Page 24 of Storm

I slam on my brakes, ignoring the horn blaring behind me. Waving at the driver in apology, I quickly pull over and shove the gear into park. “What the hell do you mean he’s hunting Miriam? Jesus Christ, Tate. He needs to leave her alone!”

“I fucking KNOW, Kevin. Why the fuck do you think I’m calling you? He’s been sneaking out almost every night with his damn military bag. He’s exhausted all the time, mumbling to himself, and hasn’t shown up for his appointments the last three days.”

Ezra is a wilderness guide for hikers, which is probably the only job he’d be capable of holding down right now. Not that he’s incapable of hard work, but that guy needs to be outside in his element. Anything else would have him feeling like a caged animal.

Tatum shared a bit of what they experienced while deployed overseas, but not everything was his to share with regard to Ezra.

“You need to rein him in, Tate. No one needs to deal with Ezra unhinged, especially that woman.”

A text buzzes through and after a quick glance, I read Richard’s text asking how far out I am. As I type out something quickly, I listen to Tatum as he furiously bites back at me.

“I have a full-time fucking job. I can’t watch him all the time. Can you put one of your guys on him? Someone who won’t be obvious? He can sniff out a tail easily, so they’ll have to be good. I just need to know if he’s following her.”

“I’m not going to use city funding to pay someone to keep your buddy out of jail on stalking charges.” My lip curls in anger, and I slam the palm of my hand on my steering wheel.

Just as heated, Tatum lays into me. “Thanks for your help, Cap.” Our call disconnects when he hangs up without ending the conversation.

“Fucking hell, Ez.”

I debate whether I should reach out to Susanna or her guys to get in touch with Miriam to give her a head’s up, but decide against it quickly. He’s not a threat to her, he’s just interested. Normally I wouldn’t think this way, but I’ve known Ezra a long time and am confident he’ll only watch her a bit until something else, orsomeoneelse, draws his attention away.

There’s a reason we have these weekends together, and this is one of them.

CHAPTER 11

MIRIAM

“Bonnie, do you think you’re ready to start heading into the bedroom for a shower? I’ll be right behind you to help you out if you’d like.”

Checking my watch, I realize that I’ve been waiting on her to finish her dinner for the last forty-five minutes and if I’m going to get to my classes tonight, there’s no way I’ll have time to get her finished and ready for the night nurse. Bonnie is my last patient of the day, and while she’s my favorite, she tends to be a bit uncooperative at times.

“Miriam, dear. I showered yesterday. I haven’t done a dang thing all day but lie around and watch my soaps.” She waves me off and slurps at her soup spoon.

Frowning, I check her chart, but there’s no mention of it from yesterday’s evening nurse. “Let me just double check. You need something else to drink?”

“No,” she insists, covering her glass with her hand. “I’ll be up all damn night in the bathroom.”

I quickly text the group messaging app we have between all the evening nurses, tagging Katie to ask if she gave Mrs. Woodsen a shower. Thankfully, Katie responds quickly, apologizing for not noting it in Bonnie’s file.

“Well, you’re in luck, Bonnie. No shower for you tonight!” I feel bad for doubting her, but her memory isn’t the greatest, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that she’d lie to get out of doing something she has no interest in. Bonnie hates showering.

“Told you, dear,” she mumbles through a mouthful of bread.

I finish up the dishes and wait until my relief shows up. Bonnie’s family has our company here twenty-four hours a day because she’s a fall hazard and tends to go overboard with medication. She’s paranoid about missing a dose, so instead of checking, she’ll just take random ones. The last time, it put her in the hospital with a dangerously low blood pressure and a stomach ulcer. Hence why her family arranged for us to be here all the time.

Turnover with Nia goes smoothly, so I rush to the bus stop with only minutes to spare. Shoving my knit cap on to ward off the snow flurries, I wrap my scarf around my neck to keep the wind from stinging my skin. If I miss the bus, I’ll never make it to the school’s campus.

Fuck, it’s cold outside.

Ever since we got hit with that snowstorm, the temperatures have bottomed out and it’s as if winter reared its ugly head an entire month early.

Standing next to the bench, I huddle in the corner under the metal roof to wait. I blow into my hands to warm them. I should have dried them fully before leaving Bonnie’s after washing her dishes, because this freezing air is making my fingers burn from the cold.

A different kind of chill sets the tiny hairs at the back of my neck on end, and I look around the darkened street to see if someone is nearby. It’s not too late, but the sun sets so early now and we just had a time change, so it’s practically black out by six in the evening.

My body is aching this evening, and I don’t like being alone out here. I’ve been dragging ass for the last week, even falling asleep during a few classes. Nothing has been helping either.

Growing up, I was able to function on minimal sleep hours to stay on top of homework while taking care of the boys. Must be the winter hitting so much earlier. After checking my watch, I look down the street to see if the bus is anywhere in sight, but there’s nothing.

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