Night Is Darkest (10 page)

Dropping to a crouch, he snuck from cover to cover until he’d made his way close enough to discern a trail of blood on the wall. A large splotch at the top continued with streaks beneath like someone gushing blood had slammed against it then slid down when they could no longer stand. Broken dishes littered the floor. Two of the stools had been knocked over. There had clearly been a struggle inside.

Instead of panic, or fear, ice cold rage honed his instincts. Whatever bastard had done this would not get away with hurting another one of his friends. He couldn’t stand to lose someone else he loved.
Please let them be okay.

If the attacker still occupied the far side of the kitchen, he’d never make it up to the back door without being spotted. Especially since the top stair had creaked for years.

Mason ensured he remained out of the line of sight, tucked close against the house, staying below the windows. He had to act fast. Gun drawn, he swung over the banister on the side of the porch then crept to the front door. After a quick sweep below the mat, he cursed his luck. The one time Lacey had actually listened to their advice and removed the key, he needed it.

Fuck! So much for stealth.

He wrapped the knuckles of one hand in his shirt, took a deep breath then punched out the front door’s sidelight. In a flash, he’d reached around, flipped the lock and stepped through. A muffled curse from the office drew his attention like a neon sign. He swung around, gun aimed at the moron attempting to hide under Rob’s desk. God help him if he was the one who’d hurt Ty or Lacey.

Please let them be okay.

Mason rushed into the study and yelled, “Don’t move! Police!”

The man under the desk banged his head hard as he straightened in alarm. “Have you lost your fucking mind, Clark?”

Ty backed out from beneath the desk with a network cable clutched in his hand. His face screwed into a mask of disbelief as he massaged the knot that must have been forming there.

Uneven thumps echoed on the stairs behind him as Lacey joined the ruckus. “Oh my God. Ty? What happened to the door? I thought I heard something from in the shower!”

She stood dripping all over the hardwood floor, dressed in a scrap of terrycloth. Caught between them, Mason nearly got whiplash looking back and forth. They were definitely not injured.

He addressed Ty. “You’re okay?”

“I was until you charged in here like a maniac! I’m getting damn sick of people pointing guns at me today!”

A delicate hand landed on Mason’s forearm, pushing until he realized he still aimed at Tyler. He flipped the safety on, then tucked the gun in his waistband. While Mason waited for the ringing in his ears to fade, Ty made his way over to their sides. Mason caught the bewildered glance the other two exchanged.

“What the hell happened to the kitchen?” he demanded.

“Um…” Lacey blushed.

Tyler put his arm around her soaking wet shoulders and said, “We got a little carried away during dinner.”

“Carried away?” Mason strode through the doorway to have another look at the carnage. “Do you know what it looks like in here?”

They crowded up behind him to peek at the wreckage. Remnants of adrenaline pumped through his system, heightening his senses. He detected the scent of Lacey’s vanilla shower gel as well as the familiar scent of sex from Ty.

He strode over to the wall to drag a finger through the thick crimson goo on the paneling before bringing it to his nose to smell it. The zesty tomato aroma along with the tiny noodle ring finally sank in. He whipped around fast enough to catch Ty’s satisfied grin.

Before he could say anything, Lacey stepped between them and wrapped her arms around Mason’s waist. “I’m sorry we frightened you.”

Mason had to separate them fast before she detected his instant erection through the thin towel surrounding her. His imagination played through a whole new scenario. When he thrust her away, she flashed him a hurt look. “I’m going to run upstairs and throw something on then I’ll get this mess cleared away.”

She fled up the stairs before he figured out how to erase her misconceptions.

“Way to go, asshole. You have a real knack for making people feel like shit about genuine affections, you know that? She didn’t do anything wrong. If you have a problem with this, take it out on me not her.”

“Shit. It caught me off guard, Ty.”

He nodded. Then the little fucker had the nerve to beam without even attempting to hide his amusement.

“Someday, this is going to be mighty funny.” Ty clapped him on the shoulder.

“I doubt that. Let me board up the window then I’ll get out of your way.” The flare of jealousy overtaking him now that his rage had worn off sickened him. He couldn’t have his cake and eat it, too.

Could he? He’d banished Tyler from their home though it immediately felt foreign without the laughter and the easy camaraderie they shared. He knew exactly when their boyhood friendship had morphed into something deeper but, on that pivotal day, he never could have foreseen the lasting implications of such an innocent act. And, once he’d realized the dangerous lure, he’d shut the other man out of his sex life.

Of course, that hadn’t lasted long.

The dingy corridor of one of the seedier BDSM clubs they’d frequented in the early days popped into his mind. He’d never forget the things he’d driven Tyler to with his harsh words and lack of understanding. It had taken just that single glimpse—in the flashing multicolor lights that illuminated the secluded area in debauched freeze frames—of the man abusing Ty in full view of anyone who dared to look, to get him to capitulate to his friend’s plea for experimentation. As long as they were careful. Discreet.

Mason had fulfilled Ty’s darker desires. He just hadn’t realized that somewhere along the way, they’d become his own as well. He wasn’t gay, even thinking of himself as bi rankled since it’d only ever been Ty that attracted him, but he couldn’t deny he craved Tyler in the same primal way he hungered for Lacey.

Mason had thought he could push the other man away, though he knew he’d suffer for it. The power exchange, the rush, and the wild way he could let go with Ty had addicted him but Tyler’s patient, carefree love would be perfect for Lacey. He loved them both enough to be grateful they’d have each other. Neither would betray a bond this strong. Had he stolen years from them by being selfish, keeping Tyler separated from her in the name of her innocence?

He could only be sure of one thing anymore: he’d set the two people he loved most in the world on the path to happiness. If he made a clean break, they might have a chance at making it work.

