Page 81 of Walking in Darkness

So I reacted.

I moved swiftly so I’d be the one benefiting from the element of surprise, and I threw myself around the corner.

A man was a foot away, his back to me as he started to reopen the gate, like he was having second thoughts about coming here. Or maybe second thoughts about his mode of entry.

Not Ambrose.

He was a tall, lanky Black guy, who whirled around when I emerged behind him.

Instantly, his hands flew up in surrender when he saw the gun pointed in his direction.

Pale-gray eyes wide with shock and fear.

My own surprise had me dropping the gun to my side. Relief punched me in the face, and the name was heavy as a stone as it toppled out of my mouth and onto the ground.

“Timothy?”

Air gushed out of him as he bent in two, resting his hands on his knees as he panted. “You scared the fuck out of me, brother.”

Breathing heavy, I rambled, “Uh, yeah, I could say the same.”

I uncocked the gun and turned on the safety; then I staggered forward and gripped the top of his shoulder as I bent down so I could fully take him in. “Can’t believe it’s you.”

He surged forward, nearly picking me up off my feet as he hugged me and clapped me on the back. “You’re alive. And here. Fuck, I can’t believe it. Been dodging bullets all day ... You’re not the first person who tried to get a shot in at me. This shit is out of control.”

“Didn’t mean to freak you out. We thought you were ...”

I trailed off when an overwhelming presence rolled over us, and Timothy fumbled back a step when he was struck by it, drawn to the side so he could see around me.

I looked over my shoulder to find Dani standing twenty feet away.

Nailed to the spot with an earthquake rumbling beneath her feet. A riot of energy fired in the middle of them.

The two of them just gaped at each other as their chests jerked and spasmed.

One second later, she was flying toward him and throwing herself into his arms. Without reservation, he hoisted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. He had an arm looped around her lower back, the other rushing over her.

Her back.

Her shoulders.

Gliding up the back of her neck before his fingers were digging up into her scalp.

“Oh God. Oh God. Oh God,” Dani whimpered as she looked down at him, her fingers trembling as she reverently touched his face. “It’s you. It’s you.”

“It’s me, baby. It’s me.”

Then he was kissing her. Wild and frantic. Like he’d just found the missing piece inside him.

My gaze moved, drawn to Aria, who waited near the side of the wall, her eyes soft as she watched them before they drifted to me.

My heart squeezed in a fucking fist.

Yeah. No doubt Timothy had just found his missing piece, and I was looking directly at mine.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Aria