The Darker Days Paperback

"I want to read it again!"

"Highly recommend for readers who crave emotionally rich, character-driven apocalypse fiction with a touch of the uncanny."

A pandemic, worldwide darkness. And then her boyfriend disappeared. It had been a rough morning, even by her standards.

Kimber Nilsen, a nurse during the pandemic, is afraid of the dark. And when her boyfriend, Jordan Lange disappears, Kimber is troubled by his last text: we need to talk. The quest to find Jordan provides a chance encounter with Deputy Connor Maher, drawing her deep into a world of good and evil and distorted reality. Survival, love, and betrayal collide in this haunting continuation of The Dark Days Series.

Dive Into the Darkness...

Maybe she should apologize. Not that she did anything wrong, but he had seemed upset. She made her way to the bedroom, stopping abruptly.

The door was open; the light was on.

“Jordan?”

The bed was empty.

Kimber checked the master bath. “Jordan? You in here?” she called, retracing her steps, and continued her search throughout the quiet house.

No answer.

He couldn’t have gone far. She pulled out her phone.

5:20.

She tried calling his number. It went straight to voicemail.

She ended the call.

Kimber headed to the back door, slipping into the extravagant three-stall garage. His pickup was in the first parking spot closest to the door. The Mustang was in the far stall, and the Harley Road King was in its place in the middle.

Jordan said he was going to lie down. Maybe he went to check on the cattle. She headed to the back door. No sign of him. A shiver ran up her spine. Where had he gone?

There must be a logical explanation.

Kimber searched the front entrance and found his work boots. The tips of her ears burned. She tucked her phone in her pocket and went back inside, locking the door to the garage.

When she found him, he was going to be in big trouble.

A sudden surge of fear ripped through her. Something was dreadfully wrong. The darkness had swallowed Jordan.

She dashed to the bedroom, launched herself on the bed, and threw the covers over her head. She thought of her parents, her dad in particular, and fumbled for her phone. Scrolling through her voicemail until she reached Dad, she paused, then hit play, “This is the day late happy birthday greeting. Love ya, Kimber. Sorry I forgot about yesterday, but see, I remember you longer this way. Love ya.”

Kimber played the message two more times. “Love you too, Dad.”

Suddenly, she realized what she was doing. What if Jordan came back and saw her like this? She tossed the covers off and crossed over to the walk-in closet and the steel gun safe inside.

Searching through his weapons, Kimber found a pistol, shotgun, and a deer rifle. Jordan was an avid hunter, and often invited her to go on trips, but she’d always turned him down. She withdrew the handgun with shaky hands, dropping it.

Jumping back, she braced herself for the bang.

It never came.

After several deep breaths, she retrieved the gun and grabbed the utility belt and holster from the top shelf. Shaking all over, she slung the gun belt around her waist and tucked the semi-automatic pistol inside the holster.

Jordan wasn’t wrong, she was quite capable.

Just not when it came to weapons.

After locking the gun safe, Kimber headed to the kitchen. Her phone said it was five-thirty in the evening. Her scrubs and the gun belt around her waist said it was the dawn of a new day. Or the dark.

With each passing minute, she felt her stomach churn and her knees grow weak. Fear was crippling. Where was Jordan? What if she never saw him again? She would die of fright.

I’ll be here. But was that a goodbye kiss he’d given her? 

In the kitchen, she paused to adjust the magnet on the fridge. Something about the simple task made the situation oddly bearable.

Kimber grabbed the first aid kit from the cupboard beneath the sink and picked up her small suitcase. She dragged her feet to the front door, catching a glimpse of herself in the full entryway mirror. Powder blue scrubs were the required hospital uniform. Not so much the holster resting on her hip.

Reaching for the doorknob, she drew a deep breath. It will be dark. It will feel empty. Hopeless. She pulled the door open, colliding with a brick wall on the other side, and screamed.

She looked up, all the way up. Damn.

Deputy Maher.

"Woven into her work brilliantly is the experience of how powerful the light of hope can be, even when evidenced yet unseen."