Loving the Chase (Heart of the Storm #1) (8 page)

“It’s moving southward, slow,” Simon said. “Really slow. Stalling over the Mossy Cove area. There’s rotation there.”

“Shit, we’re almost there,” Zach said, although his speed was down to a crawl. He handed the handheld radio over his shoulder to Maddi. “Hit that button and tell Rudy where we’re going.”

She did, and then another voice made his muscles twitch.

“We have one on the ground, I repeat, on the ground.”

Jonah Boudreau.

“Give me that,” Zach said through his teeth. Maddi held it over the console, and Zach snatched it from her hand. “What’s your location, Jonah?”

There was a pause, and Zach’s patience with the rain dispersed with the knowledge that Jonah was where
he
was supposed to be. He glanced at Simon’s screen, and a perfect rotation danced beautifully.

“Identify,” came Jonah’s voice over the radio.

“You son of a—” Zach cut off his words and pressed the button. “You know who this is, Jonah. What’s your location? We are approximately one mile out of Mossy Cove and it is a full whiteout.”

The telltale sound of hail thwacked against the windows and made a metallic sound against the hood.

“Shit,” Maddi said from the backseat.

“Hope your station’s van has good insurance,” Simon said.

“West side of Mossy Cove,” came Jonah’s curt reply. “Unstable funnel on the ground—it’s bouncing. Best to stay where you are.”

“I’ll bet,” Simon said.

“Oh, my God,” Zach heard Maddi whisper behind him.

“It’s okay,” Hannah said. “We’re fine.”

“Damn it,” Zach said, banging the steering wheel. “We’re not fine, we’re missing it. We’re like sitting ducks here.”

“Still rotating,” Simon said. “Still traveling south—no, south-southwest, we may run right into it.”

“Right into it?” Maddi said, her voice pitching upward. “Are you—do we want to do that?” A gust of wind slammed into the side of the vehicle, making her gasp. “I mean, shit, you can’t see a foot in front of us.”

“Part of it, Maddi,” Zach said. “This is why it’s hard to get where you want to go when this starts.”

She didn’t respond, and the disappointment that was raging
through him gave way to a stab of satisfaction. Maybe for once, she’d
see that it was harder than it sounded. That it was work. That he hadn’t just been out joyriding seven years earlier while the world caved
in around her.

The noise got louder and louder, the wind harder. A piece of plastic siding bounced off his hood, making her suck in an audible breath, and the gust that pushed them afterward nearly made him do the same. He’d felt wheels leave the ground that time, just for a second. That was actually a first.

“Fuck, it’s almost on top of us!” Simon yelled, staring at his screen. That was the only place to see it. To see anything. “Stop!”

“No!” Maddi cried, and through the roar, Zach’s stomach tightened at the fear in her voice.

“I’ve lost visual,” Jonah’s voice said then through the radio.

Zach slammed the vehicle in “Park” and grabbed the receiver. “It’s on us,” he said, throwing the receiver down. A tree limb hit the roof and the anemometer, and he saw money go up in smoke. “Y’all hold on! Maddi?”

He twisted and found her hand, holding on for dear life. She would not be alone this time. His siblings knew how to handle it. She didn’t.

And she didn’t pull away. He felt the bite of her nails digging into his skin, and squeezed tighter. The air around them changed, moved, breathed, as if the solidity of the vehicle was just a farce. His ears popped at the pressure, making the deafening roar even more overwhelming. Maddi’s other hand grabbed his seat like she was hugging it, and she buried her face in the seat, releasing a guttural scream just behind his neck.

The terror in that sound knocked the air from his chest.

“Keep your eyes closed,” he yelled, squeezing her hand tighter. He felt her violent shaking as the vehicle rocked.

“It’s pulling up,” Simon said then through his teeth, still typing madly on his keyboard. “Damn it.”

“What do you have?” Zach asked, his voice sounding cracked and dry.

“Rotation is breaking up,” he responded. “It’s a bust.”

“For us, not Boudreau,” Zach said, his head coming back to reality. “He got it when it was in town. Son of a bitch.”

Maddi let go of his hand, and he had to shake his head free of the need to grab it again. That was crazy. That was bullshit.

The storm was over. There was still rain, but even the hail had been short-lived, and it was lightening up. He was able to see a good twenty yards and to start driving again just in time to see the sign for Mossy Cove come into view.

