ChasingSin

by Sara Brookes

  Each time they’d all returned to this same position.

  She should have felt comforted by their embrace. Cradled in their strong arms in some hotel in the middle of Kansas, while the early rumblings of a new thunderstorm sounded off in the distance.

  But she didn’t.

  She never felt more scared of anything in her life. At this very moment, she would have rather faced down a violent, city-leveling EF5 tornado than imagine what their lives would all be like now that they’d given over to their hormones.

  Fear and panic resurfaced to clutch around her heart, and she disentangled herself from their peaceful embrace to slide off the bed. After locating her clothes and washing up, she returned to where they still slept. In her absence, Snyder had curled up against Tripp.

  Tripp’s hair mussed from sex and sleep. Stubble dotted Snyder’s jaw. Together, they were amazing eye candy. They lay in a sweet, achingly tender, lover’s embrace she didn’t fit into. It made her wonder if she’d imagined the whole thing and never been there between them in the first place.

  They shared so much together, it seemed only natural they share her as well. She admired their tenacity to stick together, because this kind of hectic lifestyle didn’t lend itself to relationships. Of course, it helped they chased together, so those long hours away from home didn’t matter.

  She’d given up on love and sex a long time ago after a string of failed relationships had finally made her see the light—chasing storms and affairs had no business mixing. But Snyder and Tipp had found each other and never made it a secret they were completely in love.

  She had no business confessing her deepest, darkest secret to them. That she’d secretly dreamed about exactly what happened last night. That she longed to know what it would feel to get between them. To have them both take care of her, or she, in turn, take care of them.

  Now she knew it was one of the most wonderful things she’d ever experienced.

  While she couldn’t take it back, as much as it hurt, it couldn’t continue.

  As she covered her face, her mind flashed back to the events that brought her to this point. The stupid chances that could have gotten everyone seriously hurt. Or worse yet—killed.

  Her adrenaline had gotten the best of her. She’d give that much to them, even if it was hard for her to admit. Once she got into the frenzy of chasing a funnel, she sometimes forgot about reason and sanity. About safety. The storm became the only thing for her and she completely disregarded everything else. She already regretted her actions, despite her fury at Snyder and Tripp for pulling her out of the path. They were simply looking out for her.

  Standing over them now, sleeping so peacefully, her body screamed for them both. All the signs were obvious. Only a fool would think last night had been solely about sex.

  Why in the hell didn’t I see this coming?

  She wanted to stay and be here when they woke to explain her motives, but she knew in the long run it would be better for them all if she left. It would leave a clearer picture in everyone’s minds about what was expected if she got as far away as possible.

  Tripp’s light snoring was the last thing she heard as she closed the hotel door.

  Storm clouds stacked on top of one another along the horizon and she all but scented the approaching rain dancing on the air. The call to jump in a car and drive to watch the birth of the storm was too seductive to resist.

  At least it was a call she knew how to deal with instead of the storm brewing in her heart.

  Chapter Three

  “Meteorologists are predicting Hurricane Jean will reach Category 2 strength in the next hour. Authorities are starting to issue evacuation orders for all of Grand Turk Island and eastern portions of Cuba. But as always, some longtime residents are determined to ride this one out.”

  Kate snapped off the radio and scowled at the line of cars slowly creeping along to her left. Unlike them, she barreled along at a high rate of speed down the shoulder lane of the bridge. She couldn’t blame their annoyance. They were just tourists who were ready to start their vacations as soon as possible because they had a nine-to-five job to go back to in a week.

  She had a job to do as well, so the situation wasn’t much different.

  A siren blared directly behind her and she shifted gears, pressing the accelerator to the floorboard. The lane was narrow enough that she needed to get to the end without stopping so she could be reprimanded. It would be pointless. The extra minute it would take to reach the emergency pull-off at the end of Maroni Bridge would make it easier for everyone.

