Authors: Sara Brookes
ChasingSin (11 page)
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.”
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
.
Tell Us What You Think
We appreciate hearing reader opinions about our books. You
can email us at
[email protected]
.
Also by
Sara Brookes
Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the
multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer ebooks or
paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic
reading experience that will leave you breathless.
