Nightfall
The Wasteland Trilogy, Book 4
Denise A. Agnew
Published 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62210-225-9
Published by Liquid Silver Books, imprint of Atlantic Bridge Publishing, 10509 Sedgegrass Dr, Indianapolis, Indiana 46235. Copyright © Published 2015, Denise A. Agnew. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Liquid Silver Books
http://LSbooks.com
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
Blurb
Patty Reynolds left behind a ho-hum life, including her abusive ex-husband. On her own, she keeps her little bakery going. Fueled by visits from a tall, gorgeous ex-special forces general, she longs to understand more about the quiet, mysterious man who keeps secrets and teases her with hot glances.
He keeps his team of ex-military security experts working to protect their town as the world comes to terms with the natural disaster that rocked their lives.
Alexander “The General” Graham never thought he’d fall hard for the Plain Jane woman who runs a bakery, but the coziness she creates draws him in, makes him long for an honesty he’s never experienced with any woman. She makes him want to be a better man and seek the redemption he longs for.
With danger lurking around the corner, Alexander and Patty will need their strength to keep them both alive.
Dedication
To Marie D. Jones, who inspired me to write about supervolcanoes, and to my husband, Terry, who inspires me to reach for the stars every single day.
Acknowledgements
Author Note: I highly recommend reading Ashfall, Darkfall and Winterfall before this story to understand some of the background on the Long Valley Super Volcano eruptions and the results of that disaster immediately and long term. Major characters in Ashfall, Darkfall and Winterfall make appearances in this story.
Chapter 1
February
Buckleport, Maine
Thirteen months after Long Valley Super Volcano erupted.
I wonder if something’s happened to him.
Patty Reynolds stared at the door of Patty’s Bakery and chewed at her bottom lip. She hadn’t seen Alexander Graham, head of Sentry Security, for a week. Maybe it was the blizzard making life miserable outside. Alexander wouldn’t be out in this mess, would he? Before the snow arrived, the gathering clouds to the west had turned a blazing red and orange. The horizon frequently had this crazy hue. Weather had turned worse this winter, even for Maine. They’d already had more blizzards this year than all of last.
When she’d arrived at the bakery at six this morning, the weather report called for twenty percent chance of snow. Looked like the weatherman had screwed the pooch on that one. For hours the snow had driven away customers and no one had come in during that time. Big, fat flakes had started blowing sideways under a brisk wind.
Disappointment filled her. Okay, get a grip. So Alexander is busy. He has a life. Maybe I should get one. But her life was this bakery, and running a small business took most of her time.
For the last several months, since her establishment had recovered from being ransacked during the riots, she’d savored seeing Alexander. He’d come in after part of his security team had taken down men intent on robbing the bakery. She and her customers had been tied up when one of Alexander’s female security team members walked in on the robbery in progress and, along with two other security team men, saved the day.
Since that day, Alexander frequented the bakery three times a week, buying pastries and donuts for his crew. Sometimes he bought coffee and stuck around for a chat. They’d engaged in hour-long discussions filled with basic everyday information on the world outside her bakery and how much life had changed since Long Valley had taken all sense of normalcy from the country. She’d enjoyed her time with him far more than she’d realized until he hadn’t shown his face this week. What she honestly knew about Alexander Graham would fill the proverbial thimble. He’d explained he was a retired Army officer, a three-star General with a background in Special Ops. She hadn’t clued him in on her life, and he’d asked almost no questions. It was a superficial relationship. Still, she looked forward seeing him.
She jerked herself out of her thoughts. Time to stop fantasizing. Really she shouldn’t be interested in him any way, shape, or form. He was too much like her ex-husband Dominic, wasn’t he? Tall, strong, brusque, and probably egotistical. Although she hadn’t seen evidence of a fat ego when Alexander had talked with her. He also hadn’t said or done anything bossy.
No, she’d forget him right now and pay attention to the weather. Her workday would come to an end in less than an hour anyway. Curfew was six o’clock since the official “state of emergency” was still in effect, and she locked up at five thirty so she’d have time to get home. She glanced at the clock and decided to close at five just for this Friday. No one would want cupcakes in this blizzard anyway. She busied herself cleaning the small bakery, pleased with the way the place had transformed in the last several months. With the hordes of soldiers and other security personal coming in here, she could usually rely on selling out of her baked goods every day.
She went into the kitchen and back rooms to empty the trash. When she reached the back door she saw it stood slightly open. The doorknob lock was pushed in but somehow the door hadn’t latched. She frowned. She disengaged the lock and headed out the back door with the huge garbage bag in hand. Snow and wind blasted down the alleyway, howling as it went.
A shadow loomed up out of shadows and she gasped. Her heart jumped into her throat until she recognized what it was. A tarp flapped from the side of the dumpster. Smiling at herself for being so jumpy, she threw the garbage in the dumpster and headed inside. She secured the back door and this time made sure it wouldn’t accidentally come open. She returned to the front, ready to put the closed sign on the door.
