Tyler (Blue Halo Book 6)

Emerson tipped her head up into the spray of water. She wanted to be happy. Hell, after last night, she wanted to smile from ear to ear. But everything that came before her night with Tyler weighed too heavily on her heart.

Levi had held a gun on Tyler. Shot a police officer. She shouldn’t be falling for a man in the middle of what could only be described as a hot mess.

And on top of that…she was still keeping a secret from him. It was like a gray cloud hanging over their relationship. And it would continue to darken as long as she kept it from him.

It was time to trust Tyler. Tell him the truth and pray like hell that the man would still work with her to get Levi the help he needed.

She closed her eyes. Levi had done bad things. She wasn’t disagreeing with that. But he’d been so deep in his suffering when Hylar had recruited him. That was why Hylar had recruited him. Because Levi had been trained, deadly and vulnerable. The perfect combination.

Tyler would listen. But when he did, would he see things the way she did? She knew he wasn’t inclined to forgive, and she couldn’t judge that because she didn’t know what it was like to have had years stolen from her.

Yes, she’d had a rough upbringing. Her father had been pure evil. And here she was, asking Tyler to forgive one of the men who’d wronged him, when she’d never really forgiven the man who’d wronged her.

But the difference was, she’d seen goodness in Levi. And she had to believe that if he was in his right mind, he would regret his fateful decision.

With a deep breath, she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower.

She was going to tell Tyler. Today. She had to. Her feelings were too strong to avoid it any longer.

Quickly, she dried off and stepped into the bedroom, where she pulled on some tight black jeans and an oversized red turtleneck sweater. It didn’t take her long to pack her bag. She’d only brought one with her from Vermont, beyond her painting supplies.

Bag in hand, she left her room. Tyler stood by the window in the living room, his back toward her. She took a few steps forward, then paused when he didn’t turn. And not just that…the way he stood seemed wrong. Too straight. Too rigid.

“Ty?”

Again, he didn’t turn right away, and when he did, he wasn’t wearing the smile he had earlier. None of the softness or affection was in his expression anymore. In fact, for the first time, his face was completely devoid of emotion. All emotion.

Worry skittered through her belly. She took two steps closer. “Hey. Are you okay?”

For a moment, his gaze just moved between her eyes, almost like he was searching for something.

The worry deepened, and fear began to gnaw at her insides. Something was very wrong.

When he finally spoke, his voice was hard. “I saw the painting, Emerson.”

Confusion marred her brow. “Painting?”

She racked her brain to think of which he could be talking about. It couldn’t be the commissioned piece. Maybe the one she’d started the other night of her and Tyler?

“The painting of Levi,” he said before she could ask. He took a small step closer. Why did that step feel more like a prowl?

“Levi?” She scrambled to think of what she’d painted. She’d done so many of her stepbrother over the last year.

“He was wearing the uniform Hylar made all his guards wear.”

Realization hit her like a ton of bricks. It was so heavy on her shoulders, her knees felt weak and her chest breathless.

He knew.

“I was going to tell you,” she whispered.

“When?”

“Today.” At least she could give him that small bit of truth.

He watched her closely. Probably making sure it was the truth. “What if last night hadn’t happened? Would you still have told me?”

She opened her mouth, searched for words, begged herself to find them, but she didn’t. She’d told herself she would tell him. But in the past, every time she’d considered it, nerves had stolen her words.

She wanted to say yes. God, she wanted that more than she wanted her next breath. But maybe that would be a lie.

“I think I would.” It was the best she could offer.

His jaw clenched, and he turned away. As if looking at her was too painful. Like he regretted every moment that had led to this one.

Her heart pounded in her chest. In pain. In fear that she was losing him when she’d only just found him.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “I was just so scared that if you learned the truth, you’d want to find and kill him, instead of getting him help.”

“So instead, you lied to me,” he said quietly. The quiet was almost worse than if he’d yelled. “Asked me to save someone who knew the guys and I were being held against our wills and did nothing to help us or prevent it from happening.”

It wasn’t a question, yet he wanted her answer. Her confirmation.

The conversation with Levi flew back into her head, like a shout she couldn’t deafen.

“You told Rowan that innocent men are suffering. Are you hurting people, Levi?”

“There are no lengths I wouldn’t go to, to make sure others don’t go through the hell that was Iraq. If that means a few good men are sacrificed so that many others live, then that’s just what has to happen.”

“He knew.”

Tyler’s features changed. Steeled. He became a man she almost wanted to step away from. A man she knew could pose a deadly threat.

She ignored the fear and moved in front of him, reaching for his hand. He whipped it away as if she’d burned him.

“Was he in his right mind when he worked for Hylar?”

She gnawed at her bottom lip. “He was suffering. He had PTSD. He was struggling with adjusting to civilian life. Struggling with the fact he’d killed his teammates. And Hylar took advantage of his mental state once he was out of the military.”

There was a small softening of his eyes, but it was so tiny, she might have made it up in her mind. Created it out of sheer desperation.

At his long silence, a wild panic spread through her chest like cancer, and she couldn’t get enough air. Her hand twitched to touch him. Break through this new wall that had just erected. “He’s my stepbrother—and he needs help.”

Tyler ran his hands over his face and turned away again.

Tears pressed to her eyes. “If we don’t fight for and protect the people we love, then what is even the point of living?” She wrapped her arms around herself, fingers digging into her waist. “He protected me when no one else did. He made sure I was okay. And now I’m all he has.”

She hadn’t shared that part of her life with him yet. The darkness. The evil that had almost ended her. Was it too late now?

Tyler abruptly turned toward the door. “I need to go.”

Her heart cracked. Still, she whispered, “I’m sorry.”

He stopped, his fingers around the doorknob. “I wish you’d been honest with me from the beginning, Emerson.”

“If I had…would Levi have been safe with you?”

He remained silent and so still she almost questioned if he was breathing.

Did his silence mean no?

Her heart thudded. “Is he safe now?”

Tyler’s entire back tensed, and suddenly he looked ten feet tall. “Blake’s watching the house. You’re protected.”

Then he left. And his avoidance of the question was the only answer she needed. Her life might be safe—but Levi’s wasn’t.