Prairie Storm (Cowboys of The Flint Hills #4)

by Tessa Layne

  “The wings go in these slots here.” She shoved in one, while Axel secured the other, and then flashed him a grin. “We’re in the perfect spot. Stand back.” She hurried back to the hatch, grabbed the controls, then jogged about ten yards down the road.

  Taking a deep breath and reviewing all her training in her head, she flipped the switch, and the plane roared to life. The wind swirled in little puffs and gusts. Not the easiest conditions for take-off. She’d have to be careful not to crash it. “The plane wants to fly. The plane wants to fly. The plane wants to fly,” Haley chanted under her breath. She stepped back and sent the plane down the gravel, increasing the speed, and then lifting it off into the wind. It wobbled, then righted, and she banked it around, sending it higher and higher, at last heading it toward the dark mass of clouds building in front of them.

  Axel came to stand next to her. “What now?”

  “Keep your eye on the drone. The closer we get, the easier it will be to lose it.” Fortunately, all CPARC drones were covered in a neon reflective coating that helped them stand out against a darkening sky. But the closer they got to the leading edge of the storm, the harder they were to keep track of, like keeping track of a single snowflake in a blizzard. Tornadoes in pictures were impressive, sure. But a picture didn’t do justice to their enormous size. Even an EF0, the least damaging of tornadoes, could spin a thousand feet into the air, or more. The scale was mind boggling. And humbling.

  “We’re in what’s called the inflow zone. That’s the warm, moist air that’s feeding the storm,” she explained. “See how those lower clouds are moving slowly around? That’s the wall cloud. Behind that, you’ll see a clear spot. There’s a significant downdraft there that then wraps around the front of the tornado, where it meets with the inflow. Together they squeeze the air, shooting it skyward, and it acts like a big vacuum.”

  “I don’t see anything.”

  “I don’t either, but hopefully, in a few minutes, we will.”

  She zoned in on her drone, catching a glimmer of light against the oncoming storm. The wind had picked up behind them.

  “Okay, watch. I’m going to deploy the first probe.” She punched a button on her box, and Axel pointed toward the clouds. “Yep, I see it. White?”

  “Yep.”

  “It’s getting sucked into the clouds.”

  “Good. That’s what I want.”

  “How do you get it back?”

  “It’s got GPS tracking. Our Doppler on Wheels truck will collect all the probes we deploy and send them back to Norman. We’ll study everything after tornado season is over. Time for the second probe. This one has a camera. If we’re lucky, we might get some good footage from inside the storm.” She punched the next button and launched.

  “There.” Axel’s voice sounded urgent. “I see it.”

  “Funnel? Keep your eyes on it. I need to deploy the last sensor.”

  “It’s nearly on the ground.” His voice rose.

  “Stay calm. It’s still a few miles away.” A few more seconds and she could launch the final sensor.

  “Coop?”

  “I’ve got it.” She punched the button, straining to find a white speck against the mass of turbulent clouds bearing down on them.

  “Turning it around now. Watch that funnel. Talk to me, tell me what it’s doing.”

  “It looks like the dust on the ground is reaching up to it.”

  “That means there’s rotation on the ground already. Is it headed this way?”

  “More at an angle to us.”

  “Okay, as soon as the drone is back, we’ll need to move.”

  She scanned the sky, breathing a sigh of relief when she spotted her plane. “C’mon Gladys.”

  “Who’s Gladys?”

  “The plane.”

  Axel’s voice filled with laughter. “You named your airplane Gladys?”

  “It’s a drone. And yes.”

  “Shit, Coop, WATCH OUT.”

  Axe’s arms wrapped around her waist and yanked her to the side of the road as two SUVs came screaming up the gravel, nearly hitting them and narrowly avoiding the T-REX. She just had time to register a face and a camera pressed against the window of the back seat.

  “Goddamned chasers,” she spat, fury rising within her. Panic quickly replaced anger. Where was her plane? Shit. Shitshitshit. She’d dropped the controls when Axel had grabbed her. She broke out of Axel’s grip, frantically scanning from horizon to sky. “Where is it? I don’t see it.”

