Night Is Darkest (32 page)

“What made Rob pursue this on his own instead of taking the evidence to the force?”

“He showed the chief first but Leigh said we didn’t have enough for a new trial. He said Jackson wasn’t getting out anytime soon and told Rob to dig more before they made an official move. So we did. Together. Over the last year, we’ve gotten close. So close, to several of the victims, but nothing had come through by the time we got word Jackson would be up for parole for
good behavior
.” She sneered the description. A flash of hatred, so violent it stole Lacey’s breath, obscured the pain in Gina’s uninjured eye.

She scooted back a few inches, into Tyler’s open arms.

“Why was Rob in the alley that night, Gina?” Mason put her back on track.

She gulped then squeezed her good eye shut. “We got a lead. A stripper in the district hit on one of our victim’s names. Irene Stolkholm. Rob wanted to arrange a meeting with her but she refused. I went to see her. I begged when I told her Jackson was going to get out if we didn’t have another witness. She agreed to meet us in the alley after work. Rob called the chief but he decided there wasn’t time to put a team in place—that we should back off.”

Gina covered her face with her frail hands. Sleek red nail polish stood out against her pale skin. “I convinced him to ignore the orders.
I
forced him to go with me. But, it was a trap. The woman was still under Jackson’s spell. That bastard must have contacted her from prison, spun a web of lies to taint her opinion of us. She pulled a knife, went crazy, ranting about how much Jackson loved her. About how we wouldn’t lock him away for good.”

Jeremy sat on the edge of the coffee table. He rested his elbows on his knees and dropped his head in his hands. Gina kept right on going as though she no longer saw the room in front of her but, instead, the horrifying night she described.

“Rob pushed me out of the way. He screamed for me to run. I thought he could subdue one skinny woman. I figured he’d be fine, so I did it. But, when I turned back, I saw he didn’t even fight her. He raised his arms to block the knife but he wouldn’t hurt her to disarm her. He never broke his promise. Even when the knife glanced off his forearm and buried in his neck. He just took it. I couldn’t watch. I ran.”

Lacey had thought the uncertainty of not knowing her brother’s fate was the worst part of his death. But hearing, knowing what his last moments had entailed, scarred her deeper. She could imagine every gory detail of Gina’s retelling as though she watched it herself. There’d be no erasing this from her mind. No escaping the nightmares it would inspire. The truth shattered her. She collapsed in Tyler’s shaking arms but Gina kept talking as though she hadn’t just destroyed a piece of Lacey’s heart.

“After the funeral, I was so messed up. I loved Rob. He was the only man who’s ever cared for me unconditionally. I was scared. If he couldn’t stop Jackson, who would? That bastard called me from jail to rub it in my face.” Her tortured eyes begged Lacey to understand. “He convinced me his next step was to reach out to you. He said he would email you, rekindle your relationship—that you were going to testify for him. After seeing that psycho woman, I believed. I’m so sorry. I believed his lies again.”

Lacey commiserated. She’d been swayed by him only hours before.

“I put a virus on your computer at the wake so that you couldn’t talk to him anymore but he kept taunting me. He told me it was too late. I was desperate. I just wanted to keep you away from him and the trial. I bought some Harmytal, I was going to take you away. I thought I could convince you. It all sounds insane now but I couldn’t see any other way. I—”

She cut off as everyone in the room held their breath.

“I put the drugs on your cup. I did it. I never expected you’d be leaving early. I almost got you killed. God, Lacey, please forgive me. Rob never would. He loved you so much.” She gestured to her ruined face. “I deserve this. The men, who did this, I think they intended to kill me, too. Why didn’t they just get it over with? What if they come back?”

Gina’s face turned white as a ghost. Her head lolled against the pillows. The pain pills had kicked in. Her unregulated emotions swung from despair to regret to self-loathing to terror.

“No one’s going to hurt you again.” Razor dared any of them to contradict him when he claimed, “I’m going to watch over you. I’ll take care of you until we catch these bastards.”

She struggled to keep her heavy lid open. “Really?”

“You sleep now. You’re safe here. I’ll call the chief and work out the details.”

