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Back Under a Dark Cloud Save as PDF
Chapters (77)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Prologue
  4. Part 1
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. Part 2
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. Part 3
  48. 42
  49. 43
  50. 44
  51. 45
  52. 46
  53. 47
  54. 48
  55. 49
  56. 50
  57. 51
  58. 52
  59. 53
  60. 54
  61. 55
  62. 56
  63. 57
  64. 58
  65. 59
  66. 60
  67. 61
  68. 62
  69. 63
  70. 64
  71. 65
  72. 66
  73. Acknowledgements
  74. Next in Series
  75. Canelo Crime
  76. About the Author
  77. Also by Louisa Scarr

Freya knows she needs to go to bed, get some sleep, same as Robin. But she clicks on to another episode of Storm Chasers. She watches the men as they charge around, driving fast after the tornadoes. Actively running towards danger. The episode Josh mentioned in the car comes on, the team stranded in the middle of the Mojave Desert – big grins on dry, cracked lips when the helicopter comes to rescue them.

She curls her legs up on the sofa. Next to her, Robin mumbles slightly in his sleep. Her eyes feel tired and scratchy, her body exhausted. But she doesn’t close her eyes. She doesn’t go to bed.

She doesn’t dare.

Because when she sleeps, the nightmares come.

19

Christ, again? Olivia wakes in the night, her bladder close to bursting. She feels a small foot move and silently curses the baby in her tummy.

She rolls awkwardly out of the bed, then waddles to the toilet. This is becoming an unwelcome habit. The ultimate irony: depriving her of sleep when she needs it the most.

In the dark, she sits and pees, her bare feet cold on the tiled floor. The baby shifts and kicks, awake. Liv places a reassuring hand against a protruding foot; who’d have thought this is where she’d be now? Fat as a house, arse still steadily expanding from all the extra Ben & Jerry’s she’s been consuming – but happy.

She gets back into bed, lying on her side, tucking one pillow under her bump, another between her legs. It’s the only way she can get comfortable now. But she still can’t sleep.

The surprise meeting with DC West thrums in her head. It was strange seeing her after all this time. She looked the same: the long blonde hair, tied up in a tidy bun. The steely blue eyes. She’d known. Liv watched her doing the maths in her head, taking her back to that terrible October when her sister had died, freeing the way for Liv to have this life now.

She’d cast off her old job. Nobody wanted to sleep with a pregnant hooker, and the ones who did were too disgusting to consider: that wasn’t a fetish she was prepared to explore. For a while she’d worked a few waitressing shifts at the strip club, but the moment the probate cleared and that inheritance hit her bank account, she’d quit.

Free. Free to work out what she wanted to do. Free from her psycho sister. And free to bring up this little baby the way she wants. But her thoughts keep on coming back to Robin Butler.