Path of Destruction (Broken Heartland, #2)(27)

He stared at her. Watched every bit of common sense fade right out of her head and watched her morph into an anxiety-ridden fool. Not a fool. If the rumors were true, she’d been through the wringer that night. It had obviously screwed her up. She was scared. Beyond scared. Before he let his nerves get the best of him, he took in a deep breath.

It’s just a thunderstorm.

“Cameron.” He gave her shoulders a firm grip, steadying her sway.

Her eyes were fixed to the screen. She was fixated on the small radar—the swirls of green, yellow, and red swirling around had hypnotized her.

“It’s almost here,” she whispered. “We should get under something. Get in a far corner. There’s no windows down here, right?” Her eyes went on a frantic search of their surroundings.

“Look at me,” he pleaded, dropping his hands to her hips. She didn’t. “Look at me, damn it!”

Her eyes shot to his, and all he could see was fear. He felt something tighten in his chest as he pulled her into his arm, not having a clue what else would calm her down. Maybe if she could feel that he was calm, he could transfer it over.

“We’re okay. It’s just a storm.” He felt the tension in her body start to lessen as she dropped her arms to her side. “We’re in the basement. Safest place we can be.”

As if the universe was trying to totally f*ck up any credibility he had, the school storm sirens went off, blaring at max capacity. She jumped in his arms. His heart and stomach dropped as held on to her. What if she was right? What if a tornado was headed right toward them? There was nothing he could do to stop it. He just needed to keep her calm.

“Oh my god,” she cried out. “I knew it was going to happen again.”

“It’s gonna be okay,” he said as she continued to ramble on. “We’ll wait it out. I’ll keep you safe.”

The sounds of the wind and rain outside were barely audible from where they were, especially with the incessant howl of the warning sirens. His mind wandered to Ella Jane. Was she safe? He was supposed to be protecting her. She was probably in the same panicked state as Cameron.

“You can’t be sure! It’s red, see!” She pointed at a tiny red blip on her screen. She’d already convinced herself that it was really happening. That another massive tornado was headed straight for them.

Coop knew the odds of another EF-4 hitting the area were slim, but his heart rate was still on the climb. The small light bulb hanging in the center of the room they were in flickered, sending her straight off the edge of the emotional cliff she was teetering on.

“No, no, no,” she rambled. “This cannot be happening.”

“Give me that damn thing!” Coop had had enough. He took the phone from her hand shoved it in his pocket. He knew they were in the safest possible place they could be in. Her obsessing over some picture of what was happening was not going to change the situation. “Just try to stay calm. It will be past us in no time.”

“You can’t possibly know that!”

He moved his arms back around her waist and pulled her toward him. He felt bad for yelling at her, but she didn’t seem to listen when he tried reasoning with her like a normal person. Maybe he couldn’t calm her down.

“We’re okay,” he repeated right before a crack of thunder threatened his promise. He couldn’t win. “You’re okay.”

She shook her head. Tears were rolling down her face and he could feel her legs wobbling beneath her. His calming words didn’t seem to be working and it didn’t matter how tightly he was holding her, she was still a nervous wreck. He’d run out of ideas to keep this girl in one piece. She was biting her bottom lip so hard that he knew she was about to draw blood. He’d be damned if he was going to let her hurt herself on top of everything else. She was obviously in enough emotional distress to last her a lifetime.

The lights finally gave out and as the darkness surrounded them he crashed his lips to hers. If she wanted to bite someone’s lip, she could bite his. At least that way he’d be the one in physical pain. He could save her from that.





The alarm was obnoxious and gave her an instant headache. She frowned as she tried to figure out what it meant.

“Ladies and gentlemen, looks like it’s tornado drill time,” Mrs. Griffin announced as students stood and lined up at the door. “Leave your belongings. Make your way in a single-file line to the locker room hall beside the gym.”

Everyone shuffled out of the classroom, desks screeching noisily as they were bumped out of the way.

It’s just a drill.

Wasn’t it?

Surely it was. It was nearly November, though it was storming pretty hard outside.

Following the two guys shoving each other playfully in front of her, she locked eyes with Hayden as he came out of the classroom across from hers. She’d been avoiding him ever since the night he’d caught her at the train tracks. He smirked, likely replaying the memory of the way she’d thrown herself at him so stupidly a few weeks ago before her dad had interrupted.

She bit her lip and avoided his gaze.

The hallway became even more crowded the closer they got to the designated shelter areas. Unlike her high school, this one had an actual storm shelter built beneath the gymnasium and auditorium. The locker rooms were down there so that the space was doubly useful. As she descended the stairs while shoulder-to-shoulder with the students beside her, her nostrils were assaulted by the stench of stale sweat and body odor. She didn’t know if it was from the locker rooms or the people around her. What she did know was that, the moment they packed themselves like cattle into the tight hallways, she felt Hayden Prescott’s breath on her neck.