Page 61 of Whirlwind

“We’re in it, Finley! We’re in it!”

We make eye contact, but instead of fear or worry in his pale green irises—like the other night, when we were running for our lives—I see only excitement and happiness. He smiles then turns his head, and my gaze follows, both of us watching as the black mass overtakes us completely.

Thor rocks, but the spikes keep us level with the ground, and my heart pounds so hard I swear it’s coming out of my chest. I exhale forcefully. “This is fucking insane!”

Ryker laughs exuberantly as my ears pop again. I bounce my gaze from window to window, trying to take in every moment. Wood, grass, rocks and god-knows-what-else fly in front of the windshield, and more debris hits Thor hard. Thankfully, the armored vehicle only shakes, withstanding the beating it was built to take and keeping us safe.

“Woo-wee!” Ryker hollers as if Joey has overtaken his body for a moment. “This never gets old!”

Thor continues to vibrate, and the sound of the train wails around us. My adrenaline is so high, and my pulse isso fast, I’m now sweating. Before I know it, my eyes start to water. I blink the tears back, and then I feel Ryker pulling at my hand gripping the harness. He grasps it tightly in his.

“You’re in a tornado, Finley!” he yells. “You’re in one!”

I let out a loud laugh as more debris rocks the car, and Ryker chuckles alongside me. I take it all in for another brief moment before the air around us begins to calm, the massive wedge moving on to its next target. It took only a minute or less for it to pass over us.

My ears pop again. Ryker still grips my hand.

I take in several breaths, feeling as if I ran a marathon, and I stare at the small bits of debris and rain that continue to spin around us as the supercell moves further away. The entire time, Ryker and I stay still and silent, held captive by the moment.

When the tornado has traveled into the distance and I can hear the sounds of our breathing again along with the steady beat of the windshield wipers, I squeeze Ryker’s hand back and look at him.

“You did it,” I say. “You fucking did it.”

Ryker’s lips tip into a gentle smile as he brings my hand up to his mouth and kisses my knuckles. “Wedid it.”

I smile back, then he pulls his hand away so he can unbuckle his harness. Once he’s free, he leans over the sensor between us and brushes a tear I didn’t know had fallen off my cheek.

“Are you okay?”

“Never better. That was…beyond words.”

Ryker leans closer so his lips are near mine. “I need to kiss you, Finley. Can I?”

My shallow breaths puff against his lips. “The others could come at any moment.”

“I don’t care. They can watch.”

I chuckle lightly, and he smiles lopsidedly, his mouth nearly touching mine. Instead of answering him, I press my mouth to his. His lips are slightly chapped and rough from the elements,but I don’t care. My mouth opens to him, and his tongue dives in, coaxing me to open further so he can devour me.

I dive my hand into his hair and kiss him as if this is the last kiss I’ll have for the rest of my life. I have no idea what’s going to happen after today, how Ryker and I will be together or make our relationship work, but I don’t care. He’s all I want right now.

“Finley,” he groans between kisses. “I—”

“Hey! Stop sucking face!” a muffled voice yells. “Us sons of bitches did it!”

I jump back from Ryker and meet Joey’s roguish eyes from the driver-side window. He looks windblown and tired but elated.

“Come on, lovebirds!” he yells.

Ryker’s eyes sparkle playfully as his lips quirk up, and I shrug. “You heard the man. Let’s go celebrate.”

He groans, and I huff.

“We can kiss later,” I add.

Without waiting for his response, I unbuckle my harness and hit the button for my door so it lifts up. When I’m outside, I see Ryker’s truck parked behind us with its headlights on. Ezra and Hawk are in front of it sort of hugging, but it’s awkward because Hawk has a computer in one hand.

Ryker steps out of Thor a second later, and Joey embraces him. “You should see this fucking data, T-Daddy. The twister has still got the sensor all up in her! She’s going to carry it for miles.”

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