The Kiss after Midnight (The Midnight Trilogy) Read Online Free

she did bring me over here, but she couldn’t leave her past alone.” He wiped his eyes. Penélope leaned forward and caressed his face, but he quickly turned away. “In the end, it killed her.” He sniffed and faced her again. “She died five years ago, and there was nothing I could do to save her. The doctors said it was the drugs that killed her, but we’re not born with syringes in our hands. Someone or something puts it there.” His face tightened. “Her family made her a junkie, and I’ll always remember what they did to her.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “I’m okay. I’ve made peace with it.” He forced a smiled.
    “So you’ve been here all by yourself for the last five years?”
    “Yep. It’s not all bad, though. I love it here. Plus I’ve met lots of great people.”
    Penélope stroked the back of his head. “Well, I’m here now. Hopefully I can be one of those people in your life.”
    “So, what about you? What’s the deal with your parents?”
    The very loud ring of Penélope’s cell phone, sitting on the nightstand, interrupted them. She twitched nervously, a look of worry creeping onto her face.
    “Are you going to get that?” Tobias asked. He held on to her hands.
    “No. I’ll let it ring. It’s probably just my brother checking up on me.”
    When the ringing ended, an uncomfortable silence fell on the room. Less than five minutes had gone by before the phone rang again. Penélope continued silencing the ringer, but the caller persisted for ten more minutes.
    Finally, Penélope—trembling—turned the phone off. “I’ve got to go,” she said, her face filled with distress.
    “What’s going on? You seem really scared.”
    “It’s nothing.” She straightened her dress and put her shoes on. “I just have to get back to my brother.”
    “But why are you so scared. Is it your brother?”
    “No! My brother will never hurt me.”
    “Then why do you look so worried?”
    “Can you call me a cab, please?” She rushed to leave the room, but Tobias stopped her.
    “No. Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”
    “Please call me a cab or I’ll just get one outside.”
    “What’s happened?” Tobias raised his hands. “We were having such a great night.”
    “I promise I’ll call you once I get back.”
    “Okay, just hold up. I’ll call you a cab.” He picked up his cell and ordered a taxi.
    As Penélope opened the door to the apartment building, Tobias held on to her hand, reluctant to let go. She kissed him briefly and rushed into the waiting cab, which was promptly driven off. Tobias stepped out onto the pavement and waited until the taxi was out of sight. He glanced at his watch. It was nearly twenty minutes to 3.
    He shut the door and stood still for almost a minute, haunted by the fear he’d seen on Penélope’s face. Why did I just let her go? He walked to the coffee table and picked up his cell. He scrolled down to her number and dialed it. After four rings, it went to voice mail. His returned to his room and put on a pair of shoes . I can’t just leave it like that. Shit, why the fuck did I let her go?
    He rushed to the door and grabbed the handle before wincing and placing both hands on his head. He was overreacting. He must have been. It was probably nothing. He would just wait and call her in the morning to make sure that everything was all right. He took off his clothes and went back to bed.

3. The Bearer of Bad News
    Annabel Lopez hated waking up early on Saturday mornings. It was her only true day off, and she tried her utmost to remain asleep until late morning or midday. But her continuously ringing cell phone was making that difficult today, and she finally turned the ringer off.
    She opened her eyes ten minutes later, though, her vision still somewhat blurry. The clock said 10 a.m., and she frowned as she forced her eyes closed, attempting to return to sleep. After almost an hour of trying, she sat up angrily and mussed her hair.
    Her caller ID showed that