Dark Heart Surrender by Lee Monroe Page B

adopted?’ Pete said, stretching. ‘Poor kids. Had a terrible start in life.’
    ‘Do you know what happened to their biological parents?’
    ‘Not sure.’ Pete looked away, too quickly. ‘A bad lot, I heard. Those kids were in a bad way when my son and his wife took them on.’
    ‘I see.’ Luca kept his voice level, though he didn’t like what he was hearing. He waited for Pete to continue.
    ‘But they’re good now. All good …’ Pete’s voice trailed off and he turned his attention to some rubble at his foot. ‘It’s all in the past.’
    ‘OK then.’ Luca took hold of the industrial wheelbarrow in front of him; it was heavy and loaded with bricks. ‘I guess you don’t know what’s going on in their heads.’
    ‘What?’ Pete jerked back to look at him, his face stern, frowning. ‘So what could be going in their heads? They’re just kids. Heads full of rubbish, more like.’
    ‘Right.’ It seemed like a touchy subject for Pete. ‘I didn’t mean anything by it …’
    ‘Ade struggles with being given up by his parents. I see the troubled look in his face. He was old enough to know what was going on, of course. And he and his sister, they’ve got a real bond. Unbreakable. She hangs off his every word. And he would do anything for her.’
    ‘It must be hard for them – what with your daughter being unwell.’ Luca stopped seeing a look of confusion on the older man’s face. But Pete quickly recovered himself.
    ‘She’s had some health worries over the years, but …’ Pete seemed to check himself before shutting down. ‘They all have their struggles, like anyone else. But they’re not doing badly. The boy will be running his own business soon. And Polly, she’s as sharp as a tack. She runs rings round me. She’ll be fine too.’
    ‘That’s good.’ Luca felt awkward. There was something Pete wasn’t saying, he was sure of that. But before he had a chance to push it, the sound – the one from before – was heard from somewhere in the hut.
    ‘You hear that?’ Luca stood perfectly still. ‘Sounds like a mouse squeaking. Something alive anyway.’ He glanced around. ‘Something in pain.’
    Pete snorted. ‘Not in here. There can’t be a living thing left in here. Apart from us.’ He shivered. ‘And we’ll be six feet under soon if we don’t work up some heat by finally getting rid of all this rubbish.’
    But the sound continued – plaintive, almost like a human whimper. Luca didn’t know whether it was his heightened sensory perception, but it felt as though it was meant for him.
    ‘Let’s get going, boy,’ Pete said gruffly.
    Luca picked up the handles of the wheelbarrow again and rolled it outside, where he and Pete lifted it together and threw the contents into the waiting dump.
    Behind them the light inside the hut went out. Pete exhaled, squinting. ‘Must be the damp,’ he said, taking his torch out of his belt. ‘You stay put, I’ll go and see where the fuse box is.’
    Luca watched as Pete stumbled around inside. His unease was growing.
    ‘Pete,’ he called. ‘Pete?’ The old man had disappeared out of sight. ‘Are you OK, Pete?’
    He waited but there was no answer and the cold air seemed to tighten around him, a low whistling sound coming through the trees. As it died down, Luca heard an audible moan coming, but not from the hut; it seemed to come from everywhere, growing louder, like a chorus of moaning, whispering in a guttural tone.
    Luca swallowed looking up at the sky and seeing the moon. It wasn’t full, he was safe from that at least, but still he felt the hair on his arms pricking.
    His heart thumped as he took a step towards the hut and he chastised himself for being scared.
    Stepping inside, there was only darkness and silence. Luca’s eyes flickered around, then settled on something glinting in the corner. A flash of fur and angry, beastly eyes, watching him. But he couldn’t make out what it was.
    ‘Who’s there?’ He stood ready to face