A thump at the front door startled her again. The door swung open and Alexander entered, and her heart started racing. He was bundled in a parka that looked like it belonged in the arctic with the hood up, big gloves, jeans, and boots.
“Alexander.” She heard the pleasure in her own voice and then cleared her throat. Yeah, if he didn’t already know she liked having him here, he did now.
“Hey,” he said, that gruff and deep voice rumbling over her ears. “I was in town for a meeting and saw your open sign. I figured you’d be closed by now with this blizzard.”
She wasn’t about to admit she’d stayed open like an idiot just hoping he’d show up. “I was about to close.”
He flipped back the hood of his parka, revealing his military short steel-gray hair. His brown eyes were intense, always a little intimidating. Sometimes she thought he could see straight into her soul. Over Christmas he’d started growing a short mustache and beard, and the salt and pepper look somewhat softened his face.
He unzipped the parka, and she saw a thick green sweater over his broad chest. He propped his hands at his trim waist. Alexander might be middle-aged—she knew that much about him—but he kept in amazing shape. Her mouth went a little dry. The man is hot. Okay, so that was a problem. He’d offered simple friendship and now, as younger people would say, she was crushing on Alexander Graham. Damn.
He moved closer to her until he stood so near she could smell—what was that heady scent? His brand of masculine musk, nothing out
rageous. Whatever aftershave he wore was subtle and intoxicating.
She didn’t move back, savoring his closeness as he towered over her. He was a bit over six feet but not much, and she was only five feet six inches, yet somehow his powerful body made her feel small and fragile. She wasn’t enamored of the feeling really. He was too much like her ex-husband in that way.
In defense against her reaction to his maleness, she stepped back and smiled. “Well, I’d better close up. Did you come in to pick up a pastry or something?”
He didn’t smile. “God, no. Sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were okay when I saw you were still open. Are you driving in this weather?”
“I’ve got my sedan out back.” Such as it was. The fifteen-year-old clunker was on its last legs.
“That old beast? Hell, no. I’ll take you home.”
“That isn’t necessary. I’ll be a few more minutes here. You should head home before it gets any worse.”
“The roads are already hazardous. I’ve got one of the company SUVs. It’s better equipped to handle the snow than your sedan is. You got some rocks in the back of that thing? It’s probably not even front-wheel drive.”
She mimicked his stance, hands on hips. “It is front-wheel drive.” If he’d offered to take her home in a nicer tone, she might’ve taken him up on it. “Thanks, Alexander, but I only live a few miles out of town. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
His nose tilted upwards, as if he might argue the point. His mouth took on an even more stubborn line. “You shouldn’t work this late alone.”
She sighed. “I know. Normally I never do. Today was the exception.”
“Don’t take any chances, Patty. This neighborhood is fairly safe these days, but there are no guarantees.”
“There never were any guarantees.”
The corner of his mouth tilted up, and for a second those brown eyes warmed. A funny fluttering started in her lower stomach that she recognized as arousal. Holy cow, woman. Chill out.
When was the last time she’d seen him smile? Hardly ever. In fact, most of his grins were half-formed and fleeting. His face was all hard planes and angles, a finely-chiseled structure cut by an artist’s hand. He wasn’t handsome so much as rugged. What would it be like if that craggy face beamed with a huge smile? She had a feeling a crack in the world would open and swallow her. She might not survive it.
“Tell you what, you can follow me home,” she said as a peace offering. “If I get into any problems you can save the day.”
He nodded. “All right. Let’s get on the road.”
His clipped statement riled her a bit. “Listen, Alexander…there’s something you should know about me. I’m a tough person. I can take care of myself.”
“Of course you can.”
“I’m not the little ole lady who can’t cross the street.”
His arms fell to his sides, and those dark eyes intensified. His gaze cruised up and down her body with a slow, male appraisal that almost blew her out of her shoes. Surprise kept her mum. Whoa. When was the last time a man had looked at her like that? Not even her ex-husband had perused her in that hungry way when they were first newlyweds.
“There’s nothing old lady-like about you, Patty,” he said, his voice a soft rumble. “Not by a long shot.”
Tingles blossomed in her center at the caress in his voice, but she wouldn’t back down. “My ex was a dominating man, Alexander. I don’t put up with that crap anymore. I divorced him after fifteen years of allowing myself to be pushed around. It was one of the best decisions I ever made when I left him.”
To her surprise his eyes softened along with his expression. Concern replaced the hard ass look. “Did he…physically abuse you?”
“No. Fortunately. But my life was filled with emotional abuse. And we were just poorly matched. The day I filed for divorce I swore I’d never be in a relationship like that again.”
He ran one hand over his jaw. “Hell, I’m sorry. I didn’t…look, I’m not that guy.”
She didn’t know for sure, did she? Just the sight of this man made her tingle in places she didn’t know she had. That didn’t mean she could trust him with her feelings. Better to keep that squishy heart of hers hard and closed.
