Kick at the Darkness (30 page)

He cried out Adam’s name as the orgasm rocked through him. He spurted into him, and Adam squeezed and coaxed, getting every drop Parker had. As they panted, Parker watched Adam come back to himself, the transformation something he didn’t think he’d ever tire of seeing.

They were both wet and sticky, but they stretched out and kissed, rolling together. Adam whispered into Parker’s skin that he loved him, over and over until they did it all again.

“LEAVING?” ANGELA GAPED for a long moment before a thoughtful and calm expression slid into place and she rose from her desk. “I’m sorry to hear that, Parker. May I ask why? Are you and Adam not comfortable here at the Pines? If there’s anything I can do to help, please tell me.” She motioned to one of the two guest chairs in front of her wide wooden desk.

“No, no. It’s great here.” Parker didn’t want to be rude, so he sat. Angela’s large office was impeccably appointed with silver accents and polished furniture, similar to being in the middle of a Restoration Hardware, right down to the chenille throw over a low sofa. Through the window, the sun dipped toward the tree line.

She folded her hands on the desk. “Because if there’s anything you need, just ask. We want to make sure everyone feels at home here.”

“It’s not that. This place is amazing, and you’ve all been so welcoming. But I really need to get to the Cape and find my family.”

“Parker…” Her face softened and her tone was soothing. “We’ve heard horror stories out of Boston. A new group arrived yesterday. They barely made it out alive. While I understand your desire to find your family, I beg you to reconsider. You’re safe here. We’re safe together. As a group, we can build up our defenses.”

“And you’re doing a great job, you are. But my parents were going to the Cape, and there’s a chance they survived. I have to try. I just…I have to.”

Angela sighed. “I do understand. Truly. I’ll have Chef prepare some supplies for you. When do you leave?”

“Early tomorrow morning. We figure we’ll have one last night in luxury, and I want to be sure to say goodbye to Evie and Jaden, and Neil.”

“Neil? I didn’t realize you’d become friendly.”

“Yeah, he’s a great guy. I’m sure he and your brother are doing excellent work.”

She smiled, but it seemed strained. “Andrew always wanted to expand his research. Make an impact. Now it seems he has his chance.” She stood and extended her hand. “It’s been a pleasure, Parker. You and Adam are always welcome back. I wish you safe travels.”

“Thank you.” Parker clasped her hand. “Oh, can I get my weapons back?”

“Of course. I’ll take them out of the vault before bed tonight.” She smiled widely. “It’s prime rib for dinner, so I hope you’re hungry. Frozen, but Chef works wonders.”

“That he does. I look forward to it.” Parker returned her smile and left the office with a wave.

On his way back to the room, he admired the arching ceiling of the lobby and the intricate craftsmanship of the carved wooden railings on the grand staircase. The Pines really was beautiful. Maybe it would be able to keep going, hidden away in the mountains, self-sufficient and protected from the chaos out there.

“Parker!”

The few people in the foyer turned to watch Adam stride to the stairs and take them two at a time.

“What’s wrong?” Parker stopped halfway up.

“We have to leave. Now.”

He blinked. “Huh? Why?”

“I have a bad feeling.” Adam was already hurrying back down, tugging Parker with him.

“About what? I haven’t said goodbye to the kids yet, and I have to get my weapons from Angela. We don’t have any of our stuff.”

“We’ll get more weapons somewhere. We can’t wait.”

Parker wanted to dig in his heels and insist Adam tell him what happened, since something clearly had, but he trusted Adam’s judgment. In the fading daylight outside, Parker squinted at Adam’s jacket. “Are those scratches on your sleeve?” Anger flared in his chest. “Did Ramon do that?”

As they reached the parking lot, Adam nodded and pulled the motorcycle keys from his pocket. “I shouldn’t have trusted him.”

Something whistled strangely through the air, and Adam grunted and skidded to a stop. He pulled his hand away from his neck. There was a red-tipped dart between his fingers. They stared at each other in horror, the moment seeming to stretch out infinitesimally. At the same time, it happened too fast, and Adam crashed to the pavement before Parker even blinked.

“Adam!” He stumbled to his knees and shook him roughly.

