Promise Me Darkness (39 page)

If people were not being killed, they were starving to death or dying from diseases. Brody said the most dangerous place to be right now was in the middle of a city. Supplies were nonexistent and starvation was prominent.

So at the insistence of Eva’s parents, Brody and Cash took Eva and left town, heading for Maddie’s house and safety. Along a deserted road, the terrorists ambushed them, three versus twenty. The shotguns Brody and Cash had were no match to the military–grade weaponry the hostiles carried. Within moments, they were outnumbered, outgunned, and Eva was captured.

That was four days ago.

Worry for Eva had tears filling my eyes and my throat closing up tight. The thought of her in danger, possibly hurt, had me squeezing my eyes shut tightly and saying a quick prayer that she was safe.

I slowly opened my eyes to see Brody rubbing his hands together nervously. He was beside himself with panic. The fatigue lining his face proved that it had been days since he last slept.

“So you were there when they overran the town?” Ryder asked Cash.

“Yeah, I was there. It happened in the middle of the day. Worse day of my life.”

In the lantern light, I could see Cash swallow hard and shift in his seat uneasy. “At first they shot everyone in their path. Men, women, children, didn’t matter to them, they were killed. After a while, they stopped shooting and started rounding people up like cattle. Next thing I know, the place is a concentration camp. Don’t know what is worse, being dead or being starved and beaten.”

Brody jumped up from his chair and started pacing around the room liked a caged animal.

Cash had the same coldness in his eyes that Ryder and Gavin had in theirs. This world had made them harder, meaner, and more than ever, deadlier.

“The town is on lockdown but I know a way in. There will be guards everywhere, heavily armed and itching to kill,” Cash said. “It could be a bloodbath.” The silence stretched as his words sunk in.

“How much ammo y’all have?” he asked.

“Enough,” Ryder answered, leaning forward in his chair and resting his elbows on his knees. “We’ve got what we need to get her out and then some.”

Brody stopped pacing long enough to throw his hands up in aggravation. “So are we gonna do this or just talk about it?”

Gavin spun the cylinder on his gun, his gaze locked on the movement. “I say we go kick some foreign ass.”

Roger pushed away from the wall he had been leaning on. “Y’all do this, gotta do it right. Ride all day. Stake out the place. Watch all the comings and goings. Who is in charge, what is their weakness, and what they have for firepower. Then hit them at night when they least expect it,” he said, fiercely. “Take hell to them, boys.”

My body trembled as the reality of what they were going to do sunk in. I suddenly had a bad feeling. Something was going to go wrong. They were walking into a death trap.

Janice must have thought the same thing because she began to argue with them. “No,” she said, her voice shaking with tears. “It’s too risky. I want my boys here safe.”

“We have to go, Mom,” Ryder said, the gentleness he reserved only for his mom overriding his frigid tone. “We’re not losing any more people. We’ve lost enough.”

I studied the fraying edge of my shorts, afraid if I looked at him, I might start bawling like a baby. Every day I grieved for my dad and wished Eva was here to lean on. Ryder was right. I couldn’t lose her too.

As much as I hated to think about him in danger, Ryder was an expert fighter and skilled hunter. He could be cold and calculating. If anyone could get her out, he could.

“We’ll leave the day after tomorrow,” he said.

“That’s too long! She could be dead by then!” Brody’s voice rose with panic.

“We need to get our shit together, Brody!” Gavin scowled.

“How long will you be gone?” My voice wobbled with fear, sounding meek among the angry voices.

“I figure a week will get us there and back,” Cash answered as his eyes moved slowly down my body.

I felt a thread of unease. Not from his scrutiny but from the idea of them being gone for one week. That unease doubled when I saw the murderous rage on Ryder’s face.

He stood up suddenly, towering over me like a great, powerful tree that provided protection. The muscles of his arms pulled his shirt taut as he picked up his pistol and stuck it in the holster slung low on his hips.

“Maddie and I are heading home,” he said in a clipped tone, his full lips pulled tight in annoyance. His body was rigid and his eyes were throwing hate Cash’s direction. Angry and barely holding it in check, Ryder was at the boiling point. The sooner we left, the better. I didn’t want Cash beaten to a bloody pulp.

I followed Ryder out of the house quickly, one step behind him. The moon was hidden behind the clouds, making it hard to see where we were walking. He stayed close, his solid presence my only beacon in the darkness. We were halfway to his house when he finally spoke.

“Spit it out, Maddie,” he said roughly without breaking stride. “I know you want to say something.”

Yeah, I did want to say something.

“It’s too dangerous.” The words tumbled out of me. “Going after Eva is a death sentence, Ryder.”

“Everything is dangerous nowadays, Maddie,” his deep voice said, coldly. “Hell, I can wake up tomorrow and get killed by someone stealing our food.”

“But I need you here.” I stopped in the middle of the road, waiting for him to say something. An owl hooted nearby, sending a shiver up my spine.
Or was it from the fear of Ryder leaving?