  And then she saw the tail tilted up about a hundred yards away. The drone had nosedived when she’d taken her fingers off the controls. “Axe. We have to grab the drone.”

  “Are you kidding? It’s time to get the hell out of here. Look at the sky.”

  The sky had turned a sickly shade of green, and it had grown very dark. The birds had stopped chirping and, with the exception of the growing whine of the oncoming tornado, things had become eerily quiet.

  A hailstone pinged on the vehicle. Great. Now they were going to get hailed on. She took off running toward the drone. “Come on. We have to hurry.”

  “Coop, wait.” Axel hollered after her.

  Disappointment crashed through her when she reached the drone. The nose was smashed, and it looked like one of the wings was crushed. It would have to be sent back to Norman for repairs. There was no point in trying to drag it back to the vehicle. The Doppler on Wheels team could collect it more easily and then drive it back to Norman. “Goddammit,” she stomped the ground. “Those fucking fuckers. I swear to God, I want to break their knees.”

  And then she remembered. The turtle probe. How on earth had she forgotten the most important part of the intercept? The forty-five pound tortoise shell shaped disc she was supposed to put in a tornado’s path, if she was lucky to get close enough.

  The near miss by the chasers had completely distracted her. Thrown her off her game. And now she was going to fail her first time out in the field. “Shit,” she yelled above the rising wind. “The probe. I forgot the probe. Oh my God, we have to go back. Motherfucker. Forte will have my ass.” Panic swirled through her. She had to get that intercept probe out.

  “Coop, we have to–” his words were carried away by the wind as she raced back to the T-REX, studying the funnel as she ran.

  Axel had been right. The funnel had been moving at an angle to them. It had a long stovepipe formation, and she could see the debris cloud at its base. Hopefully all it had hit was trees and a few outbuildings.

  She was winded when she reached the vehicle, but didn’t have time to catch her breath. The tornado was maybe a half-mile in front of them, still headed toward them. As long as it didn’t change direction, it would pass maybe two-hundred yards in front of them. Close enough that if she got the probe set, they might be able to record a direct hit. She threw open the hatch and lugged the probe to the edge.

  “Stop.” Axel’s hand came down on her forearm. “We’re getting out of here. Now.” His tone of voice brooked no argument.

  “I need to set this probe.”

  “Like hell you do.”

  She shook her arm free and hauled the probe out. “This is what you signed up for. I’ve got a job to do.”

  Axel’s eyes flashed, fierce and determined. “Get in the car.”

  “Get out of my way.” Why did he have to pick now of all times to play the hero? She stepped away from the car and hunched down. The trees nearby began to swirl and moan. Just a few dozen more yards, and she’d have it in the perfect spot.

  The twister was screaming now, bearing down on them fast, but still roughly a quarter mile away. She paused, trying to decide where to set the probe for optimal intercept, when Axel caught up with her and removed the probe from her hands, tossing it to the ground.

  “Hey, that’s valuable–”

  She felt herself being lifted and flung backwards, as Axel slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and ran back past the T-REX. “PUT ME DOWN.” She beat her fists
against his back. How dare he? She was not in need of rescue.

  But he kept running, stopping only when they were a good fifty yards beyond the T-REX, and then barreled them into the ditch. They landed with a whoomph. But before she could even get a word formed, he’d pushed her down and flung himself on top of her.

  The roaring sounded like a jet plane taking off, and in the distance she could hear tree limbs snapping. “Get off me you big oaf,” She squirmed under him, trying unsuccessfully to move him.

  He wrapped an arm around her head, obviously trying to protect her. But then it occurred to her… who was protecting his head? Shit. The last thing she needed was a dead Axel on top of her because he hadn’t thought to protect his own head.

  “Axe, move,” she pushed again, this time torquing her hips, and they twisted sideways. His arm still covered her, but at least now she could put hers over his head. Not that it would protect them from anything major. And they weren’t that close to it anyway. Were they?

