Rogue Darkness by Dianne Duvall

“Not necessarily,” Kayla tossed in, eager to defend Nick. “What makes you think Reed would’ve revealed more than Gary?”

Chris turned to Tessa. “Was Gary one of Gershom’s vampires?”

She thought about it a moment. “I can’t say with certainty, but I don’t recall ever having seen him before he snatched Nicole.”

Chris motioned to Tessa as he met Nick’s gaze. “Then if nothing else, Reed could’ve at least told us if this is Gershom’s Plan B.”

An uneasy hush descended.

Seth studied Chris. “You think Gershom could’ve instigated this before we neutralized him?”

Chris shook his head. “Isn’t that what we’ve all been waiting for—the other shoe to drop?”

Zach looked at Seth. “Gershom might have been off his nut, but he was a fucking brilliant strategist.”

David nodded. “And every time we thwarted him and prevented him from kick-starting Armageddon, he enacted a new plan. One that he clearly had already set into motion. Otherwise, it would’ve taken him years to regroup after the defeats we delivered.”

Nicole’s stomach sank. She had hoped this would turn out to be a relatively small endeavor. The brainchild of some egomaniac whose greed knew no boundaries. Someone who wouldn’t want to cut anyone else in on the action and, thus, keep their numbers low.

But if Gershom were involved in any way…

He didn’t go small. He went big, upping the ante every time.

Tessa shifted restlessly. “I think it odd that Reed wasn’t at our home base the night you came after me and the other missing immortals. Gershom gave us a strict curfew and a precise window of time in which we were to transfuse ourselves and hunt the Immortal Guardians we thought were our enemy. So we all returned by the same hour. And Gershom didn’t tolerate disobedience.”

Roland’s expression darkened. “Something Veronica learned firsthand.”

Tessa swallowed hard, her face full of remorse. “I didn’t know about that. We were told…”

“That Immortal Guardians killed her,” Seth said.

She nodded.

Nicole studied her thoughtfully. “Could Gershom have sent Reed on an errand?”

“The more I think about it, the more I think he must have,” Tessa said. “Anyone who didn’t return on time was… retrieved. Gershom teleported us to and from home base. And the few who missed curfew never missed it again after Gershom caught up with them. If Reed wasn’t there, it must have been because Gershom wanted him elsewhere. Especially since Reed expressed no fear when he told me he needed to see Gershom.”

Sean spoke. “Maybe Gershom tasked Reed with contacting the buyer’s representative.”

David nodded. “A buyer in whose ear Gershom had already been whispering.”

Zach grunted. “We all know greed is a powerful motivator.”

“If it weren’t,” Seth said, “we wouldn’t have had so much trouble with mercenaries in recent years.”

“And,” David added, “this is an avenue Gershom knew we wouldn’t suspect.”

Nicole’s gaze ping-ponged between them. “A drive in the private sector to be the first to create an immortality serum that actually works?”

Cliff nodded. “And works for everyone.”

Sean motioned toward Becca. “Reed must have struck a deal with the buyer. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have tried to nab Becca.”

Tessa nodded. “He also seemed determined to carry out his last orders, whatever they were. He was pretty desperate to contact Gershom.”

Seth sighed. “That was likely a result of mind control. Gershom excelled at such.”

Tessa nibbled her bottom lip. “I don’t know about that. Gershom was mind-controlling me, and it wore off pretty quickly once I was away from him.”

Jared spoke softly. “Because hating and harming others is not your nature.”

Nick scowled, his hands curling into fists. “It sure as hell was Reed’s.”

“And Gary’s,” Seth added.

Kayla clasped one of Nick’s hands and twined her fingers through his.

Some of the darkness in his expression eased.

“Well,” Nicole said again, “I’m willing to continue posing as Becca. I don’t think the goal here is to hurt her. It’s to use her as bait so they can get their hands on Nick. I probably wouldn’t have been injured when Gary took me if I hadn’t tranqed him.”

“Not necessarily,” Zach responded. “If those who want him know Nick is immortal and are aware of all he’s capable of—”

“Do they know what he’s capable of?” Becca asked. “Remaining forever young doesn’t mean he has superior strength, speed, or other special abilities.”

Cliff shook his head. “If they’re working with vampires, they know about his enhanced speed and strength.”

“What about his ability to shape-shift?” she pressed.

All eyes returned to Cliff.

“Most vampires don’t know about immortals’ special gifts, because they rarely survive encounters with you all.”

Tessa nodded. “I didn’t know anyone else in Gershom’s army had gifts. We never talked about it.”

Nicole studied her curiously. “Why?”