Free The Debt 6 by Kelly Favor

can’t get service?”
    “I’ll get it.”
    “What if you have to go further away—what if it’s five or six miles instead of two of three?”
    “Then that’s what I’ll do.   And then I’ll run on home.”
    “What if it’s ten miles away?”
    “Enough,” Jake said, and his tone was final.   He reached out and touched her hair and she jerked away from him.  
    “I don’t like this.”
    “It’ll be light out soon,” he said, trying to soothe her.
    “I don’t care.   I’m not afraid of the dark,” she added.
    “You’re sexy when you pout.”
    “It’s not funny, Jake.   I don’t want you to go and I don’t agree with you planning to attack and kill people.”
    He kissed her cheek before she could move away from him, and then he stood up.   “We can’t argue this again, Raven.   I’m going to do what I need to do to protect you, to protect your family.   Protect us.”
    “I know,” she said, mostly to herself.  
    “You can come with me,” he said.   “I’ll wait for you to get dressed.”
    “I’ll only slow you down,” Raven said.   A big part of her did want to go with him, but she knew it was silly.   “I can handle a couple hours by myself,” she said, sighing.
    “I love you, Raven,” he said softly, but with clear conviction.
    “I love you too.”
    “I’ll be back in time for breakfast,” he said, walking to the door.
    “We don’t have anything good to eat.”
    “Oh, maybe I didn’t make myself clear.   You’re going to be the main dish,” he said, chuckling.  
    “That’s gross.”
    “Are you smiling?”
    Raven realized she was and forced herself to stop.   “Please be careful.”
    “Always,” Jake said, and then he was out the door and she was alone in darkness once more.
    She couldn’t fall back asleep after Jake was gone.   Instead, she got up and opened the stove and began stoking the dying embers of the fire with the poker.   There were only a few little red embers left, but as she pushed them around they began to glow brighter.   She added some pieces of paper and then wood.   Soon, the fire was burning bright again and Raven felt proud of herself for showing a little bit of self-reliance.
    The fire cast the room in light, but also seemed to enhance the quality of shadow and darkness around her.
    She pictured herself as a tiny little creature, huddled beside the smallest circle of light, penned in by miles upon miles upon miles of pure darkness.
    It was a frightening thought and she tried to banish it from her mind.
    Instead, she thought of Jake, trudging alone outside through the wilderness, with nothing but the clothes on his back and a gun to protect him from whatever lay in wait.
    Of course, Raven knew that nothing lay in wait.
    His biggest risk was tripping and falling, hurting his ankle or a leg.   The other problem would be if he somehow got a bad cut out there, miles from the cabin.   This wasn’t like getting hurt in the city or even a small town, where you could dial 911 on your cell phone or some nice passerby would do it for you.
    No, out here there were no allowances for mistakes.
    A bad fall could be fatal.
    “Stop thinking like that,” she admonished herself aloud.   That was even worse, in some ways.   Her voice sounded small and lonely and afraid to her own ears.
    Raven tried to shake off the sensations of fear that now pervaded the room and seemed to seep into her very bones.   She got up and went to the stash of guns and ammo and picked out a handgun, then thought better of it and put it back again.
    She was more likely to injure herself walking around with a weapon that she had no clue how to use.
    Raven got dressed, even put on her shoes.   She didn’t like feeling so naked and vulnerable.   At the same time, she was regretting not going with Jake when he’d offered.   If she was going to just be afraid and awake anyhow, she might as well have gone with him.
    But it was true she’d have slowed him down