Lost Night by Maureen A. Miller

Author:Maureen A. Miller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romantic suspense, saratoga, submersible, lake george
Publisher: Maureen A. Miller

CHAPTER Nine

Emily’s eyes flew open.

At first the darkness was so intense she relied on sound for orientation. Evergreen limbs rustled against the wooden façade. The deep timbre respiration of a sleeping man sounded from beside her.

For a moment Emily concentrated on that gentle rhythm, dipping her head into the musky scent of the pillow beside hers. The motion caused the pattern of his breath to alter.

Emily held her breath and waited, satisfied that he was once again deeply under. She was startled to find her fingers entwined with his. Had she sought his hand in slumber?

How much had she revealed last night of her inner turmoil? Never before had she even considered exposing that which was held so private. Her pain was a living, breathing animal caged in her chest, each day gestating until she wanted to scream and pound her ribs for release. And where did it originate? Guilt.

Overshadowed for life by a unique young man with mental skills that defied imagination, Emily accepted her fate because she truly loved her brother. It was impossible not to.

By comparison, one would never consider her brilliant, but she was an exemplary student with a smart head on her shoulders. And her brother worshipped the ground she walked on.

When she was young, that adoration was embarrassing, especially when her friends witnessed the tow-headed kid tagging along after her. He was a crafty shadow, always managing a fifty-foot distance between them, never narrowing it, never diminishing it.

As she grew older that adoration was tested when she went off to college. It was during those years that Colin excelled in school and earned awards like they were candy. When her parents came to visit her on campus, the conversation revolved around Colin’s most recent accomplishments—Colin’s college prospects− Colin’s uncanny skills−how Colin designed the new supplement to their Atlantic home.

Sometimes Emily wanted to scream. Her thesis, which had earned her great acclaim, went unnoticed in the family. Instead, that week Colin was in the local newspaper for winning the Connecticut Science Bowl.

Graduation. The world seemed at her fingertips and Emily was ready to take it on. A Marine Technology firm soliciting the university recruited her after only two meetings. Her future was set. George and Marie Brennan were on campus to herald their daughter’s triumphs. Colin couldn’t make it. The Science Bowl offered him the opportunity to partake in a research trip to analyze plankton in Long Island Sound.

As Emily stood in her dorm readying for the ceremony, her father’s cell phone clanged. Something about that shrill sound diminished the sun that filtered through her third-story window. It was an offshore call to inform the Brennans that their son had broken into the engine room of the research vessel and had damaged government property. The firm that owned the ship was requesting their presence immediately or they would file criminal charges.

Emily placed her hand on the dorm window and felt the last traces of warmth from the sun. If she knew her brother, he had

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