Taking Passion by Storm Read Online Free PDF Page B

common
sense.”
    Nadine
couldn’t wrap her head around this yet, so instead she turned in a slow circle
to survey the landscape around her. Nothing was familiar, and yet it was. The
mountain ranges that used to ring the city were still there, but the glacier
cap on Mt. Rainier was gone, and the entire ranges on both sides had a
flattened look to them, as if someone had come along and simply sliced the tops
off the mountains.
    “ There are thousands of caves in the mountains now,”
said Addison. “They were found after the massive flooding in this area about
five years ago finally receded. We’ve all talked about this at length, and our
guess is that Dixon is holed up in one of them. It’s unlikely the storm carried
him away from this general area.”
    She
swallowed hard at the image of that. “How do you know that?”
    “ It wasn’t a very large tornado.”
    Nadine
nodded. “So the other Storm Trooper team is searching for him in the same
area?”
    Addison
pointed toward the east. “They’re searching what’s left of the North Cascades.”
Addison turned around and swept his hand toward the west. “We’re braving the
new coastline for the Pacific Ocean and searching the Olympic Mountains.”
    She
swallowed hard again. “How close is the coast now?”
    “ Right on the edge of them.” He scanned the group.
“Let’s get to the bunker.” Addison fixed her with a serious gaze. “Remember
rule number one. If we tell you to run, you run. Don’t hesitate, don’t ask
questions, and keep your eyes on us at all times. Okay?”
    What the fuck am I doing here? “Okay.”
     

Chapter
Four
     
    They
had been walking about forty-five minutes when the clouds built once more time.
It had happened so often during their short time up here that Nadine paid no
attention until Gina stopped and swore under her breath as she glanced at her
laptop. “This one’s for real, gang.” She had her backpack off and was shoving
her computer inside it before Nadine could process what she’d just said.
    Nadine
watched the others scan the horizon, and then Alesia pointed toward an
outcropping of rocks. “There’s a cave in there!” she shouted. “It’s our best
chance!”
    Addison
grabbed her hand. “ Run .”
    She
clung to his hand, her own growing so damp she was afraid she’d lose her grip
as her lungs burned and her legs turned to jelly. The sky grew so dark it
looked like twilight instead of morning. She didn’t dare glance up. She knew if
she did she’d never be able to keep going.
    Addison
squeezed her hand tighter, and she fought to hang on. She could hear the wind,
louder now, and tried not to whimper out loud but was certain she had. Was this
what her father had been doing when he’d been caught up in the storm? Why had
the others made it inside a shelter that day but not him? What had really
happened? Would she ever find out?
    The
rocks were directly in front of them, but Nadine had trouble processing that
because she was too busy swallowing as the air pressure dropped. She felt the
pull from the updraft behind them, and knew a funnel was on the ground and
close. She didn’t need Gina’s radar to tell her that.
    Suzanne
slipped inside an opening in the rocks that at first Nadine didn’t even see.
Lee and moved behind her and Addison. “Do you see it?” he shouted. She could
barely hear Lee’s voice over the wind.
    “ Got it!” answered Addison.
    She
didn’t say anything. She merely followed Addison. Lee was right behind them as
they slipped into near-darkness, and Nadine almost fell as Addison pulled her
to the ground and scooted against a wall of rock with her. “You’re okay.”
    Suzanne
lit a lantern, and only then did Nadine dare to glance around. They were
sitting in a circle, in a cave with a low ceiling and a dirt-covered floor. No
one moved or spoke. They listened to the wind howling outside, and she
desperately wanted to cover her ears and close her eyes, but she didn’t want to
look foolish