After the Storm (KGI #8)(35)

“On it,” Swanny said.

There was rustling in the back and a few moments later Swanny said, “Got ’em. Looks like you have four.”

He handed two up to Joe and kept the others.

“Careful, man,” Joe murmured. “Keep it on the road. We aren’t going to be of any help to them if you wrap your truck around a tree.”

Donovan eased off on the accelerator, knowing his brother was right. But it didn’t quell the urgency he had to get to Eve and her siblings. Damn it, but he should have never walked away. He knew in his gut it was the wrong thing to do, but he’d consoled himself with the fact that he and Maren would be returning the next morning. He just hoped to hell his hesitation hadn’t cost them their lives.

“Christ, it’s a mess,” Donovan said as he dodged a fallen tree.

The entire way, he could see no sign of power in any of the houses they passed. But he hadn’t seen complete destruction either, something that bolstered his hopes that the trailer hadn’t been demolished.

But as he got closer to the road where Eve’s trailer was, the worse the damage was. Treetops torn off. Debris everywhere. As soon as he turned onto the road, he knew it was going to be bad. The very first house, well, it wasn’t even a house any longer. Only the foundation remained. And oddly, the furniture still sat where it had been situated inside the house. But the walls and roof were gone. He hoped like hell that no one had been inside when the storm struck or that they at least had a basement to seek shelter in.

“Did the rest of your team check in, Joe?”

Unease gripped him. Skylar and Edge roomed together in a house they shared rent on, but Donovan had no idea if they had a basement. Nathan, Joe and Swanny had helped their teammates move in but Donovan had never been to their house, a fact he now lamented.

“Yeah, they’re good. Tornado didn’t touch them. They barely even got any rain,” Joe said.

“Did Steele check in?” Swanny asked.

“Yeah. He and Maren and the baby are fine. Maren gave him shit about them sleeping in the basement, but I’m guessing she won’t be complaining in the future.”

Donovan braked hard, swerving into the ditch, curses blistering his lips. Fuck, that was close.

“Holy shit, that was a near miss,” Joe breathed.

A huge tree was lying crossways over the road, preventing a vehicle from passing. No way around it or over it. They were going to have to go the rest of the way on foot.

“Let’s go,” he said grimly.

Grabbing the flashlight and his medic bag from the seat, he climbed out and set out at a brisk pace, climbing over the downed tree and shining his light down the road.

There was shit everywhere. Limbs, shingles, even a badly misshapen door. And a suitcase?

“Grab that, Joe,” Donovan directed.

“It’s full,” Joe said as he hoisted it up.

“Put it to the side where we can find it. I’m sure it belongs to someone on this road.”

Donovan broke into a jog, rounding the corner to where Eve’s trailer was located. The sky was starting to lighten just enough that Donovan could see where the trailer was. Or rather used to be.

He sucked in his breath. “Oh no. God no.”

It was gone. A depressed area of grass where it had rested was the only indication that it had ever been there at all.

“Eve!” he shouted hoarsely as he ran forward. “Eve! Where are you? Are you here? Are you all right?”

“Holy shit,” Swanny said in awe. “It looks like a bomb went off.”

“Spread out,” Donovan snapped, not wanting to hear the fatalistic tone in Swanny’s words. He wouldn’t entertain that Eve, Travis and Cammie could be dead. They had to have survived. Donovan couldn’t live with himself with their blood on his hands. “Look everywhere, and I mean everywhere. If we don’t find them in short order, I’m calling in backup. I’ll get everyone out here looking until we find them.”

They fanned out, each going in a different direction. The trailer had been surrounded by woods on three sides, and across the dirt and gravel road was another home. Strangely, it appeared to be untouched, but then there was no rhyme or reason to the path of a tornado. Hell, he’d witnessed tornadoes that dipped down, took out one house then lifted and left the others next to it untouched. Discriminating, fickle, unpredictable bastards.

Donovan stumbled over a limb lying across the driveway that went over the culvert and nearly went down on one knee. He was picking himself back up, adjusting the flashlight to shine in the direction of where the trailer used to be when he heard a low sob.

He froze, straining to pick up the sound once more. He hadn’t imagined it.

“Eve? Cammie? Travis? It’s Donovan Kelly. Can you hear me?”

“You got something, Van?” Swanny asked from several feet away.

Donovan held up a hand to silence Swanny. But he heard nothing further.

“I heard something,” Donovan said. “I didn’t imagine it.”

Joe hurried over and then looked down the ditch to where the water had already mostly drained off. Then his gaze flickered to the culvert they were standing over.

He and Joe must have had the same idea at the same time. They both scrambled down the ditch, Joe holding the flashlight to illuminate Donovan’s path.