“What do you mean, it’s a bust?” Maddi exclaimed. Her voice was shaking, and her breathing was labored. “Fuck, we had a damn tornado on top of us. How the hell is that a bust?”

“We got nothing on it,” Hannah said. “No video and possibly no data—Zach, that sounded like one of the cups broke off up there.”

“I know, I heard it,” Zach said.

Like so many weird-ass storms before this one, the rain immediately reduced to a sprinkle. As if the tornado itself sucked the life and the water and everything from the clouds.

“It’s—it’s done?” Maddi asked, her voice sounding strained.

“It’s done,” Zach said, disappointment lacing his voice. “Guess you should have been riding with the Boudreaus today.” And then he wanted to kick himself for putting that out there.

They rolled into town amidst light debris. He’d seen worse. There were tree limbs and a few downed power lines to avoid, but other than that, the few pieces of random debris scattered here and there were nothing on some of the destruction he’d witnessed. He’d seen trees driven through buildings, cars on top of houses, and an entire Holiday Inn wiped from the slab as if it were never there.

As they rounded a corner, they found ground zero. A supermarket with very little roof left; it and the surrounding buildings in a strip mall were mostly destroyed.

“Here we go,” Zach said, pulling in an empty space.

“What are you doing?” Maddi asked.

“Hannah will want to get pictures of something,” he said. “And she’ll find a jewel in this, she always does. In the meantime,” he added, opening the door, “we can walk around and get some information on how it hit. If they had any warning, that kind of thing.”

He opened her door and didn’t back up as she got out and leaned back against the vehicle. Her face was ashen, tear tracks lining her cheeks, eyeliner smeared under her eyes. Fuck. Everything in him wanted to act on something he hadn’t felt in years. Protective.

“Are you okay?” he asked quietly, shoving a hand in his pocket before it did something idiotic like touch her hair or pull her in to comfort her.

The look in her eyes as she looked up at him about brought him to his knees.

Chapter Six

M
addi tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and tried not to react to his nearness, to the wishes that ran through her brain that wanted stupid things like his arms around her. He’d always had the sexiest eyes she’d ever seen on a man, and unfortunately that hadn’t changed. When she saw them land on her shaking hands, she clasped them together.

“I’m fine.” Her voice sounded strong enough, but the fiercely protective vibes coming off him coupled with the look on his face made her breath stick in her throat. Shit. She needed to quit looking at him. Think of something she hated. Mustard. She’d think of mustard.

“Maddi—”

Her knees almost gave way at the catch in his voice. At the immensely personal and familiar sound of her name on his lips. Damn mustard wasn’t doing its job.

“Let’s just do this, Zach. Okay?” she said, her voice barely a whisper as she crossed her arms over her chest. He was so close that the move caused her hands to brush his torso, and for one second, everything went upside down. Maddi shut her eyes tight, knowing it was the wrong time to be so close to him. Her legs were still wobbly from the experience in the truck, and she wasn’t entirely sure her stomach was stable. If she looked him in the eye again, she’d break, and he’d hold her and—hell, no.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and moved away from him, willing her legs to work. She would not show weakness. She would not be another notch on his belt or damsel in distress for him to sweep off her feet. She had a job to do.

“Over there, Zach,” Hannah said, breaking his attention away as she came around the back of the vehicle. “Jonah’s already interviewing.”

Maddi sighed with relief, thankful that Hannah had a job to do, too. Zach turned for a last glance as he walked away, and she purposely held her chin up and followed him at a distance. She would not be weak. She would not be reduced or maneuvered by Zach Chase, the tornado-chasing stairway-fucking dick. Ever again.

Yes
, she thought, her sandals crunching the gravel under her feet.
Keep thinking like this. Write it on a Post-it note. Have cards made. Recite it over coffee every morning.

She followed him toward an elderly woman with dirt all over her, clutching her purse, sitting on a concrete bench.

“Ma’am, do you mind if I talk to you?” he asked, kneeling next to her.

She looked lost and scattered. “No,” she said, her voice small. “I’m waiting for my husband.”

“Is he coming to get you?” he asked. “Was he with you when the tornado hit?”

She shook her head. “He’s at home. I just walked over here to get milk.” She looked him in the eyes and Maddi’s heart twisted. The woman had that look. She remembered seeing it in the mirror. Haunted. Invaded. Betrayed.