  And then the roar was beyond them. A second later, the wind gusted hard and kept blowing. At the same time, the clouds opened, raining down on them in sheets. They lay huddled together, shielding each other from the worst of it.

  Why hadn’t she thought to pack a change of clothes? Because she was supposed to be safe inside the T-REX, that’s why. Not in a ditch, covered by a very hot body. A very hot, angry body.

  “Are you crazy?” he rasped, glaring at her, when the rain slowed to a sprinkle. “Were you trying to get us killed, or just set the Guinness World Record for stupid in a storm? I thought you were educated in tornado evasion.”

  “I was,” she yelled back, just as mad. “You’re the one who ruined my fieldwork and broke a six-figure piece of equipment. My probe could have sustained a direct hit, and now my research – CPARC’s research – has suffered.”

  “Oh, should I have just let those chasers run you over?”

  “You should have let me take care of myself. It’s what I do.”

  She’d never seen him this angry before. It was kind of magnificent, actually. His eyes lit with a feral energy, his body hot and hard on hers. “You need protecting. That’s what I do.”

  That was so… caveman. It infuriated her. And turned her on.

  Oh Lordy, did it turn her on.

  “I save lives.” At least she was supposed to, when she wasn’t thinking lascivious thoughts about hot cowboys pressing her into the ground. And since when did Axel’s temple throb that way? She had another point she was going to make, but she kept getting distracted by the set of his mouth, and the way his eyes went all dark blue and sparkly when he was angry.

  CHAPTER 13

  Axel fumed. The best she could come up with was I save lives? How could Coop be so careless with her own safety? Did she honestly think he was going to watch her throw herself in front of a tornado and not do anything? He didn’t care how bad she wanted her data, it wasn’t worth dying over. Especially after she’d come breezing back into his life again.

  “Jesus, Coop, you scared the shit out of me.” Relief and anger roiled inside him. “Do you realize how close that thing came?” He held up an arm. “We’re soaked. And my shirt’s in shreds.” Probably from the gravel, and maybe a few sticks. He could tell without looking that he was going to have scrapes all over his body from the debris.

  That tornado had come a lot closer than she’d realized. And now, she was yelling at him? Because he’d been looking out for her safety? She might still do batshit crazy stuff without him, but he’d be damned if he let her compromise her safety while he was around. He couldn’t face himself in the mirror if he let her get hurt and there was something he could have done about it.

  Hands down, he’d pick her up and drag her back from the brink again in a heartbeat. That was a fucking no-brainer.

  Axel had half a mind to call up Forte and chew him a new asshole. What kind of operation was he running that his employees would put data before safety?

  Coop squirmed beneath him, her dark eyes sparking with anger and… lust.

  Maybe it was the adrenaline still screaming through his body, or the sheer relief that it was all over and they were in one piece, but his body responded instantly. His cock grew hard and pressed against his zipper. It wouldn’t take much. They were practically glued together anyway, legs and arms still tangled protectively.

  “Coop?” His body grew tight in anticipation.

  She licked her lips, heat radiating off her in waves. And when she gave a little thrust of her hips, he was lost. He surrendered as she pulled his head down, and pure animal need roared to life as she slicked his lower lip with her tongue and gave it a nip.

  Letting out a guttural moan, he tightened his grip on her and quickly took over the kiss, plundering her mouth and exploring every crevice, every hot recess. She was alive and warm beneath him, a moving reminder of how close they’d come to serious injury, if not death.

  “Goddammit, Coop,” he gritted between kisses. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

  Her hand was at his fly, working the button. “Don’t ever ruin my research like that again.” Her mouth was hot on his neck.

  “Crazy bitch.”

  “Bastard.”

  The ridiculousness of it all hit Axel square in the gut, and a great bubble of laughter threatened to burst out of him. “God, I–” Love you. The words formed in his mouth.

  Fuck.

  He loved her. He still loved her.

  The realization washed over him like torrential rain. Flooding his senses.

