Darken (Siege #1) (9 page)

He was in hell.

Chugging his beer, he tried to put the image out of his mind. As he tossed the empty can in the garbage, his cell phone buzzed and he pulled it from his pocket. Keeley’s name was illuminated on the screen.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Where are you guys?”

“Change of plans. Cora’s going to crash at my place.”

There was a brief, stunned silence before Keeley ripped into him.

“What the hell do you mean she’s crashing there? Boy, I know there’s some kind of thing between the two of you—”

“There’s not a thing between us,” he denied.

“Yeah, whatever. She’s just been an accident. She doesn’t need you pawing at her.”

“I’m not planning on touching her at all. There was something strange about the whole incident and I figured it would be safer if she stayed here.”

“What you mean strange?”

“It’s probably nothing. I’ll tell her you called. See you tomorrow.” He disconnected the call before she asked any more questions. The shower was still running, so he figured he had time to call Caleb.

“Hmmm, hello?” the woman answered in a sultry bedroom voice.

“Is Caleb there?”

“Caleb? Is this joke?” she said with a giggle. “Come back to bed.”

He and his twin were used to being mistaken for each other both in person and on the phone, but he had to say having his brother’s hook up invite him back to bed was a first.

“This is his brother, Gavin.”

“Oh, sorry.” More giggles. “Hold on a moment.”

He listened to the rustling of sheets as she left the bed to search for Caleb. A few minutes later, his brother was on the line.

“Took you long enough to call me back,” Caleb said. “I left like three friggin' messages. Did you even listen to them?”

He’d listened to them, but they were identical to the ones he had from Noah, Logan, their parents. Hell, the only one who didn’t call was Dean, and that was probably only because he was in college halfway across the country.

As much he appreciated their concern, he had no interest in hashing over it seven different times.

“We have a problem,” he said, ignoring Caleb’s question. “Sinclair.”

“That’s not new. Sinclair’s been a pain in the ass ever since he was released from custody.”

“He almost killed Cora tonight.”

“With the fuck do you mean, almost killed her?”

“As in ran her off the road right by the bridge almost killed her. She’s with me right now, but—”

There was a noise behind him, and he looked over his shoulder to find Cora standing awkwardly at the end of the couch wearing that horrible T-shirt that reached almost to her knees and her jeans. He started to tell her to have a seat when he realized a pile of laundry was scattered across the couch.

“Gavin? You still there?”

“Hey, let me give you a call back.”

He hung up on Caleb and rushed forward to gather the clothes in his arms. He carried them to his bedroom, tossing them into the dirty laundry hamper even though he suspected they were clean.

“Sorry about that,” he said.

“Who was that?” She sat down, curling her legs underneath her until it looked like she wore only the t-shirt.

“Caleb. I was going to ask him to check on a few things.” He went back to the kitchen area and grabbed a couple beers then traded one for a bottle of water. “Keeley called wondering where you were.”

“What did you tell her?”

“That you were over here.”

Cora groaned and dropped her head into her hand.

“Was that the wrong thing to tell her?” He placed the water in front of her on the coffee table and pulled over his computer chair to sit.

“No,” she said and sighed. “It’s fine. I still think this is a bit extreme. I get not involving Keeley, but I could have gone home.”

“The whole point of you staying with someone was so they could look for the symptoms of a concussion. Second, if Sinclair is targeting you, then you definitely shouldn’t be alone.”

She took a sip of her water then traced a pattern through the condensation clinging to the bottle. When she placed it back on the table, she stood and paced the narrow space between the couch and the coffee table before walking over to the window.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” she said.

“Staying here? Why?”

She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she peeked through the blinds out onto the street below. Finally, she turned and leaned against the window and stared at him. With her hands holding onto the sill behind her, the T-shirt pulled taut across her breasts and beneath the thin material, he made out the tightened peaks of her nipples.

“Things happen when we’re alone,” she said.

Things
. Their tongues locked in a battle of wills, his dick pressed snug against her pussy. His cock twitched as he mentally told it to keep down.

He stood and slowly moved toward her until only a few inches separated them. He cupped her face with his hands, tipping her head back until he could look into her eyes.

“Cora—”

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by a knock at the door.

Chapter Nine

CORA GAZED UP AT Gavin. His dark brown eyes pulled her in, and she wanted to lose herself in their depths.

The knocking came again, but neither of them moved, reluctant to break the spell between them. It was only at the sound of the key in the lock that Gavin went on alert, moving quickly toward the opening door.

In only a few long strides, he reached the door, pressing his hand against the wood to prevent it from opening any further.

“Hey!” Caleb’s voice came from the other side of the door. “You going to let us in?”

Gavin lowered his hand and backed up to let Caleb, followed by Noah and Logan, into the apartment.

The four brothers focused their eyes on Cora, and she crossed her arms over her chest self-consciously. Noah stepped forward, taking in the white bandage and bruise on her forehead.

“How are you doing? Did the doctor give you anything?” Turning on his “in charge” mode, Noah grasped her elbow and guided her over to the couch. “You should be sitting.”

“I’m all right. It’s worse than it looks,” she reassured him, but she followed his advice and sat.

