Promise Me Light (37 page)

I watched in horror as Ryder ignored the gun. In one swift move, his
fist connected with the stranger’s jaw. The man stumbled back. The gun
fell to the ground, forgotten. Ignoring it, Ryder followed the man, his
fists plowing into the side of the stranger’s head. Blood poured from
the man’s nose and mouth, spraying through the air.

Ryder’s going to kill him!

“Ryder!” I screamed, taking a step forward.

Another pain hit me, making me bite my lip and bring blood. I cried
out, feeling like I was being ripped in two. I tried breathing through
the pain but it was too much. My stomach tightened, becoming hard.
Suddenly, a warm feeling rushed down my legs. In shock, I looked
down.

My water had just broken.

Glancing up with panic, I found Ryder holding the terrorist on the
ground. His fists pounded into the man’s face over and over. All his
frustration, all the torture they put him through, was being taken out
on the man.

“Ryder!” I shouted, pain ripping me apart again.

I fell to my knees, no longer able to stand. Squeezing my eyes shut,
I rode the terrible wave of pain. I had never experienced anything so
awful. A broken finger and a cracked rib didn’t even begin to
compare.

When the pain subsided, I opened my eyes. Ryder was climbing off of
the writhing, bloody man. Walking a few feet away, he bent down and
picked up the rifle. Lifting the gun to his shoulder, he pointed it at
the stranger.

“This is over!” he snarled.

I shook with fright, knowing what he was about to do. Knowing I was
the only one to stop him.

“RYDER!” I shouted, trying to get his attention. That’s when
the pain hit me again, tearing me in two. This time I screamed.

“Maddie?”

Opening my eyes, I saw Ryder lower the gun, his eyes on me.

“Let him go,” I said, my breathing ragged. “I need you.”

In seconds he was dropping down beside me, the man forgotten.

“What’s wrong? Were you shot? Dammit Maddie, what the HELL IS
WRONG?” he roared, his hands roaming all over me.

I couldn’t answer. The pain was too great.

“MADDIE!” he yelled, shaking me.

“My water just broke,” I forced out.

“Shit!” Ryder said, terror on his face.

He didn’t waste any more time. Sliding his hands under my knees and
behind my back, he lifted me up. I glanced over his shoulder to see the
stranger climb to his feet, holding his side. Glancing at us once, he
took off running toward the woods. For some reason, I knew it would be
the last time we saw him.

We were halfway across the yard when I heard someone running toward
us. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw it was only Cash racing our
way.

“What’s going on?” he asked, looking stunned when he saw Ryder
carrying me.

Ryder didn’t stop but turned his eyes to Cash.

“Maddie’s in labor. What the hell took you so long to get
here?”

Cash followed us at a quick pace, his eyes staying on me. “I came
as soon as I heard the shot. Your parents should be here soon.”

“Our unwanted guest returned. He took off into the woods near that
old stone pile,” Ryder said, nodding his head toward the tree-lined
woods.

Cash didn’t miss a beat. “I’m on it. Just take care of
her.”

“With everything I got.” Ryder replied, walking faster when I
grimaced with pain.

He opened the back door and carried me into the dark house. In
seconds, we were in the bedroom. When he laid me on the bed, another
wave of pain hit me, this one slicing into my back and my middle. I
cried out, grabbing for his hand, feeling like I was being hacked in
two.

He dropped to the bed beside me, his eyes running over my body. It
was the first time I had ever seen him look terrified.

“It’s too early, Maddie. We have another month,” he said. “If
something is wrong…I can’t…”

“Ryder,” I said, putting everything I felt into that one
word.

He studied me a second. I saw the Ryder I knew take back over. In
control. Fearless. Ready to do battle to protect what was his.

“Okay, tell me what to do,” he said, firmly.

“I…I don’t know,” I said, breathing through the pain.
“I’ve never done this before.”

“Not funny, Maddie,” Ryder said, his hand going to my
stomach.

My abdominal muscles clenched under his hand, tightening until I
thought I would come apart. I writhed with pain, gnashing my teeth to
keep from crying out.

“Ryder, the pain’s too much,” I said, tears in my eyes.

“Okay, okay,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair.
“I’ll go get my mom.”

He started to leave but I grabbed his hand, keeping him next to
me.