  Arriving at the end of the bridge, dust puffed into the air as she pulled off and killed the engine to wait in the Texas heat. A dirty, brown minivan crammed full of beach equipment, luggage and screaming children slowly crawled past. Kate blew out a frustrated breath as she grabbed an elastic and pulled her hair off her neck. The heat and humidity was oppressive and would, no doubt, get worse if her prediction came true.

  As the officer’s footfalls drew near, she glanced in the mirror. She immediately recognized him as the very same boy who’d taken her to the end-of-summer bash the last summer she’d lived on the island. Even with her annoyance at being stopped, she smiled.

  His hand tapped against the door with a starched formality she never knew he possessed. “Ma’am.”

  She pulled off her aviator sunglasses and looked into the baby blues she’d stared into while stars twinkled in the sky and Bon Jovi blared from waist high speakers. As she remembered that summer night, she smiled wider. “Tommy Westhouse.”

  Recognition filtered slowly into his expression and he returned her smile. His posture instantly relaxed and he eased a hip against her vehicle. “Kate Sinclair. Though, it’s doctor now, isn’t it? Haven’t seen you around the island in a long time.”

  “Been busy teaching classes at the university.”

  Tommy let out a snort of laughter and waved to a car as it crept past. “I saw you on the news a few months ago. When the twister took your Jeep and parked it in that family’s living room. Have to say, that was pretty impressive. Glad to see everyone was all right.”

  He wasn’t aware, but he’d just reminded her of an event she’d been trying her hardest to forget about since that day. She couldn’t blame him. He couldn’t have known such a bright spot in her career had also been the darkest day of her personal life. “We pulled some incredible pictures, not to mention data from that storm. Most of the team was still analyzing the data while a few of us got back out there to give them even more. No shortage of students who volunteer for that job. As I said, busy. How is the family?”

  “Getting bigger by the day. Darla just had our youngest last year, already growing like a weed. You in a rush?”

  The concerned tone signaled to her Tommy had slid back into cop mode. “Have a plane to catch. There’s a crew from Florida flying in some supplies for me.” A quick glance at her cell phone mounted on the dash indicated she was already late.

  His expression darkened as he put two and two together. “Guess that storm’s heading our way.”

  She didn’t want to scare him by any means, but he was law enforcement and more adaptable to pertinent information than most of the general public. “Still too early to tell, but I’m going to monitor things while I’m here at my folks place. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility though.” The island had certainly seen its fair share of hurricanes since records had started to be kept. People who lived here year-round were accustomed to the whims of Mother Nature’s fury.

  Tommy nodded and tapped the sill of the car window as he pushed away. “Keep me posted?”

  “Will do. You take care of those kids.”

  Horns blared again as he let her go and she sped away. More than likely they were annoyed because he’d released her without issuing a ticket. Not that another citation for speeding would have mattered. It would have merely joined the carbon paper pile already stuffed into her glove compartment.

  Kate hung a right at the
island’s only stoplight and headed south to the municipal airport. Row after row of tourist-trap hotels blurred by as she wove her way through the slow-moving traffic.

  As annoyed as she was at the hustle and bustle, she was glad to see the small, mile-long island had built up a lot since she’d last been here. Things had changed as everything seemed to cater mostly to middle-income families rather than the wealthy elites from years gone by. The economy of the island had evolved with the times. Adaptation was the key to survival for any kind of tourist town and the city council had evidently taken that to heart.

  The lively tourist area soon gave way to the cozy rows of cottages she was accustomed to. Soft pastels dominated the beach houses that had been built on pilings for when storms did come through.

  Hopefully, those houses would still be standing this time next week. Unlike chasing tornadoes, chasing hurricanes ended up being a game of wait and see. And right now, she had a plane to offload so she could ride this one out.

  * * * * *

  “NC1142, you are clear to land on runway number one.”

  “Thanks, tower. See you on the ground.”

