Page 44 of Darkest Before Dawn (His Perfect Darkness #2)

I nara

I’m falling from a great height. There’s no sound, only the sensation of surrender. Everything will be over soon?—

A blast of excruciating heat hits me. I scream, feeling like it’s searing my skin from my bones.

My eyes are closed against the stinging. This isn’t a dream. It’s happening. It’s real.

“Inara!” someone shouts. Something hits me hard enough to knock the air from my lungs. I wheeze, choking, but the arms around me squeeze tighter.

“I’ve got you,” Rex growls in my ear. His grip is painful, and it feels so good. I’m alive. So is he.

I crane my head. Behind us, fire blooms, eating into the night.

The Bondage Killer blew the roof.

I’m with Rex, and we’re flying through the air somehow.

“Hang on,” Rex says.

There’s a jolt, and my heart flips with a swooping sensation.

Whatever’s keeping us in the air adjusts.

Rex and I drop together, but then he gets one arm under my legs while his other arm cradles my back, carrying me bridal style.

There’s a dark shape overhead—wings, maybe—and a whirring sound that tells me this is another expensive bit of tech.

Behind us, the warehouse is gone, collapsing in on itself. The sight makes me gasp, but I remember what Rex said. He got the family out. He saved me, and now we’re airborne, soaring over the city.

I glance down and grow dizzy at the sight of rooftops and streets below.

My stomach catches up to all the jerking movements of the last few seconds, and I clutch Rex’s neck, seeking something stable to lock onto.

BK is gone and his answers with him. I wish I could’ve gotten more out of him, but I never expected to survive.

The helmet’s faceplate retracts, and Rex’s breath hits my cheek. “Inara?”

“I’m all right,” I find my voice. It’s scratchy from the ashy air. “I knew you’d catch me. You’d never let me fall.”

“Never,” he tells me. The vow reverberates through me, warming me to my toes.

We’re alive, and we’re together. That’s all that matters.

Fresh air streams over our faces. I breathe it in along with Rex’s scent, clearing my lungs.

The city lights glitter like jewels. From this vantage point, New Rome is so beautiful. There’s even a glimmer of gold on the horizon, although I might be imagining that. Even if I am, I know the sun is ready to rise.

I switch my gaze to Rex. His jaw is clenched, his eyes fixed ahead, and there’s no softness in the sober angles of his expression. But his face is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

I reach up and trail my fingers over his cheek.

He glances at me, eyes questioning.

“Take me home,” I tell him.

“Where is home?”

“Wherever you take me.” I tuck my head against his chest and close my eyes, content to let him fly us toward the dawn.

Home turns out to be Roy Manor.

While Rex debriefs Hamish and Mina, I take a shower.

There will be press conferences, stories to be told to the command staff, and procedures to be followed.

But I’m happy to let Rex handle it while I take a moment alone.

I stand under the spray, imagining the night’s events washing down the drain.

There might be a few tears escaping along with the water, but when I turn off the tap, I feel lighter.

It’s over. I am at peace.

Rex told me that he had hired an assassin named Victor to help hunt BK. Victor happened to be tailing Ted to see if BK would reach out to him again.

I felt like someone was following me up the stairs in the warehouse.

It must have been Victor. He assessed the situation, phoned Rex, and focused on freeing the family.

Hamish and a team of explosive experts were en route and on call the whole time, but once the family was safe, they made the decision to stay clear.

I could be angry that Rex hired a criminal to do his dirty work, but one thing I’ve learned is that Rex is going to Rex.

His sense of justice is warped, but he’s also going to throw all his money, time, and energy at a project until he gets his way.

The result was that Ted’s family was saved.

I’m not going to bitch about the means. For now.

There is someone I want to talk with, but I don’t have my phone back yet; I left it with Ted earlier. It feels like a lifetime ago.

“Alfie,” I call while I’m towel-drying my hair. From what I can tell, the AI assistant is always listening.

“Can I help you, Detective?” Alfie answers politely.

“Can you call Lacy Collins?”

“Dialing Lacy Collins.”

I smirk at the mirror. I could get used to having this kind of assistant.

“Lacy Collins is unavailable. Do you want to leave a message?”

“Yes, thank you,” I say, and Alfie cues me to leave a message at the beep.

“It’s me,” I say. I imagine Lacy’s face. In my mind’s eye she has more gray hair and deeper wrinkles around her eyes. I’ll have to tell her that in the heat of the moment when I faced BK, her advice saw me through.

