Night Is Darkest (33 page)

Ty peppered Mason’s shoulders and spine with tender kisses.

Soon Mason sought more as he ground his hips between their bodies. “If you want us to come together, you’d better get in there soon, Ty.”

He didn’t have to ask twice. Tyler squirted another coat of lube on both his cock and Mason’s ass before blanketing his back. He used his height to his advantage, meeting Lacey’s lips for a scorching kiss over Mason’s shoulder. Then their three tongues met in a dance that had her pussy rippling around Mason’s cock.

Mason groaned, burying his face against her neck. The rough pants of his heated breath scorched her shoulder but she felt the tremor of his fingers buried in her hair.

Their combined weight pressing on her should have been uncomfortable but, instead, it drove her crazy with lust. Each time the head of Tyler’s cock probed the opening of Mason’s ass, he jerked, driving his thick hard-on deeper inside her. While they traded licks, nips and kisses, Tyler ground against Mason’s back until his cock locked against the other man’s puckered hole.

Tyler froze but Mason thrust back several inches, impaling himself on Tyler’s patient flesh. Lacey chased his retreating cock but she didn’t have to wait long since the sharp bite of pain caused him to pull off Ty’s shaft and bury himself in her soaked pussy in the next instant.

Both men groaned.

“Put it back in, Ty. Fuck me.” When he attempted to repeat the process, Ty rested his forearm across Mason’s shoulders, pinning him in place. “Yes!”

This time, Tyler penetrated the tight ring of muscle with a long thrust that buried him to the hilt. The force drove Mason’s throbbing cock against her cervix. His pelvic bone bumped her clit. Her shout echoed through the room.

“Please, Mason. Let me fuck you. Please.” Ty waited for permission as Mason adjusted to the intrusion.

“Do it,” he snarled as he lowered his head to ravage Lacey’s neck. “Hurry. I’m not going to last between both of you.”

Tyler roared as he cupped Mason’s hips then began to thrust in a gradually escalating rhythm. Each of his strokes moved Mason within her grip. The walls of her pussy tightened around his bulging erection. The motion set off a chain reaction as Mason’s ass hugged Ty’s cock.

He picked up the pace, fucking them with deliberate strokes punctuated with soft touches while still murmuring his love. Lacey watched the awe and fulfillment blossom on his face. It made her heart soar, dragging her body with it.

“Mason! Lacey! I’m going to come.” His eyes were wide open as he absorbed every second of their lovemaking.

“Bust in me, Tyler. Give it to me.”

Ty threw his head back, his abdomen flexed then he growled as he erupted. “Love. You. Both.” He ground out the pledge between the waves of his orgasm.

Then heat flooded her as Mason joined him in release. Jet after jet of hot come seared her. The idea of their love flowing from Tyler to Mason to her triggered her own response. The world turned a million different colors as her whole body tensed then exploded. She drew out Mason’s renewed spurts until she lost contact with reality.

Her eyes closed, all she knew was that her men were nearby. Their heat, weight and ragged breathing communicated their presence less than the love filling her soul to bursting.

After the day they’d had, Lacey didn’t fault the guys for falling into a deep sleep while they cuddled. Mason remained at the center of the bed, now on his back. She and Tyler each occupied one side of his firm chest. Their hands intertwined on Mason’s cut abdomen.

Though the synchronized rise and fall of their chests soothed her, she couldn’t subdue the thoughts running rampant through her mind. Something wouldn’t let her join her men in their slumber. Everything had happened so fast since they visited Jackson in that horrible holding cell.

Even unconscious, Mason tightened his arm around her waist when she trembled.

Her scattered musings jumped to Gina. The way the woman had sat and cried as she confessed to drugging Lacey had been disturbing. She hadn’t been able to meet Lacey’s gaze when she uttered the description of Rob’s murder. Lacey’s mind replayed the moment. Gina’s fingers had obscured her eyes behind those ultra-red nails.

Nails that had reminded Lacey of blood.

