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

Lacey’s car was totaled.

The entire right side had been smashed by the now cracked pine. One gnarled branch, the diameter of his wrist, had penetrated the windshield like a grotesque lance, stabbing straight into the passenger seat. Spider-webbed cracks radiated from the intrusion. The maze of fine white lines prevented him from seeing into the black interior of the car.

Mason’s stomach heaved. Though he dreaded what he would likely find, he flew to the less damaged driver-side door and ripped open the bent panel.

Tyler and Lacey were mashed together in a jumble of limbs that didn’t make sense to him at first. Then he realized the tree branch had skimmed the top of Tyler’s back as he hunched over Lacey’s limp form, pinning him in place.

“Hey.” The wheezed greeting sounded like heaven to Mason. “That last step was a doozie.”

“Don’t move, Ty. Where are you hurt?”

“Uh, pretty much everywhere. Remember that time…” he paused to cough then winced, “…Vinny Mancuso found out we fucked his sister then sent those four street thugs to beat the shit out of me? It’s sort of like that.”

Mason choked on the ice in his throat at the sarcastic remark. “Thank God you’re okay. What about Lacey? What the hell happened?”

Tyler must have been more out of it than he wanted to admit. He shook his head then his brows knit together as he thought back.

“Shit, I don’t know Mason. Get her out of here. She needs a doctor.” His anxiety ramped up as the initial shock of the impact began to wear off. He squirmed as he tried to face Lacey’s still form.

“There’s an ambulance on the way, Ty. Hang in there. You’re going to be fine. Both of you.” He hoped he wasn’t lying. “I’ve got you.”

“You do?” The question sounded fainter this time.

“Yeah, but you have to stay awake.” Mason didn’t like the way the color had drained from his best friend’s cheeks in a rush.

“You’ve got it under control, right?”

“Yeah, you just relax. I’ve got you covered.” His attention split between reassuring Ty and checking the stability of Lacey’s vital signs with enough discretion to avoid alarming the other man further.

“You won’t let anything happen to us.” With that, Tyler checked out.

The distant wail Mason had caught a hint of had amplified. Paramedics would be on-site in less than a minute. Until then, he put one hand on Lacey’s shoulder and the other gripped Ty’s fingers. He held on tight while he murmured reassurances to them. And himself.

Lacey woke in an unfamiliar bed. She struggled to surface through the fog threatening to send her back to oblivion for the fourth or fifth time since she’d first roused and found herself out of the hospital. On each return trip to consciousness she’d managed to stay awake a bit longer. So far she’d figured out the baby blue ceiling of the room she slept in had several cracks in it. She could reach both sides of the narrow mattress easily. The bright quilt covering her kept her toasty and the air smelled like sugar cookies fresh from the oven.

“Mama Rose?” The scratchy whisper sounded nothing like the call she’d intended.

“There you are, Lacey-love.” A plump woman, shorter even than Lacey, came to sit on the edge of the mattress. Her hand, showing wrinkles Lacey had never noticed before, reached out to brush a stray lock of hair off her forehead. “Don’t try to sit up yet, dear. Give it a minute. You’ve got a mild concussion and a few nasty bruises.”

“What happened?” she asked aloud while she scrambled to bridge the gap in her memory.

Mama Rose didn’t answer right away, letting her remember for herself. Distorted fragments of action patched together—flashing lights, people shouting, the ER—until she knew enough to be terrified. “Ty! Where is he?”

The restraining touch on her shoulder kept her prone on the mattress though she should have been able to brush it right off.

“Shush, darling. That son of mine is hardheaded. Probably dented the dash of your poor little car. He went to the station with Mason to file a report and wait for the results of a few tests. They’re going to find out who did this to you.”

Through the confusion in her mind, Lacey had a vague recollection of the fight that had precluded their crash. Under the care of Ty’s doting mother, guilt swamped her. “I’m so sorry. I could have gotten him killed. So pointless…”

“Don’t waste energy worrying about what might have been. Save it for learning from your mistakes and healing up now, you hear?”

“How’d you get so smart, Mama Rose?” Lacey felt like a fool but the other woman surrendered a belly laugh at her serious inquiry.

“By making lots of mistakes, of course. Now, do you think you can sit up for a bit? Let’s see if you’re still dizzy. I have a couple more pain pills the doctor sent home with you and some water here if you can keep them down.”

No wonder this groggy feeling had been so hard to shake. Grateful for the supporting hands that cradled her as she rose, Lacey took stock of her condition. Her training kicked in while she conducted a self-evaluation. A moderate headache, slight motor impairment and some memory loss made up the symptoms she checked off her list but the lack of spotted vision or nausea reassured her. “I think I’m okay, Mama.”

“Okay! Don’t be ridiculous! Of course you’re not okay, Lacey-love. But you’ll survive anyway. You’re one tough cookie.”

The complete understanding destroyed Lacey’s inhibitions. She flung her arms around Ty’s mom and squeezed until she heard a muffled, “Ooomph.”

“I love you, Mama Rose.” She wondered if empathy could be hereditary. The source of Tyler’s uncanny insight stared straight into Lacey’s eyes. The intensity of the woman’s piercing gaze made her a little uncomfortable as she imagined all her secrets laid bare.

“You know