Vision of Darkness Read Online Free PDF

probably call him crazy if they knew he’d pitched a tent on the beach in the middle of October.
    Maybe he was crazy. God knew it ran in his family.
     
    ***
    He dreamed that night, nodding off in a haze of alcohol as the quiet of the country settled around him like a blanket.
    The pull to walk forward on the rocky beach was damn near overpowering. The oil lantern in his hand swung to the beat of his stride and a rare smile broke out over his face. He so looked forward to these nightly rendezvous. He was supposed to be working, but he’d made sure everything would run smoothly for the hour or so he’d be gone.
    He gazed up at the sheer rock wall of the cliff butting the thin strip of beach, assuring himself he’d be able to see if there was trouble. The lighthouse stood tall and dark against the diamond-strewn night, a watchful soldier with its one bright eye. If the light went out, he could be back in the lantern room with the oil bucket in minutes.
    It was a hot night for mid-September, an Indian summer, and she had her skirt hiked to her knees as she kicked at the surf. Her hair hung loose and wavy down her back and her skin glowed alabaster in the moonlight. She laughed, a cool, soothing sound like soft rain on leaves, and he started thinking of taking her right there where the ocean met the beach. His body tightened in anticipation. He loved her laugh. Loved everything about her. He couldn’t stop seeing her any more than he could stop breathing.
    She sighed when he slipped his arms around her waist and drew her into his embrace. Clouds drifted over the moon and the shadow of the cliff deepened. He turned her around, kissed her hard.
    Always in the dark. He regretted he could never love her in the light.
    “You’re late,” she whispered.
    “I had some things to take care of.” He angled kisses down from her ear, enjoying the feel of her dark hair tickling his face. His erection already strained for her against his trousers and the layers of her skirt. Her head dropped back, allowing him access to the ivory curve of her neck.
    “No problems, I hope.”
    “No problems,” he promised. He’d promise her anything.
    “I have something to tell you,” she said.
    “Mm. Later.”
    “No.” She shrugged out of his arms and faced him, the look on her pixie face so serious his heart plummeted. “Now.”
    He gripped her shoulders. “What’s wrong?”
    She smiled. Slow, satisfied, and intensely feminine. “We’re going to be parents.”
    “We’re—”
    “Going to be parents,” she finished when his jaw dropped.
    The joy that burst through him took him by complete surprise. He hadn’t known he wanted a child. It had always been a vague idea in the back of his mind, but suddenly it was something he wanted very badly. With her.
    He cupped her waist in his palms and stared down at her flat belly. “You’re sure?”
    She smiled, pressed her hands to her stomach and nodded. He let out a whoop and grabbed her up in a hug. His lips found hers. He was going to make love to her until—
    The phone rang.
    Alex blinked himself awake, groaning at the interruption of the first good—weird, granted, but good—dream he’d had in ages. He was still semi-hard and adjusted himself before fumbling for the cell phone with fingers that felt like sausages. With some surprise, he noticed his portable alarm clock read a little after one. He’d slept for almost five hours straight.
    “New record,” he muttered and answered the phone without looking at the ID. “Brennan.”
    “I saw the news,” Theo said. His voice sounded rough, but not at all slurred by the drugs the hospital gave him to control his outbursts, and Alex thought, uh-oh .
    “They said you shot a guy,” Theo continued. “Killed him. Uh, they didn’t say it was you specifically, but I knew. The Guides told me.”
    Dammit, bro, please leave it alone. For a second, he considered hanging up and yanking the battery out of the phone. Then he’d roll over, go