Promise
Me
Forever
~~~~
Paige Weaver
Promise Me Forever
Copyright © 2015 by Paige Weaver
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes. If you are reading this book and you have not purchased it or won it in an author/publisher contest, this book has been pirated. Please delete and support the author by purchasing the eBook from one of its many distributors.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
Published by Paige Weaver LLC, P.O. Box 80016, Keller, Texas 76244
Cover design © Sarah Hansen
okaycreations.com
Extraordinary people survive under the most terrible circumstances and they become more extraordinary because of it.
~ writer Robertson Davies
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty–One
Chapter Twenty–Two
Chapter Twenty–Three
Chapter Twenty–Four
Chapter Twenty–Five
Chapter Twenty–Six
Chapter Twenty–Seven
Chapter Twenty–Eight
Chapter Twenty–Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty–One
Chapter Thirty–Two
Chapter Thirty–Three
Chapter Thirty–Four
Chapter Thirty–Five
Chapter Thirty–Six
Chapter Thirty–Seven
Chapter Thirty–Eight
Chapter Thirty–Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty–One
Chapter Forty–Two
Chapter Forty–Three
Epilogue
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About The Author
Prologue
Cat
Dying never scared me. It was living that I was frightened of.
Alive, you feel every heartache, every loss. You cry. You hurt. You suffer and grieve. I didn’t want to feel those things. So many times I wanted to give up and close my eyes. I wanted to disappear into the darkness and never return. But as I fell to the ground, pain exploding in my side, it was living that I suddenly wanted to do.
“Cat!”
I heard him roar as the back of my head hit the concrete. The shouts of the men faded. Wet warmth spread across my side.
“Don’t you do it, Cat! Don’t you fuckin’ die on me!”
Cash’s face appeared above me. He was mad, his eyes full of rage and panic. He was pressing on the open wound below my ribs, hurting me and screaming at someone. I couldn’t understand him – I hurt too much – but I could feel his desperation.
When he looked down at me, his mouth moved. He was telling me something but what was it? Focus, Cat, focus.
“I’m not going to let you die. You understand me? I’m not going to let you die!”
But it was too late.
My eyes drifted closed. Blood ran from my chest. As I started to lose consciousness, a loud boom detonated above me.
I opened my eyes.
There was chaos, smoke, and pain. So much pain. Agony cut through me. I cried out and bowed my body.
Cash gathered me in his arms as gunfire erupted around us. I wanted to tell him to save my brother instead but I couldn’t. My eyes refused to stay open. My mouth refused to work.
“Stay with me, Cat. Please, stay with me,” Cash whispered, cradling me against his chest.
But I couldn’t fight any longer.
My head lolled back against his arm. The darkness descended. I heard Cash plead but then I didn’t hear anything anymore.
This was it. The end.
But I wasn’t ready to go yet.
Chapter One
Cash
Minutes Before
“I’m not scared, cowboy.”
“Then say it,” I whispered in her ear. “Just once let me hear it.”
Cat shivered and stared up at me with crystal green eyes. “I love you, Cash.”
“I love you too, Beauty Queen.”
I took her lips fiercely, wanting to stretch her out on the bed behind us and take what she was offering.
She leaned into me, pushing her breasts into my chest. I wanted to reach up and cup them, feel them react to my touch. She was amazing. Her body was perfect. She was mine.
And she loved me.
I ran my hand around her waist and tugged her closer. My hardness strained against my zipper, nudging her stomach. Showing her just how much I wanted her. She moaned and pressed against me, urging me to do more. I resisted, but shit, it was hard. My brain finally won out over my body. I needed to get her and my sister, Keely, out of town. My dick could just settle down. Fuck, who was I kidding? That was impossible around Cat.
I lowered my hand, letting my fingers trail down over her ass. Cupping it, I kissed her deeper, pressing her into the rigid length under my jeans. She whimpered against my mouth. God, I loved that sound.
Reluctantly, I broke the kiss off, letting my lips slide from hers. Getting her naked and making her come would have to wait. We needed to leave.
“Let’s go home, Cat,” I said in a gravelly voice I didn’t recognize as my own. Is that what love did to a man? Turn him inside out and make everything sound different? Feel different? Look different?
Cat pulled her lower lip through her teeth, tasting me on her lips. Nodding, she looked up at me through her long, dark lashes. “Okay, cowboy.”
I took another second to stare at her. The night we met, I found myself mesmerized by a girl that wasn’t my type. She was spoiled and rich and too high maintenance for a cowboy like me. I was a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy. She was a daddy’s princess, used to getting her way. One night together was all we planned but we found that once would never be enough.
I reached up and ran my thumb over her bottom lip. God, I loved her. I loved the way she looked. The way she tasted. The way her body clenched around me when I thrust into her. I loved the way her eyes snapped with fire when I made her mad. I loved everything about her.