Later. I can’t get through that right now.

I still have to process everything I felt on that roof.

For now, I tell her, “It’s done. He’s gone.

Forever.” Simple, but it’ll get the message across.

I wonder if she’ll be able to hear the emotion in my voice.

Am I upset that I didn’t get to arrest BK for his crimes?

Not at all. I feel lighter, like the weight of the world has fallen off my shoulders. A burden I took on when I found Lacy’s murder book all those years ago.

Or maybe it was earlier, from the night BK came to murder my family. I think of that moment and what BK said about it on the roof, but the poison is gone, leached away. Because I survived. I went through hell, but I survived. And what’s more, I’ll be able to thrive.

The worst moments of our lives shape us but also fuel us.

What happened to me made me develop my psychic abilities.

What happened to Rex drove him to become a warrior.

Tragedy shaped us, but because we are who we are, we’ve used it to fuel our growth.

We were forged in fire and came out stronger.

When the pain is gone, only the power remains.

When I step outside the bedroom, Alfie’s waiting.

“Take me to Rex,” I tell the little robot.

He leads me to Rex’s office.

Rex is there, leaning against his desk. He’s removed his body armor. His dark hair hangs spiky over his forehead, so he must have taken his own quick shower.

This is our first moment alone since yesterday. The flight here—first on the dark wings of Rex’s glider, then in a helicopter to the mansion—didn’t afford us much time to talk.

He doesn’t look up when I approach. He must still be processing. But I feel giddy, so I sidle up to him with a smile.

“We did it,” I say.

He’s got a hand over his mouth, rubbing as if in thought. It’s as if I’m not even here.

“Rex? Why won’t you look at me?”

He raises his head, and I see why. He’s furious. The heat of his anger hits me like the blast of a bomb.

“You left me,” he says. His voice is cold and dark, but I hear the sad little boy he was in his accusation.

He’s right. I did leave him. I shrug, accepting his censure. “I had to. I had to save them.”

“I—” He cuts himself off, looking away. The muscles in his jaw jump as he chews on what he wants to say.

I move in front of him. For such a big man, he can be fragile. I need to remember that just because someone looks big and bad doesn’t mean they don’t have feelings or can’t have their feelings hurt.

And Rex is hurting. He might not know how to say it, but I can tell.

“Talk to me,” I prompt softly and get another glare from under his thick brows. Then the mask slips, and he looks down at the ground.

“You didn’t even tell me.”

“I knew you’d be tracking me.”

His wet hair makes him look like a schoolboy. I want to stroke it back from his face.

So I do.

“I knew you’d be watching. Somehow, someway. That you would find me.”

“When you jumped off the roof ledge, my heart stopped.”

“I knew you wouldn’t let me fall.”

His breath gusts my hair, and he finally relaxes and leans into my palm.

“Inara.” His tone is broken, pleading. I feel each heave of his chest like it’s an earthquake. “You can’t. . . I can’t.” He closes his eyes as if he’s angry and can’t articulate what he’s feeling. Or maybe he’s angry at the feelings themselves.

I understand that completely. I’ve spent a lifetime shackling my feelings, only allowing myself a release with pain. But now I have someone to share things with, and that alone is so freeing.

I want Rex to find that same freedom, so I let him struggle with his feelings. But I keep holding him. I’m here.

When he looks at me again, he’s accusing and pleading, all at the same time. “You alone hold the power to destroy me.”

I can’t say anything, so I push my tiptoes and press my lips to his. Just a quick kiss. I’m still here. I’m with you.

I love you.

He shudders under my palms and hesitates, then wraps his arms around me and pulls me to his chest. This time he grasps my chin and guides our kiss. It’s deeper but sweeter somehow.

“You can’t just leave me.” His voice is muffled because his face is buried in my hair.

“I’m not,” I whisper back. “I’m here with you. I’m not leaving, Rex. I’m here.”

“Gods,” he chokes out, and I relive that moment when I stood on the ledge of the roof, my fear overcome by the need to save him.

“I’m here, Rex.” I tease his hair with the tips of my fingers, grounding myself with touch.

“I almost lost you. Again.”

“You can punish me. If you want.”

His laugh is broken, but his fingers dig into my hair. “You’ll like it too much.” His grip tightens, and the stinging on my scalp feels like home.

“Is that so wrong?”