Evanesce (The Darkness #2) (15 page)

“Greta, why can’t you go home? I don’t understand why you continue to stay here and work for such a madman.” Greta wrung her hands and refused to meet her eyes.

“Let’s let you rest for a few more minutes and then take another stroll around the gardens. The temperature is lovely,” Greta ignored Brooke’s question about her personal life; not willing to share.

Standing up, Brooke subtly slid the handful of rocks into her pants pocket, careful not to alert Greta as to what she was doing.

Forty-five minutes passed quickly and soon Greta was tugging her gently towards the door. With one last look at the sprawling green fields, she complied.

Once in the kitchen, a blood-curdling scream rang out, causing both women to jump out of their skin. Brooke ran towards the sound, Greta on her heels calling out for her to stop. Skidding along the tiled floor, she threw open the door that held the tiny cots of infants, the scene no less horrifying than the first time she had seen it. Another scream rang out and Brooke knew exactly where it was coming from this time. It was the woman she had seen restrained to the bed. The very pregnant woman.

Racing into the room, Brooke halted, not able to believe her eyes. Dr. Daniels, Marcus and Milo were all standing over the woman as she screamed and screamed. In obvious labor, she pulled hard on her restraints, her head thrashing from side to side. Dr. Daniels stood up from leaning between her legs and announced. “The child is feet first, it cannot be turned. There is nothing that I can do to promote a natural labor.”

Marcus’s sigh could be heard across the room. “Fine. Cut the child out.” Milo moved to unsheathe the knife that was always tucked into the waistband of his pants when Marcus’s arm shot out, stopping him.

“Wait. Gag her. I don’t want Brooke disturbed by this inconvenience.” Dr. Daniels took the knife from Milo and pushed up the woman’s dress, exposing her swollen belly. Milo leaned down and looked her in the eyes. “Quiet, bitch,” he told her and stuffed a hankerchief in her mouth, effectively silencing her screams of torture.

Not one for ceremony, Dr. Daniels stepped closer and dragged the knife across the woman’s belly in a brutal slash. Brooke covered her mouth and stumbled back, not believing what she saw. Greta grabbed hold of her shoulders and tried to pull her from the room, but she planted her feet firmly, refusing to budge.

Marcus reached inside the gaping hole of the woman’s stomach and after a few moments, pulled out a wailing baby.

Cradling it in his arms, waited for Dr. Daniels to cut the cord and then moved to leave, never noticing Brooke’s presence. Calling back over his shoulder, he gave his final orders. “Remove that one. I do not want employees that require this much assistance with their jobs.” Leaving behind a scene of blood, gore and death, he carried the precious infant away into a different kind of Hell.

T
heo Barrington glared
at Brady and wondered why he wasn’t listening to reason. The two men had been friends for years, ever since they met on separate family vacations in Vermont. At present, he was ready to beat him into submission, if he didn’t give in to what Theo wanted.

“We need to think about undercover options. These knuckleheads,” he jerked his thumb towards the police station’s gray brick building, “aren’t doing shit to stop what’s happening around here. Gabe and I—we can be of use.”

Brady shook his head, not in agreement at all. “I had this exact discussion with Gabe already. I know you think you can handle it, but the reality is, Theo, if something happens out there that you aren’t trained for—you’re only going to put these women and their babies at risk. You have to let the trained professionals handle this, no matter how fucking hard it is.”

Theo threw his arms up in the air, frustrated. “Dude. I brought you in on this thinking that you would not be such a hard ass about the fucking rules.”

Theo’s comments pissed Brady off, pricking his temper. “I’m the farthest thing from a hard ass. But what I am, is a Sheriff. Whether I’m on “vacation” or not, I still have to abide by the rules of the law. I didn’t come here just to help
you
break those rules and compromise an investigation.”