And that’s why I had lied to her.
I wasn’t going to leave town without killing the men that had hurt her and Keely. I wanted them to suffer. I wanted my hands red from their blood. The last few years trying to survive in this wasteland of a country had turned me into a dangerous man. One that would lie to get revenge. As soon as Cat and Keely were safe outside the town’s walls, I would double back. The two men who had touched them would find out how deadly I could be.
The bastards were right outside, celebrating
their return to the fucked up town of Hilltop, Texas. It had been my idea to check out the community. Terrorists had ransacked the country and an electromagnetic pulse had taken out every conceivable piece of electronics in the U.S. Half the population was dead thanks to disease, hunger, and war. The other half wished to God they were sometimes. Supplies were scarce. People were starving. I had heard that Hilltop had running water, ample supplies, and electricity. In a world gone dark, a town like that was an anomaly. I had to check it out.
We had arrived two days ago and were greeted by a tall metal wall made out of shipping containers. Walking in hadn’t been a problem. We were greeted by a preacher and two mean-looking men. They took our horses and led us to a hotel – the same one Cat and I stood in now. A woman named Mary fed us and welcomed us with open arms. But I didn’t trust her or anyone else in Hilltop.
Something nagged at me to get the hell out of town. I ignored it and had gone to gather supplies. My friend Gavin and I were trading bullets for medical supplies when Cat’s younger brother, Tate, ran up to us. He was out of breath and unable to speak. I almost wrung his neck, waiting for him to spit the words out. I knew Cat was in trouble. I could feel it in my bones.
When he finally caught his breath and said the leader of Hilltop was back with an army of men and two of them were the ones that had hurt Cat and Keely, I didn’t wait for him to finish. I took off running. I had to get to Cat.
I took to the streets at a dead run. My heart was in my throat, fear eating me alive. I was so relieved to find Cat standing in our room, I told her the truth.
I loved her.
But now it was time to go.
Juggling my shotgun in one hand and holding Cat’s hand in the other, I led her into the hallway. My backpack was slung over my shoulder. Hers was on her back and she carried our other gun. All of our belongings were in two bags. All that we owned.
“The men were heading toward the town’s square,” she said behind me as I listened for any commotion downstairs.
“I saw ’em,” I muttered, keeping a tight grip on her hand. No way in hell would I let her go. “Gavin went to get the horses. We’re going to ride like hell out of here.”
It was a lie. There was no we. She was going to ride. I would stay and send those men straight to hell.
Our strides were quick as we rushed down the hallway. I felt something pushing me, urging me to hurry. I could almost hear the seconds ticking down until I exploded and went on a rampage. No one touched Cat. No one but me. I just hoped to God that Gavin was able to get the horses and Tate was doing what I had told him to do, which was gather our supplies and grab my sister, Keely. I needed them to do their job so I could do mine – feed my vengefulness and protect Cat.
“Where the fuck is he?” I muttered, glancing in Tate’s empty room when we walked past it. Teenagers could be irrational, especially him.
On the way back to the hotel, I almost had to tackle him to the ground. He had seen what those men had done to Keely and Cat. He had been there and wanted revenge in the worst kind of way. I couldn’t blame him but I didn’t want to have to tell Cat that the only family member she had left was dead. If he had done something foolish, like go after them himself, I would kill him myself.
I was beginning to worry it might come to that, when the door on my left swung open.
“Cat!”
Tate stepped out of the room, followed by Keely. He dropped the backpack he was carrying and rushed past me to wrap his long arms around his sister. I refused to let go of her. There was just something in me that needed to touch her as long as possible.
“I’m okay,” Cat said, wiggling out of his arms. “You ready?”
Tate backed away and nodded, his long brown hair falling into his eyes. “Always.” He lifted the edge of his shirt, showing the pistol stuck in his waistband.
For a teenager, he was cold. Accurate with a gun. He was also a smartass with a chip on his shoulder. That made him very dangerous.
I glanced at my sister standing next to him. For years, I had searched for her. She was the only family I had left after the EMP struck and terrorists invaded the country. When I finally found her, I had found Cat too.
“You got everything?” I asked Keely.
She nodded, not saying a word. She hadn’t since Hightower touched her. Just another reason to end his life soon.
I glanced back at Tate. “Keep the girls between us at all times and shoot to kill. Understand?”
He picked up the backpack from the floor and slung it on his shoulder as he nodded. “I won’t hesitate. Not this time.”
He was still beating himself up for not pulling the trigger on the man that had killed his older brother and hurt Cat. But he just might get his chance. So would I.
We made our way downstairs, carrying our meager belongings and not making a sound. We were experts at sneaking in and out of places. We had to be in order to survive.
