| |
––––––––
HUGH BOLTED UPRIGHT at the first touch on his shoulder.
“It’s me,” whispered Jackson.
He motioned to the door and Jackson went back outside. He rubbed his hand down his face. It was late, but he’d just fallen asleep. There’d been so much to do, so much to organize. He stood, wanting to give Trinity a kiss before he left, but unwilling to risk waking her. She had to be exhausted to sleep through Jackson’s voice. He glanced behind him. Mirra’s eyes glowed golden in the darkness and he couldn’t make out anything on Gaar except a deeper blackness in the shadows. “I’ll be back soon.”
He left the room, glad the two were there to protect her when she was so vulnerable. He’d never have been able to leave her side without them.
Jackson was pacing.
“What’d you find?” He’d sent Jackson and a team to search the estate.
Jackson stopped, turning to face him. He was pale and his eyes were wide. “It was horrible.”
“Yeah. I know about the organs in the locked cooler. Did you find Meesus’ daughter?”
“No. We didn’t find anyone fitting her description but we did find others.”
“Others? You mean the scientists, Guards and Servants.” He prayed that was what his friend meant.
“No. In the building on the back of the lot. The one you mentioned. It looked like it came directly from the Warehouse District, but inside it was...worse.”
“How could it be worse?” He really, really didn’t want to know.
“There were dozens of cages filled with Grunts, Servants, Guards, Producers and even Avions and Stockers. They were paired together and forced to mate.”
“Like at the encampments. That’s bad, but—”
“No. They weren’t paired with each other.”
“Slow down. You’re not making any sense.”
“I know.” Jackson took a deep breath. “They were paired with members of the other classes. Avions were paired with Servants and Servants with Guards and...it just went on and on.”
“They were forced to do this?”
“Yeah. Some of them have been there for years. Captive. Forced to mate.” Jackson shook his head. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” His eyes met Hugh’s. “And that’s not the worst part.”
His heart thudded against his ribcage as he leaned against the wall.
“Once they gave birth, the offspring were taken and never seen again.”
**************
Thanks for reading Lake of Sins: Whispers From the Past. I hope you enjoyed the story.
Keep reading for a sneak peek at the next book in the series – Machinations and Sacrifices