“Thank you. All of you. Don’t deserve…” She drifted off mid-sentence.

Lacey watched the ensuing commotion through overwhelming numbness. A cacophony of ring tones formed a macabre symphony as the cops made arrangements—with their superiors, with a safe house, with a doctor, with each other—to ensure the protection of the women.

Then Mason’s measured voice cut through the clamor. She overheard him relate Gina’s culpability for the accident to the chief. Although he’d developed obvious empathy for the woman’s situation, he wouldn’t forget that she, too, had committed crimes against his loved ones. He kept his urgent explanation quiet to avoid Razor overhearing.

The patterns of deception had sickness roiling in Lacey’s stomach. She had to escape the insanity.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Lacey retreated to the relative quiet of her bedroom. She collapsed onto her bed, a little disappointed not to encounter the solid butt of Rob’s Sig beneath her pillow. Her fingers had gotten used to tracing countless circuits around the grooves in the cold metal when she couldn’t sleep. Before she could muster the energy to search around for its new resting place, sluggish footsteps tracked along the hallway.

Mason and Tyler filled the room with their tense energy but she rolled to avoid facing them.

“It’s okay, doll. Everyone’s gone now. Razor took Gina to a safe house. JRad is tracing the email files Gina gave Rob. The chief dispatched two other cars to stake out your property. You can relax.” The bed dipped when Mason sat on the edge behind her.

“You don’t get it! So many secrets. Each one rippled outward, affecting someone else. I hid Jackson from you guys. You hid your relationship from me. Rob hid his investigation from us. The chief hid his involvement from the detectives on Rob’s case. Gina hid so many things. It’s a vicious cycle. None of this had to happen.” Lacey curled into a ball in an attempt to snuff the agony searing her guts.

The guys surrounded her. Mason lay at her back while Tyler tried to gather her stiff form close.

“We’re being honest now, little one. We love you and we’re not going anywhere, no matter what anyone thinks. No more secrets. No more lies.” Ty nuzzled her cheek. “We have each other, and that’s all we need.”

“You have everything you need, Tyler?” Dread curled around her frantic heart as she recognized the root of her distress. She knew it wasn’t true. They weren’t complete yet.

“I have you, little one. I have Mason. That’s all I need.”

“Liar!” She bolted up but Mason halted her progress when he wrestled her back to the mattress.

“You’re lying, too.” Her accusation flew in Mason’s face.

“What the fuck are you talking about, Lacey?” The hint of doubt swirling in his blue eyes pushed her over the edge. If she didn’t force them to be honest, they risked destroying everything. Secrets would erode their foundation.

“You’ve never let Ty love you, have you?”

Mason froze when Tyler groaned.

Longing transformed the taller man’s green eyes into the focused orbs of a big cat on the hunt. She’d witnessed the same intensity for a moment in the spring then glimpsed the predatory hunger during their rougher play yesterday. Tyler looked like a man on a diet who was seated at an all you can eat buffet. The things he wanted were in reach, but off limits. The power of his love gave him the strength to abstain but it shouldn’t have to be that way.

“He’s never wanted to.” The automatic response popped from Mason’s lips without hesitation but he peeked at the other man in his peripheral vision before focusing on her once more.

“Is that true?” They both turned to face Tyler’s unswerving gaze while Lacey questioned him. “Or has he never accepted you completely? He’s rough with you. He takes you hard when he can’t deny his urges. Is that what you want?”

“Most of the time.” Ty’s resigned acceptance pissed her off.

“Always?” She refused to surrender to the easy path now. “Be honest. Please.”

He gave a brief shake of his head but refused to look at Mason.

“You want to love him. Don’t you, Ty?” She cupped his cheek in her palm then traced the seam of his trembling lips with the pad of her thumb.

“Hell, yes.” When his stare finally rose, the laser beam sliced through the years of suppressed longing.

“Tell him the truth.” She prompted him to voice the malcontent stewing in his expression.

“Mason, I need you. All of you. Not just the animal lust that slips its chain when you’re stretched tight with desire. That’s amazing. But I’ve given you both all there is of me and now I want to have all of you.”