“You can trust me,” he said as if reading her mind. “I’d never hurt you physically and I’ve grown up a lot in the several years.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Grown up? How old are you?”
“Forty-nine. Fifty next month.” He rubbed one hand over his short hair. “I went prematurely gray ten years back. Same thing happened to my father. Makes us look even older.”
“You’re young for a retired general.” She knew just enough about the military to realize that he’d risen to his rank really, really fast.
He shrugged. “Not really. I burned out after too many years and so did my body. It wasn’t fun anymore.”
Her gaze did a zigzag across his body and appreciated what she could see even though he wore that bulky parka. Over the months she’d seen him in sweaters, jeans, T-shirts and even a suit. He moved with the competence of an athlete. The man might be middle-aged, but he was in one simple word…hot.
Wind howled relentlessly outside and reminded her of where she was.
She swallowed hard. “Well, I’d better close up. The weather isn’t getting any better.”
Time to get cracking. She packed up some day-old donuts and after she’d made sure everything was turned off and secure, she handed him the bag.
“For you,” she said. “Thanks for stopping to check on me.”
He smiled, but it was still one of those half grins. At least this time it reached those intense dark eyes. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Of course I did. And they’re on the house. Don’t think of trying to pay me for them.”
One more time he smiled and this time it grew wider. “Okay. Thank you.” He switched gears. “Are you parked out back?”
“In the small lot back there, yes.”
“Okay, I’ll wait in my car until I see you pull onto the street. Give me your address. I’ll have it in the GPS so I can find your house. It’ll be handy if we get separated.”
With any other man she wouldn’t have felt comfortable giving him the information. Instead she provided the address, and he added it to his phone. After he left through the front door she locked it, and moments later she stepped out the back door and locked it as well. She didn’t have a security system on the store—the people who owned the building she rented in claimed they couldn’t afford it. Despite being on the main drag, the stores downtown weren’t doing that well. The flower shop next to her had closed its doors after the riots months ago and the hardware store on the other side of Patty’s Bakery was barely hanging by a thread. Right now, with the sun going down rapidly under the blizzard’s wrath, she suddenly felt damned glad Alexander was following her home. She turned around.
And ran right into her ex-husband, Dominic Cantrelli.
Patty sucked in harsh, cold air on a startled breath. What the hell was he doing in Buckleport?
All six-foot-three inches of intimidating retired police officer, Dominic wore a heavy black winter coat with the hood pulled up, gloves, and boots. He smiled like a man who’d captured a prize. His face had always been harsh and almost pugnacious. Hard and homely. But it wasn’t his ferocious looks that caught her attention. It was the ugliness in his green eyes.
“Hey, babe, what are you still doing here?” He threw his hood back and snow immediately dampened his short, curly black hair.
She lied. “Meeting friends.”
He snorted. “You don’t got friends, honey. That’s why you’ve got me.”
A burning anger started in her stomach, but she drew in a slow breath to regulate it. Yeah, she wanted to hit him with her hobo purse and tell him to take a flying leap, or something worse.
“Let me by, Dominic. I’ve got somewhere to be and if I don’t show up on time they’ll worry.”
“You’re
not even curious why I’m here?”
She sighed, shivering under the wind’s onslaught. She’d zipped up her down coat, and although her scarf and gloves should keep her warm enough, she grew colder with each passing second. As night continued to descend, the streetlights threw some light down the alley, but not enough to suit her.
She lied again. “No, I’m not curious. I have to go.”
He took a step forward, and she stepped back on instinct and bumped into the door behind her. One of his meaty hands came down on the door next to her head, and she flinched. Her gaze darted to the end of the alleyway. Alexander, I could really use your help now.
“You know, I’ve been thinking that it isn’t safe for you all these miles away from me,” he said. “You should move to Bangor. I can take care of you there.”
Incredulous, she couldn’t think of a thing to say at first.
“I know, I know,” he said. “We’re divorced, but I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Maybe that was a big mistake. Maybe you’ve changed your mind about me and realized you were wrong.”
Wrong? Was he freaking crazy?
He continued with, “Besides that, you’re in danger.”
“Danger? From what?”
“There’s these men. Assholes I arrested years ago. They say they’ll try and hurt anyone I love. I still love you.”
Her mouth popped open as surprise made her mute.
Just then she saw a movement at the opening to the alley and Alexander appeared. He walked toward them with quick, determined steps. Relief flooded her.
She waved. “Alexander!”
Alexander walked faster and thankfully Dominic backed away, anger written on his face. She headed toward Alexander, unsure what he’d do and concerned he might launch into Dominic. He’d thrown back the hood of his parka and his gloved hands were clenched. When she reached him she put a hand to his chest. He linked his right arm around her shoulders as she looked up at him. For a few mind-altering moments her left side was pressed against his incredibly hard body, nestled in a protective embrace.
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