Read Online Night Is Darkest by Jayne Rylon - Free Book Online Page A

seemed like some bizarre penance for what he’d done. If he’d still been her friend, or her lover, he could have manned his post from the cozy house. Instead, he’d destroyed both relationships with one fell swoop and he feared Lacey had suffered for his foolishness.
    He had to convince her to take him back. How could he do that without explaining why he’d left in the first place and how everything was different now? He wouldn’t blame her if she told him to go straight to hell, do not pass go. When had his life gotten so fucked up?
    A nightlight emitted a warm glow from the bathroom that adjoined both Rob and Lacey’s rooms. She’d left the door ajar so that a golden beam spilled from the crack across her four-poster bed. His heart skipped a beat when he caught sight of the bruised circles staining the porcelain skin under her eyes. At times like this, he understood why Mason called her doll.
    Tyler didn’t intend to disturb her, but the fragile rasp of her uneven breathing drew him closer until he perched on the lip of the mattress. She lay on her stomach, dressed in sweats and one of Rob’s ratty old police department T-shirts. Her pillow obscured one delicate hand while the other clawed at the flannel sheet beneath her.
    As he watched, helpless, she began to tremble. When she whimpered, instincts kicked in. He reached out to stroke her back but the second his palm connected with her spine, she bolted awake. Before he could grab her, she’d scrambled away. Her shoulders slammed into the headboard with enough force to jar the entire bed.
    In her shaking, doubled-fisted grasp—aimed point blank at his chest—she clasped Rob’s pistol.
    “Holy shit!” He lowered his voice to a croon, hoping to break through the feral zeal in her eyes. “It’s me. Tyler. I’m here. I’m not going to hurt you. Put the gun down.”
    “Ty?” Her faint question seemed to echo from a million miles away.
    “Yeah, little one. It’s me.” He inched forward until he could deflect the barrel long enough to pry it from her grasp. “You’re safe.”
    He set the gun on the nightstand after verifying it hadn’t been loaded. Thank God. For a moment he’d been afraid she intended to harm herself. Why else did someone fall asleep with a gun in their hand?
    The fog began to clear from her dazed expression as he crawled across the mattress to gather her into his arms. For several minutes, she allowed him to rock her while he whispered calming nonsense in her ear. The close contact soothed his jangled nerves. He’d missed touching her after just one tiny taste of ambrosia.
    Then, she asked, “What are you doing here? Is something wrong? Did something else happen?”
    He hated the alarm in her voice and the tension that snapped into her muscles.
    “Nothing like that, sweetheart.” He continued to rub her back, more for himself than her at this point. “I came to install your call monitor.”
    “Oh.” Her arms popped up, shoving until she dislodged his hold, then she stumbled off the far side of the bed.
    Goddamn, he’d been here less than ten minutes and he’d said the wrong thing already.
    Lacey bolted in an attempt to escape to the bathroom, but her unsteady legs didn’t quite hold her and she stumbled. She would have fallen if he hadn’t rushed to her side to support her. In the dim light her cheeks were so pale they practically glowed.
    “When’s the last time you had something to eat, Lace?” As if on cue, her stomach growled.
    “Does coffee count?” She grimaced.
    “Hell, no. Come on, let’s go downstairs. I’ll fix you up a little dinner and we can talk. There are a few things I need to tell you.” He tucked a stray strand of her glossy walnut hair behind her ear while he hoped she’d give him a chance to make things right.
     
    “I need a minute to freshen up first.” Lacey tried a tentative smile to persuade Tyler to buy her chipper facade but she doubted it fooled him for a second.
    “You sure you’re