Evanesce (The Darkness #2) by Cassia Brightmore Page A

position. Brooke squeezed her eyes shut and braced for the impact, wishing for it to be over fast. When nothing happened for a few moments, she cracked one eye open. Milo was gone, sprawled on the floor in the bedroom, a tangle of limbs. Marcus stood in his place, gazing down at her. Had he tossed Milo out of the room? But why? Seeing him filled Brooke with relief, he was a monster himself but at that moment, he was the lesser of two evils.
    His mouth was set in a grim line as he stared into her eyes. Grabbing a towel from a rack he wrapped it around her almost tenderly and lifted her into his arms. “Milo went too far in his lesson. I should have stopped him sooner, beautiful girl.” Bursting into fresh tears, Brooke buried her head in Marcus’s chest. The pain was like a fire in every part of her skin, comfort and compassion were two things she craved in that moment and ironically, Marcus was offering it to her.
    Reaching her room, he headed straight for the shower and turned it on, the temperature lukewarm. Placing Brooke on her feet in the stall, he kept an eye for a few minutes making sure she could stand on her own. “Greta will be in to see to you.” Brooke’s head snapped up at the mention of her name. “Yes, she’s alive and fine. She was not punished for your actions, but she has asked to keep her job of assisting you and I’ve agreed. Don’t make me regret that, Brooke.” His tone turned cold at the end.
    Brooke meekly nodded, closing her eyes under the spray of the water. She heard the door open and assumed he was gone until his voice called out again. “I won’t apologize for giving you to Milo as you deserved a punishment, but I do regret that it went as far as it did.” With that, he shut the door and left her alone.
    *     *     *
    A few weeks passed with no further incident. Brooke barely left her chamber, she hadn’t been back to the lab and Milo seemed to have vanished. Greta was determined to befriend her and went out of her way to see to Brooke’s every comfort. What she couldn’t comprehend was that Brooke didn’t want to be comfortable, she wanted to be free . Red’s death was haunting her and she couldn’t let what happened that day be for nothing. Marcus still kept up his frequent visits for sex, but that day was never mentioned. Brooke had hoped that she might get a reprieve from him after what Milo did, but that wasn’t the case. He had a business to run after all.
    Brooke was sitting on the soft, plush couch one morning when a wave of nausea hit her. She barely made it to the toilet in time before she threw up. Sitting back on her heels, she gasped for breath after the worst of it had passed. Hearing a noise behind her, she turned and saw Greta hovering in the doorway, a small package in her hands.
    “Miss, are you alright?” she asked as she hurried to her side. Brooke nodded, pushing her hair off her face.
    “I’m fine, Greta,” she said, accepting the other lady’s arm for support to stand up. Dizziness blurred her vision for a moment, but it passed as quick as it came. Greta wrung her hands and bounced from foot to foot.
    “Miss. Miss, I think it’s time…” she held up the package in her hands. Brooke was quiet as she looked at it, sadness in eyes.
    “I don’t need it, Greta,” she told her, brushing past her to exit the bathroom.
    “Oh, but Miss, I really think—” Brooke interrupted Greta’s argument.
    “I said I don’t need it,” she snapped. “I already know. I’m pregnant.” Brooke stormed out of the bathroom and slammed the door behind her, leaving Greta inside.
    Brooke was laying in the darkness when the door opened. She knew it was Marcus without having to roll over to see him. He had a habit of visiting her at night if he had been too caught up with work to see her for a few days. Since it had been almost a week since she last saw him, she wasn’t surprised to see him.
    The bed dipped under his weight as he sat on the side,