Hacking Darkness

by Marissa Farrar

  That flash of movement came again.

  My heart lurched.

  What did I just see? Someone there? Did I see my father’s killer?

  My focus was suddenly renewed. It had almost been nothing—a flash of light. And then my father staggered forward as the bullets punched through his back, with enough force to penetrate right through his torso, and the Darcy on screen stepped forward to catch him as he fell.

  I knew the men who’d taken me wanted me to listen to the words my father was muttering as he lay dying in my arms, but my mind was on something else. I’d seen who’d killed him. What else had my subconscious picked up on?

  My gaze darted around, frantic, terrified I’d miss something.

  There! A reflection in the glass. Someone standing just out of view, but reflected in the glass.

  My heart stopped, and I burst out of my hypnosis, gasping and clutching at anything real. Alex was there, pulling me into his arms, giving me something solid to hang onto.

  “What is it, Darcy?” came Isaac’s clipped English accent. “Did you get the code?”

  I shook my head. “No.” The man’s face stayed fresh in my mind. “I saw the man who killed my father.”

  Kingsley frowned. “Who?”

  “Agent Hollan. The same man who took me from the house the morning you kidnapped me.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  That Agent Hollan was my father’s killer left me reeling.

  Lyle Hollan had been the closest thing to Michael Sullivan’s partner as you could get in the FBI. He’d been by my father’s side every step of the way, had come to our place for cook-outs and watched football games with us. He’d argued my father’s case as best he could after all the accusations about my father taking sensitive material, and had stood at Aunt Sarah’s side during his funeral. That he was the same man who’d shot those bullets through the glass filled me with fury. After my father, Michael’s, death, Hollan had distanced himself from our family. I hadn’t given it much thought. I figured he had his own life to get on with, and why would he want to be saddled with Aunt Sarah and me? I wasn’t exactly an easy teenager.

  But I had trusted him, and, more importantly, my father had trusted him. Or had he? Had he known at that point that Hollan wasn’t all he seemed? If so, why hadn’t he warned me?

  With the knowledge of who had killed my father came something else. Hollan must have also been the one to take the memory stick my father had encrypted with the code, and if these guys didn’t have the stick, but they wanted the code, they must know a way of getting it.

  “So you believe us now?” said Isaac, though he didn’t have any satisfaction in his tone. He straightened his shirt sleeves. “You see we’re not the bad guys.”

  I still didn’t know about that. Maybe not the others, but Isaac wasn’t someone I trusted. “You could have just told me all of this. Come to my house and explained.”

  “I already told you, there wasn’t time. We didn’t know you’d be in any danger until that interview was published and you talked about the numbers, and then it was a race to who got to you first. Hollan did, and we had to take the appropriate action.”

  “Killing them, and kidnapping me.”

  At least I could take some pleasure in the knowledge my father’s murderer was dead, even if he hadn’t been brought to justice, his name smeared in the dirt, as my father’s had been.

  “We didn’t kill all of them.”

  “What?”

  Deep down, I already knew what he was going to say.

  “Hollan got away. Our priority was with you, and he made a run for it.”

  “So he’s still out there?”

  I remembered how it had felt when I’d seen Hollan at the front door that morning, how the shame at selling my father’s story had filled me, how his ex-best friend was now about to tell me what a terrible person I was. I’d hated myself in that moment, when my emotions had been directed in completely the wrong direction. My body tensed as I relived that fateful morning, and what I would have done if I’d known the truth back then. My rage made me wish I’d picked up the kitchen knife and met Hollan with it at the front door. I imagined plunging the blade into his gut, the surprise on his face, and the pleasure I would have felt at telling him that I knew exactly what he’d done. I had it in me to kill him. I knew I did.

  “Darcy?” Alex reached out to touch the back of my hand. “Are you all right? You’re shaking.”

  I glanced down at where our hands made contact. He was right, I was trembling all over, but it wasn’t with fear, it was with anger.