“No! Don’t leave me! Please! I’m scared,” I cried.

He dropped down beside me again, his hand wrapping around mine.

“Okay. I won’t go anywhere,” he whispered, his other hand
pushing sticky strands of hair off of my forehead.

I nodded and closed my eyes, feeling more pain coming on. My
breathing increased and I felt like I was suffocating. I started
struggling to catch my breath, feeling panic when I couldn’t.

“Ryder, I can’t breathe,” I said, barely able to say the
words.

“It’s okay. I’m right here, baby,” he said, leaning over to
press his lips to my forehead. “Right where I want to be.”

They were the same words he had said to me so long ago.

They were the last words I remembered.

~~~~

“She’s waking up, Ryder.”

I opened my eyes. The first person I saw was Ryder, sitting in a
chair beside the bed. His elbows were resting on his knees and his face
was in his hands. When his head jerked up, I saw that his eyes were
red-rimmed and his hair was a mess, looking like he had run his fingers
through it a million times.

Seeing me awake, he jumped to his feet. In seconds he was beside me,
his hands going to my face.

“Holy shit, Maddie, you scared me,” he whispered, his voice thick
with emotion.

“What happened?” I asked, looking around the room.

“You passed out. Probably from hyperventilating,” Janice said,
cradling my hand in hers as she felt for my pulse in my wrist.

Pain like never before hit me. I started withering on the bed,
reaching for Ryder’s hand and grasping it tightly.

“Mom, do something!” Ryder exclaimed, glancing frantically at his
mom.

“Breathe Maddie. Breathe through the pain,” his mom said, taking
deep breaths herself as an example.

I tried to copy her but the agony was to0 much.

At that moment voices came from further in the house. I watched as
Eva, Brody, and Gavin stopped in the hallway. Their eyes rounded as they
stared at me as if I had two heads. Then, like someone had hit the play
button, they flew into action.

Eva rushed into the room.

“Maddie!” she screeched, flopping down on the bed beside me. She
still wore what she had left home in - jeans and a brown men’s shirt,
something she would have died to be caught wearing a year ago.

“You made it,” I whispered, reaching for her hand.

“Yeah,” she said, grasping my fingers tightly. “I’m glad
because I wanted to be here to see Ryder’s spawn.”

Ryder didn’t even growl at her this time.

“Did you find your parents?” I asked, grimacing when I felt pain
start in my back.

She shook her head, her smile slipping.

“Later,” Ryder said, his eyes not leaving my face.

I glanced over as Gavin raced into the room, dropping beside me on
the other side of the bed.

“How’s her vitals?” he asked his mom, scrutinizing every inch
of me.

As Janice answered him, I realized that someone was missing. Brody
had slipped out of the room and I could hear Roger talking in the
hallway but where was Cash?

“Is Cash back yet?” I asked, forcing my eyelids to stay open.
I’m so tired.

Gavin stopped rummaging in a first aid bag to glance at me.
“Don’t worry, he’s here and everything’s been taken care
of.”

I glanced back to Ryder. “You’re safe,” I said through clenched
teeth as pressure bore down on me, urging my body to push.

“No, we’re safe,” he said, threading his fingers through mine.
“It’s over. Now I want you to focus and deliver this baby. I can’t
lose you.”

I nodded and started writhing in the bed as the pain built again.
When agony exploded in me, I gritted my teeth and squeezed his hand,
crushing the bones of his fingers together. But when the pain became too
much, I couldn’t stay quiet.

“SHIT!” I screamed.

Ryder’s eyes rounded, all color leaving his face. I rarely cursed
but at that moment, it felt really good to scream the words.

“Mom, help her,” Ryder pleaded, looking at his mom.

She was kneeling between my legs, a grimace on her face. Looking up,
she ignored Ryder and focused on me.

“Okay, Maddie. I can see the head. When you’re ready,
push.”

I screamed again, feeling like my abdomen was tearing apart.

I pushed for what seemed like forever but nothing happened. The pain
continued. My energy faded. I no longer had the ability to push but the
pain was still there, urging me to bear down and deliver the baby.

I screamed one more time as pain tore me apart.

“Mom,
shit
! Do something!” Ryder yelled.
“She’s in agony!”