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, staring off into the dark distance. I studied his profile. The longer hair and scruffy jawline gave him a look of uncontrollable wildness. The hardness in his eyes belied the danger lurking in him. He looked nothing like the boy I had known but I loved him more now than ever before.

Finally, he turned to face me. Taking a step closer, he pushed my long hair behind my shoulder. His touch sent the familiar tug of desire through me, burning me like nothing else could. It was frightening how much power he had over my body.

“I keep thinking that if you were taken, I would give my life to save you. Nothing would stop me from finding you. Nothing.” He lifted my chin up gently with one finger. “I have to go. For Brody. For you.”

His words should have made me feel better but instead I grew irritated and irrational.
Why did he have to be so damn brave? And double damn him for always playing the hero!

“Fine, you want to go? GO! You’ve been trying to leave me forever!” I said, putting my hands on my hips in anger.

“What?” he asked, dumbfounded.

“You wanted to enlist in the Army,” I said, crazy mad now. “If it wasn’t for me, you would be out there fighting right now. Playing the hero! Saving the day! Well, here’s your chance! Go!”

“The only reason I wanted to enlist was to get away from you!” he said, hardness lacing his words.

Hurt cut through me like a knife.

“I hated seeing you with someone else, Maddie. Knowing I could only have you as a friend drove me ape shit crazy.” He looked into the distance and scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. “I was desperate to end my suffering but I didn’t know what to do. Other girls didn’t help and drinking didn’t take away the pain. My only choice was to leave. I wanted you too much to stay.”

“So, you were just going to pick up and leave me without a second thought?” My voice grew louder with each word.

“I was fucking MISERABLE!” he exploded, taking another step closer.

“And now?”

His eyes drilled into mine. I saw the coldness disappear, replaced by the desire I recognized all so well.

“Now?” He reached out to lightly touch my bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. “Now, I’m complete."

He took my hand, his large one holding my small one. "You see me for who I am, Maddie. Not my ghosts. Not my bad habits. Not my past. Just me. You’ve always seen just me.”

Stepping closer, he brushed against me as his hand curved around to the back of my neck.

“You’re my light in the darkness. I belong to you, Maddie. Without any doubt, I belong with you and I love you. I love you more than all the stars in the sky.”

Bending down, he kissed me gently on the lips. “I love you here, on the land we used to play on.”

Another feather light kiss to my lips.

“And here.” He put my hand over his heart. “You’re my heart.”

Tears filled my eyes.

“I don’t want to fight, Maddie. I just want to take you home and forget about the world around us.”

“Then do it.”

His lips covered mine urgently. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back as his hand moved to caress the base of my throat.

“I love you, Ryder,” I whispered against his lips.

He pulled away to look deeply into my eyes. I saw him swallow hard. I saw the sudden nervousness in his eyes. Even his hands seemed to be shaking.

“Marry me. When I get back, marry me, Maddie.”

My breath hitched. Only in my dreams did I expect to hear those two little words from him.

“I want eternity with you. I can’t imagine my life any other way,” he said.

His words wrapped around me, cocooning me in their warmth. Standing next to him in the darkness, nothing else mattered. The war, the despair around us; they were small compared to the love between us.

“Maddie?” he asked, his back growing rigid at my silence.

“Yes,” I whispered. “I’ll marry you.”

His lips claimed mine with an urgency like no other. I felt all the love and passion he had for me in that one kiss.

“We won’t have a church or a preacher. I don’t even have a damn ring,” he said huskily, drawing back to look at me.

“I don’t care. I just need you.” I threaded my fingers through his hair and brought his lips back to mine. “Don’t leave me, Ryder. I couldn’t handle life if something happened to you,” I said beneath his lips.

“Nothing will keep me away from you, Maddie. I promise, I’ll return. I’ll always return to you.”

Always.

Darkness had replaced the light in my world. I thought my life was over when Ryder rode away but it was only just beginning.

~~~~

To you, the reader — thank you so much for taking a chance on a new writer. I hope you enjoyed Maddie and Ryder’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it. For months, they consumed me, begging to have their story told. I hope I did them justice. Thank you for reading it. I can’t say that enough.

To my husband, John — who never gave up on me and continued to tell me I could even when I thought I couldn’t. Thank you for helping me and believing in me before you had even read the story. I can never repay you.

To my two children — you never complained when I spent hours in front of a computer, headphones in and music blaring, lost in a different world. Thank you for listening to my crazy ramblings about EMPs and loss of electricity. If there is one thing I want you to remember from my time writing, it is to always follow your dreams. Make them a reality.

To my grandma — thank you for putting "Shanna" by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss in my hands when I was younger. One of my favorite memories is spending hours discussing books with you. My love of romance and reading is due to you.

To my late father — you were always my biggest supporter no matter what I wanted to do. Thank you. This one is for you.

Paige Weaver is a native Texan who still resides in the town where she was born. She lives with her husband and two children. When she’s not writing or reading, you can find her chasing her kids around and living her very own happily ever–after story.

She’s addicted to social media among other things. Follow her to learn about upcoming books and extras. She loves hearing from readers.

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