Storm Watch (Woodland Creek) (11 page)

“Hell, I should have asked you when we spoke before,” TJ said. “Let me make a call.”

“There is no cell reception here in the house,” Luke said.

“Damn, I’d forgotten that. Alright, I’ll call as soon as I get a signal. Do you two have a plan of action? We’re short on manpower what with this damn storm.”

“My plan is to keep Storm safe,” Luke drawled. “Whatever it takes. The man is a killer—and he’s not getting his hands on Storm. I’ve got Mercedes keeping an eye out. I’ll check in with her if she doesn’t call.”

Storm looked at him. “Do I have any say in this at all?”

Both men looked at her, then, TJ shrugged. “What say do you want?” he asked.

“Well,” she began. “I’d like to know how you plan on stopping him!”

Luke turned and looked at her. “Whatever it takes. If he steps foot on this property, he’s a dead man. It’s as simple as that.”

TJ frowned. “Don’t just shoot him, Luke! The justice system can work. Give it a chance.”

Luke turned on TJ. “You’ve known me for years, TJ. Do you honestly believe I would kill someone in cold blood? But, that being said, he’ll get one chance to leave if he shows up. Then, all bets are off.”

TJ sighed. “Yeah, I guess I can understand that. Does this guy have magic? Is he a shifter or wizard?”

Luke tried to make eye contact with TJ to keep him from mentioning the possibility, but it was too late. Storm looked at him with wide eyes. “Is that possible?” she asked, her voice high.

Luke didn’t groan, but he wanted to. “Thanks, TJ,” he muttered, then turned to Storm. “I don’t know if he has powers or not. But, I’m not ruling the possibility out.”

“Then we need to go! We need to hide. No, wait. I need to hide,” she said. “I hadn’t even thought it remotely possible.”

“No, we’re not running and we’re not hiding. I’m willing to send you somewhere safe—but I’m going nowhere,” he said, with steel in his voice. “Do you want me to send you to a safe house? Hell, I should do that. TJ? Who in town do we trust?”

“No! I’m not leaving you here alone!”

“Then we stay and we fight, if it comes down to that. It’s possible he’ll give up, though.” Even as he said the words, though, he knew it was a lie. Men like Samuels didn’t give up—not when they wanted something. Whether he wanted Storm alive or dead was up in the air.

He didn’t imagine, though, that Samuels would want to kill the mother of his unborn child.

“I’ll set up routine patrols in the area, and check the inn for guests that can’t be explained,” TJ offered.

“Thanks, appreciate it. I think I’ll check in with Arnold James at the Convent. If anyone’s lurking, he’d be the first to know. His sense of smell is even better than mine,” Luke said. “I’m not sure if he’d call you if he spotted someone or just chase them off.”

TJ thought about that for a minute. “Yeah, I’m not either, come to think of it. He’s an ornery old cuss.”

“Should we warn him?” Storm asked. “Or the nuns at the convent?”

TJ and Luke both laughed. “It’s abandoned. The only residents are in the cemetery,” Luke explained. “But we should give Arnold a heads-up.”

“Alright, then, we have a plan,” TJ said. “I spoke with the phone company. They are saying tomorrow or the next day for service to be restored. This storm is damn strange. It wasn’t supposed to last this long.”

Luke looked at Storm pointedly. “Yeah, I think we might be able to remedy that one.”

TJ’s eyes widened as he looked at Storm. “You?”

“Not intentionally!” she cried. “I don’t know why it changes based on my moods!”

“I’m going to work with her. It might be good to see what all she can do. Before coming here, she had no idea she had any abilities at all.”

“
She
is sitting right here,” Storm snapped.

A loud crack of thunder snapped through the air, shaking the house. Luke and TJ both looked at her.

“Yeah, I think we need to work on it,” Luke said dryly, having no doubt at all that that little blast was a blast of her temper. He made a mental note to remember that—just in case she pulled down some lightning to go with it if he irritated her. He looked at her and grinned.

She glared in response. “I didn’t do that!”

He laughed. “Yeah, you did. Now that I think of it, you could be quite useful in a fight.”

Storm put her hands over her face and groaned aloud. “What is happening to me?”

“You’re a wizard, Storm,” Luke explained. “Get used to it.”

While Luke smiled, Storm just sat shaking her head in awe.

T
he next morning, they had a few more answers. The Inn confirmed that they had rented rooms to a group of men who were supposedly on a business trip. Of course, Luke knew better. There was nothing in the town of about three thousand to warrant a group of men arriving. The woman at the Inn had told TJ that the men had arrived the same night Storm had. For now, he was keeping them under watch.

A call to Mercedes confirmed that there was definitely something amiss. She spotted several vehicles that were obviously not from here, as they had New York plates.

Storm had thought she’d had a head-start, but she hadn’t had much of one, obviously. She wasn’t entirely sure why they hadn’t already made a move.

But, the good news was that Samuels didn’t appear to be with them. The Inn had taken copies of the ID of all the men as per their standards, but Samuels was not one of them.

TJ had run all their IDs, but found not one single record among them. Apparently, they all worked for RSI. Luke knew that was the name of one of Samuel’s corporations. Business trip, his ass. They were here to either catch or watch Storm.

They’d just finished breakfast, but Storm had barely said a word. They’d made love and she’d been with him all the way—but still, when they’d finished, she’d curled into a ball and gone to sleep without so much as a ‘Goodnight’.

