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

The wail of misery that escaped the other woman’s throat sent shivers up Lacey’s spine.

“But it got worse and worse. He tested me. One day, he got angry at some perceived slight and broke my arm. I felt it snap and something inside me fractured with it. I hit him in the head with a lamp. I thought I’d killed him. I ran and ran. He couldn’t find me but the pictures kept coming to my email. Dozens of women. Tortured. Raped. All because of me. I was afraid to go to the police. He said he’d kill me if I ended his fun. Th-that’s what he called it. Fun.”

Lacey cried with her now because she knew what came next. Yet, when compared to this woman’s suffering, her tragedy seemed like child’s play. She tugged Gina’s hand until she hugged it to her breast over her heart. “It’s okay. I understand. They would understand.”

“One day everything stopped. I was so stupid. I thought he’d given up. I thought I was free. Until I got an email from him saying he’d been locked up. He thought I’d ratted him out. He blamed me for getting caught but I knew someone else had saved me. I researched the court documents and found several references to Officer Daughtry.” Her battered face contorted at the mention of his name. “When I tracked him down, I called him once. Anonymously. I told him my story. He was so kind. So understanding. I think I fell a little in love with him right then.”

Her voice trailed off as she got tangled in her memories.

“This had to have been years ago, Gina. What happened during all the time in between?” Mason’s relentless focus on the truth earned another frown from Razor.

“When I talked to Rob he said we needed proof to make sure Jackson never got the chance to destroy another woman. He said the emails I had saved wouldn’t be enough until we could track down some of the victims. Otherwise, they could have been consensual partners. Jackson was careful never to write anything damning in his emails. But I knew.” She ducked her chin again. “I was too frightened at first. I was sure Jackson would find out and kill me like he had threatened. I-I hung up on Rob.”

“No one is going to judge you. You did what you had to in order to survive.” Razor wiped the tears from her cheek with a gentleness Lacey wouldn’t have believed he possessed.

“There were times over the next three years Rob came close. He called my apartment. I moved again. He found my email but I didn’t answer. One day, I was working the night shift in the grocery store when he walked in. God, he was so handsome. I remember watching as he held the door for a pregnant woman who came in for ice cream when her cravings drove her out of bed then he carried a gallon of milk to the counter for Mrs. Hallister who’s in her late eighties. I didn’t think there were people like that in the world anymore.”

Her eyes turned glassy either from the drugs or the memories, Lacey couldn’t say which.

“When he came to the register with a candy bar, he looked at me. Really looked. I felt like he saw all the way to my soul with those blue, blue eyes. He knew. All along, he’d known it was me. He said, ‘Don’t run, Gina. I want to help. You can trust me, I swear. Think about it and I’ll come back tomorrow. Just to talk. That’s all.’” The undamaged corner of her mouth tilted in a tiny smile. “He paid for the snack then left. And he never broke his promises to me. Not that time and never after, either. And it’s because of me he’s dead.”

For long minutes, they couldn’t console her as she suffered from agony far worse than any physical pain. When Mason finally asked his next question, his gentle delivery brought a wave of relief to everyone in the room. The clear leader of their group had granted absolution. “Were you and Rob conducting your own investigation to identify Jackson’s other victims?”

“Yes.” She sniffled then winced. “I have all the emails. All the horrifying pictures.”

“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