Page 9 of Darkest Before Dawn (His Perfect Darkness #2)

I give up trying to find a way to unlatch the collar and claw at it instead. “Get this off me!” I shriek. My nails scour my skin, but I don’t care. I’m losing it.

“Calm down.” He reaches for me, and I scramble away. “Shh,” he murmurs like he’s soothing a frantic pet. “It’s okay. Let me.” He pulls something from his pocket and holds it up to the collar. I don’t know how it works, but there’s a click and the metal falls away.

I back up from the bars, rubbing my bare neck. My breathing calms.

I’m surprised he took it off, but I suppose he enjoys acting like a caring dom.

He holds the collar, gripping it until his knuckles go white. It’s the only sign he’s feeling anything. He’s cold and calm and in control. “Tell me what you need, Inara.”

“I need you to let me out.” I sink into the shadows in the center of the cage, curling up in a ball. “If you’re not going to do that, I need you to go away.”

“All right. If you’re sure.”

I don’t answer. If the cage is my home now, at least it’s quiet and comfortable. As someone who’s longed for safety and shelter, I can see the appeal.

There’s a crinkle and a sound that tells me he’s set the water bottle back inside the bars.

“The second you call me, I’ll return,” he says. “There are cameras everywhere. You won’t be alone.”

I huddle in the blankets and listen to his footsteps recede, leaving me to grieve the memory of what we were.

Rex

I sit in my office, swirling bourbon in a glass and watching the screen that shows the cage in the dungeon. Inara hasn’t moved for some time, but she’s not sleeping.

I sent Alfie the robot down with a tray full of food. She hasn’t touched that either.

I hate it when she misses meals. It’s only been a few hours, but I’m tempted to be the first to crack and let her out.

I need to be stronger than this. But I hate that I might have harmed her.

A rap on the door wakes me from my thoughts. It’s Hamish, waiting in the doorway until I invite him in.

“I’ve finished testing the samples. The new letter left at the most recent murder matches the ones sent to Inara.

Handwriting, paper quality, mold spores—all identical.

I’m waiting on a sample from the original letters the killer sent to the Elyria police station, but from the photocopied versions, I can surmise the handwriting will be a match as well. ”

“Has the NRPD made a connection between these murders and the Bondage Killer?”

“It’s one of their lines of inquiry, but they have no evidence linking the crimes. I suggest we send a package of our discoveries to the lead detective immediately.” He pauses and clears his throat. “Unless you wish to free Detective Ramos and send them with her.”

I glare at Hamish. He’s unfazed.

“No. It’s not safe for her out there. Not while this killer is fixated on her.” I thump down my glass. “I have to find him.” The faster I stop the Bondage Killer, the less chance he’ll kill again. Maybe then Inara will forgive me.

“I have the utmost faith in your abilities, sir. But if I can make a suggestion?”

“Is it about Inara?” I fold my arms. I don’t want to hear any more parables telling me if I love someone, set them free.

“It is not.” He moves closer to the desk and speaks in a quieter tone. “In the past, you’ve gone through certain channels to solve problems. Channels some might find unorthodox but effective.”

He’s referring to the alliances I’ve made with St. James and his criminal connections. In the rare instance I’ve had trouble finding and destroying an enemy, I’ve hired an assassin to do it for me.

I used to think Hamish disapproved of these methods, so I’m surprised when he continues, “I was wondering if they might be a resource now?” He must be more shaken than he’s letting on if, instead of nagging me to free Inara, he’s encouraging me to hire an army of criminals to help hunt the Bondage Killer down.

“You want me to work with criminals?” I bristle.

“As much as you’d like to be, you cannot be everywhere at once.”

I rub my face, hating him for pointing out my weakness. Hating that there are so many ways I’ve failed to make this city safe.

“If this is the Bondage Killer risen from the dead, we’re up against an experienced killer. We don’t have time to wait for him to make mistakes.”

He’s right. We don’t have time for my pride. I’ll sacrifice anything to keep Inara safe, even my last gasp at moral ground. “Make the calls. Set up a meeting.”

“Consider it done.” Hamish nods and leaves.

Building an alliance with St. James and his gang of murderers will be another sin Inara can judge me for. She sees the world in black and white, but I’m more practical.

There are those who would hurt Inara and those who would help me stand against them. I’m not picky when it comes to my allies. And if the choice is between keeping my hands clean and keeping Inara alive? There’s no question what I’ll do.

