Page 46 of Before the Night Falls
It was something. A small step—but Tyson would take it.
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
The elevator doorsclosed with a soft ping, sealing them inside the metal box. Olivia’s reflection stared back at her from the polished doors.
Her pale skin. Her tense jaw. Her eyes as they darted around the space.
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, painfully aware of Tyson’s proximity in the confined space. Painfully aware that, for some reason, she ached to be closer to him. To soak up his strength.
“You okay?” Tyson’s voice was low, meant only for her.
She nodded quickly. Too quickly.
The elevator hummed as it descended, each floor making her heart rate climb. Every stranger who might step in. Every camera that might be watching. Every opportunity for someone to find her.
When the door opened to the parking garage, the shadows seemed to stretch toward her. The concrete cavern amplified every sound—distant car doors, footsteps, the drip of water from somewhere unseen.
Olivia stepped out, her eyes scanning the dimly lit space.
Tyson placed his hand on the small of her back, warm and steady. The gentle pressure should have been comforting, but it only heightened her awareness of everything else around them—the row of pillars where someone could hide, the flickering fluorescent light in the far corner, the way their footsteps echoed in perfect rhythm.
“I don’t see anyone.” Tyson’s eyes methodically swept the garage.
“That doesn’t mean he’s not here,” Olivia whispered.
She clenched her keys until the metal bit into her palm.
A car engine started somewhere in the distance. The sound bounced off concrete walls, making it impossible to locate the source.
Olivia froze.
Tyson’s hand pressed more firmly against her back, drawing her subtly closer to him.
“Keep walking,” he said, voice casual but eyes alert. “I see your car just ahead.”
The distance to her sedan stretched like a gauntlet. Twenty steps. Fifteen.
Her skin prickled with the sensation of unseen eyes tracking their movement.
A sudden scraping sound from behind a nearby column sent Olivia’s pulse racing.
Tyson stepped slightly in front of her, angling his body between her and the noise.
A moment later, a homeless woman emerged, pushing a shopping cart.
The woman nodded at them and continued on her way, but the tension didn’t leave Tyson’s shoulders.
They reached her car, and Olivia fumbled with her keys, dropping them once before managing to hit the unlock button. The beep and flash of headlights seemed obscenely loud in the garage.
Tyson checked her back seat, then scanned the area once more while she opened her door.
“I’ll see you later back at the house,” he said, his voice controlled but his eyes communicating so much more. “And please be careful.”
The space between them crackled with unspoken words.
His hand hovered near her arm, not quite touching, as if he wanted to do more than just see her off.
She caught the subtle flex of his jaw, the slight lean of his body toward hers, quickly checked.
