Every Storm Read Online Free PDF Page B

hadn't come to the beach much. The trees, even with the bugs and reptiles, had felt safer.
    Not even noticing the ship they were headed toward, Lorri climbed into the lifeboat and sat down, her heart thundering. A moment of panic filled her and she looked back at the island. She moved a little and found her wrist manacled in the lieutenant's
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    hand. Looking from her wrist to his face, she didn't realize that he'd been watching her closely.
    "We have to go to the boat now." His voice was calm again.
    Lorri nodded but couldn't control the trembling that had started. She reclaimed her wrist and folded her arms tightly over her chest. It was a hot day, almost noon, but she felt so cold inside that her teeth chattered. And again, her eyes went to the island. She wasn't going to jump in the water and swim back, but for more reasons than she could name, she couldn't take her eyes from that small strip of land.
    And small it was! The farther the raft went from shore, the more she realized how tiny it was. It had become her world. She knew every inch of it. It had never felt small to her until this very moment.
    "All right, Miss Archer," Rigg was saying. "Do you think you can manage this ladder?"
    They were at the boat! Lorri was so startled that for a moment she only stared at it. If she had thought the island tiny, she knew not what to think of this PT boat. It was one of the smallest crafts in the war, and she couldn't help but wonder where everyone lived and slept.
    "Can you manage it?" The question was asked again, and Lorri mentally shook herself.
    "Yes," she whispered, hoping it was true. She did not wish to be carried on board.
    She was given no time to think or look around. She climbed the ladder, only glad she was able to accomplish it, and then found her upper arm in the lieutenant's grasp as she was led to an open space on the deck. The men were lined up.
    "Miss Archer," he began. "The men are lined up to meet you. They will step forward and introduce themselves."
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    Lorri looked at each man as he stepped out of formation, stated his name and rank, and then moved back into line. Lorri had met a few of them already, and even though she concentrated on each one, she knew she would never remember all the names she'd just heard.
    "Thank you, gentlemen." Rigg's voice was at its most commanding. "Now I'll remind you again. For however many days Miss Archer is with us, you will keep your distance. Some of you will have business with her; most of you will not. Any man caught fraternizing with our guest will answer to me. Dismissed to get underway."
    The men fell instantly out of formation to scatter in all directions, and Lionel was suddenly there.
    "I'll show you below, Miss Lorri."
    "Thank you." She almost smiled at his familiar face, but feeling as though she'd just been swept from one surreal world to the next, Lorri only followed him down the narrow steps to the passage below.
    "This is the galley," Lionel said from the incredibly tight space of the passageway, the throb of the engines all around them, as he forced himself not to look at Lorri's vulnerable face. "You'll take your meals in here in the officer's mess." Lionel indicated the table. "Ellis will tell you when."
    Lorri looked up at the cook, who nodded at her, his expression open.
    "Right this way is your cabin. Lieutenant Riggs will be in here with you, but you'll have privacy behind this sheet. Ensign Westland may need to stop in now and again to retrieve something, but they'll both give you as much privacy as you need."
    "Thank you." Lorri uttered the first words that had come from her mouth since boarding the vessel.
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    Rigg chose that moment to see how the tour was going, and as he did, put Lorri's small bundle of clothes on his bed in his cabin. His bed was not built into the wall but was actually in the room, next to a small desk. He then moved into the passageway where he listened to Lionel.
    "And right here is the officer's head."
    Lionel