Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41097 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
Dawn stared out the window. Her hair was plastered to her face, but she didn’t seem to care. She was tough, I’d give her that. But she was also scared. I could feel the fear radiating off her in waves, but she was doing her best to keep it together. The last thing she needed was for me to lose my shit too. It wasn’t the situation that had me on edge so much as my cargo.
I contacted Ripper. Thankfully, cell phones were still working. I wasn’t certain how long that would last. Having the sat phone and sat radio put my mind at ease. We wouldn’t be completely cut off from everyone half an hour away from home.
“I got her.” I held the phone to my ear.
“Thorn has everyone at the clubhouse scouting the roads for you guys. I’ll know in another couple of minutes what the road conditions are like.” Ripper didn’t sound concerned at all. In fact, the fucker sounded cold as ice.
Just as he spoke, I heard someone in the background. “High tide’s makin’ the water worse. The storm surge is just starting, but it’s already got the lower end of town flooded. There’s no getting to West Palm Beach safely and that’s the way you guys are headed.”
“So we need to go farther inland.”
“Weather reports are saying we’ve already hit fifteen feet of storm surge with more on the way. It’s only going to get worse over the next day or so.”
“How long they thinkin’ this fucker’s gonna last?” I didn’t really want to stay in the garage, but I also didn’t want to get us out in the open. I wasn’t worried so much about me as I was about Dawn.
“It’s movin’ pretty damned slow,” Ripper explained. “They’re sayin’ about thirty-six hours. Maybe not hardly that long, but it’s just starting so a lot depends on how it behaves over land.”
“Christ.” I scrubbed my hand over my face. “Is there any point in leaving this parking garage? We’re too close to the shoreline for my tastes, but I don’t want to put us in a worse situation.”
“There’s a Comfort Suites a little ways inland between the sea and the Saint Lucie River. I’m sending the directions to your phone and securing a room. Two with a connecting door because that’s all they have on the first floor.” As Ripper spoke, I got a buzz from my phone. “Head there. Let me know when you get to your room or if you have any trouble.”
“Will do.” I ended the call before looking over at Dawn. “We’re heading inland. Ripper is securing us a hotel room. We’ll ride it out there.”
“If you’re sure.” Her eyes were wide, her face pale, but Dawn only nodded at me. There was no protest. No questioning me. She seemed willing to do whatever I told her to, which pleased me more than I cared to admit.
“I think we’d be better off in an enclosed place. This garage would do in a pinch, but it’s not as safe as I’d like.”
“I’d rather be in a hotel too.” Her voice shook.
I reached over and squeezed her hand. “Just hang on with me a little while longer. I’ll get you to the hotel and we’ll be much safer.”
She nodded. “Agreed.”
“Good.” I gave her a smile before starting the Bronco and heading to the exit of the garage.
The wind was howling now. The rain was more intense than even thirty minutes earlier. I eased out of the garage to test the strength of the wind before committing to leaving our shelter. Once outside, the vehicle rocked with each hard gust of wind, but I was able to make a slow advance inland.
As we drove, the rain pounded against the windshield so hard I could barely see. The wind was brutal and getting worse. I knew it was going to be a long and difficult drive, but I was determined to get us to that hotel.
Dawn tried to be brave, but I could feel her fear rising. Her fingers were digging into the console between us, her breaths coming in short gasps. I wanted to comfort her, to tell her everything was going to be okay, but I needed to concentrate on the road ahead of us and the map I’d memorized that Ripper had pushed through to my phone.
I kept my eyes fixed on the road, trying to ignore the chaos that was swirling around us. At one point, a massive tree branch came crashing down in front of us, but I managed to swerve around it. Dawn sucked in a breath and closed her eyes, but she was silent, as though she thought I needed silence to concentrate.
Finally, after what felt like hours, we pulled into the hotel parking lot. I pulled under the canopy to let Dawn out. I handed her my duffle and her backpack.