Creatures of the Storm Read Online Free PDF Page A

the house.”
    “Stop at the mall for something to wear,
too,” Lisa said sleepily. Rose started to groan. “Oh, come on, now.
All your clothes were in the car; I’m sure they’re ruined.”
    Ken nodded. “Will do. And if you need
anything…”
    “I have a phone right here,” she said,
nodding at her bedside table. “I’m sure it will be fine.”
    “Yes, but if you
need any –”
    “ Kenny ,” she said, a hint of the old
edginess creeping back into her voice. “I’ve been taking care of
myself for quite a while now. Don’t get carried away.”
    He looked away. “Got it,” he said. Then, with
a false heartiness; “Okay, Rosie, let’s go.”
    Five minutes later, she was alone. Ten
minutes later, she was drifting into sleep.

Four
     
    The careful
truce between Ken and his daughter that had held firm in Lisa’s
hospital room began to fray the moment they hit the elevator. As
Rose and Ken stood side-by-side, staring at the inside of the
sliding door, Ken had a nearly irresistible urge to reach out and
take his daughter’s hand, but something stopped him.
    “She looks pretty good,” he said, not looking
at her.
    “Oh, yeah,” Rose agreed. “Nearly perfect for
somebody who’s been slammed headfirst into a stone wall.”
    Ken scowled. “I mean it could have been a
whole lot worse, Rosie. She–”
    “I know what you meant,” she said. “And please don’t call me that.
Please.”
    The elevator doors opened on a damp concrete
cavern filled with dimly lit cars. Water was dripping from the
overhead pipes, and cascading down the upslope to the street like
the spillway off an aqueduct. It had only been raining for a few
hours, and the water had already overwhelmed Dos Hermanos’
rudimentary drainage system.
    “Do you at least remember where you left the
car?” she asked.
    “God, Rose,” he said
quietly, “will you give it a rest?” She was right, of course. At
that particular moment, Ken had no idea where he had parked the
Range Rover. He let his hand steal into his pocket, where his
fingertips found the rubber-and-plastic key ring. Thank God I remember where I put that, he thought, and pinched it with a vicious
cut of his thumbnail. There was a sudden blip of a horn and a flash of lights
off to their right. “There,” he said. “That way.”
    Rose snorted. “Saved by the car alarm,” she
said. “Again.”
    He power-walked to the Range Rover with Rose
close behind. A moment later they were inside and on their way.
     
* * *
     
    The rain, gray and violent
as ever, slapped at the windshield the instant they emerged from
the parking garage. A moment later when he turned north, Ken’s
phone sang at his waist. He glanced at the
screen: it was Maggie. He used the no-hands connection in the car,
pointedly ignoring Rose's roll of the eyes.
    “Hey there,” he said. “We’re just leaving the
Clinic.”
    “We?” came the mellow, amused voice.
    “Rose and me,” he said, and glanced over at
his daughter. She was staring at him with a mixture of disgust and
dismay. He chose to ignore it. “Lisa’s staying overnight for
observation.”
    “Is that necessary?” Rose asked.
    “Understood,” Maggie said. “Alberto’s Towing
and Repo Center left with the remains of the BMW ten minutes ago.
They managed to salvage Rose’ purse from the front seat, but that’s
about all.”
    Ken passed the information along to Rose,
half-shouting to be heard above the rattle of the rainfall on the
Range Rover’s roof.
    “Oh, bitchin ’,” Rose said with false
shallowness. “As long as I have my ATM card and my lip gloss, I am
good to go!”
    Ken ignored her. “We’re going to do some
shopping.” he said into the phone. “Then we’ll get something to
eat. We’ll be home later on.”
    “ Home, ” Rose echoed, sounding vaguely
revolted by the concept. “My god. ”
    Ken shut the phone and put it away.
    “You’re sick,” Rose said.
    “What are you talking about?”
    “You. You and
that…it’s