“She has a concussion and eight stitches.” Gavin cut through the small space between Noah and Cora to sit beside her.

Cora gave him a sideways glance. “It’s a headache, not a concussion. I just need a good night’s rest.”

Noah’s eyes narrowed on Gavin. “Have you been watching her for symptoms?”

“Do I look like an idiot? Of course I have.”

“Guys! Enough.” Caleb slashed his hands through the air, looking back and forth between his two brothers. “As far as I know, neither of you are Cora’s father or her boyfriend. So back off.”

Cora wasn’t sure if she should be blushing or laughing. The thought of Gavin worrying about her like a boyfriend sent a thrill through her, but she appreciated Caleb’s straightforward, cut-the-crap attitude.

Seeing Caleb always threw Cora for a moment. Despite his more clean-cut appearance, he and Gavin were nearly identical. For a hot minute back in high school when she first met the two of them, she thought she might have a crush on him, then she’d found herself falling for Gavin.

She knew a lot of people got Gavin and Caleb confused just by looking at them, but Cora had never had a problem figuring out who was who.

Caleb was always alert, ready to make his move. He didn’t mess around or let anything distract him from his goal. It was a trait he carried on the outside. Formal posture, hands hanging loosely by his side, eyes that perused the room, evaluating each detail to determine its value to obtaining his goal.

Gavin, on the other hand, looked like he couldn’t care less about what was going on. Oh, he knew every little thing that was happening; it wasn’t in his nature to not be observant, but he didn’t show it. He always appeared relaxed, as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

“Maybe we should all stop giving Cora a hard time,” Logan said. “Although, it would help if we all knew what the hell was going on. Gavin?”

“I’ll let Cora tell you what she told me.” Gavin rested his hand on her knee, and she jumped at the contact.

She knew he believed it all had to do with Sinclair. And yeah, there was a small part of her that considered he might be right, but it was a small part and not enough to make her think that everything was more than some bizarre coincidence.

He nodded his head encouragingly, and she looked from one brother to the next then back to Gavin. If she was right about it all being a coincidence, they might be able to convince Gavin.

For the next ten minutes, she recounted the events from the time she left Thompson Creek to when Gavin picked her up at the hospital. It wouldn’t have taken long, except Caleb continually interrupted to ask for details that seemed of little consequence.

“When I told Gavin all of this, he thought it had something to do with this Sinclair guy,” she said, finishing her tale. “And that’s why he had me come here instead of going to Keeley’s.”

“You did the right thing,” Noah told Gavin. “We don’t need Keeley involved in this. Though, if Sinclair is willing to target Cora, he may already be watching her as well.”

Cora’s eyes widened. That was not the response she expected.
Where were the reassurances that this was just some random act of violence? Some idiot hopped up on drugs thinking it would be funny to see if her little car would make it through the accident unscathed?

“This is crazy.” She shook her head. “How can any of you be sure? The picture you had of that guy Sinclair, he didn’t look anything like the guy driving today.”

“No, but that doesn’t mean Sinclair didn’t hire him,” Noah said.

“What do you know about Sinclair, Cora?” Logan asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the kitchen counter.

“I told her the basics,” said Gavin. “She doesn’t need to know everything.”

“I disagree.” Logan arched a brow. “She needs to know what we’re up against.”

“I’m with Logan on this,” Noah agreed.

Gavin looked to Caleb, and she realized they weren’t just talking. They were voting on whether or not to tell her about Sinclair.

Caleb didn’t say anything for a long time. He and Gavin simply stared at each other, and Cora wondered if they were communicating with twin telepathy. At that point, after her vision and the accidents, she wouldn’t have been surprised.

“She needs to know,” he finally said.

Gavin surged off of the couch. “This is bullshit.”

“None of us want to dig it all up again.” Caleb hooked his thumbs through his belt loops. “But you’re not thinking about it logically, Gavin. If Sinclair did this, she has the right to know. She’s going to
need
to know.”

“I’m not fucking doing this.” Gavin stopped toward his bedroom, smashing his fist into the hallway wall as he went.

“Well, that went well,” Logan said. “Who’s going to do the honors?”

Apparently, it was a rhetorical question because Logan and Caleb both immediately looked to Noah.

“Sinclair was in charge of the Posthuman Project,” he said. “The project’s goal was to develop a genetically modified virus that could enhance the effectiveness of soldiers in combat. When the project began human trials, protocol required that he work only with adult volunteers. According to SIEGE, Sinclair went rogue. To ensure the host DNA would allow for a successful bond and future modifications, Sinclair determined his best chances were to inject the initial virus prenatally. Once we were born, our lives became a series of experiments followed by observation.”

“We were lucky to survive; not all of the subjects did. On the outside, there’s little evidence of what he did to us,” Logan said. “But on the inside—our DNA, our brains—we’d never be mistaken for normal.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“The mutated DNA from the virus was used to kill off certain enzymes, create others, and manipulate our genes to do things they weren’t meant to do. Run faster, longer. Heal at an accelerated rate. Synthesize and construct information from patterns and details the average human can’t even recognize.”

Cora nodded; that was basically what Gavin had told her.

