Page 48 of Darkest Before Dawn (His Perfect Darkness #2)

I have to be hallucinating this.

The cords binding me loosen and fall away. The men on either side of me continue to work to free me, but I have eyes only for her.

Someone hands her a water bottle, and she holsters her weapon so she can hold it to my lips. An angel. She’s an angel.

I tip my head back and let the water relieve my parched throat. I shake my head when she offers me more.

“You okay?” she asks. I don’t recognize her voice until she pulls off her helmet.

“Inara,” I snarl. This is real. This is happening. She’s here. I can’t believe she put herself in danger again.

There are still remnants of the knock-out drug in my system that make the edges of my vision foggy, but fresh adrenaline pumps through me, clearing the cobwebs away.

“I’m here.” She moves to put a gloved hand on my shoulder but stops when she notices the blood covering my torso.

I’m lightheaded with relief and rage. “You shouldn’t be here!” I left her sleeping in our bed while I went out chasing monsters. I wouldn’t have left her if I wasn’t sure that she’d be safe.

“You left me,” she retorts. “You went to the morgue and then went missing.”

I gnash my teeth. I hate that Ted got the jump on me, but I refuse to let her shift the focus to me. “I left you at home, where you were safe. Who gave you that suit?”

“Hamish. He said this was a prototype. We had to retrofit it to my frame a bit, but it works.” She sees me seething and lays a hand on her chest. “Rex, I was perfectly safe.”

I can’t look at her, so I glare at the men beside me inside. Jaeger, Kaiser, and Victor.

I’m going to kill them. They were meant to keep Inara safe, not let her go gallivanting around the city in body armor. “You,” I snarl at Victor. “You let her come here?—”

“They couldn’t stop me,” she says.

Now that I’m not tied to the bed, I should be able to rise. But I’m still feeling weak, like my limbs aren’t mine to control. I should be familiar with this from watching my victims struggle with this partial paralysis enough times.

“Rex.” Inara stoops so I have to look at her. “It’s okay. It’s over, and it’s going to be okay.”

“You shouldn’t have come.”

“What, you can save me, but I can’t save you? I only did what you would do.”

She has a point, but I hate it. I’m too disoriented to argue my position, so I’m reduced to threats. “There aren’t enough whips in the world,” I grind out and stop when Victor’s head snaps in our direction.

“Don’t mind me,” he says with glee. “Please continue.”

“Later,” I grumble to Inara. Victor is kinky as hell. I’m pretty sure he tied his bride up in his own private dungeon and tortured her as part of their courtship. He doesn’t need any ideas, and I don’t want to hash this out in front of a would-be voyeur.

I try to rise, but my legs don’t hold me. I stagger. Luckily, Jaeger and Kaiser are on either side of me to prop me up, and I allow them so we get out of here faster.

Inara spins in a slow circle in the middle of the darkroom.

There’s a sink in the corner and photographs papering the wall.

“Exactly as I envisioned,” she murmurs. “He took pictures of his victims as trophies.” She heads to the freezer chest beside the sink and opens it. “And here are the dead birds.”

I don’t want her to linger too long in such macabre surroundings. “Inara,” I call. The twins pause so I can turn to her.

She’s still studying the room, a slight frown on her face. She’s in detective mode.

But I don’t want to leave her. I want her with me. I need her, I realize. Leaving her behind feels like ripping my heart in half.

I stretch out my hand and let vulnerability bleed into my voice. “Please.”

It’s all I can bear to say, but she understands. Her eyes light up, and her expression softens. She joins me, taking my hand, and I’m able to breathe again.

Inara

For the first time ever, I’m giddy. It must be the after-effects of adrenaline and a combination of relief and excitement at finding Rex and solving the case.

Bubbles fill my chest like I’ve been sipping champagne.

I can’t stop touching Rex, which is good because he’s kept hold of me since we left Ted’s dark room.

It’s almost as if he’s afraid I’ll run away.

When we get a moment alone, I’ll have to tell him there’s nothing to fear. From now on, I only run toward him.

“What I don’t understand is how Ted incapacitated you,” I ask Rex. We’re back at Roy Manor, doing a post-op debrief with Mina and Hamish.

Rex’s face is stony. He hates this conversation. He hates any weakness. “It was a gas. Laughing gas, actually. He flooded the morgue room with it, then was able to inject me with a paralysis agent,” Rex says.

“We think Ted used gas on the Walker family, too. He might have even gotten the idea from you.” I would poke Rex, but he’s already holding my hand in both of his. He frowns down at it now.

