Night Is Darkest by Jayne Rylon (books recommended by bts .TXT) 📕

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.”

“I’m going with you, then.” Ty stood up from the desk.

“No, stay here with Lacey. I’ll come back as soon as the crowds play out to see how you’re doing tracking her caller. Put someone on the phone records while you work the PC. If you need help, we can bring in one of the guys from the cyber crimes division.” He didn’t have to say that any one of them would pitch in to help Rob and his family.

The cushion rose when Mason’s bulk unfurled from the dainty furniture. She peeled her gaze from his perfect ass at eye level, then escorted him to the foyer. On impulse, she hugged him tight. Trim muscles flexed under her grasp, which surrounded his waist. Surprise eased her worry when he put his arms around her instead of backing away. He held her close, breathing deep with his face pressed to her still damp hair. After a few blissful moments she forced herself to let go, reaching up to press a quick kiss to his cheek.

She borrowed Rob’s line, “Stay safe.”

“You too.” He left without looking back.

When she turned, she caught Tyler staring at the spot where they’d stood. She couldn’t decipher his cryptic expression.

“I didn’t even think, Ty. Should I stay away from him?” She rushed to replay the moment and consider the appropriateness of her actions as she returned to the office. This changing dynamic would take some getting used to.

“You never have to worry about that, little one.” He brushed her hair back from her brow. “You were clear from the beginning that you wanted us both. Do what comes natural when you’re around Mason. Believe me, I understand.”

“Because you’ve shared women with him before?” She tried to make sense of the situation. If he’d mauled another woman not ten feet from her she’d have been seeing red.

“No. Because I know you love him and I do, too.”

“Then why are you fighting?” The deliberate formality between the men had been nearly palpable. “Life is too short to distance yourself from the people you love.”

“That’s exactly my point, Lacey.” With that, he plopped back down at the desk. He tinkered with the computer until she gave up hope of continuing the conversation. She curled into a ball on the loveseat, with a book she’d never be able to read, while a million thoughts clamored for her attention.

***

Mason winced when the sight of the board, covering the gap where he’d smashed the etched glass in Lacey’s door, greeted him on return. He made a mental note to pick up a replacement pane to install on his day off.

The