“Okay, I get that Sinclair is dangerous, that he’s some kind of crazy mad scientist, but what I don’t understand is why you think he’d be after me.”

Noah looked to Caleb. “Care to share your theory?”

“Of course,” Caleb said and turned his attention to Cora. “We already know Sinclair was responsible for the first accident. We always assumed the purpose had been to kill Lela to hurt Gavin, perhaps as an attempt to see if he could push him over the edge. The fact that he had you pulled from the water never made any sense.”

“Not that we’re complaining,” Logan interjected. “We’re grateful he saved you.”

“What would make you think he was responsible for what happened today?”

“Because I don’t believe in coincidence,” Caleb said. “What I do believe is that Sinclair had you run off the road and injected you with something that is going to modify your DNA. The question becomes not if he did it, but what effect will it have on you?”

Unease settled in Cora, and a shiver ran down her back. Logan said not everyone survived Sinclair’s experiments.

“Effects meaning whether it kills me or not?”

Caleb shrugged. “That would be the most obvious, of course, but there are other possibilities.”

So much for thinking of Caleb as a friendlier, more tactful version of Gavin. He’d definitely changed since high school.

“If you’ve finished scaring the crap out of her, you guys can take off and let her rest,” Gavin said from his bedroom doorway.

“Are you suggesting it would’ve been better to leave her clueless?” Caleb asked.

Gavin’s lips pulled tight. “No, but I think it could’ve waited until the morning.”

“Gavin’s right.” Noah rose from the recliner. “Cora needs to rest.”

Logan pushed away from the kitchen counter. “I’ll talk to Keeley and Janice about covering your shifts this week. We can see how you’re feeling on Friday.”

“You guys,” Cora pleaded, “Seriously, the doctor said it was a headache, no concussion. I’ll be fine by tomorrow.”

Despite her protests, both Logan and Noah were adamant about her taking the week off. After a few minutes of trying to argue, she gave up and shooed them out of the apartment.

From her spot on the couch, she watched as Gavin went through the process of locking up behind them and setting the alarm. With his brothers gone, the tension he’d carried in his clenched fists vanished until he was the laid-back Gavin Cora knew. Yet, their sudden absence had the reverse effect on Cora.

All she could think of was the fact they were alone again. She suspected she’d need to make a decision.
Was she willing to accept what Gavin offered? Could she be like Hailey and accept that sex was all she would ever get from him?

“You can have the bedroom. I’ll take the couch,” he said. “Just let me grab my stuff.”

“I don’t mind sleeping out here. Really. This thing is like a foot too short for you.”

The look he gave her told her there was no way that was happening.

“My mom would kill me if she found out I let you sleep on the couch.” He disappeared into his room only to reappear a few moments later with a pillow and blanket. “I’m serious, Cora. Besides, I want to watch the game I recorded, and I can’t do that if you’re trying to sleep.”

“It’s barely seven,” she said.

“Yeah, but you’ve been through a lot, and I saw you yawning a few minutes ago.”

She relented and picked up her water bottle before heading down to the bedroom. She could sense Gavin’s eyes following her, and as she turned to close the bedroom door she met his gaze, hesitating at what she saw reflected back.

“Goodnight,” he said and glanced away.

“Goodnight,” she replied.

She closed the door and surveyed the room. Considering the state of the living room when she arrived, she guessed that he’d been in there cleaning while she spoke to his brothers.

She took off her jeans and folded them before placing them on top of the dresser. She gazed at the king-sized bed dominating the room. A dark blue comforter was pulled over it and a pile of matching decorative pillows, probably a gift from his mom, had been thrown haphazardly on top.

Her skin tingled at the thought of sleeping in his bed.
How many times had she dreamed of this?
Probably dozens just in the last few months. Except, in those dreams, she wasn’t exactly sleeping. Or alone. With a sigh of disappointment and acceptance, she switched off the light and climbed in, tugging the covers up to her chin.

Despite her denials about being tired, she was asleep within minutes, falling into the distorted reality of her dreams. Her subconscious pulled forth a replay of the accident only, this time, it was Gavin in the car behind her and then reaching into grab her. As her dream self tried to fight him off, her arms became tentacles reaching out to wrap themselves around him, squeezing until he fell to the ground.

Her eyes fluttered open and scanned the room as they adjusted to the darkness. Some sort of noise had woken her up, but she wasn’t sure what it had been. She listened carefully, and it came again. A gentle tap on the door.

“Gavin?” she called out.

The door creaked open, and his head and naked shoulder peeked through the narrow opening.

“I was just checking on you,” he explained. “The pamphlet said to check every few hours.”

“What time is it?”

“Almost midnight,” he said. “How’s your head? Any dizziness or extreme tiredness?”

“It feels better, or at least, I don’t have a headache anymore. The stitches are a bit uncomfortable.”

“I’ll let you go back to sleep,” he said, and left.

Cora stared at the door long after it had closed. On the other side, she could hear the soft sounds of him moving around. She waited until the sounds stopped and she assumed he’d lain down before her eyes closed. Yet, the silence was louder than his movements, because it was filled with her thoughts of him lying there with no shirt on.