Lacey held her breath as one heartbeat turned into five and still Mason said nothing.

“I didn’t mean for things to happen this way, Ty. I’m not trying to shaft you. I-I just don’t know how to do this. I’ve never wanted another guy, you know that. The last couple days have been so different. Amazing. I just don’t know how to love you yet.” The veins in his throat throbbed when he swallowed hard.

“Follow my lead.” Lacey drew her sweater over her head then wiggled out of her jeans and panties. After the massive doses of adrenaline the day had supplied, they were all on edge. She opened her heart to the truth of their bond. Everything came into focus. She knew what she had to do. She unhooked her bra then lay before them naked before switching her stare from Mason to Tyler. “You, too.”

The guys stripped in less time than it took for her to peel back the comforter. When she reclined against the soft sheets, she held out her arms to Mason. “I love you, Mason, for all your good traits—your gallantry, your protectiveness, your loyalty—and promise to accept your faults.”

She spread her legs in invitation then sighed as his powerful hips settled between them. Though uncertain, his clear reaction to their discussion reinforced her resolve. His erection felt huge against her thigh. When he smothered her lips in a kiss ripe with his emotions, she guided his cock to her pussy. He slid home as though they were made for each other because that was the truth.

Buried in her to the hilt, he rested his cheek on the pillow beside her head. He stared into Tyler’s hopeful expression when he covered the other man’s clenched fist where it rested on the bed.

Mason’s hard-on throbbed inside her when he said, “I love you, Ty, for all your good traits—your sensitivity, your eternal optimism, your generosity—and promise to accept your faults, though I’m not sure I know of any. You’re the best friend a man could ask for. I’m sorry I didn’t see how much you needed from me, how selfish I was. Please take what you need. Take me.”

Ty groaned then sealed their mouths. This time their kiss held more than desperate passion. The slow melding of their tongues and lips mesmerized her.

Lacey smoothed her hands along the tense muscles of Mason’s back to his ass. She massaged his clenched cheeks as her lovers continued their sensual exploration. His cock inflated, spreading the inflamed tissue of her pussy further apart. Without breaking the contact of their ravenous mouths, Tyler reached behind him with one hand to rummage through her nightstand drawer. He must have stashed the rest of their toys there when he dropped off the pistol.

His long fingers directed Mason’s jaw to turn toward Lacey. He shared the delicious heat of their love with her as he shifted to kneel between their legs. She spread the cheeks of Mason’s ass, inviting Tyler to complete the circle by claiming their mate. Mason groaned then resettled his cock as his hips thrust involuntarily into her welcoming pussy.

Cool gel ran between the tips of her fingers when Tyler dribbled lubrication into the crack of Mason’s ass. She reached lower, to stroke her slick fingers across the tight sac housing his sensitive balls.

“Fuck, yeah. You’re killing me. Both of you. Just do it, Ty.”

“That’s not what I want.” Tyler covered Mason’s back to nibble the shell of his ear. He winked at Lacey then sucked the lobe between his teeth for a sharp nip.

Where she’d been sure he’d persist, Mason went lax beneath the reprimand. “I want to be what you need. Both of you. I love you, Lacey, for all your good traits—your spirit, your empathy, your strength—and accept any faults you may have.”

The beautiful words triggered a spasm in her pussy. Her muscles flexed around Mason’s hard shaft, drawing moans from both of their chests. Tyler coached Mason in the background. “Relax, I’m going to prepare you to take all of me.”

Mason’s cock surged inside her dripping pussy as Ty’s fingertip brushed hers. The rest of his tense fist stayed steady for a moment before his digit began to invade Mason’s virgin passage. His knuckles sank beneath her grasp, which still focused on Mason’s sensitive balls, by gradual increments.

“There you go. Your ass is so hot.” Tyler’s other hand glided along the length of his erection with a moist, slapping sound. Then the steady trajectory of his knuckles against her fingers made it easy for her to match the rhythm of his other hand’s penetration with coordinated rocks of her hips. Every time Mason swallowed Ty’s finger, she sheathed his raging hard-on.