Click here for more…Jo Ramsey

Jet Black (The Dark Lines 3)

Blurb:

With the help of their new friend Misty, Topher James and his friends must fight a force of darkness. But is Misty really on their side?

When Topher James and Blake Walker receive an email from a girl named Misty saying that “something dark” has taken her sister, they know they will have to once again fight the force of darkness they’ve fought before. The nightmares Topher’s girlfriend Callie Monroe is having confirm that, and also warn against becoming involved with Misty. But something about Misty sucks Topher in, and he’s unable to resist her.

Alienated from Callie and his friends because of Misty, Topher still intends to fight the darkness. But it—and Misty—have other plans, and only Faith Carlisle can make Topher see the light before it’s too late.

EXCERPT:

“I’ll see you later.” I wasn’t staying to hear any more of Blake’s crap. That was what I got for trying to make him feel better.

“Topher, please don’t go,” Faith said. “You’re too angry to drive safely, for one thing.”

“Of course I’m angry!” I shouted. She flinched, and this time I didn’t care. “Misty’s my friend, and I’m sick of all of you trying to turn me against her.”

“I was wrong.” Blake sounded almost surprised. “The darkness told me it would turn one of us against the others. I thought it meant me. But it didn’t, did it, Topher?”

As soon as he said it, his eyes widened. He knew he’d gone too far. And it was too late for him to take it back.

“Nice, Blake,” I snapped. “Not only is Misty working with the darkness, now I am too? I’m glad you trust me so much. Don’t bother trying to contact me. If you can’t trust me, I don’t need your help. I’ll deal with the dark presence myself.”

I stormed to the car, got in, and took off, leaving a trail of rubber behind.

I had no idea where I was going, just that I had to get away from Blake and Faith. They had to have been talking behind my back, planning to drop this bomb on me. I wanted to know how long they’d been plotting. And how long ago they’d decided to stop trusting me.

I was too angry to be hurt by their betrayal. They would see when I fought the darkness and won. They would see that they should have trusted me all along.

Consciously, I might not have had a destination in mind, but somewhere inside I knew just where to go. A while later, I stopped in front of the alley. Misty was there, standing against one of the buildings like she’d been waiting for me. She smiled when I left the car. A look of concern quickly replaced the smile when I walked over to her. “Topher, what’s wrong?”

“Come for a ride with me.” I held out my hand.

She took it. A chill went through me despite the warmth of the day. I ignored it and we went to the car.

As I drove away, Misty asked again, “What’s wrong?”

“Do you ever have the feeling there’s no one you can trust?” I muttered.

“All the time.” She rested her hand on my arm. “Tell me about it.”

I told her everything. Callie breaking up with me, what Blake and the others had said about me. I stopped short of telling her what Blake had accused her of, though. She wanted to help me, and I refused to repay that by hurting her. As I talked, I drove aimlessly through the city, not really paying attention to where we were until I came to a hill that overlooked the bay. I stopped there, not because of the view but because I was too upset to drive anymore.

I put the car in park and let go of the steering wheel. I was suddenly tired, so tired I wanted to close my eyes and sleep right there. I didn’t, only because Misty was with me and she wanted to help me. “I thought they were my friends,” I said. “I thought I could trust them. Now it turns out they’ve been saying all this stuff behind my back. How can they treat me this way?”

“I understand,” Misty said softly. She took my hand. “I know exactly what it’s like, Topher. Don’t worry about them. They aren’t worth it. I’m your friend. If you can’t trust them, trust me.”

She leaned a little closer to me. Without thinking, I turned to her and kissed her. What she’d said was true. She was my friend. I could trust her.

As I kissed her, I felt the darkness in her. The darkness Blake had told me about. Maybe he’d been right about her, but I didn’t care.

She was all I had now.