“Are you okay?” Maddi asked, moving to sit by her.

“It was like God took the roof off and decided to vacuum,” the lady said. “Everything just—went up.”

“I know what you mean,” Maddi said softly. “I’ve seen that before, myself.”

Zach’s face clouded over, and before anything could be said to go down that road, she jumped into business mode, gesturing to Rudy to come with his little handheld camera.

Zach frowned. “What are you doing?” he said under his breath.

“Catching this,” she said. “Ma’am, do you mind if we ask you some questions on camera?”

He looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “No.”

“Yes.”

“I guess that’s okay,” the woman said, her voice faltering. “I’d ask Henry, but . . .”

Zach shook his head and focused on the woman, his eyes flashing disapproval. “Are you okay?” he reiterated, trying to position himself between the woman and Rudy. “Were you hurt?”

She shook her head. “No. My husband is coming. He has to walk because our car is upside down in the yard.”

“Oh, my God, was
he
hurt?” Maddi asked.

“No, he was in the bathroom,” she said. “But he can’t find my little Dolly.”

“Who’s Dolly?” Zach asked.

“My little dog,” she said, her eyes brimming with tears as if the thought had just registered with her. “My sweet little Dolly.”

“I’ll stay with her,” Hannah said, putting a hand on Zach’s shoulder. “Go do what you need to do.”

“Turn that off,” Zach said to Rudy, getting up. “It’s—”

“It’s what you’re signing up for,” Maddi said, pushing to her feet as well. “What do you think a reality show is, Zach?” she asked, swiping fingers under her eyes, and looking up at him with disdain. “Whatever it takes.”

Whatever it takes
. Zach would be okay with never hearing those words again.

Once upon a time, it was his mantra. Back when rules were meant to be broken and boundaries to be breached. Back before the day he arrived home to dig the woman he loved out from under two stories of rubble, and she’d thrown those words at him repeatedly.

He still lived them to a degree. He still pushed the limits. But those words were less bragging rights now, and more of a concept to live up to. Hearing them from her again just set every nerve in his body on edge, but even as his ire rose, something in her face didn’t match up with what she was saying.

“Rudy,” she said, gesturing. “On Zach in three.”

“Maddi, stop,” Zach said.

“You wanted this,” she said, turning to look him dead-on. “Now jump in there and show the network you can do it.”

“They want reality,” he said under his breath, glancing back at the elderly woman clutching her purse. “This isn’t what we do. We don’t exploit the victims.”

“These shows have nothing to do with reality, Zach,” Maddi said distractedly. “You’re not wired for sound, but we’ll call it a field run,” she added, flipping into business mode. “Rudy, did you get any footage from the tornado?”

“It was running,” he said, wiping his damp face with his shirt. “But I have no idea what it looks like.”

“Good deal,” Maddi said, turning back to Zach. “I have some from inside the car, too.”

“Wait, what?” Zach said. “When did you—”

“From my phone,” she said, patting the pocket of her jeans. “Nothing special, but the rawness of it may work.”

Who the hell was this woman? Zach stared at her, unable to reconcile her busy robotic actions as belonging to the terrified tear-streaked face of just fifteen minutes earlier. The one who had gripped his hand for dear life as the tornado passed over them.

“Rolling,” Rudy said, looking ridiculous behind a handheld camcorder.

Zach stared at him first and then at Maddi, who looked at him expectantly.

“Ask her what you did before,” Maddi whispered as if he needed a prompt. “That was all really good.”

He narrowed his eyes, his gut burning with Eli’s words.
Parade around like show ponies
. . . If making this show proved Eli right, Zach would never hear the end of it.

To hell with that.

He turned his back to Rudy and knelt in front of the woman. “Ma’am, what’s your name?” he asked softly so they wouldn’t hear him.

The woman wiped at her wrinkled face and sniffed. “Beatrice,” she said, her voice thin and wobbly.

Zach squeezed her hands. “Can we give you a ride home, Beatrice? When your husband gets here, of course,” he added.

She looked at him with reddened eyes and nodded. “Yes, probably,” she said on a whisper. “If it’s okay with Henry, that would be very nice—he has a bad back, so—” Her words trailed off as her gaze moved on down the street, looking for Henry.

