Date Night_An Absolutely Gripping Psychological Thriller With a Jaw-Dropping Twist by Samantha Hayes

Author:Samantha Hayes [Hayes, Samantha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, psychological, Thrillers, Suspense, noir, Medical, Crime, General, Family Life, Small Town & Rural, literary
ISBN: 9781786817655
Google: 00afDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2019-08-20T03:58:05+00:00

Twenty-Six

‘I’m freezing,’ Libby said, draping herself around Sean. The blankets and eiderdown gave off a musty smell as she turned onto her side, wrapped up in her pyjamas and a cardigan. Sean was wearing only a T-shirt and boxers, which she was grateful for as she could soak up his body heat.

‘Softie,’ Sean said, sliding his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her close. ‘You’re not used to the hard life.’

‘Funny,’ Libby replied. ‘That’s what your mum said about you earlier. That you’re a big softie.’

‘No wonder my ears were burning.’

Libby snuggled closer, breathing in the scent of his day – the familiar smell of his body wash caught up with the tang of something else. She thought she recognised it.

Fear.

‘What was Mum saying?’

Libby thought she felt him tense a little, the curve of his shoulder twitching beneath her.

‘Just that really. That when you were a kid you were the sensitive type.’ Libby waited for Sean to add something, but he didn’t. ‘It was weird, but I think your mum felt, well, as though she let you down in some way. Though I don’t know what she meant exactly.’

‘That’s Mum for you.’ Sean let out a little cough, turned to check the time on his phone. ‘It’s late. Let’s get some sleep.’

Libby pressed against him more, if that was possible, while he wrapped his free arm across her front, kissing her head. The room was dark, with only the moonlight bleeding in through a chink in the curtains, illuminating the Anaglypta wallpaper, daubed in a nondescript shade of blue, cobwebs in the corners. She closed her eyes, knowing she was far from sleep. All she could see behind her eyelids were the ghostlike figures of the police forensics team picking over their house, her fingers peeling the note off her frozen windscreen and various images of poor Sasha, wherever she was.

‘Marion mentioned about your accident,’ Libby whispered, conscious they may be overheard. ‘How old were you?’ She was desperate to know more.

Sean groaned. ‘It’s late, Lib.’

‘But I want to know about it,’ she continued. ‘Can’t you tell me quickly what happened?’

Libby knew the rhythm of Sean’s breathing – that moment between wakefulness and sleep. How his quiet, measured breaths soon turned into relaxed and unselfconscious rasps and, sometimes, a gentle snore. She was always comforted by him letting go. Once, when she’d gently complained about his louder snoring, he’d told her that it wasn’t snoring, rather it was him protecting her, scaring off anyone who might hurt her in the night. ‘It’s a growl, Lib, to keep you safe, to keep the bad guys away.’ She couldn’t help smiling, couldn’t help loving him more.

But right now, Libby could tell Sean wasn’t at that point of sleep at all. Even though she saw his eyes were closed in the moonlight, she knew he was very much awake and alert, his mind working hard, reflected in his breathing. Steady with a slight sigh out every other breath. Things on his mind.

‘What’s up?’ she said, nudging him gently.

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