Footsteps pounded on the pavement—Ramon running toward them with a rifle in his hands. Something sharp on the ground dug into Parker’s shin, and his fingers closed over Mariah’s keys. He shoved them in his pocket as Ramon raced up with Dr. Yamaguchi on his heels.

“What the fuck?” Parker exploded to his feet and shoved Ramon’s chest.

With one hand, Ramon swatted him down, and Parker landed on his ass. “We don’t want to hurt you. So calm down and listen.”

Adam was frighteningly still beside him, his lips slack. Parker put his fingers to Adam’s neck and breathed a sigh when he felt a pulse beating there steadily. “What did you shoot him with?”

“He’ll be fine.” Ramon still gripped the rifle.

“What was it? And what the hell is going on? Answer me!”

“We have to get him downstairs,” Dr. Yamaguchi hissed. “Hurry.”

As if he was picking up a bag of potatoes, Ramon easily slung Adam over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift. “We’ll explain in the lab. Everything’s going to be fine.” He turned on his heel, with the doctor scurrying ahead to open a side door.

Parker had no choice but to follow.

The smell of dinner wafted through the basement, but they didn’t go into the main hallway, instead winding through a labyrinth of access corridors. When they entered what had to be the lab, Parker blinked at the bright fluorescent lights overhead. Storage shelves were pushed aside along one wall of the twenty foot square room, piled with jars and bottles and scientific equipment. Vials and slides lined the shelves of an industrial-sized fridge with glass doors, and soundproofing batting covered the walls.

Neil sat in front of a microscope at a long table that looked as if it belonged in a dining room, with his notes fanned out on the surface. He blinked owlishly. “What’s happening?”

Ramon dumped Adam onto a low cot in the corner near a closet. “Everything’s fine.”

“Everything is not fucking fine!” Parker yelled. “You just drugged Adam with God knows what.”

“It’s grizzly tranq,” Ramon answered. “He’ll be good as new.”

Neil knocked over his stool as he shot to his feet. “It’ll kill him! Are you insane? Doctor, what’s going on?”

“He’s a werewolf,” Yamaguchi replied. “It will wear off soon enough. Now draw more of his blood. We need tissue samples as well.”

Neil stared at Adam, then the doctor, and then Parker. “Werewolf?”

“He’s immune to the virus,” Ramon explained. “So that means he’s the key to creating a vaccine.” He turned to Parker. “I’m sorry. We couldn’t let you leave without learning more.”

“You’re sorry?” Parker clenched his hands into fists. “For starters,
fuck you
. Secondly, you’re a werewolf too, so they can run their tests on you!”

“And they will! But I haven’t been bitten by an infected person. I’m not sure if I’m immune or not.” The rifle slipped off Ramon’s shoulder, and he straightened it. “We’re like any species. There are variations. There aren’t many werewolves left, and we can’t afford to let one go. I tried to talk to Adam, but he bolted. Dr. Yamaguchi isn’t going to hurt him. As soon as he takes some samples and runs some tests, you’re both free to go.”

“That’s really big of you.” Parker ran his hands roughly through his hair.
Fuck, fuck, fuck
.

Neil shook his head in wonder. “Werewolves. This is a thing? Werewolves are a thing?”

“Yes!” Parker snapped. “And now one of them has been kidnapped to be used as a lab rat.”

Neil raised his hands defensively. “I had no idea about any of this. I really didn’t, Parker.” His face lit up. “But if he’s immune to the virus, we really might be able to create a vaccine!”

Parker eyed Ramon. While he certainly couldn’t deny the obviously desperate need for a vaccine, something felt off. He wished Adam would wake up and do his lie detector thing. He wished Adam would wake up, period. He crossed to the cot and kneeled, taking Adam’s lifeless hand in his. “I won’t let you hurt him.”

“We have no desire to hurt him,” Yamaguchi insisted. He picked up a hypodermic needle from a tray of instruments. “Time to get started.”

Parker stood and spread his arms. “You’re not going near him. No way.”

Yamaguchi gave Ramon a sharp look, and Ramon yanked Parker out of the way so hard Parker thought his shoulder might dislocate.