“Gavin, check her blood pressure,” Janice said, looking at her
other son. “Something’s wrong. Her pulse is weak.”

“Holy shit! Holy shit!” Ryder exclaimed, looking frantic.

“Calm down, Ryder. Maddie needs you,” Janice said in a calm,
collected voice. She looked at Ryder, giving him a stern glare that
reminded me of all the times she had looked at him when he came home
hung-over or bruised from fighting.

Gavin slipped a blood pressure cuff around my arm. “Hang in there,
Maddie,” he said, his mouth set in a firm line. “You can’t go
anywhere. I know God’s missing one of his angels but he can’t have
you back yet.”

“Hell Gavin, shut up,” Ryder said, his teeth clenched in rage.
“Don’t fuckin’ talk like that.”

I didn’t care what they said. They could start throwing punches
over me as long as the pain disappeared.

But it didn’t. The pain had grown too intense to handle. Tears
rolled down my face.
I’m dying. This baby is going to
kill me.
I focused on Ryder. He was watching his brother, tears
in his eyes.
Holy shit! Ryder’s crying. If he’s
crying, that means I’m dying.

The pain hit me again, making me cry out.

“Gavin?” Janice asked, waiting as he took my blood pressure.

“Her blood pressure’s dropping,” he said, removing the cuff
from my arm.

“I would say to turn her on her side and get that blood pressure
back up but we don’t have time,” Janice said.

She pushed her sleeves up and reached for a pair of surgical
scissors. Laying them on the bed near my foot, she put a hand on my
knee. “Okay, Maddie. I want you to push. We need your baby out
now.”

I shook my head, franticly. “No, I can’t,” I said, sobbing.

“You have to,” Janice said.

“No,” I said, tears rolling down my face now.

“Ryder, she needs to push. Talk to her,” his mom said, worry
beginning to break through her stern voice. “The baby is stuck in the
birth canal and Maddie’s blood pressure is dropping…”

Ryder nodded once, looking scared. He cupped my face on either side,
making me look him in the eyes. Staring into my eyes, he made me feel
like we were the only two people in the room.

“Listen to me, Maddie. You’re the strongest person I know. You
kick my butt when I need it and you never give up on me. Don’t give up
on our baby,” he said, his throat struggling to say the words.

“I’m sorry, Ryder…” I said, crying. “I can’t.”

He closed his eyes. When he opened them, the fear was gone. In its
place was hardness, a coldness that I had seen so many times.

“
Dammit
, Maddie, yes, you can. Fight me.
Yell and scream at me. Tell me you hate me. Tell me I’m the biggest
ass ever,” he said, his voice hard. “Fight. Be that girl that is
stubborn and a pain in the butt. The one that drove me crazy. The one
that still does.”

I looked deep into his eyes and knew I could do this. For him.

When the pain hit me again, I pushed.

Minutes later, a tiny cry filled the room. I heard Eva crying. I
heard Janice instructing Gavin to check my blood pressure again. I
didn’t care what they did. My body went limp. The last bit of energy I
had was gone.

Ryder looked at me, his eyes full of wetness. Leaning over, he kissed
my lips.

“I love you, Maddie,” he whispered. “I love you so damn
much.”

“I love you too,” I said, weakly.

“Ryder,” his mom said, grabbing his attention.

Turning away, he let go of my hand. I reached for him, not wanting
him to leave me. Through half closed eyes, I watched as his mother
handed a small bundle to Ryder, wrapped in a towel.

“It’s a girl,” she said, looking at me with tears in her
eyes.

Ryder turned to face me, holding the bundle awkwardly. His eyes met
mine, love in them.

In front of me was my best friend, holding our baby. The man who
fought hard and loved harder. A man who would rather throw a punch than
admit his feelings. A man covered in tattoos and full of bad
attitude.

The man I loved holding our daughter.

“Is she okay?” I asked.

Ryder looked down at me, his eyes still lined with worry.

“She’s perfect. Just like her mother,” he said.

I tried to smile but it took too much effort.

“Mom, is Maddie okay?” Ryder asked, glancing at his mom.

“Her blood pressure is still low,” she answered. “But I think
she’ll be just fine.”

He nodded once, concern in his eyes. Sitting beside me on the bed, he
lowered the bundle to my chest, holding it with his large hands. A tiny
baby squinted at me, her little mouth opening. She was beautiful.