  Snyder banked his Cessna to the left to make the sweeping turn to line up with the runway. The small plane was far more maneuverable than the huge plane he’d flown just days ago into the heart of the hurricane spinning in the Caribbean. Though he took pride piloting the massive turboprop for the Weather Reconnaissance Squadron out of Biloxi, he preferred the simplicity and quiet of the smaller jet engines propelling his personal plane.

  Minutes later, the plane shimmied as the wheels touched down and Snyder and Tripp both started flipping switches to begin the shutdown process. As they taxied to a row of hangars, he spotted something—someone—he recognized. He felt a pang of loss in his chest and pushed it to the side.

  “Looks as if we’ve got company.”

  Tripp stopped what he was doing and watched the lithe, raven-haired woman assist a member of the airport crew unload items from the side of the small plane. She laughed at something the man said and the musical sound of it caused something in Snyder’s gut to clench as he watched her attend to something so innocuous and normal. He’d missed her more than he’d even had the courage to admit to Tripp. No need to add insult to injury.

  “We all work in weather-related fields. With her teaching forecasting at the university and us flying with the hunters—had to figure we’d run into her eventually. And with a hurricane season this active? Surprised we haven’t crossed paths already.”

  Snyder looked over and saw his longtime partner frown before he turned his attention back to the clipboard in his hand. Maybe Tripp could effortlessly dismiss her, but he sure as hell couldn’t. “Since she’s been avoiding us since May when she refused to let us back into her lab or chase with her anymore, no, I’m not surprised. Doesn’t mean it’s going to make this any easier.”

  Kate seemed to be doing her best to stay as far away from them as possible since the night in Kansas. She’d shut them out. Cut them off completely without any kind of explanation. He wouldn’t change any of what happened in that room between the three of them, even if it meant their friendship would be intact again. Maybe the decision they all made had irrevocably changed everything, but at least they knew instead of tiptoeing around each other.

  Snyder was annoyed everything had been cut short before it had even gotten started. He had more questions now than answers and it didn’t appear as if he’d get any kind of clue soon. “Considering it’s a small island, doubt it’s the last we’ll see of her.”

  “I’d say let’s hope it’s enough, but it appears trouble has already found us.”

  The loud bang caused the plane to shake. Snyder shook his head with a smile as he pulled off his harness and slipped into the cargo area of the plane.

  “Same old Kate.”

  He flipped the latches and waited for the seal to break before the door opened. Her hands were on her hips by the time the stairs lowered and the downturn of her lips did nothing to ease that ache in his chest.

  Seeing her fiery and pissed just made him want her even more.

  “Long time no see.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  The demand was classic Kate, and damn, he missed that authoritative tone from her. Chasing hadn’t been the same without her by their side. But she’d made it clear where she stood on the matter by leaving before they’d awakened and ignoring them ever since.

  “Same as you.”

  “Get off my island.”

  While he liked her bossy, even he had a limit on what he could take. “Your island? I seem to recall Sulaco Island is open to everyone. Even to a couple of pricks tracking a hurricane. Big storm churning out there, best thing a chaser can do is hunt up a place to set up their equipment and settle in. Based on the forecasts, this seemed as if it would be the best place to be safe, but still close enough to be in the hunt.”

  She crossed her arms and let out an exasperated sigh. “Why? Can’t you two get a bird’s-eye view?”

  Snyder shrugged. “Already punched her core a few times. But Grayler is taking the back shift for this one. Jean is his storm, not ours.” He saw the question in her eyes and in her stance. Despite her irritation, she wanted to know what they’d encountered. What they’d found when they flew through the eye of the tumultuous storm churning out in the Caribbean. It was too amusing to annoy her, so he waited her out, unwilling to give her the information without making her work for it.

  She would have done the same thing to him if the situation were reversed.

  “How’s she look?” she asked finally.

  That question hadn’t come without a cost and he silently commended her.

