted his hand in a wave, Lorcan nodding. I returned a tight smile, and I saw the expression on Clay’s face change when he realized something wasn’t right. I couldn’t let myself be distracted by the guys, however, and I continued to search the small crowd. Aunt Sarah wasn’t among any of the people here.

  Kingsley dipped his head to bring himself to my level. “What are you talking about?”

  I bit my lower lip, my teeth tugging at a piece of dried skin. “She’s not in her room. I went to check on her, and she wasn’t there. She’s not here, either, and I’m not even sure if her bed was slept in.”

  “I’m sure she’s around here someplace.” But a frown marked his brow, and he cast glances off to either side as though expecting her to materialize. He looked back to me and placed his hand on my shoulder, to either steady or reassure me. “Wait here.”

  “No way. I’m coming with you.”

  I was sick of everyone telling me I needed to wait behind, so I followed Kingsley over to where Clay and Lorcan were sitting.

  Kingsley stopped beside their table. “Hey, have you seen Darcy’s aunt? She’s not been seen since before dinner yesterday.”

  I should have asked Lorcan how he was feeling, but my mind was caught up in a whirlwind of possibilities. They didn’t know how she’d been thinking. In their minds, she was on our side, but I knew differently. She hadn’t really trusted Isaac and the others, and thought I might be making a mistake.

  Clay shook his head. “Nah, sorry, man. Not seen her since she went to lie down yesterday.”

  “Where are Isaac and Devlin?” I asked. “They might know.”

  Clay lifted his stormy gray eyes to the ceiling. “On the top level, making preparations for us to leave today to go after Hollan.”

  I frowned. “And Alex?”

  Lorcan spoke up. “One of the younger boys had dislocated a finger as I was leaving. He stayed down in the sick bay dealing with the kid.”

  Could my aunt have gone there? Had she gotten ill in the night and gone to find help? Why hadn’t she come to me first—had it been because I’d had Kingsley in the room with me?

  I looked to Lorcan. “Did you just come from there? Did you see my aunt?”

  He shook his head. “Sorry, princess. No sign of her.”

  I forced myself to ask after him, not wanting them to think I was caught up in my own little Darcy bubble, where I was incapable of considering someone else. “You’re feeling better, though?”

  Lorcan gave me a rare smile, and my heart melted a little for him. It was good to see the tense, pain-filled expression he’d sported all the previous day had vanished. “Yeah, much. I can help you look.”

  “Only if it’s not going to make you worse.”

  He shrugged, then winced as the movement obviously caused him pain. “Devlin is already planning on sending me back out on the job today. I’ll be fine.”

  Kingsley straightened. “I suggest we go and speak to Isaac and Devlin. Find out if they know where your aunt has gone.”

  Clay and Lorcan rose from the table, leaving their breakfasts half eaten. In an unspoken agreement, we all headed toward the elevator. As we stepped inside, and Clay hit the button for the upper level, I had the horrible thought that Devlin and Isaac might have picked up Sarah’s reluctance to be here and done something about it. Would they hurt a woman if they thought she was a threat to them? It seemed crazy, but then this whole thing was crazy. They’d gone as far as kidnapping me, hadn’t they?

  The doors slid shut, encasing us inside the metal box.

  Could they have done something to Aunt Sarah?

  Chapter Eighteen

  The elevator doors slid open to reveal Devlin, Isaac, and several other men who worked the computers and surveillance equipment. They all appeared busy, mostly focused on computer screens, while one was on the phone. They had the air of important men doing important things. I didn’t give a shit about any of that, though. I only wanted to find out one thing.

  I marched straight up to Devlin, and he looked to me in surprise. “My aunt is missing. I’m not sure she slept in her bed. You know anything about that?”

  “Your aunt?” He shook his head. He did appear genuinely confused, but he might have been a good liar. “No, I haven’t seen her since you first arrived.”

  “You sure about that?” I challenged.

  His blue eyes narrowed a fraction, causing fine lines to span out in crow’s feet from the corners. “Of course I’m sure. Why would I lie?”

  “Because you did something to her.”

  His eyebrows lifted, looking at me as though I might have a screw lose. “And why would I do anything to your aunt?”

  “I’m not sure, but I’m trying to figure out a reasonable explanation why I can’t find her anywhere, and it’s not as though she has anywhere she can actually go.”

  Devlin’s lips twisted and he glanced over at the men who were working on the surveillance equipment. “Hey, Sinclair, you were on watch last night, weren’t you?”

  A tall, slender man with red hair, who I guessed to be in his thirties, straightened from the screen he’d been watching. “Yeah, boss. I’m due to finish my shift any minute now.”

  “You know anything about Darcy’s aunt missing?”

  He shook his head. “Nope, sorry.”

  “But you were watching the screens all night?”

  He nodded, but then frowned, his teeth digging into his lower lip.

  “What is it?” Devlin demanded, taking a couple of steps toward the other man. He’d obviously sensed something wasn’t quite right.

  Sinclair hesitated, as though he wasn’t sure if he should say something. I stepped forward as well, joining Devlin and decreasing the distance between myself and the other man. “Please,” I begged, “if you know anything, tell me. She might be in danger.”

  Or be a danger to us, I thought, but didn’t say.

  Sinclair spoke. “One of the younger boys, William, came up here last night.”

  “He did?” Devlin snapped. “Why? The boys know they’re not allowed on this level.”

  “He wanted help with a project he was working on down in the science lab—an electrical circuit they were supposed to have produced by the next day—but he was struggling with it. It was late and he said he couldn’t sleep because it was worrying him so much. He begged me to go down and help him, just for five minutes, so I did.”

  Devlin seemed to grow bigger in his anger, his back straightening, his shoulders becoming broader. “You left your post?”

  “Only for five minutes—ten, tops.”

  Devlin shook his head then ran a hand through his hair. “Go and get William. Let’s see what he has to say for himself. I’m not aware of the boys having any projects like that going on right now, and he certainly shouldn’t have been disturbing you when he should have
been sleeping.”

  Sinclair bobbed his head in a nod, and hurried to catch the elevator down to where the boys were probably still eating breakfast.

  While we were waiting, Devlin headed to the security screens. He brought up the screen which showed the outside area, and began to scroll back through the time. The night vision was black and white, and a little grainy. Devlin kept scrolling, going back in time to the previous evening. As he did so, my synesthesia caused a timeline to flash up in front of my eyes, scrolling to the left in time with Devlin.

  Most of the screen showed nothing more than the external, rusted machinery, and some fallen logs, but then movement flashed across it.

  “There!” I stabbed my finger at the screen. “Go back.”

  Devlin did as I asked, and slowed down the footage.

  The person crossing the screen wore a hoodie pulled up over their head, hiding their face. From their height and shape, and just the way the person moved, I knew it was my aunt. “That’s her.”

  “Dammit. What time was that?” Isaac asked.

  Devlin frowned and leaned in to check out the small clock on screen. “A little before eleven.”

  My heart sank. That had been hours ago. She could be miles away by now.

  The elevator opened behind us, and I twisted to see Sinclair emerge holding a boy—William, I assumed—lightly by the shoulders, more to steer him than force him forward.

  The boy’s head was down and tears streamed down his face. He was one of the younger boys—around eight-years-old. My heart tightened at the sight of him, hating that he was in distress, but we needed to know what had happened.

  Sinclair nudged William on the shoulder. “Tell them what you just told me.”

  William wiped the back of his hand across his nose, leaving a pale, silvery trail across his skin. “The lady, Sarah, asked me to help her. She said she needed to make sure her family was safe, and this was the only way she’d be able to leave.”