“I’ll be right back to check on you then,” Zach said, nodding at Hannah. “My sister will sit with you, and bring you home as soon as you’re ready, okay?”

He put the keys in Hannah’s hand and got up and turned, turning Rudy with him as he did, guiding him toward the rubble of a taco stand that had once flanked the side of the supermarket.

“What are you doing?” Maddi said, following behind them as Rudy’s head swiveled back and forth to each of them in turn.

“My job,” Zach said, not stopping. Not caring.

Maddi snorted behind him. “Well, your job is the show right now, and the show is back there with Beatrice.”

Zach wheeled around so fast that both Rudy and Maddi had to grab each other to keep from colliding.

“My
job
is everything you see in front of you,” he said through his teeth. “It’s that building, that woman, that group of kids over there—it’s what you just rode through.” Maddi backed up a step, and Zach had to resist the urge to fill the space. “The show is to follow
us
, not the other way around.”

Her eyes darkened again, her chin coming up in defiance. He remembered that look, even after all these years.

“Well, yes, sir,” she said, her voice dropping to an icy level. “I’ll be sure to remember that.”

Zach shook his head and clenched his jaw as he turned away from her, resuming his pace and not really giving a damn anymore if they followed.

“I’m not trying to be a dick, Maddi, but—”

“But you’re managing it pretty well,” Maddi finished, her steps crunching in the gravel behind him. “Same old same old.”

Zach stopped again, this time continuing to stare ahead of him at what was left of the taco stand. It was beaten and sagging and he was beginning to feel its pain. Slowly, he turned around and held out his arms before letting them drop to his sides. He met her gaze, ice for ice.

“Do tell, Miss Hayes.”

She paused, as if the formality slapped her. “You haven’t changed a bit,” she said, more to herself than to him. “It’s still all about the rush. And you controlling it.”

Zach felt his eyebrows lift on their own. “Controlling it?”

“Um, maybe I’ll go back to the van,” Rudy said, looking from side to side for a clear escape.

“Stay,” Maddi said, laying a hand on Rudy’s shoulder. She gestured to where the old lady sat with Hannah and turned to Zach. “Back there just now, it had to be your way. In the car, it had to be your way, too. Driving straight into it.” She scooped the hair back from her face, most of it falling from the ponytail, the muggy air causing the smaller strands to cling to her.

“That’s what we do,” Zach said, holding out his hands. “You know that.”

“That’s what
you
do,” she amended. “And that’s why Nicole wants you for this show. Not everyone pushes the envelope like you.”

“It’s not about that—”

“It’s totally about that, Zach,” Maddi said, looking incredulous. “You can wax on all you want about all the technical stuff and the weather alerts, but that’s just side candy. This is a TV show. Viewers want that danger, that rush you drive them into.” Her jaw tightened. “And I’m here to provide.”

He stared at her, feeling the heat rise to the surface. “You know there’s more to it than that.”

“Is there?” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “With you, I mean. Do you ever think about all those other things? Or is that just something you let your team worry about while you do what you do best?”

Zach’s blood felt like hot oil rushing through his body. “Don’t pretend to know me now.”

“I don’t have to,” Maddi said, dropping her hair. “It’s all over you.”

He pointed over her shoulder to where they’d come from. “Excuse me, Mother Teresa, who wanted to film an old woman in pain?”

“That’s my job,” she said, color flooding her cheeks and neck. “I’m supposed to catch the emotional cues. I don’t have to like it.”

“Well, it’s my job to catch the storm,” Zach countered. “Not play on people’s bad luck.”

“Please,” Maddi muttered, putting hands on her hips. “Don’t play hero, Zach. I’ve seen your news clips. You’re in it for the glory.”

“And you’re in it for the ratings,” Zach fired back. She wanted to play? He could play, too. “What happened to you, Maddi?” He pointed behind her again. “Did you see her face? That lady just saw her life flash by, and may have very well lost everything.”

Maddi’s eyes filled with tears, stabbing him in a place he hadn’t felt since—oh, ten minutes ago? “I’ve been there,” she said, her words thick and acidic.

“Exactly!” Zach yelled. “You should know how vulnerable she is right now. Where’s your compassion?”

“Where the hell was yours?” she yelled back. Zach flinched at the pain in her voice and the sudden shift in timeline. “I was
vulnerable
and alone because of you. I dealt with that beast by myself.”