  He couldn’t tell her. Not now, at least. Maybe not ever. He shut his eyes, trying to gather his focus and failing miserably because her hand was now stroking his shaft. His eyes rolled back as wave after wave of delicious sensation coursed through him. And God, he was on the brink of completely fucking losing it. Tension snaked up his legs, settling low in his spine. If he didn’t distract her fast, he’d be done before they started.

  “Coop.” Need for her strangled his voice. He fumbled with the zipper on her cargo pants. At least they were baggy and slid over her hips easily.

  He dipped his head, running his tongue across the part of her collarbone left exposed by the vee of her shirt, and grinning in satisfaction against her skin when she sighed heavily.

  “I swear to God, if I get poison ivy on my ass, I will kill you.” Her voice was husky with laughter.

  That was an easy problem to solve. He’d risk a week of misery or more to show her how much he loved her. Twisting his hips, he rolled them so she straddled him, his erection nestling against her hot, slick, core.

  She leaned over him, cheeks flushed and lips swollen from his kisses. Placing his hands on her hips, he guided her onto himself, groaning as her tight, wet, heat encompassed him.

  “Yes, Axe,” she said breathlessly. “Just like that.”

  This, right here, was heaven. He didn’t care that they were in a ditch, or that they’d had a near miss with a twister. Being with her, feeling her surround him, pushing into her and hearing her eager moans – these were the moments a man lived for.

  Their hips rolled together, and he pulled her down, crushing her mouth to his. There was nothing soft and sweet about this encounter. This was about need, and release. He bit her lower lip, then swept his tongue across the mark his teeth made. She thrust her hand through his hair, grabbing hard and pulling as he thrust more deeply.

  His balls tightened as fire fused into a white hot knot. At the same time, Coop squeezed her legs against his hips and bore down, her own orgasm ripping through her. Axel let go as she tightened and rippled around him, white lights bursting behind his eyes. He gripped her hips hard as she rode out the remains of her own release, until she collapsed on top of him, giggling and out of breath. For a moment, maybe ten, they lay entwined, and he stroked her back reassuring himself she was safe and slowly returning to coherence.

  Thunder rolled in the distance.

  But instead of acting as an assurance the storm ha
d passed, it acted like an alarm and Coop popped up, pulling her pants back on. “We can’t do this. It will cost me my job.”

  All his warm fuzzy feelings vaporized. He propped himself up, “What do you mean? It’s not like we’re teenagers, Coop.”

  “Exactly.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Where the hell was this coming from? His brain was still fuzzy, but he was coherent enough to know that this was bullshit. He stood, closing his jeans and wringing out the hem of his soaked shirt.

  “It means you have a life on the ranch that I have no place in. You’re a rule follower. You always have been. And–”

  “Fuck the rules. And since when do you care about following the rules?”

  “Since I have a promotion on the line,” she bristled, voice rising.

  That’s what this was about? A promotion? She’d throw him under the bus if it meant getting a promotion? That burned. He scrambled out of the ditch and stood, eyeing the clouds. “So you’re saying this promotion is more important than–”

  “Than anything,” she confirmed.

  More important than him, was what she implied. Pain knifed through him. “More important than people?”

  She followed him out of the ditch and started walking to the car, but stopped short when she saw it had been moved by the winds.

  Seeing the car parked wonky in the middle of the road startled him. But at the same time, he swelled with vindication. He hadn’t just been overreacting, or scared. They had been in real danger, and he’d made sure she was safe.

  Ha.

  “See? Look what the twister did to your fancy car.”

  Take that, Coop.

  She rolled her eyes. “The twister didn’t come close enough to do that. That was the RFD.”

  He must have looked confused because her mouth thinned into a straight line. “Rear Flank Downdraft. It’s where the strongest winds often are, outside of the twister.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “And if you’d let me do my job, I could have set the intercept probe a hundred yards that way.” She pointed her thumb behind her. “And driven us to safety. But you had to go all caveman and protect me.”