Page 213 of The Storm

I turn on the engine and throw the phone onto the passenger seat before I pull back out onto the road, tires squeal against the slick pavement.

My pulse hammers frantically in my ears, and rain lashes against the windshield. The wipers are working at full speed, but they barely keep up. Every few seconds another sheet of water crashes down, turning the world outside the car into a blur of headlights and dark shadows.

It takes way too long. It seems like I’m stopping at every red light and every intersection. Every car in front of mine crawls forward at a maddeningly slow pace.

I squeeze the steering wheel, my eyes constantly flicking between the road and the dark harbor, barely visible through the rain.

Come on.

Comeon.

Thunder echoes from all sides, the sound low and heavy. It seems to vibrate through the car. Flash after flash of lightning splits the sky over the water, illuminating the harbor one heartbeat at a time before everything is swallowed up by darkness again.

My stomach drops.

Blue might be out there.

Alone.

I know he’s competent as fuck. He’s spent more time on the water than most people ever will, but right now that doesn’t matter. All I can see is the storm, and all I can hear is the wind and the way rain drums against the roof.

I park the car and jump out, slamming the door behind me. Rain immediately soaks through my clothes. Wind whips across the water, and waves crash against the dock. The sky is nearly black, despite it only being the afternoon.

I sprint toward the boat racks.

Please, please, please,please.

The rack is empty.

My stomach drops so hard it feels like I’m standing on a cliff and the ground has disappeared from beneath me.

I turn and run. The docks blur past, and rain stings my eyes. When I reach the shore, I stop so abruptly I nearly slip. Water stretches out before me, dark gray and wild in the wind.

And empty.

There’s nothing.

I don’t see anything.

Another flash of lightning illuminates the water before the darkness crashes back down, followed by a deafening roar of thunder.

“Blue!” The name rips out of my chest, and the wind carries it away.

I blink the rain out of my eyes and wipe my forearm over my face.

Another flash of lightning.

And something in the distance. Movement. A dark shape appears and disappears between the waves.

My breath hitches, and I squint.

“Jesus Christ.” The words come out in a shaky breath. Relief hits harder than the storm.

I stand frozen for a second, watching the violent waves and the way the shell rises and falls. Watching Blue work.

The wind is trying to throw him sideways, but he keeps correcting, keeps fighting. Keeps approaching.

It’s terrifying and awful, and I’m so fucking useless, but my heartbeat starts to even out because this is Blue, and he’s stubborn as fuck.