Page 116 of Oklahoma Storms
I know. Ruka knows.
The paranormal world knows.
One-hundred people died, and countless are missing. The town was torn to its foundation, flattening most homes.
They are calling it The Route 99 Tornado.
And the violence is catastrophic.
“I’m a vampire!” Ruka runs full speed, a blur around what used to be where we lived.
All that’s left is foundation.
And my mom’s care package. Of course, out of everything, it survived. I blow out a breath when I think about how happy I am that I have this in my arms. I touch the tattered label, waterlogged and torn.
“At least he is taking that well,” Oklahoma tugs me close by the belt loop. “I was worried. He didn’t wake up for so long. I didn’t think he’d make it.” His touch grazes the side of my neck when he moves my hair over my other shoulder.
I never thought I’d feel him again.
My chest hitches when the emotion becomes too strong to keep locked inside.
“It’s okay, Sugar. Hey, look at me.” He takes the box out of my arms and grabs onto the curve of my shoulder, his thumb gliding under my chin. “It’s okay to not be okay. That was scary, and it changed your life. You’ll live forever. You died. Process it how you need to process it.”
I lean into him, loving that I know I’ll get to be with him for all eternity. I’ll miss the urgency to live life to the fullest because time was short. Now, I have all the time in the world, and that’s new for me.
I’m happy Oklahoma turned Ruka. There’s no way in hell I’d survive the loss of him.
“Did we ever figure out who that woman was?” I ask him, watching my brother discover every ability he has.
“Lorcan said he’s taking care of it. He said she is part phoenix and she will be reborn, but she won’t be coming back here. He assured me of that.”
“It’s just sad. She died not knowing where he was. Whoever he is, I hope he knows how hard she tried to get to him.”
“I’d do that for you,” he says. “I’d chase every storm if it led to you.”
“You hate storms,” I remind him.
“Yeah, but I love you. And that trumps any storm on any given day.”
I tug his shirt and press my lips against his, sighing at finally feeling his kiss. It’s been since yesterday. We were all too busy making sure everyone was okay.
All of our people are.
Millie, Jess, Reina, Westin, and Jazz all made it back to the ranch. A few people from the bar didn’t make it. The tornado flattened it as expected. The basement protected a lot of people; some were just not very lucky compared to others.
“There’s my girl,” Oklahoma whispers.
I smile up at him and turn on my camera, wanting to see what I managed to grab before…before.
The screen is cracked, and I’ll need a new lens, but somehow, this camera lived. Pressing the button, I click through the images I have.
Old pictures of the team come up. A group photo of us high-fiving each other at the same time and jumping in the air, yelling, “Let’s chase!”
A little cheesy, but we all love it.
The images I took of the storm appear, and I’m blown away by the super cell. I trace the bolt of lightning from one edge of the screen to the other, the electricity veining through the clouds.
The clouds. A sinister black with deep plum edges. The inside lit up pink with every crack of lightning.