  “You don’t need to keep me locked up down here,” I said. “I’m with you on whatever you guys want to do. I want to find the son of a bitch and kill him, and if giving you the code pisses Hollan off and goes against whatever the hell he’s planning, then I’m all for it.”

  Alex twisted his head and looked toward Isaac. I noticed the others exchanging glances, too. I guessed this wasn’t a decision they were able to make right away.

  “I’m not going to fight you,” I tried again. “I’m on your side. Do whatever you want with me afterward. I don’t care. The only thing I care about is Hollan getting what’s coming to him.”

  Kingsley looked to Isaac. “I believe her.”

  “I do, too.” Lorcan had remained his usual quiet self by the stairs, but took the moment to speak.

  Clay threw me a wink. “My vote goes with baby-doll.”

  I scowled at him for the name, especially as he was only a couple of years or so older than I was, but had to hold my mouth back from smiling at him at the same time. I needed all the support I could get.

  “I believe her as well,” Alex said. I thought he would. Even though we’d had a rough start, he was the one who had taken care of me the most.

  Isaac, however, was clearly going to be the one who was going to get the final say.

  “We need to talk this over,” he said. “It was only twenty-four hours ago that she was slashing at me with a razorblade and throwing herself through a broken window.” He held up his bandaged arm as Exhibit A, and I tried not to experience a twang of guilt upon seeing it. None of this was my fault. These men had kidnapped me at gunpoint. Of course I was going to do everything I could to get away.

  “Things are different now,” I said. “I didn’t believe you yesterday. I didn’t know who to trust, if I could even trust anyone. But now I know you were telling the truth about the agents who picked me up wanting to hurt me. Everything has changed. I’m on your side.”

  “Give her a chance, Isaac,” Clay called.

  Lorcan nodded. “Yeah, give her a chance.”

  I held my breath, hoping and praying. I was still in shock after learning the truth about Hollan, but I also wanted to get out of the cellar.

  “We still haven’t got the code,” Isaac pointed out.

  I looked at him, my eyes wide, trying to convey my sincerity. “I’m doing everything I can to try to remember.”

  Kingsley spoke up. “If she’s feeling comfortable, she’s more likely to allow the memories to come to her.”

  “See,” I said to Isaac, “I’ll be more likely to remember the code if you let me out of here. I can help you. I want to help you. You just have to let me.”

  What would they do with me after they got the code? I remembered how I’d told myself there would be nothing to stop them from killing me, but they’d told me they’d taken me to save my life, and now that I’d remembered seeing Hollan after my father had been killed, there was no reason for me not to believe them.

  Isaac fixed me with his cool green gaze. I held his stare, determined not to let him intimidate me. His head tilted slightly to the right and he gave a slow nod. “Okay. But you won’t leave the house. The doors and windows are locked, and the one you broke has been boarded up. If you try anything, you’ll end up down here again, and it will be absolutely the last chance you get. Is that understood?”

  I sat on my hands to prevent myself throwing my arm
s around him in relief. I didn’t think Isaac was the hugging type. Instead, I bounced up and down on my hands and looked over to the others, who all appeared equally relieved. Maybe they hadn’t been overly comfortable with keeping a young woman locked down in a cellar either.

  My pulse quickened in anticipation of being able to see the rest of the house. And sunlight! I’d missed sunlight more than anything, and being able to know the exact time. Though my inner body clock was far better than most, it wasn’t perfect, and the total absence of natural daylight had made knowing the time difficult. Combining that with my synesthesia had completely thrown how my brain worked.

  I got to my feet, excitement tippy-tapping little feet across my chest. I felt stupidly nervous, for some reason. Alex brushed past me to lead the way, Lorcan right after him. Clay stayed beside me, and he reached out, his hand slipping around my waist to give me a quick squeeze, almost imperceptible, before letting me go. It was enough to tell me he was pleased I was being released.

  Kingsley and Isaac remained behind me.