“Look, Brady, there’s things about me you don’t know. Things I’ve done…and Gabe—Gabe is one of the top expert marksmen in this state. He’s going to be training all the new recruits that come on board any Sheriff’s departments in Texas. Trust me, we are not some half-cocked teenagers bored and looking for something fun to do. We can actually help…we are probably the best guys for the job,” Theo pushed harder, determined to get Brady to bend.

“I know that Gabe’s a good guy, I figured that out pretty quick for myself. But you…what things have you done, Theo? Are you in some kind of trouble?” Brady prodded him for answers, concerned he was mixed up in some bad shit.

“It’s not what you think. I have too pretty of a face to get myself involved in anything too fucked up. Although I have heard that the chick’s really dig a bad boy with scars. Gets them all hot and bothered,” he joked. “But seriously, dude. I’m prepared for this sort of thing, you’re just going to have to trust me on that.”

Brady sighed and shook his head wondering how he got himself caught up in such a mess. He had a better chance of winning an argument with Gwyn than he did with these two stubborn assholes.

“The two of you are determined to badger me until I agree to some scheme, aren’t you?” To tell the truth, after seeing the bumbling deputies in charge of such a colossal case, he was more than tempted to team up with Theo and Gabe. At least they seemed competent and reliable. This department here in Norton Springs was filled with over-the-hill deputies and a lazy ass Sheriff that didn’t know Wednesday from Thursday. The case was not in good hands and Brady predicted it wouldn’t be long before the Feds rolled in.

Since he technically wasn’t on the clock, anything he did was considered freelance work as well. Would be hypocritical of him to not allow them to do the same. Still, he decided to let Theo sweat a little longer before agreeing.

“You bet your ass we are. We can crack this case, Brady. These women…they are counting on someone to play the hero and save their children. I’m telling you—we are those heroes. And for once I’m not saying that ’cause I’m trying to get laid.” Theo had a way about him, he could talk the panties off a virginal nun in 3.2 seconds; Brady had witnessed it happen before.

“Go and call Gabe and tell him to meet us down here for a cup of coffee. I’ve got a few calls to make and then we’ll see.” He raised a finger when Theo started to let out a whoop of victory. “I said, we’ll see, not yes it’s a go, you peabrain.” Brady rolled his eyes at Theo and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Meet back here in a few.” He paced several feet away, wanting privacy for the call he needed to make.

Punching in a series of numbers, he waited patiently for the call to connect and the man he was looking for to pick up. “Sergeant Sieders? It’s Sheriff Brady James calling. Good, good, how about you, Sir? Glad to hear it. I need to ask you some important questions, do you have a few minutes?”

Gabe had just dropped Nora back off at the ranch when the call came in from Theo to meet him in town. Frowning, he opened up his messages and sent a quick text to Bobby to keep an eye on both places until he got back. Heading into town, he replayed the shower scene with Nora. The fact that she came to him pleased him so damned much. He knew that he’d fucked up when he hurt her, but losing her was the hardest thing he had ever gone through. Living without Nora was not something he wanted to repeat; she was his once more and it was going to stay that way.

Parking his truck outside of Macy’s diner, he strolled inside, intrigued at what the Sheriff had to discuss with them. Theo and Brady were already seated at a booth a few rows back from the door. Calling out a friendly hello to Macy, the woman behind the counter, he joined them—sliding in beside Theo.

“Fellas,” he greeted them. Taking off his cowboy hat, he set it to rest on his knee. Macy arrived and plunked a white china mug down in front of him, filling it with steaming hot coffee. Being a regular had its perks.

“Theo, Gabe. Who’s your friend?” Macy asked, nodding in Brady’s direction. Brady smiled and offered his hand.

“Sheriff Brady James, ma’am. Pleasure to meet you.” Macy assessed him with intelligent eyes. Satisfied that he wasn’t in her diner to cause any trouble, she ran down the day’s specials. When the men declined to eat, she turned to leave, calling over her shoulder, “Oh and I’ve got rhubarb pie warming in the oven, boys.”

Theo let out a whoop and hollered, “Two! I’ll take two slices, Macy love.” Macy nodded and disappeared behind the swinging wooden door leading to the kitchen.

