Taking Passion by Storm Read Online Free PDF

many people who loved him and were looking for him.
Each time she drifted off to sleep, her dreams were vivid and frightening. By
the time she decided to get out of bed and take a shower, she was beyond tired.
It didn’t matter. Trying to sleep anymore tonight was pointless. It was time to
get ready.
    Nadine
checked her backpack three times before Addison buzzed downstairs. She took one
quick look around her apartment and left. The office already had a key, and
someone had emailed her back saying they would keep her mail and check the
apartment periodically. She turned off her phone and packed it away. The next
time she’d be able to use it would be inside the bunker. She had nothing left
to take care of.
    Addison
was dressed in gear that looked fit for a ski slope, as she’d expected. It was
March by the calendar, but the temperatures in the underground cities were kept
at a constant seventy-two degrees during the day and fifty-eight degrees at
night. She had no idea what the surface would be like.
    Gina
had told her to dress for cold weather, so she wore a ski parka and ski pants,
but hadn’t put on her gloves yet. He smiled at her, his gaze traveling lazily
over her clothing and then her face. She didn’t miss the admiration in his
eyes, and wished she could do something about that, but this wasn’t the time to
allow memories to surface again or to decide to fight them. She had a job to
do.
    “ Are you ready?” he asked.
    “ Yes.”
    “ All right. Let’s go then. The nearest air lock is
about ten minutes north of here. Gina, Suzanne, and Lee are already there.”
    Gina
had explained that the surface could be reached by a series of viaducts,
protected by air locks, at various checkpoints around the city. Addison had
procured clearance for her in record time, but the others already had papers
and were allowed travel back and forth. She didn’t expect any problems since
she was with Addison.
    She
met Lee and Suzanne for the first time once she and Addison reached the
viaduct. Both, plus Gina, talked excitedly, like they were embarking on a
vacation instead of a rescue mission. They lived for this, and while that was a
foreign concept to Nadine, right now she was grateful for their enthusiasm
because it meant they wouldn’t stop until her father was found.
    They
presented their papers to the guards, and then walked single file through a
series of air locks. Addison was in front of her, and the others were behind.
After she climbed endless stairs and swallowed multiple times as the air
pressure changed in each lock, she finally caught a glimpse of sunlight—real
sunlight for the first time in seven years. She emerged into fresh air and
stood next to Addison, glancing around, as the others came up behind them.
    The
constant howling wind noise she’d been warned about was more sinister than
she’d been imagining. She moved closer to Addison out of instinct, and he gave
her a sympathetic look.
    “It’s
horrible, isn’t?” he asked quietly.
    She
nodded. Seattle was nothing more than scattered piles of rubble that she
imagined used to be buildings which hadn’t yet been swept away by water or
wind. Most of the trees were gone, and as a consequence it took her a few
moments to breathe normally. The air here was thin. That was the best way she
could describe it in her mind.
    It
smelled the same as she remembered, and it was cool and crisp, as it would have
normally been this time of year. She glanced up at the sky. A thin layer of
clouds covered the sun, and they moved and shifted with lightning speed as she
watched.
    “ There’s no way to predict them any longer,” said Gina,
pulling a laptop out of her backpack. “Yes, I know I told you not to carry one,
but I’m used to it.” She clicked a few times, then smiled. “Satellites are
accessible today. We’re in luck. They’re hit and miss, and sometimes we lose
the radar images completely. Then we simply go on instinct and use our