  “Right this way,” Alex said, as he mounted the stairs and glanced back at me, “but then, you already know that.” There was a teasing in his tone, and blood rose to my face. He was referring to my little escape attempt, but other than the cellar, I’d only seen the hallway and the kitchen at the back of the house.

  I followed the guys up the stairs, through the door, and out into the hallway.

  “Don’t get any ideas,” Isaac warned from behind my shoulder.

  I twisted to see him coming up the stairs behind me, Kingsley behind him. “I won’t. I already told you, I’m on your side. I want the code and to find Hollan as much as you guys do. He killed my father and pretended to be our friend. I’ve got more invested in this than any of you.”

  I saw them exchange a glance and wondered what it meant. They must know what was on the flash drive. What was on it that was so important? Something they wanted to get their hands on. Something they didn’t want Hollan and his team to have access to. Why didn’t they want me to know either? What would I be able to do with it? We might be edging toward a kind of tentative trust, but we weren’t there yet.

  “Y’already know where the kitchen is,” said Clay, giving me a grin and shoving his hand through his jaw length locks. He looked to Isaac. “Can I show Darcy the rest of the house?”

  Isaac nodded. “Yeah. I’ve got work to do, anyway.”

  “I’ll show her the office first, then, so we don’t disturb you.”

  Isaac already looked as though this whole thing was boring him. “Whatever you want.”

  “I’ve got something to get on with, too,” Kingsley said. “Darcy needs to have another break before we try again.”

  It seemed everyone had something else they needed to be doing, as the others all drifted away, leaving me alone with Clay.

  Clay hooked an arm around my neck. “Looks like it’s just you and me, sweetheart.”

  I ducked out from under him. “I’m no one’s sweetheart.”

  He winked at me. “We’ll see about that.” But he didn’t try to put his arm around me again. “We’ll start at the back of the house, which you’ve already seen. The kitchen runs along the rear of the property, and looks out onto the garden.”

  “I don’t even know where we are. I mean, I know we’re at least a few hours away from D.C., but I have no idea where.”

  Clay’s lips twisted. “I don’t think Isaac would be too happy if I gave any more information away. You know what he’s like.”

  “I guess I’ll ask him myself.”

  “Sure, you do that.”

  We walked past a couple of closed doors. “That’s a downstairs cloakroom,” he said, “and a closet. Not too exciting.” We’d turned back around, to go past the cellar and head toward the front of the house. “You’re already familiar with the cellar.”

  I rolled my eyes. I didn’t want to go down there again, if I could avoid it, even to collect something.

  Clay continued, “At the front of the house is the main living room, and there’s a den next door, and an office next to that.” He lowered his voice. “That’s where you can find Isaac most of the time. The rest of us tend to hang out in the den.”

  I grinned. “Sure.”

  We reached the bottom of the staircase. “After you,” he said.

  I mounted the stairs, aware of Clay following, his face aligned directly with my ass. Reaching the top, I found myself on a large landing. A hallway ran in both directions, with numerous white painted doors leading off it.

  “How many bedrooms does this place have?” I asked.

  “Five.” He shot me a grin as I did the numbers. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you bunk up with me.”

  “I’ll pass, but thanks.” I did wonder where I was going to sleep, though. I wasn’t going to go back down in the cellar, even if there was a spare bed down there, and they didn’t lock the door.

  “There’s a second office on this floor, too. It’s where someone else can work from if the downstairs office is already occupied.”

  It occurred to me that I might be able to get access to the internet and phones. “Hey, can I call home? My Aunt Sarah will be worried sick about me. I won’t tell her where we are—I don’t even know, myself—but can I just let her know that I’m safe?”

  “I’m not sure. It might be better if she thinks you’re dead.”

  My mouth dropped open. “How can you say that?”

  “If everyone thinks you’re dead, no one will try to get to her to find out where you are.”

  Fear clutched at my heart. “You think Hollan might do that?”

