Page 97 of Last Mile

“Good morning to you.”

“What time is it?” she asked as she stretched her arms above her head.

“Not sure. Power must’ve been out most of the night.”

“That sure was some storm.”

“Yeah, it was.” I cupped her buttocks and squeezed one of the cheeks. “Of course, it was pretty nice riding it out with you riding me.”

Sam grinned. “I would have to say it’s the best way I’ve passed the time with the power out.”

My phone rang on the nightstand, and I reached over to get it.

It was Rev. “Hello?”

“I need you to come up to the clubhouse.”

“What’s shaking?”

“The storm knocked out the security system last night, and I’m a little worried about a security breach.”

“You mean you’re a little paranoid.”

“Smart- ass. Just get up here.”

“Fine. I’ll be there in ten.”

When I hung up, Samantha peered curiously up at me. “Something wrong?”

“Just Rev being a worrywart. He needs me up at the clubhouse,” I replied as I flung off the sheet. “I should probably get ready for work.”

“The bathroom is all yours.” I pulled a T-shirt over my head.

“Come up and say good- bye.”

Samantha smiled. “If I have time, I will.”

“Make time,” I said.

“Okay, Caveman. I will.”

As I hopped into my jeans, I thought about how much I was starting to enjoy her little nickname for me. “See you in a little while.”

She gave me a wave as she went into the bathroom. After heading out of the house, I pounded down the porch steps. Gazing left and right, I checked to see if there was any damage to the compound.

Everything looked pretty good. There were only a few large tree limbs scattered around.

When I got inside the clubhouse, I found Deacon and Rev sit- ting at a table with Boone and Mac. “So you got all the officers out this morning, huh?” I asked as I slid into a chair.

“I got the alerts about the system being down last night, but there was nothing I could do about it in the storm,” Boone said.

“What are we looking at?” I questioned.

“The wired fence along the perimeter was down for the night. It went out even before the power did. The cameras turned off around the time the storm blew in.” Boone sighed. “We were pretty fucking vulnerable for most of the night.”

“I think we each need to take a portion of the property and check for any breaches,” Rev said.

Deacon nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”