The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld #1)(70)
Author: Gena Showalter

… somewhere. Right?

The tiny bit of conversation suddenly whispered through her mind, surprising her. The new guys? Ashlyn stopped, one foot in midair. Her ears twitched as she listened, but nothing else assaulted her. Odd. That had been a man’s voice, and hadn’t been there a little while ago.

She walked another step. Nothing. Changed directions, another step.

Yes. I’m betting on it.

There. Another snatch. Gulping, she continued in that direction…

Come on, this way… where are they… hopefully still out… lost too many with those f**king booby traps… took too long to clean the mess… do they know… fight…

… and soon found herself in front of the door that blocked Danika and her family from freedom.

Ah, hell. Someone – several someones, actually – had sneaked inside. Not the new guys, then. Were they still there? Had they hurt the women? Ashlyn’s hand shook as she reached for the knob. Wait. Maybe she should run and tell Maddox.

The intruders might be hunters.

She swallowed past the lump in her throat. If they were the very men who’d planted that bomb, they could be planting another right now. She backed away, meaning to alert Maddox. You can’t leave Danika and the others here, Darrow.

"They’ll be fine," she whispered. According to Maddox, hunters only wanted to hurt immortals. Right? Right. She backed up another step. Telling Maddox was the smart thing to do. He could stop them, she couldn’t.

But another step and conversation slammed into her mind.

Where is she?

I wish to God I knew.

Do you think they… killed her?

It’s possible. Hell, worse is possible. They’re demons. Pause, sigh. Damn it, I should have put more guards on her.

Her boss, she realized. Dr. McIntosh was here. She should have been relieved to hear him, glad that he’d cared enough to track her down. But… he’d had men guard her? How had he infiltrated the fortress?

Ashlyn, honey. If you can hear this, meet us at Gerbeaud at –

What if she’s locked up? She won’t be able to leave on her own.

Hush. I hear someone coming.

Then, quiet.

She scrubbed her fingers back and forth across her brow, trying to start a fire of intelligent thought. Were they still here? What would Maddox do if he found them? What would they do to Maddox? Panic raced through her. Okay, okay. Think, Darrow. Think.

In the end, she didn’t have to make a decision after all.

The door in front of her opened and McIntosh peeked into the hall. His eyes widened when he saw her. His familiar, plain face comforted her – but for the first time, it also made her uneasy.

"Ashlyn! You’re alive!"

"McIntosh, I – I – "

"Shh, not here." He snaked out an arm and jerked her inside the room, softly shutting the door behind her. The first thing she noticed was Danika and her family, passed out on the floor.

"Oh my God." She moved toward them but her boss’s grip tightened, keeping her in place. Several other men were casing the room, looking for…what, she didn’t know. Nor did she recognize them. She’d never seen them at the Institute.

One of the men coughed, a gut-wrenching gag following, drawing her eye to him. There was blood on his hands. Sweet Jesus. He coughed again, doubling over. He was alarmingly pale and there were bruises under his eyes. Another cough.

"Be quiet," McIntosh whispered fiercely.

"Sorry. Throat hurts."

"It didn’t five minutes ago."

"Does – " cough " – now."

Ashlyn broke free of her boss’s hold and rushed to Danika, crouching beside her. "Is she…" She felt for a pulse. Thump, thump. Thank God.

"Just sleeping," McIntosh assured her.

Relief sagged her shoulders. "Why would you do something like this? Why did you knock them out?" Even as she spoke, bits of their conversation played through her mind.

Who are you? Danika demanded. What are you doing here?

I’ll ask the questions. Who are you? her boss asked.

Prisoners.

Were you looking for the box, too?

Ashlyn’s heart sank at the query.

Box? Danika’s confusion was clear by her tone.

Did they tell you where it is? McIntosh’s excitement rang loud.

He must have grabbed her, because she grated out, Let go of me.

Did they?

Reyes! Reyes, help!

Shut up, or I’ll be forced to silence you myself.

Reyes!

There must have been a struggle because Ashlyn could hear huffing breath, grunts of effort, Danika’s family gasping and then crying, and then suddenly silent. More conversation about drugging the women and using them as bait later if necessary.

Hunters, she realized, closing her eyes in horror. She’d suspected yesterday when speaking with Danika, but had promptly dismissed the thought, reminding herself how good and noble the Institute was. To be honest, a part of her had assumed no one would be able to keep such a secret from her. But these men were hunters. No denying it now. Opening her eyes, she fixed them on her boss.

Nausea churned in her stomach. He’d known about the box all along. He’d been searching for it, but hadn’t told her. Oh God.

He’d lied to her. She’d devoted her entire life to a cause that didn’t exist. McIntosh had read her fairy tales all those years ago, told her she was special, that she had a higher calling. She’d thought she was making the world a better place. Instead, she’d helped him destroy people, maybe innocents. A sense of betrayal washed through her, so strong it nearly dropped her to her knees.

"You don’t study the creatures I find for you, do you?" she asked softly. "Hunter."

"Of course I do," he said, offended. "I’m a scientist, after all. Not every Institute employee is a Hunter, Ashlyn. You’re proof of that. Ninety percent of our work is merely observation. But when we uncover evil, we stamp it out. No mercy."

"What gives you the right?"

"Morality. The greater good. Unlike the demons here, I am not a monster. Everything I do, I do for the safety of mankind."

"How did I not know?" she gasped out. "How did I not hear?"

He raised his chin, his eyes asking her to understand. "Only a few do the actual dirty work. And we never spoke of it on the premises. Nor did we let you into the places we’d been."

"All these years." She shook her head, dazed. "No wonder you barely let me out of your sight. You didn’t want me to stumble on information I wasn’t supposed to have."

"You want information? I can show you pictures of the things these demons have done. Things that will make you vomit. Things that will make you want to scratch out your own eyes, just so you never have to see such an image again."

She clutched her stomach. "You should have told me the truth."