Nails that had been perfectly manicured…

She frowned then disengaged herself from Mason’s clinging grasp. Soft cotton draped to her knees as she drew on one of the guys’ discarded T-shirts. The fizzle of unease climbing her spine prompted her to take a little walk. She snagged the nearest cell phone off the floor before she stepped into the bathroom.

She took in the mess she’d made in her haste earlier. To pass the time while she debated, she replaced the supplies she’d scattered. When she opened the drawer next to the sink, the pleasant glint of Rob’s gun winked up at her. Figures, Ty’d put it somewhere handy but safer than under the pillow.

By the time she’d finished the task, she still hadn’t been able to convince herself of the foolishness of the errant thought she’d had. Doubt slithered around her revelation but she figured, worst case, she’d look like a fool. She flipped the phone open then selected
JRad
from the contact list. After a deep breath, she punched
Send
.

“What’s up, Mason? Is Lacey okay?”

“I’m fine, Jeremy. Thank you for asking.” She grinned at the silence from the other end of the line. “I know it’s only been a few hours, but…have you made any progress?”

“Not much. We were able to track down the stripper, Irene. A co-worker admitted to witnessing the stabbing, Lacey, but she’s sticking to some crazy hearsay story to keep us from pinning anything related to the murder on her. She said Gina told Irene that Rob was teamed up with Jackson and planned to abduct her in the alley. That he’d hunt her down if she ran so she killed him in self-defense.”

Lacey chewed her fingernails at the news, reminding herself of her purpose.

“What if the woman is telling the truth, Jeremy? What else did she say?”

“You sound like you’re fishing. Why don’t you tell me what you’re thinking?”

“When Jackson took me…you know…”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I fought him, Jeremy. I kicked, I screamed, I scratched and punched.”

He probably held the phone away when he cursed, but she still heard the scathing phrase.

“What I’m saying is, I remember afterward how bad my hands hurt. How ripped up they were. My fingernails were ragged. Several even tore off part of the way. But, remember when Gina confessed to us, her nails were perfect. If someone attacked her, beat her up, why didn’t she fight back?” Lacey waited for Jeremy to shoot holes in her theory but he didn’t.

“Son of a bitch, Lacey. You’re right. Something’s off here. I’m going to call Razor back to the station. Don’t go anywhere, just hang tight for a second.” The connection clicked as he put her on hold. Her overactive imagination conjured an odd sound from the other room but when she listened harder there was nothing. Probably just one of the guys shifting in their sleep.

“Lacey? You there?” Jeremy sounded frazzled.

“Yeah.”

“Razor’s not answering. Where are Mason and Tyler?” The panic in his tone lifted the hair on her neck.

“They’re sleeping, I’m going to wake them right now.”

“Good, do that. I don’t like this. It’s too quiet. I’m sending someone to fetch that damn rookie. There are four officers staking out your house. There should be chatter. No one’s reporting anything suspicious but you guys better get down here as soon as…”

The unmistakable report of a gun discharging ripped through the house. Though she’d dropped the phone on the bathmat, she heard Jeremy’s frantic yells of “officer down” followed by her address. Her ears rang when the echo died away. The noise had come from the bedroom.

Now her pounding heartbeat made the only sound beside the horrid reverberations in her mind. There had only been a single shot, hadn’t there? Where were the guys, why were they silent? Instinct smothered the curious shout poised on the cusp of her lips.

Lacey dove for Rob’s gun then clutched it in her trembling grip before sliding the safety off. She chambered the first round with a barely audible slide of oiled metal. Terrified of what she’d find, but determined to help them if she could, she flung open the bathroom door.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Gina stood silhouetted in the moonlight from the window as she towered over the crumpled forms of Mason and Ty. Tyler had a clear lump on his forehead which oozed a dark patch of blood. She must have hit him with the butt of the gun.

“Ah, there you are. So sorry to have to kill off your boy toys but this one here…”

She gestured with the barrel to where Mason lay unmoving. From this distance she couldn’t see where he’d been shot or if his chest still rose and fell. Her hopes grew dim when she realized he didn’t make a sound. Horror stunned her as Gina kept talking.

