Lullabies and Lies - By Mallory Kane Page 0,46
agents and detectives who’d kept promising him and his dad that they’d find Marianne? Even as a young teen, he’d known they were lying. It hadn’t stopped him from believing them. But he’d always sworn to be honest with the families.
He looked down at Sunny, curled up, her closed eyes damp with tears. Giving in to a yearning he’d suppressed since the first time he’d seen her, he leaned over and kissed her forehead gently. “You go to sleep. Tomorrow we’ll talk to Natasha. We’re close. Very close.”
He straightened and swallowed, but the lump was still there. He turned toward the connecting door.
“Griff?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re not going to leave me, are you?”
He sighed. How could he tell her no? How could he stand to stay? “Of course not. I’ll be right here.”
“You can lie down on the bed, too.”
Her sleepy, sexy voice sent thrills rushing through him, but he clenched his jaw, angry at himself. Her words stirred his body to life in a way that would shock her if she knew. But she was terrified and exhausted. If his presence would help her sleep, how could he refuse?
He was a master of control. It was a requirement in his business. He would never betray her trust that way. No matter how much his body ached for her. She was too scared, too vulnerable. Too close.
“I’ll just sit—”
“Please?”
He grimaced, and rubbed his eyes. “Okay,” he said reluctantly. He lay down on top of the covers, still in his jeans.
A soft sigh drifted past his ears like the breeze from a butterfly’s wing, and he felt Sunny’s tense body relax. Before long, her even breaths told him she’d fallen asleep.
He lay stiffly, careful to stay on his side of the bed, and trying not to move too much. He didn’t have a prayer in hell of falling asleep, but he didn’t want to chance waking her.
So he lay there, wanting her with an aching need that throbbed through him with every beat of his heart, and waited for morning.
BURT HAD HER. Sunny struggled with all her strength, but he’d wrapped her up in something. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. All she could do was scream.
“Sunny.”
He touched her face.
No! Get off me! I swear I don’t know where Emily is!
Then suddenly, Griff was there, big and strong and safe. He tossed Burt into an iron cage and held out his arms to her.
“You’re safe now. I’ll carry you,” he said. “We’re close.”
“Sunny, wake up.”
She curled her fingers against hot silky skin. The smell of soap and cinnamon swirled around her, a safe, yet exciting scent. The scent of strength and goodness.
“Sunny, it’s me, Griff. You were having a bad dream.”
The words finally penetrated her dream-soaked brain. “Griff?”
She felt his heart beating fast and strong. Felt his rapid breathing.
“I dreamed about Burt. He was going to kill me.”
“He’s in custody. You’re here with me. Safe.”
“Safe. That’s what you said.” She made a sad little sound that could as easily have been a sob. “I’m safe. But what about Emily?”
Suddenly, she couldn’t bear it any longer—the uncertainty, the fear for Emily’s safety, the horror of losing her baby. She broke down, all the locked-up grief and tension pouring out in uncontrollable sobs.
“Oh, God. I can’t do this. I can’t keep pretending.” The bedclothes were tangled around her, suffocating her. She pushed against them and leaped out of bed.
Griff was there, beside her. “Sunny, you’re still in the dream. You need to wake up. Come on, everything’s going to be fine.”
“No! No!” She pushed at him. “Stop it! Don’t lie to me! You haven’t lied to me before. Don’t lie now.”
But he had. Griff’s heart thudded painfully in his chest. He’d lied to her every day, every minute. He’d never told her why he’d been chosen to work on her case.
“Come on. Let’s get you back in bed.” He held out his arms.
“No!” She slapped at his hands. “Get away from me. I can’t sleep.”
She paced back and forth, like a caged tiger. “Maybe I should look at your database. We should send it to Lil. She’s really good at finding patterns. Maybe—” Her voice broke.
Her pain dug into him. He couldn’t bear to see her so heartbroken. He couldn’t bear to see her trying so hard to hold on to control.
To his surprise, her knees gave way and she crumpled to the floor. She wrapped her arms around her knees and lowered her head, her slender back shaking.
Griff sat down on the floor beside her and