  “Depends if you’re asking as a resident of the island or a chaser?” The roll of Kate’s eyes caused Snyder to grin widely. She was too easy to annoy, and he was glad to see that hadn’t changed in two months. “She’s a beast. Wherever she lands is in for one hell of a ride if she strengthens any.”

  “Forecast track puts her hitting southern Louisiana on Saturday.”

  He’d heard that, and he also had his own opinion of what he thought would happen. No doubt Kate had her own ideas about what the storm would do as well. Despite his job as the pilot of one of the Hurricane Hunter planes in his reserve squadron, she still had better instincts when it came to hurricanes. The time apart hadn’t changed the fact he still envied her instincts even though the trio hadn’t parted on the best of terms.

  “And what do you say?”

  Kate paused, tapping her foot as her gaze scanned the small municipal airport. “I don’t know for certain yet. I need to get somewhere and set up. Then upload the latest data packets from NOAA and see what they’ve got.”

  He and Tripp had already talked about their game plan and he wasn’t surprised to find it much the same as Kate’s. It would help them all to combine their information, but somehow he felt as if that would be pushing her boundaries a little too much. Still, it would be helpful to get her opinion on the whole matter. “Be interested to know what you come up with if you don’t mind comparing notes a little.”

  She scowled and Snyder wondered if he’d pushed too much. “You’ve got fancier equipment than I do. I’m sure you can figure it out for yourself.”

  He held up his hand in surrender, knowing he’d overstayed his welcome. “Got it. Tripp and I are going to offload our fancy equipment and get going. Hope we see you around.”

  “Where are you staying?”

  Evidently, her curiosity got the better of her, which was what he counted on. “Harland Rutherford’s House.”

  “Nice place. Enjoy the hike.” He tilted his head, unsure what she meant. She grinned, pushing her aviator glasses up her nose. “No access roads. So unless you have a 4x4, you’re not getting any of that fancy equipment anywhere near that house.”

  She smiled as she slowly backed away and waved. When she turned, it was hard not to notice the way her hips swayed and the ove
rall way her body moved as she walked. He’d missed seeing it in the time she’d been gone. Missed having her there between himself and Tripp.

  She shook hands with the crew member who helped load her vehicle, hopped behind the wheel and sped away.

  “That was pleasant.”

  “That wasn’t the end of it.”

  Tripp clapped Snyder on the shoulder, and squeezed. “Given her attitude, I think this hurricane is going to be the least of our worries.”

  As her vehicle disappeared around one of the hangars, Snyder sat back on his heels and shook his head in frustration. “Same old Kate.”

  “Didn’t expect her to change, did you?”

  “No.” He was actually thrilled she hadn’t. “Would like some answers, though.”

  Tripp squeezed his shoulder again and started collecting their bags and equipment. “She hasn’t been very forthcoming since then. What makes you think she’s going to start now?”

  Despite Tripp’s nonchalance about Kate’s sudden appearance, Snyder knew he felt the same. Playing devil’s advocate had always been Tripp’s natural inclination when trouble came up. It was why they worked so well together. Why their relationship jelled.

  “Nothing.”

  A soft thud sounded as Tripp dropped the bag he’d slung over his shoulder. Snyder turned to find his lover’s hands on his hips and an amused expression on his face. “Something tells me you have in mind that we’re going to persuade her.”

  Tripp was right. Now that they knew exactly where Kate was, he intended to do everything he could think of to get her to tell them why she’d been gone that morning. Why they’d awakened to a bed without her in it when everything had gone so perfectly the night before.

  Both he and Tripp had thrown themselves into their work when their repeated phone calls to Kate went unanswered. Then the hurricane season had swung into high gear and they’d been forced to abandon their attempts to find her. An active season had kept them up to their eyeballs in data and when they’d heard Hurricane Jean was headed for the Gulf Coast, they’d jumped at the chance to let someone else fly their precious planes. Based on all the prediction models, this was one storm they wanted to be on the ground for.