The night the EMP hit the world changed. Life became harsher. Deadlier. It was either fight or be killed. Steal or starve. Adapt or give up. The choice was always obvious to me. I chose to survive. Millions of weak souls hadn’t been so lucky.
The stairs opened up to the hotel’s dining room. It held six or seven good-sized tables covered with yellowed tablecloths. I led the way across the room and to the swinging doors of the kitchen. The front door wasn’t an option – it faced the town square where the townspeople were gathered. I could hear them, laughing and talking. Welcoming home the men that stole and pillaged for their precious supplies.
A cold bead of sweat rolled down my back. If something happened to Gavin or me, Cat and Keely wouldn’t stand a chance of getting out. Not against a town full of dangerous men. The town citizens wouldn’t help, even if they were two unarmed girls – they were under the leader’s thumb. No, the front door was out of the question. That left the back door as our only option.
We headed into the kitchen, moving fast. It was large and industrial-sized, meant to feed a hotel full of guests. Stainless steel appliances and a large butcher-block island took up most of the space. Near the back there was a large service door.
Perfect.
Bright sunlight blinded me as I swung it open. An alleyway greeted me. Down one side were turn-of-the-century buildings, including the hotel. On the other was the metal wall of the town. I looked up at it. Shit. It had to be at least nine feet tall.
Gravel crunched under my boots as I stepped outside. It was quiet and empty as far as I could see.
Cat followed, shielding her eyes against the sun and holding onto her backpack strap and the gun. Keely and Tate stepped out of the hotel behind her and glanced around, a survival instinct born out of years of living in a war torn country.
We kept our backs to the buildings and our ears open for trouble as we rushed down the alleyway. I could hear commotion in the town square. Loud. Joyful. Fucked up crazy.
We were a few buildings away from the hotel when I saw Gavin. He was up ahead, holding the reins of two horses as they danced around. I was so busy concentrating on him that I didn’t see the man.
He appeared out of nowhere, walking between two buildings. His head was down but when he heard us, he jerked his gaze up.
“Oh, shit!” Tate exclaimed.
I yanked up my gun and stepped in front of Cat. “Go!” I yelled at her, taking careful aim at the man.
“No!” she screamed, scrambling to grab hold of my jacket.
The man’s expression went from alarm to terror. He spun around to run and alert the others.
“Shit!” Lowering my gun, I took off after him. A gunshot would have the whole town on us in seconds. I had to catch him instead.
I sped up until I was right on him. Reaching out, I grabbed the collar of his jacket and slammed him back against the brick wall of a building.
“THEY’RE HER—” he started to shout.
I raised my gun and smacked the butt against the side of his head, shutting him up. He folded like a lawn chair,
dropping to the ground.
Standing over him, I breathed hard, gripping my shotgun firmly. Tate walked up and kicked the man’s boot, making sure he was out.
“You’re a fuckin’ badass,” he said, squinting at me.
Whatever. I did what I had to do.
Sweating despite the cool weather, I wiped a hand across my chin and headed back to Cat.
“Let’s go,” I muttered, taking her hand and dragging her along.
I had seen the look she gave me. Like I was a freak of nature. Maybe I was. I had killed for her. Injured for her. And I would do it again.
We were halfway down the alleyway, moving at a quick pace, when I saw them. Five men. They appeared between two buildings. Puffs of white smoke rose above their heads. Weed. I could smell it when the wind changed directions.
They were looking down and talking. Not paying attention to shit. At the edge of the building they stopped, their backs to us, their heads bent.
I slid to a stop and held out a hand, stopping Keely and Tate. Cat bumped into me, her soft body hitting my back.
My damn cock always responded to any touch from her but I had bigger problems. There were too many men and they held AK-47s. Too much firepower against our old shotguns and pistols.
Turning, I grabbed Cat’s forearm – probably too hard – and rushed over between two buildings, pulling her with me. Keely and Tate followed at a quick run, trying to make as little noise as possible.
I pushed Cat against the brick wall of the building and stood over her, one leg on either side. My priority was protecting her at all costs. Even if it meant a bullet to the back.
Keely pressed herself next to Cat and Tate stood guard on the other side of her. Tightening my grip on my gun, I peeked around the edge of the brick wall.
Crap, we were stuck. We had men in front of us and the street behind us. Screwed was putting it mildly.
I eased back and looked down at Cat. Her nose was red from the cold and her eyes were wide. “What now?” she whispered.
I nodded toward the front of the buildings. “We take the street and circle around. Act like we belong here and we’re just going about our day.”
Keely started shaking her head and pressing back against the wall, little whimper sounds leaving her. The monster who had raped her was out there. Who had taken her voice and gave her nightmares.