“Wait, Mason.” Heat blossomed from the spot where Ty’s restraining hand rested. The same place Lacey had touched earlier. “I want you to take a look at this with me. I think I might have found something.”

Chapter Seven

As Lacey scrubbed the wall then swept the shattered bowl into the dustpan, she wondered what the guys were debating in the office but some part of her dreaded asking. She’d stalled facing them about as long as possible when Tyler appeared in the doorway.

“Are you okay?”

Hell no… Well, maybe just a little bit better. “Yeah, just finishing in here.”

“You up to hanging out for a few? We’d like to walk through this with you.”

“Sure.” She discarded the evidence of their indiscretion while she tried to ignore the ember of lust that had been smoldering in her belly since her shower—and the promise of more—had been interrupted.

Tyler caught her hand, tugged her close then enfolded her in his arms. When she burrowed into the taut muscles covered by thin cotton, he brushed a kiss over her temple then whispered in her ear. “You didn’t do anything wrong, little one. It’s nobody’s damn business what you do in your own home. Least of all his since he chooses not to join us.”

“I know.” She smiled up at him then sighed. “I just hate the distance I feel between us. I want things to be easy again.”

“If you’re tired or don’t want to deal with this shit, sneak upstairs to bed. I’ll come tuck you in after he goes.”

“Thanks, but I can handle it. I want to find out who this bitch is. Besides, I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep at this time of night anyway. I’ll wait until you can come entertain me.” She tossed him a wink.

“Did I tell you yet how amazing you are?”

“I’ll never get tired of hearing it.” She rose onto her tiptoes to peck his cheek before sauntering into the adjoining space.

Mason occupied more than half of the loveseat tucked along the inside wall next to the radiator with his masculine sprawl but, other than the desk chair where Ty had set up shop inspecting her computer, there weren’t any civilized options.

She refused to plop onto the floor like a vagabond just to avoid him. Instead, she squeezed in next to his splayed, muscular thigh, feeling awkward about where they touched for the first time in her life. She shifted until the arm of the sofa dug into her ribs but she managed to maintain a miniature rift between them. The insulation did nothing to block the alluring scent of his delicious woodsy cologne.

“Listen, Lacey…” He patted her knee then drew away as though unsure of what to do. “You know I’m no good at this emotional shit. So, I’ll just say this. I’m happy for you and Ty. You guys surprised me before, that’s all.”

It would have been impossible to speak around the band constricting her chest so, instead, she nodded.

Tyler cleared his throat to break the extended lull in the conversation. “I noticed when I was hooking up the call monitor that the house phone had been switched off. Were you getting a lot of calls today, little one?”

Grateful for something else to talk about, she nodded again. “Nothing ridiculous but, like I told Mason before, a bunch of reporters tried to get in touch not to mention all the people who just found out about Rob one way or the other.”

This time Mason’s hand entwined their fingers and stayed. The knot of tension unwound a bit when she relaxed, eliminating the artificial gap forcing them apart.

“It annoyed me after a while so I killed the ringer. But it really pissed me off when that shithead reporter crossed the line by infecting my comp with a virus because I wouldn’t answer her calls. Can I press charges if you guys can figure out who did it?” She frowned as she thought back. “I don’t think I’ve backed up my data in a while. I had some digital pictures of Rob on there from Ty’s birthday party that might be lost forever. Bitch.”

“I think I saved copies of most of those when you emailed them to us all.” Mason displayed his rare, but awesome, full-on smile. “I definitely kept the one where you busted Rob making out with Gina as blackmail. That’s a classic.”

She swallowed hard against the memory of laughing over that image the next day. Everyone had teased Saint Rob for getting drunk enough to haul his timid girlfriend outside for a few stolen kisses and maybe something more. It’d been so out of character for her brother, Lacey’d assumed Gina would be joining the family soon.

“After we’re done here, let me see what I can do. I might be able to restore them.” Ty was the most technologically savvy of the three of them.

“Thank you.” She stared across the room into the smoky depths of his eyes until Mason asked another question.

“Did the aggressive reporter identify herself in any way?”

“No. She just kept saying, ‘We have to talk’.”

“Did she mention the name of her publication?” Mason’s intensity made the query seem like part of an interrogation.

She thought back to the messages she’d erased from various sources. “No, I don’t think she did. Someone called from all of the big papers and news channels though.”

“If she didn’t say she was a journalist or identify who she worked for, what made you sure she was a newshound?”

“I-I’m not positive. Let me think.” She tried to remember when she’d first come to think of the woman as The Annoying Reporter in her mind. “I guess it was because, in one of the very first messages, she said she wanted to get my side of the story.”

“How many times do you think she called, little one?” Ty seemed concerned which worried her in turn. Had she missed something? For several days her mind had been scattered between grief over Rob and Ty’s betrayal.

“Probably a dozen times a day.” She shrugged.

“Do you remember what she sounded like?” Mason commandeered her attention again.

“Well, it was definitely a woman. She sounded average. Not young, not old. She didn’t have an especially high or low pitched voice. The only thing I noticed besides her irritating demand was a slight scratchiness. Almost like…well, like my voice after I’d been crying a lot. At first, I almost felt bad imagining she was going to get fired for not getting inside info but she was so pushy that I decided she probably couldn’t get anyone to talk to her with such a bad attitude.”

Ty winced before he asked, “And you deleted all the messages?”

“Yeah, they were overflowing my voicemail. Not just hers, all of them.” She felt foolish now and it made her defensive. “But it won’t matter, right? Except to us, this isn’t going to be big news forever. She’ll go away in a day or two.”

Mason squeezed her hand. “I hope you’re right, doll. I’m going to head out for a while now and ask some more questions but, if I don’t get a hit, I’ll have to agree with the chief. Rob was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”