“We spoke to the morgue attendant—” Hamish says.

“He was in on it,” Mina interrupts. “The morgue attendant was working with Ted. He helped Ted steal the victim’s remains from the morgue to lure you out. And once you were incapacitated, they loaded you onto a gurney and into an ambulance. Ted used that to get you to his place.”

I shake my head.

“We’ve also found evidence that Ted was blackmailing a number of people, threatening to release incriminating photos,” Hamish reports. “One of his targets gave him access to the helicopter.”

“This was his endgame,” Rex says. “He called in every favor and exhausted all his resources. He must have been planning it for some time.”

He and Mina start comparing notes on all of Ted’s movements. My body starts to droop as the last of the adrenaline leaves my system.

I don’t want to know every detail of Ted or BK’s final days. For once, I don’t care about building a body of evidence so the DA can prosecute the perp. The case is over. The two men who haunted my dreams are dead.

“You okay?” Rex murmurs to me. He’s looking a lot better than he did a few hours ago, and I’m probably looking worse.

“Yeah.” I let myself lean into him. “I’m glad it’s over.”

He pulls me into his lap and into a hug. I melt into him, letting his scent ground me.

I don’t remember closing my eyes, but the next thing I know, I’m waking up, still in Rex’s arms. I sit up slowly, blinking, and check the corners of my mouth for drool. “I must have dozed off.”

“You did.” Rex looks amused.

Hamish and Mina are gone. Rex must have sat here and let me nap on him.

I never thought I’d say this, but I hope he lets me nap on him again. Often.

But first, business. “What did I miss?”

“Fraternitas found the ambulance down the block from Ted’s apartment building, with the remains of Emily Rodriguez inside. Her body’s been returned to the morgue. Her family is making arrangements for a memorial service on Sunday.”

“I’d like to go.”

Rex nods as if he expected me to say that. “She was a nurse. I’ve instructed the Roy Foundation to set up a scholarship fund in her name.”

“She would’ve liked that.”

“The Green Street neighborhood has planted trees in honor of the family who died. We can do the same for your family in Elyria, if you’d like.”

“That would be nice.”

“I’ll make it happen.” He presses his lips to my forehead.

It feels like another ending, but one I chose. Closure. I don’t have to carry the burden of loss any longer. Rex and I can bury the dead and honor them, letting the memory of their love enrich our lives. As long as we feel their love, they will always be with me, and I can let the grief go.

Rex has more to say. I can feel the tension in his body.

“What is it?” I reach up to caress his face to put him more at ease.

“We need to deal with Ted’s body. How would you like us to handle it?”

“I don’t care.”

“We can stage a scene and make sure his body is found. Or we can just make him disappear forever.”

He’s waiting for me to put up a fuss and insist we bring in the police.

“You decide,” I shrug. “But whatever you do, let’s do it quietly. The news loves a serial killer and he doesn’t deserve to be famous. Let him be forgotten.”

Rex smiles like I knew he would. “Your wish is my command.” He looks absolutely villainous.

I roll my eyes, then sober. “There is one thing I’d like done. There’s a retired detective who told me about the Blackbird murders. I want him to know we closed the case.”

“Consider it done.” He hesitates, then says, “There are still questions about your involvement in BK’s death. Detective Bonds has some theories he’d like to confirm.”

“I’ll talk to him. Soon.” I feel no urgency to rush into work and wrap up the case. The only thing I want is to remain in bed or bed-adjacent with Rex for a solid month.

Another first for me. I’ve never thought I could get close to someone long enough to nap on them or want to be with them for longer than a scene. I might have longed for it, but I couldn’t have it. I was afraid that death would come to anyone I loved.

Now I want every moment. I want mornings and evenings and workday lunches, as well as nights in the dungeon.

Naps and holding hands and deciding what’s for dinner.

The quiet hours together when we’re relaxing or dressing for work or brushing our teeth before bed.

The mundane details of the day. All the things Rex was ready for the minute we met.

All the things I resisted while he wound his web around me, drawing me slowly in.

As for the fear, I don’t feel it anymore. Most of that lifted from my shoulders the second Rex saved me. The little that remained disappeared today when I took out the threat to Rex.

Our fate wasn’t fixed, and I did what was required.

For once, I used my visions to rewrite the future.

I’ve finally used my gift the way it should be used: saving people.

Not seeking justice for the dead but stopping evil in its tracks.

I fulfilled my purpose, my calling, and my reward is this new life.