On camera, it looks like Inara has finally fallen asleep. But a frown mottles her face. Her limbs twitch, and she jerks like she’s trying to wake herself up.

She’s having a bad dream. I watch, on edge, until her mouth opens in a silent scream. And then I’m out of my chair and running for the dungeon, unable to be apart from her for another second.

Inara

I’m trapped in a small, claustrophobic space.

It stinks like smoke and rot, and ash fills my lungs.

Every time I move, there’s a dry, crackling sound, like I’m stepping on tinder.

When I finally open my eyes, I realize I’m surrounded by the bodies of dead birds.

The fragile bones snap under my flailing feet.

Black feathers fill my vision, and when I scream, they fill my mouth ? —

“Inara.” A large hand cups the side of my face, and I jerk away until I realize it’s Rex. He picks me up and cradles me in his arms. I press my face into his solid shoulder, reveling in his immense strength.

Slowly the psychic horror of the dream recedes until there’s only Rex, his scent, his warmth, his strength. I cling to him. Because even though I can’t forgive him for locking me up, he’s all I have.

He seems to know what I need and rubs my back, soothing me like I’m a child. “It’s okay, baby. You’re safe with me.”

He carries me easily away from the cage and through the dimly lit dungeon. He takes me back to the bedroom I escaped from earlier.

I struggle to be let down, and his arms tighten around me like iron bands.

I stop fighting him and whisper, “I have to go to the bathroom.”

He carries me there and gives me privacy, but I find him waiting right outside the door. Which is a good thing because I stumble in the dark, my body still heavy from sleep.

He sweeps me off my feet, and I let him, my arms and legs dangling while my head slumps against his chest. He settles us on black satin bed sheets. I find myself pressing my face into the side of his neck, sucking in his cedar scent. I missed this. I missed him.

He lets me burrow deep in his arms. Once I relax, he strokes the hair back from my face. “Was it a bad dream?”

“I don’t know.” It might have been a vision of the future or an echo of the Bondage Killer’s past crimes. Either way, I can’t share this with Rex.

But Rex notices everything, and he’s not about to let me hide a piece of myself. “You said something earlier when we were watching the news. Something about a dream.” He shifts me in his arms so he can study my face. “Did you dream about the killer? About the crime scene?”

I press my lips together and shake my head. No, you don’t get to know this part of me.

“Inara, please. Let me help you.”

It’s tempting. Of all the people in the world, he could actually help me. Ease my burdens. But I can’t trust him anymore.

“The only help I need is getting away from you.” I sit up, finally putting some space between us. He only lets me move so far before his hands come to my back, pulling me into the circle of his arms.

I huff and look around the room. “Are you going to lock me in here again? Chain me to the bed?”

His cock twitches under my ass. “If that’s what it takes. But right now, I thought I’d just hold you.”

I do want him to hold me, more than he knows. His arms feel right around me.

This is when Rex is the most dangerous. When he’s using a soft voice and gentle touch. This is when I want to give up, give in.

“I don’t want to fight you,” I say. “Not like this. The stakes are too high. We should be focused on the same thing—stopping the Bondage Killer.”

“Agreed.” Of course he agrees with this. We both want the same result. It’s the steps we’ll take to get there that are in conflict.

“I’ve spent my life dedicated to bringing murderers like him to justice. If you take that away from me, I’m not sure who I am.”

“I know you want to do your job. But it’s not worth your life.”

I want to argue that the cost won’t be my life, but the reality is I’m willing to sacrifice anything to put the Bondage Killer behind bars. Rex knows it, and it terrifies him. No wonder he overreacted. He’s not used to feeling so afraid.

But I have to make him understand why I have to leave.

“Imagine something with me.” I brace myself before I continue.

“A little girl wakes up to a nightmare. There’s someone in the house.

A stranger. He’s already killed her parents.

No one is alive to come help, when suddenly her bedroom door slowly swings open, and she knows her life will never be the same. ”

He rubs my back with a massive hand. “That little girl was you.”

“No. That little girl is out there now. Her family’s alive, but only if we put the Bondage Killer behind bars. And I’m the best chance at catching him. I’m the only one who’s survived.”

“That makes you a target. The danger, the risk. . . it’s unacceptable.”

“That’s my choice.”

He says nothing. He’s done his damnedest to take away my choices.