Eye of the Storm Read Online Free PDF Page A

from the bed.
    When driving rain shattered the window, Marcy dived under the bed, crying out in terror. For a long time she stayed burrowed in a blanket there and prayed for deliverance from this hell. For someone, anyone to share it with her. Another window shattered, on the other side of the room that seemed to grow smaller with every crashing piece of debris that attacked. She dragged her blanket to the farthest corner from the creaking windows, closed her eyes against Nature’s onslaught, and prayed for Sam.
    * * * * *
    Raindrops driving into his flesh like tiny needles, Sam lashed down the Lucky Lady and made for the relative safety of the Flying Fisherman Marina. Once inside, he shook off the worst of the water, blinked and searched the crowd of soaked, disheveled wedding guests.
    No Marcy. He’d have sworn he saw her leaving the grotto with the others. He assumed she’d taken the resort’s motor launch or one of the other guests’ boats. But she was nowhere to be found. Ileana stood trembling in Josh’s arms near an inside wall of the sturdy cement block building.
    “Where’s Marcy?” he asked, his teeth chattering as he joined them.
    Ileana’s dark eyes widened. “Didn’t she come with you?”
    “No.” He’d have been the last guy on Earth she’d have willingly hitched a ride with. Sam’s gut clenched. Surely she hadn’t waited for the ferry that wouldn’t be making its twice-daily trip today. “You haven’t seen her?”
    “She gave us her best wishes, then said she was going back to the grotto. I assumed she was looking for you.” She paused, her full lips curling in a nervous little smile. “That she’d wait until we’d left, then take that as an excuse to ride in with you.”
    “Hardly. I’d be the last guy she’d want to hitch a ride with.” Then it struck him. Marcy was out on Cabbage Key, alone, with Hurricane Kellen bearing down. “I’ll go back and get her.”
    Ileana reached out and clasped his hand. “My God, we should have evacuated yesterday. If I hadn’t insisted on having the wedding go on as scheduled, Marcy wouldn’t—”
    “Don’t worry, I’ll get her.” Sam squeezed Ileana’s hand, hoping to reassure her.
    “Don’t, Sam. Let the resort manager go. It’s his job.”
    “No time. And the launch might capsize. My boat’s built for heavy seas.” Not that he’d ever taken her out before during a hurricane. But never before had he had such a compelling reason.
    Hanging onto posts along the weathered pier when the wind threatened to blow him into the water, Sam made it back to the Lucky Lady , fired up both motors, and cast off. Five-foot waves broke against the sturdy fiberglass hull, soaking the deck and making the boat lurch slowly ahead.
    He could use help. Not able to work the marine radio and hold the boat on course in the heavy waves—no Coast Guard ship could make its way through the narrow, shallow corridor anyhow—he pulled out his cell phone. He barely managed to dial 911 before the boat rode a wave then slammed down, wrenching the phone from his hand and slamming it into the deck.
    Shit, he wouldn’t be calling anyone now. The phone popped apart on impact, its pieces scattering across the deck and bouncing crazily every time the boat rode a wave, then careened back into the murky water.
    The noon sky was black with clouds, backlit by a struggling sun and lightning bolts that cast an eerie orange on the eastern horizon. Thunder clapped, its noise deafening. Sam clutched the wheel, his knuckles white as he struggled to hold the boat on course for Cabbage Key.
    Stubborn, willful Marcy. Leave it to her to ignore Nature’s warnings, get herself marooned on a barrier key while a hurricane raged around her. When he got his hands on her, he’d shake her until her teeth rattled. Spank her until she begged for mercy. Then he’d drag her foolish ass back to the mainland and wash his hands of her for good.
    Who the fuck was he kidding? If he found her in