Just then, they were sitting in front of the fire. “How bout we work on seeing what all your magic can do?” he asked her gently. “It could come in handy if you can call up a storm if we need one.”

Storm looked at him and shrugged. “If you want to.”

“Talk to me, Storm. What’s going through your head, darlin’?” he asked, gently ruffling her curly hair. “I know you’re upset—but I’m not really sure what’s changed since we talked to TJ.”

“I just keep thinking of how much he could hurt you or your friends,” she said quietly. “I wish we could just run. There’d be no reason for them to stay if I wasn’t here.”

It was the same damn argument, and he was getting tired of having it. “I know you’re worried, hon. But, really, you need to trust me. And yourself. We are both going to be just fine.”

“So, how do we work on whatever control I have of the weather?” she asked.

Luke wasn’t a wizard, but his mother had been. He knew a thing or two. “Energy is the central part of magic. Your magic is stronger here because of the ley-lines I already told you about. Wizards draw on the energy.”

“I did make the fire get a bit bigger when I tried.”

He smiled. “See? Just like that—only on a bigger scale with the weather. Apparently, your emotions play a large part for your abilities. Strong emotion lets you control the weather.”

“I hate snow! I certainly wouldn’t have tried to make it.”

He chuckled. “Maybe not. But, that’s where the control comes in. We’ll take it slow and work a little each day. I don’t want you to exhaust yourself,” he said gently, touching her stomach. “How’s the little one?”

Storm smiled and put her hand over his. “She’s fine.”

He grinned at that. “Girl, is it?”

She nodded firmly. “I refuse to have that bastard’s son.”

Luke grew serious. “Storm, that child will never even see Samuels. The only father that little one will know is me.”

Her eyes widened. “You’d take on another man’s child?”

“Why does that surprise you? You know I want you.”

“I know you’re attracted to me, yes. But, there is a huge difference between even a relationship and taking on another man’s unborn child,” she argued.

“We’ll talk, if you want. But, that child is mine.”

She suddenly smiled. “You mean that?”

“Of course!”

“Okay, let’s go play with the weather,” she said. “I think I’m about ready for it to get sunny.”

Luke laughed, sure that the weather would be changing very soon, and that the storm would be breaking.

§§§

Over the next two days, they spent hours talking and working on Storm’s control. She’d gotten very good at calling up a lot of snow—but stopping it was a bit harder for her.

They talked about every topic under the sun. Luke was pleased to discover that they actually had quite a lot in common. They read many of the same authors, liked the same music, and were fantastic in bed. All in all, he was convinced they were a good match.

The worst of the storm was over, but the phones were still out, despite TJ having thought they’d be on by now. Nothing had changed much in town. The men were still at the Inn. Luke decided it wasn’t a great idea for Storm to be seen there—even though they obviously knew where she was. He just wasn’t sure what kind of damage a group of henchmen would do if they felt threatened. Experience told him to err on the side of caution, but perhaps being stuck out here was getting to Storm.

Storm was getting more and more distracted. He knew damn well she was worried Samuels would show up at any second.

Although she always responded when he made love to her, she was more distant in the light of day. He hoped it was just concern about Samuels. He didn’t want to think that she might be second-guessing their relationship. Or his offer to make her unborn child his.

He watched her from the living room as she stood by the sink making lunch. Hell, they needed to get out of the cabin. They’d been cooped up too long. Christmas was only a couple of weeks away.

“Storm?”

She didn’t turn. “Yeah?”

Luke frowned. “Let’s go get a tree today.” Hell, something had to drag her out of this mood.

“If you want,” she said flatly.

Luke stood and walked to the kitchen. He’d had enough of whatever the hell attitude this was. He grabbed her arm in a gentle grip and turned her around. “What the hell—”

He broke off at the look of terror on her face and his anger drained instantly. “God, darlin’, don’t,” he said raggedly. He never wanted to see that look of terror on her face again.

Luke pulled her into his arms tightly. She was stiff, but after a moment relaxed against him. “I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he murmured against her hair. “I’m sorry.”

Storm started to cry. Hard, racking sobs that literally tore at him. He tightened his arms around her. “Talk to me, love. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Storm looked up at him, tears still falling down her face. “I don’t know what to do. The snow has stopped. He’ll come. I know he will.”

“Okay, love. Okay. We’ll check the roads and go make some calls.”

Her eyes widened. “No! We have to run, Luke.”

Though he wanted to offer her comfort, he couldn’t let her get hysterical on him either. “Stop it, Storm. We have to stop him. I’ve got people I trust. I thought we’d settled this.”

“Then go without me,” she said quietly. She pulled free and rubbed the tears off her cheeks.

Luke just didn’t know how to reach her—but he did know one thing for sure. She was going to run. Given the first opportunity, she’d disappear. Again. “We’re going out. Find your coat.”

“Where?”

“To make some calls like I told you. We can eat in town.”

Storm sighed. “Fine.” She walked from the kitchen without a backward glance.

§§§

She was fuming when she walked into the bedroom. Didn’t he understand that they were both in danger? This interlude couldn’t last. The storm was over, he’d come for her now. She knew it. She could
feel
it. Raymond Samuels was pure evil and he was coming for her.

She shivered as she pulled her coat out of his closet. There was no point in arguing with him. He obviously didn’t think there was as much danger as she knew there was. It would be better for them both if she just left when they got in town.