Midnight Hour (Shadow Falls: After Dark #4)(90)

The wheels of the van hummed against the pavement taking them back to Fallen. Back to Miranda. And yet … “We’ve got nothing to offer Miranda

about her sister,” Perry said.

“No news might be good news.” Doubt resonated from Burnett’s tone. Perry felt it echo inside his chest. If something happened to Tabitha it

would break Miranda’s heart.

Before he rebounded from that thought, another hit. What if they couldn’t save Tabitha. His own brother might be responsible for it. Perry’s

gut twisted in knots, threads of fear tangled with his hopes for him and the girl he loved. Miranda hadn’t completely forgiven him for his

last screwups. She’d never forgive him for this.

And he couldn’t blame her.

The question was, could he stop it? Or was he already too late?





Chapter Twenty-six

They arrived back at the school at eleven. Was Miranda still awake?

Burnett had given him a key to one of the empty cabins to sleep in, but Kylie and Della stopped him and asked if he wanted to stay at their

cabin, because Kylie wanted to go run in the full moon with Lucas, and Della wanted to see Chase.

Perry’s gut said they were playing cupid. He wanted to hug them.

He let himself into the cabin, hoping she’d be on the sofa or would come running out of her bedroom.

Neither. The kitchen light was on as if she’d been scared of the dark.

He shut the front door, not all that quietly. Then he glanced at her bedroom door. Would it be totally inappropriate to wake her up? To walk in

there and climb in bed with her?

Not for sex. Not that he didn’t want that. It would be heaven. But holding her while she slept would be heaven enough. For now.

He focused on the kitchen again. The light shone on the table, highlighting a bouquet of flowers.

He moved in. A plastic fork held a small scripted card: Here’s to us and our future. Shawn.

Emotion filled Perry’s chest.

Their future? They didn’t have a future! Miranda was … his?

Or was she?

Every insecurity he’d ever had about deserving her rose to the surface.

How was Miranda going to feel if they couldn’t save her sister? What would she feel when she learned his own flesh and blood had caused it?

Perry knew she cared about him, but could she overlook that?

“Perry?” her soft voice echoed behind him.

He turned. She stood just outside her door.

She wore a pair of Little Mermaid pajamas. A tight tank top hugged her breasts and was paired with a loose-fitting pair of boxer-type shorts.

He wanted to touch her so badly his fingers ached.

But his heart fisted. He looked back at the flowers.

“They’re breakup flowers.” Her bare feet padded on the wood floor as she came closer. He heard each step.

“That’s not what the card says.”

“He wrote that before I broke up with him. I told him he should take the flowers, but he said to keep them as … breakup flowers.”

He swallowed. “I didn’t know you were supposed to give breakup flowers.” Unable to look at her, he stared at the sofa. He remembered them

there—tangled in each other’s arms, tasting and touching each other almost to the point of no return.

“Me, either,” she said.

The lightest chuckle in her tone had him focusing on her again. “You broke up with him?”

She walked closer. Was it his imagination that he could already smell her?

“I … I care about someone else.”

“You do?” he asked.

She stopped as if she just realized something else. “What happened tonight? Did you find Tabitha?”

The thrill, the anticipation of where her steps were leading, vanished.

“No. But we got a few more leads. And I’m supposed to meet with Jax tomorrow.”

She frowned. “You keep getting leads but none of them pan out.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” Then she bolted into his arms. All that softness. All that sweetness. Against him. Heaven.

He wrapped his arms around her. She looked up, resting her chin on his chest. “Why didn’t you tell me that Jax was your half brother?”

She knew? “I…” The question, the one gnawing at his sanity, spilled out. “What if he’s behind this? What if it’s him trying to hurt your

sister?”

She pressed a hand to his chest. “Then you’ll stop him.”

He exhaled. “I will.”

They stood in the middle of the room, holding on to each other. Both victims of different shipwrecks.

She eventually moved him over to the sofa and dropped down on the cushions. A soft sigh filled the room.

He sat down beside her. She pulled her knees up, curled up in a tight ball, and cuddled up next to his side. “Where are Kylie and Della?”

“Kylie went to run with Lucas, and Della’s at Chase’s. But I think they were playing cupid.”

She smiled, not a complete smile, but enough to crinkle the corners of her eyes. “See why I love them?”

“Yeah, I see.”

She blinked and the smile faded. “I don’t want you hiding things from me.”