Drake Sisters 04 - Dangerous Tides

what to do. I just stood in the morgue, staring at his body for hours and I didn't know what to do."

    The wind touched their faces, ruffled their hair and tugged at their clothing as they continued down the beach. A seagull screamed overhead.

    "Why didn't I know? I'm supposed to be a genius, and I didn't know. Didn't guess. He needed help.
    How could I have been so fucking blind that I missed that?"

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    She remained silent, knowing he had to be able to talk, to work things out for himself. He wasn't to blame. Sam was a sociopath. No one close to him had known—or guessed. Had Tyson known, he couldn't have done anything about it, no matter how smart he was. Sam had been beyond help.

    Tyson stopped abruptly and faced her, both hands raking through his hair in agitation. "I failed him. I didn't see what was right in front of me. I was too busy with my research and I didn't care that he was stealing money from the estate. I never once addressed it with him. I should have, Libby. I didn't think it really mattered, but I should have called him on it. I let things go too far."

    She put her hand over his heart in silent sympathy. The empath in her wanted to weep forever. The healer wanted to take it all away. The woman who loved him, let him talk, let him find his own way back.
    It was one of the most difficult things she'd ever done.

    "Sam hired those men to beat him up. Jackson found the men. Sam hired them. My God." He shook his head. "I failed him, Libby. And I could do the same thing to you."

    Tyson stared down at her, his mind reeling with the blows he'd taken recently. He’d put her life in danger by his own blindness . All of his life he'd had blinders on and now it was too late, the one man in his life he called family, the one he'd counted on, was dead. He couldn't bear to lose Libby, not out of neglect, not out of stupidity. He was supposed to be a damned genius and yet he'd observed nothing .

    He framed Libby's face with his hands, thumbs sliding over her face in a long caress. "I couldn't bear that. I spent a lot of time thinking about my life and what it's been like the last few weeks with you. I'm a wreck, I know that and I'm coming to you with so much baggage I can't imagine why you'd want to take me on, but I need you, Libby. I swear, I'm losing my mind. I need you, baby. I need you with me."

    He'd trained himself to believe he didn't need anybody, yet he couldn't function, couldn't think straight.
    His life was a mess. He had nothing to offer her, not even his mind anymore. It was as fucked up as the rest of him, but he needed her and if she turned her back on him like every other living person, he had no idea what he would do. He felt naked and vulnerable standing there, stripped of everything he was, everything he'd believed in, his very soul in tatters.

    Libby brushed the tears from his face with such tenderness it turned his heart inside out. "You'll always be my choice, Ty. I love you with everything I am and I have absolute faith in you. Whatever happens, Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    we'll handle it together."

    "How could you have faith in me? I don't. I almost got you killed. Even there at the end, I went back for him and he would have murdered you right in front of my eyes." He would never be able to close his eyes at night without reliving that moment. "I couldn't lift my body out of the hole and get to you. I just hung there helpless, watching him pull that trigger."

    Libby caught his face in her hands and forced his eyes to meet hers. "I love you because you went back for him. Because that's who you are, Ty. That's the man I'm in love with and will always be in love with."

    "Are you sure, Libby? I don't know what the hell I'm offering you."

    "I know exactly what you're offering. Tyson, you're everything I've ever wanted. No one has ever made me feel complete before. In all honesty, I didn't think it was possible, that maybe there was something wrong with me. When I'm with you, everything in my life is better."

    Tyson swallowed hard, bent down to brush a kiss over her lips, his throat working as he fought back emotion.

    "I love you, Ty. Nothing is going to change that. What happened with Sam was a terrible tragedy, but it isn't your fault."

    She turned back in the direction of the path. It was high tide, the pull of the moon was strong, lending the sea a