“…ruined everything. I told them my story. They were supposed to forgive me. How could I be held accountable for my actions with a monster after me?” Her insane laughter terrified Lacey. “And he still told the chief. That fucker. I had everything tidied. I got that skanky stripper to get rid of your nosey brother then I helped her get her courage up to fix her mistake when she realized what a freaking saint he’d really been. I even paid some thug to smash my face! No one should have believed that pathetic fool, Jackson, after that!”

Lacey latched onto any excuse to draw Gina’s attention from her men. “You really did use him, didn’t you?”

“Of course, darling. You’ll find it’s quite easy to manipulate men to do your bidding. Looks like you’ve gotten a nice start with this pair. I’m proud of you. Jackson, Rob and now dear sweet Razor are the latest in a long line of dumb men who have served my purposes.”

“What did you do to Razor?” She hated stroking this monster’s ego but when Gina beamed, she took a step away from the bed in her earnest storytelling.

“I seduced him, of course. With tears and a few well-placed faux self-recriminations. Though he’s been quite useful until now, filling me in on the details of the case so I could stay one step ahead, it was nothing to steal his gun and use it to blow him away. Stupid boy. As if I’d want a wimp like him to comfort me! I don’t need any man to fuck me.
I’m
the one that does the fucking.” She made wild gestures with her pistol though she hadn’t seemed to notice Lacey’s yet.

“Well, it’s no matter now. I’ve already sent word and supplies to Jackson. He’ll hang himself as the ultimate test of his love for me. I can’t have him blabbering on as he did today, he really should have known better. You did meet another of my disciples, yes? The warden can’t wait to get rid of Jackson so he can have me all to himself! Ha! With him out of the way, along with these meddling assholes and—of course—you, sweetie, I’ll be back in business. But it pisses me off that you’ve made me break my favorite toy. I suppose it’s only fair that I break yours, too.”

“If you really think you’re going to get away with this, you’re crazier than I thought!” Lacey tempted the woman to charge her. She couldn’t flash the gun until she was sure the guys were out of range. She had to believe they were all right. She’d only heard one shot. Hadn’t she?

“Who’s going to stop me?” Gina stalked closer. When she’d reached the foot of the bed, Tyler lurched up and made a grab for her waist. Lacey raised her gun but couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t hit Ty. Her heart froze when Gina swung around and clocked him on the head again. The dull thud of metal on skull threatened to make her stomach heave.

Tyler crashed to the floor.

“Ty!” Lacey struggled to focus on Gina. It was the only real way to help him.

“You people are starting to get on my last fucking nerve.”

Before she realized the insane woman’s intent, Gina spun around then opened fire. With only one good eye, her aim wasn’t particularly accurate. Lacey dropped to the floor then scrambled beneath her bureau as a trail of splintered wood exploded behind her. She kept moving as the shots ringed the room.

One bullet pierced the wall just inches from her toes. The next struck close enough to her head that she felt the breeze. She crouched behind the hamper like a sitting duck. Lacey didn’t even realize she’d counted each shot until the tenth one shattered her mother’s antique mirror.

That pissed her off.

When the crazy bitch’s footsteps neared where Ty lay on the floor, Lacey didn’t have time to wonder at the precision of her instincts. Instead, she popped up from her meager shelter and strode straight for the lunatic.

“You know, Lacey. I think I could have liked you. Too bad that asshole got lucky and broke in on Jackson playing with you. I’d finally gotten him worked up to killing someone. You could have been his first. Too bad your brother couldn’t leave well enough alone when I called him afterward to see if he was on to me. Too bad he tempted me by falling in love with me. How could I resist that kind of power?”

They stood less than five feet apart, right arms outstretched. Identical police-issue sidearms aimed at each other’s chests.

“I’m up for a game if you are. Which one of us can pull the trigger first you think, Lacey?”