“Alright, you two,” Gabe started. “What have you been up to? I know something has changed. Please don’t tell me it’s another kidnapping.”

Theo shook his head. “Brady made some calls,” he told him, pointing at the Sheriff. “He’s going to fill us in on what he found out.”

Macy came back to the table with the pie and deposited in front of an eager Theo. “You boys need anything else?”

“Just a bib for our toddler here,” Gabe joked, shaking his head at Theo’s enthusiastic eating. Macy left with a smile, saying to holler if they needed her.

Theo grinned. “What? I’ve always liked pie. Warm and delicious, what’s not to like.” He shrugged.

“I met with the locals. Asked a few questions, got a feel for the investigation.” Brady filled Gabe in on his progress. “While I’m sure they are doing their best, I think there is more digging that can be done. All it takes is the right resources. Theo here,” he glanced over at him, frowning at the boy-like man covered in pie crumbs, “Has convinced me that the three of us would make a good team.”

“I couldn’t agree more, Sheriff. With your expertise and Theo’s, uh, skills…we definitely can add be assets to this investigation,” Gabe replied, pleased that Brady had come around. “You mentioned something about new information?” he prodded.

“I reached out to some of my old contacts from my days on the force in New York City. Tracked down the number of a former Black Market undercover cop. He was deep for several years and his cover is still intact. There was a time we thought we had lost him to the other side, but he was extracted successfully. He’s our best shot at getting some concrete answers about their involvement,” Brady told them.

Theo wiped his hands and face on a napkin. “That’s the best damn news I’ve heard since Amber Maple stopped wearing panties under her skirts.” Gabe rolled his eyes. Amber was a gas attendant over at the main freeway stop, a looker with loose morals; she was always up for a good time.

“I’ve set up a meet with him in,” Brady checked his watch. “About an hour, just outside of town here. A secure location,” he added.

“We’d better head on out then. Get there first and do a sweep of the area. Sheriff, thanks for working with us on this. I know it isn’t exactly the straight line, but I think it’s the right decision,” Gabe’s tone was serious.

“Well, I haven’t actually agreed to anything yet. Let’s see what this guy can tell us and take it from there. If there is something deeper going on, and we uncover it. We do not do anything without bringing in the proper authorities first. The last thing we need is for some scumbag to walk due to a lack of protocol. This is strictly re-con at this point. It’s likely we’re going to need the Feds on this one, as much as it burns my ass to admit it.” Brady had proven so far that he had a good head on his shoulders and wouldn’t be pushed around.

Theo waved Macy over to bring the bill. “Agreed. But you just need to know that we aren’t backing away from this. This is our town, our women this shit is happening to. We’re involved whether you like it or not.” Theo showed a splash of his stern side, not a personality trait that made an appearance very often.

Macy dropped the bill on the table, feeling as though she was the hen entering a cock fight. “You boys behave now, you hear. Gabe, I expect to see you bringing that Nora around real soon.”

Gabe nodded and handed Macy some bills. “Oh sure thing, Macy love. My Nora loves your lemon meringue pie so I imagine it won’t be too long before she’s pestering me to bring her in for a slice.”

Heading out, Theo elbowed Gabe in the ribs. “
My
Nora, huh? So you won her back already did ya? That didn’t take long.”

“Shut up, you moron.” Piling into Gabe’s truck, they decided it was best not to take Brady’s cruiser to the meet, would draw too much unwanted attention to themselves. When they pulled off the freeway approximately forty minutes later, it was onto a dirt road that lead them down about a quarter mile to a closed-in, remote clearing. With nothing but hills and dirt for miles to see, it was as off the beaten path as they were going to get.

“I’m going to look around, make sure there aren’t any surprises,” Brady announced as he climbed out of the truck. Gabe and Theo agreed, spreading out to cover more of the area. When the three arrived back at the truck after determining they were indeed alone, Brady was the first to speak.