“Whoa.” Neil held out his hands again. “There’s no need for violence. We all want the same thing here, right? We’re on the same side. We’re friends.”

Ramon smiled. “Of course. I’m sorry, Parker. Come on, why don’t we go get some dinner and let these gentlemen get to work?”

“I’m not leaving him.” Parker’s nostrils flared as he tried to contain his fury. “No fucking way.”

“This is a laboratory. You can’t be in here,” Yamaguchi said as he rolled up Adam’s sleeve and tapped for a vein.

“Get away from him!” Parker lunged, but Ramon held him back easily. “Jesus fucking Christ! This is a
storage room in a basement
. This isn’t a lab! Do you even know what you’re doing?”

“I don’t see anyone else working day and night to find a way to stop the infection,” Ramon said as he tightened his grip on Parker’s shoulders. “We do the best we can with what we have. Come on. The sooner they can get the samples, the sooner you and Adam can leave.”

“What’s going on?”

They all turned to find Angela in the doorway holding a set of keys. She glanced over her shoulder and quickly closed the door. “Andrew? Ramon?” She tried to look around them, pushing up her black glasses on her nose. “What happened to Adam?”

“Good ol’ Ramon here tranqed him so your brother can do experiments on him. You didn’t know about this? Come on, you’ve got the place covered in soundproofing. Where the hell did you even get it?”

She opened her mouth and closed it, blinking repeatedly. “Andrew, what are these experiments Parker is talking about? My God, you can’t do anything against Adam’s will.”

“Ramon will explain. Neil, hand me those slides. We have to get started. I’ll inform you when our work is complete.”

Angela’s gaze skittered to the closed door in the far corner, and Parker’s mouth went dry. “What’s in there?” he croaked.

He had a very bad feeling he knew the answer.

“Time for dinner.” Ramon tugged on Parker’s sore shoulder.

Parker dug in his heels, but slid on the dull tiles. “I’m not leaving him!”

Ramon’s eyes flared yellow, but his tone was conciliatory. “I know this is hard. We’ll just go down the hall and have something to eat. We can talk it through. Angela, after you.”

She hesitated, but opened the door. “All right, but I’m expecting a hell of an explanation, and fast.” Her heels clicked down the hallway.

Before Parker knew it, he was in the hall with Ramon’s fingers digging into the flesh of his arm, and the door locked behind them, Adam out of his reach.

“I carried a watermelon,” Jennifer Grey told Patrick Swayze.

“They’re going to fall in love now,” Parker muttered. “Spoiler alert.” He didn’t even know why he was talking. It made him feel like he was doing something, he supposed.

Across the small table, Ramon ignored him. Parker, Ramon, and Angela were the only ones left in the dining area, sitting together at a table in the corner. At the other end of the staff area, beyond the games tables, the blue light of the huge TV flickered, and a song that made Parker think immediately of his mother blared from the speakers. Dozens of residents and staff crowded the couches and chairs, watching with rapt expressions. Evie and Jaden had wanted Parker to watch, but he’d managed to beg off.

Once dinner finished and the movie started, he’d paced back and forth, knowing Ramon would easily catch him if he made a break for the hallway. He’d tried anyway, but Ramon had shoved him into a chair so quickly he hadn’t even had time to squeak, and no one else had noticed.

Angela shook her head. “I can’t believe this is happening. Werewolves. And you were born this way?”

Ramon sighed. “Yes. How many times do I have to explain it?”

“There’s a learning curve for most of us, asshole,” Parker snapped. He bounced a knee up and down and tapped his fingers on the table, ready to burst out of his skin. “Give her a break. Anyway, it’s been an hour, and I’m done waiting. I want to see Adam. Now.”

“He’ll be out cold for a while yet. There’s no point.”

Parker gritted his teeth. “Maybe not to you, but I need to see him. I’m staying with him tonight. He’s always looked out for me, and now it’s my turn.” He wished he had the pistol or his machete, but they were presumably still in Angela’s vault. He’d never wanted to use the weapons on another person so badly. When he looked up, Ramon was watching him with hard eyes. With Ramon’s speed and strength, Parker knew it was pointless to even try an attack. He had to be smart about this.