A word about the author...
Lilly Gayle is the mother of two grown daughters and lives in North Carolina with her husband. When not writing or working as a mammogapher, she spends time with her husband at the beach.
Embrace the Darkness is the sequel to her 2010 paranormal romance, Out of the Darkness.
Lilly also writes historical romance for The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
Prologue
Goose bumps pebbled her skin. She jerked, glancing over her shoulder, her hand poised above the light switch. The lab was blessedly empty, but there’d been a sound to her left—a whisper, like silk sliding over satin, barely audible.
“Is someone there?”
Silence answered. She was alone in the room. Fear held her immobile. She tasted it in her mouth, hot and metallic. Felt it in the sudden rush of blood pounding in her ears.
“I’m being ridiculous,” she said aloud, trying to convince herself she was overreacting. Security at Lifeblood of America was state of the art. No one could break in—no one human.
But was any security system capable of keeping out something darker and more sinister?
Acid rose from the pit of her stomach. She swallowed bitter bile and switched off the lights. Then, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she pushed open the door and stepped into the quiet corridor.
At this late hour, the facility was practically deserted, the other labs dark and empty. So why did it feel as if unseen eyes tracked her?
She glanced down the hall, praying Axle would step off the elevator. Seconds ticked by like hours but the doors remained shut.
Where is he?
When the night security guard made his rounds at five a.m., he always stopped by the lab to escort her and Dr. Megan Harper to the lobby and out to their cars. But Megan hadn’t worked tonight. And Axle looked like a no-show.
Maybe he’s tied up at the desk and he’s just late making his rounds.
The thought comforted her, relieving some of her anxiety. Most likely, Axle would arrive just as she reached the elevator.
Forcing herself to relax, she released the handle and let the lab door close behind her. The LED on the control panel blinked red as it clicked shut. She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders before walking the fifteen feet to the elevator.
It felt like fifteen miles.
By the time she reached the gleaming, polished doors and pushed the down arrow, she’d broken out in a cold sweat. Her blouse clung to her back, her heart hammering so hard against her ribs it took every ounce of courage she possessed to put one foot in front of the other and step inside the empty four-by-six box.
She was alone. Nothing crouched above the elevator’s ceiling waiting to pounce. Yet, it seemed as if something far less innocuous than the cold, inanimate eye of the camera watched her.
Fear prickling her skin, she wiped sweat-slicked palms down the sides of her lab coat before pressing the button for the lobby. The moment the elevator doors slid open on the ground floor, she ran toward the reception area.
“Axle? Richard?”
During the day, a receptionist sat at the curved mahogany desk in front of the scenic mountain mural. At night, Axle watched the lobby between patrols while Richard monitored the surveillance cameras in the office behind the receptionist’s chair. But Axle hadn’t made it to the third floor, and he wasn’t at the desk.
“Hello?” The hairs on the nape of her neck stood on end as she stepped around the corner and opened the door marked “Security.”
“Axle? Richard?”
Flickering images cast eerie shadows on the walls as the security monitors switched to different cameras and angles. Nothing moved on any of the screens and no one watched. It was as if she were the only living soul on earth.
Where are Richard and Axle?
Neither man would abandon his post—unless there was an emergency. But why hadn’t they called her in the lab? Or sounded an alarm?
Her blood turned to ice as she walked back to the security desk and picked up the phone. The line was dead. She punched another line. Then another. No dial tone. All four lines were dead.
Dread settled in the pit of her stomach as heavy and solid as a rock. Her mouth went dry. Pulse pounding, she ran toward the employee lounge to get her cell phone and keys. Something was coming. She had to escape!
As she rounded the corner, she reached for the ID tag clipped to the collar of her lab coat. When she reached the door, she swiped her badge. The digital lock blinked yellow. She punched in her personal security code and placed her palm over the scanner. The lock blinked green.
Unaware she’d been holding her breath; she exhaled noisily and pushed open the door. When she reached her locker, her fingers fumbled over the combination, getting it wrong twice before finally hearing the telltale click. Hands still shaking, she pulled off the lock and dropped it to the floor. Metal thunked against tile, sounding like a gunshot. She jumped, stifling a scream as she jerked open her locker and grabbed her purse.
As she ran back toward the lobby, she pulled out her cellphone and dialed 911. She hit send. Nothing happened.
“Shit. No signal.” She dropped her Smartphone back into her bag.
Shaking with terror, she stood before the plate glass door, fumbling through her purse, trying to find her keys. Air stirred behind her. Warm breath touched the back of her neck.
Her heart nearly stopped beating.
Slowly raising her chin, she stared at her reflection in the dark glass. No one stood behind her. But she wasn’t alone.