  “Yeah, if he thinks she knows something.”

  Panic filled me. “We need to go and get her! I can’t leave her out there, unprotected, thinking the worst has happened to me, when she could be in danger herself. She doesn’t know what Hollan did. That guy used to come to our house to hang out. What if he tries to slide back into her life again?”

  “Take a breath, sugar. If your Aunt Sarah doesn’t know anything, she’s safe.”

  I shook my head. “No, I have to warn her.”

  In my head, I imagined Hollan sitting beside her on the couch, his arm around her shoulders as she sobbed against him.

  The digits of her phone number flashed up in front of my eyes, some numbers farther away in my vision, others closer. But I knew it by heart, and that was the main thing. I didn’t care what Clay said, or the warnings Isaac had given me about not trying anything. The moment I got to a phone, I planned on calling and warning her about Hollan.

  I couldn’t shake the thought of him being in my house out of my head. My fury and hatred toward the man grew, and I knew I couldn’t let him get away with what he’d done. The son of a bitch pretended to be someone we could trust, when he was actually the complete opposite. My shaking had returned, but I had nowhere to release my pent-up fury.

  Clay must have noticed. He took me by both shoulders and ducked his head to look into my eyes. “We ain’t gonna let this shithead get away with what he’s done. I promise you.”

  I stared back at him and swallowed hard. There were only inches between our faces, and I was suddenly completely aware of how we were alone. The others had vanished to do their own thing, leaving us to it.

  Clay’s hand left my shoulder to move up to my face, and he touched the backs of his knuckles against my jaw. “I meant to say sorry to you for dragging you back down the stairs like that the other day.”

  I closed my eyes briefly and shook my head. “You did what you had to.”

  “Yeah, but it doesn’t mean I’m happy about it.”

  I lifted my gaze to his again. The air buzzed between us, and I was conscious of how the hand on my shoulder had slipped toward my neck, so he now stood with his fingers against my jaw and the other hand brushing the side of my throat. My breath caught, my heart hammering. I felt my body react to having Clay this close, that fizz of excitement that caused my nipples to tighten and a r
ush of heat to flood down between my thighs. Clay was sexy in that roguish, long-haired, stubbly kind of way. I didn’t think there were many women out there who wouldn’t react to being in such close proximity to him. My lips tingled as blood rushed to them, and I couldn’t help my gaze slipping down to his mouth as well.

  It seemed that was all the encouragement Clay needed. His hand glided from the side of my throat to knot in my hair then his mouth crushed down on mine, stealing the breath from my lungs. My body bowed against his, and my hands moved of their own accord up his back, tracing the solid blocks of muscle beneath his t-shirt.

  Desire pulsed through me and our tongues tangled. I knew we had to stop, but I couldn’t bring myself to push him away. Instead, I found myself reaching down, wanting to feel the hardness I knew would be waiting for me. My hand closed over the front of his jeans, massaging the ridge of him, and he gasped into my mouth. As though I’d given him the green light, his hand pushed up my t-shirt and dug into the cup of the too-large bra I wore to squeeze my breast. My nipple pebbled at his touch, sparks shooting directly down to my core.

  What would the others think of me if they saw me making out with Clay? I’d already kissed Lorcan, but it wasn’t like we had any kind of relationship, or that any one of them had more of a claim on me than the other. They’d all been involved in taking me.

  I broke the kiss, breathing hard, but Clay didn’t step away. Instead, he lowered his head and pressed his forehead to mine.

  “Fuck, sugar. I want you so bad.”

  I shook my head. “We can’t. It’s not right.”

  “To hell with that. Who gets to say what is and isn’t right?”

  I thought that person was probably Isaac, but I wasn’t about to go and ask his permission to make out with Clay.

  I made myself step away. “We’ve got more important things to think about.”

  “There’s something more important than sex?” That cheeky twinkle was back in his gray eyes.

  “Yes! And no one has even mentioned sex.”