by Sara Brookes
“We need to get somewhere safe. Now.”
“Kate?”
“Is everything all right?” Their twin expressions of concern were warranted.
“No. No, it’s not.” Her gut twisted in a knot as the knowledge swelled inside her. She didn’t need her computer, her instincts had never driven her wrong and she knew exactly what was happening with the storm. “She’s strengthening. She’s chewing up the bay and using it to feed her over land instead of letting it weaken her. I bet you anything she’s tearing apart that storm to the west instead of the other way around.”
“So what you’re saying is if we don’t get off the island, we’re as good as dead.”
Kate’s eyes went wide in disbelief. “Oh God. It’s too late.”
A blast of wind slammed into her, tossing her off her feet. The ground rushed up at her and she had just enough time to brace her hands around her waist before she hit the water with enough force to steal her breath.
They were at her side in the blink of an eye, pulling her out of the water to check her for injuries. “I’m fine.” She allowed Tripp to pull her into his arms, too stunned at the horrific destruction everywhere she looked.
Left with no other choice, they continued to trudge through the water, winds lashing at them. Each time they felt as if they’d made some kind of progress forward, the violent gust of wind seemed to knock them back.
Her legs burned from the effort and she stumbled more than a few times when she stepped on something the water obscured. Snyder or Tripp would always be there to catch her before she fell. She had no doubt this was just a small hint of how her life would be should they all make it out of this storm alive.
They were both wonderful men. She was lucky to have them and lucky they still wanted her around after she’d treated them the way she did. It would take years for her to atone for her sins, but she resolved from this moment on, she would do everything in her power to make it up to them.
A dark shape suddenly rose out of the driving rain and she squinted, trying in vain to get a better look.
“What is that?” she yelled, slapping Tripp on the shoulder to gain his attention. He wiped water out of his eyes and grabbed for Snyder’s arm. Though she stood between them, she couldn’t hear the words as Tripp yelled instructions. But she could decipher his frantic pointing in the direction of the mass.
The men took off running, pulling her behind them. As they drew closer, she recognized the shape as a house. A Victorian-era house that seemed completely out of place surrounded by houses built on stilts. It stood so proud and majestic, daring the chaotic and destructive storm to do its worst.
“Who in the hell would build this kind of house here?”
A sudden thought occurred to Kate. She remembered a flyer pinned to the bulletin board in the hallway outside her office at the university. An endless joke between the engineering and meteorology students about who had more brainpower and skills to be able to build a structure to withstand hundred mile-per-hour winds.
“It’s a hurricane house!”
She dove between the men, slogging through the muddy water without care for what might lay ahead of her. The wood staircase creaked as she pushed up onto it and strong hands closed around her waist to lift her higher. Each step was a struggle, but she fought against the high winds, determined to win the battle.
No way would she allow this storm to get the best of her. Not after everything they’d been through already. The trio had too much going for them now to surrender to the monster.
She slammed the door closed once the men were through and she slowly slid down until she sat on the floor. High-speed wind battered the house, howling even louder now that they’d found sturdy shelter. She’d never been scared of storms. Never been afraid she wouldn’t come out on top to best the monster. But something about this storm seemed different than any she’d ever faced down before.
For the very first time in her life, she was afraid of the aftermath.
“What do we do now?”
“We hope.”
Despair filled Tripp’s voice and she was glad she wasn’t the only one who felt they’d come to the end. Snyder waved for her to come closer and she scooted over to huddle between them, waiting for the inevitable reality that the storm would erase the entire island from existence.
* * * * *
Bright sunlight blinded Kate as she opened her eyes, her body protesting as she tried to move from the position she’d fallen asleep in. It amazed her she’d been able to sleep at all. But exhaustion had taken hold and sleep had been the reprieve she’d needed.
As she stretched, she noticed she was alone.
She scrambled to sit up, fighting aching muscles sore and tight from the frantic flight to the house just a few hours ago. The mattress Snyder had pulled over them to shield their bodies from flying debris lay a few feet away in relatively decent shape.
The structure around her hadn’t been so lucky and stood in utter disarray. But it was a testament to whoever sank the money to have it built. Should she choose to re-build a house here on the Sulaco Island, she would undoubtedly spend the extra money to have a house such as this constructed.
Sand layered two-inches thick on the floor around her and sunlight steamed down from a few minor holes in the roof. The front door stood open and the quiet murmur of voices could be heard as she approached. Tripp and Snyder talked quietly, pointing out things that were no longer there. In fact, as she stepped outside, she noticed there seemed to be nothing left.
Piles of wood, siding, family heirlooms—people’s lives—lay in a sea around the only structure to survive the madness. The ocean had retreated, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Even after all the tornadoes and hurricanes she’d dealt with in her years as a storm chaser, she’d never seen anything this devastating.
“Everything is gone.”
The sky overhead was perfect and clear, a robin’s-egg blue so blinding she wished for her sunglasses. A light salt-infused breeze blew gently around them. Aside from the smell of gas and a busted sewer line somewhere, the day was flawless and clear. That perfection gave no indication to the havoc that had happened ours ago.
Kate let out a sigh of relief, glad the hellish ordeal was over. Somehow they’d survived. She wasn’t sure how and she wasn’t about to start asking, because she knew these storms well enough to know there wasn’t an answer.
“It’s heartbreaking to see all this.”
“They’ll come back. They’ll rebuild and start a new life over and soon all this will just be a memory.”
A memory that would be forever etched in her mind.
Yes, the residents would return. The entire town would come back and she realized the storm was a new beginning for everyone. For once in her life, it was time to stop chasing when the very thing she sought stood right in front of her.
“I want to make new memories. With you both.” She ran her hand over her still flat stomach and looked up to find them grinning widely at her. “With us all. I don’t want to simply be chase partners anymore. I want permanence and stability. I haven’t had those things in a very long time and I want that with you both. I want us to give that to our child.”
“About time you admitted the inevitable.” Snyder nodded, pulling her close against him as he reached out to weave his fingers with Tripp’s.
The connection felt incredible. Wonderful even, and she wondered how she’d ever been senseless enough to think she had no place between them. “I love you both very much. I have since that morning in the hotel…maybe even longer. But I was scared to admit it to myself, much less to both of you. It’s not going to change no matter if there’s a baby seat in the back of our chase vehicles or not. Thank you for putting up with me.”
“No need to thank us for loving you.” Tripp kissed both of their foreheads, taking his time. “We don’t ‘put up with you’ and if you continue to think that way, we’ll do our best to show you just how differently we feel about that
opinion.”
She set her hand over their joined hands, squeezing tightly.
“We love you too, darlin’. No doubt about that.” Snyder shifted, cupping a hand to her cheek while he slid the other hand over her abdomen. “But if you think you’re putting a baby seat in the back your chase vehicle, you really are fucking insane.”
About the Author
Sara Brookes is a multi-published author who has always been fascinated by the strange, the unusual, the twisted and the lost (tortured heroes are her personal favorite). She is an action movie junkie, addicted to coffee and has been known to stay up until the wee hours of the morning playing RPG video games. Despite all this, she is a romantic at heart and is always a sucker for an excellent love story. Born and bred in Virginia, Sara still lives there with her husband and daughter. The entire family is owned by two cats, Galahad and Loki, who graciously allow the family to cater to their every desire.
Sara welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by Sara Brookes
Hard as Stone
Ragged Edge
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