Page 91 of Death Rydes Shotgun

Her hair is plastered across her flushed forehead, her amber eyes open, staring up at the canopy with a quiet, dangerous composure.

I reach down, picking up her hunting knife from the mud beside her head. I wipe the blade clean against my discarded jeans, then turn the hilt toward her, offering the heavy leather grip directly to her palm—an absolute surrender.

My ultimate submission.

Harmony glances down at the weapon, then shifts her gaze back up to my face, her expression unreadable.

There’s a heavy foreboding tension that settles under my skin and in my chest as the first rays of murky dawn break through the trees.

And no matter how much it may hurt, I need her truth.

“So, now that you know everything...are you going to keep me, or are you going to kill me?”

Twenty-Nine

The Darkest Parts of Us

HARMONY

7:40 AM

The rain has once again tapered into a lingering mist as we adjust our clothes and step away from the edge of the ravine, leaving the woods and the remnants of Xander behind.

The slick forest floor shifts under my boots as I inhale deeply, the air rich with the aroma of pine needles, crisp ozone, and the subtle metallic hint of blood soaking into the earth.

As we navigate the dense thicket, stepping over tangled roots and fallen logs toward the highway where Ryder parked his stolen cruiser, he maintains a steady, watchful pace beside me.

“I need an answer to my question, Harmony,” Ryder’s voice cuts through the quiet rustle of the trees.

I glance sideways at him, taking in his strong jawline, the dried red streaks staining the rich brown skin of his throat, and the unyielding intensity in his dark eyes.

A soft, breathless laugh escapes my lips.

I drop my tone into a warm, reverent murmur. “Why would I kill someone who accepts all of me? Especially the absolute darkest parts of me?”

The truth settles comfortably in my chest, solid and unshakeable.

I was never going to drive a blade into Ryder, not from the moment he slid into my passenger seat on the highway.

For fifteen long, agonizing years, I carried the burden of my true nature in utter isolation, convinced I was a solitary monster hiding behind a fragile human skin. But walking beside him now, the weight is gone. For the first time in my life, I don’t feel alone in my affliction.

I reach out, sliding my fingers between his and intertwining our hands. I pull his large, calloused hand up to my lips, pressing a soft kiss against his knuckles before meeting his gaze.

“I think I’ll keep you.” A wicked, genuine smile carves across my face. “If you’ll have me.”

An authentic, rumbling laugh breaks from his chest—a sound so deep and rich it sends a pleasant shiver straight down my spine.

“Pretty girl, in my mind, you’ve been mine since seventh grade.” His thumb rubs smooth circles over the back of my hand.

Ryder tilts his head back, looking up through the high pine canopy as pale, golden shafts of sunlight pierce through the heavy morning fog.

The dark storm clouds are breaking apart, yielding to the break of dawn.

“Halloween is over. Has your thirst for blood been quenched?”

“More than I ever expected.” I tighten my grip on his hand.

I glance up at him, my eyes glinting with dark promise. “But we don’t have to stop just because Halloween is over, Ryder. We won’t turn into pumpkins just because the sun came up.”