Something Beautiful Part 13

"No!"

He wasn't convinced. "You don't have to do drugs to sell them. The best dealers don't."

"We're not drug dealers or smugglers or whatever the current term is."

Reyes pulled onto the shoulder beside the flooded Charger. Water and debris sloshed into the open windows. "That's going to cost a lot to repair. How is he going to pay for it?"

"He and his dad share a love for old cars."

"Restoration project for father-son bonding? All paid for with dad's money?"

"They didn't need to bond. He's very close with his parents. He was a good kid, and he's an even better man. Yes, they have money, but he has a job. He supports himself."

Reyes glared down at me. He was just ... ma.s.sive. Still, I had nothing to hide, and I wouldn't let him intimidate me.

"He works at a bank," I snapped. "Do you really think I'm hiding drugs in this bag?"

"You've been holding on to it like it's made of gold."

"It's his! It's the only thing I have of him besides that drowned car!" Tears burned in my eyes as the realization of what I'd just said formed a lump in my throat.

Reyes waited.

I pressed my lips together and then tore at the zipper, yanking at it until it opened. I pulled out the first thing I grabbed, which was one of Shepley's s.h.i.+rts. It was his favorite, a dark gray Eastern State tee. I held it to my chest, instantly breaking down.

"America ... don't ... don't cry." Reyes looked half disgusted and half uncomfortable, trying to look anywhere else but me. "This is awkward."

I pulled out another s.h.i.+rt and then a pair of shorts. As I unrolled them, a small box fell back into the backpack.

"What was that?" Reyes said in an accusatory tone.

I dug in the bag and fished out the box, holding it up with a huge grin. "It's the ... this is the ring he bought. He brought it." I sucked in a ragged breath, my expression crumbling. "He was going to propose."

Reyes smiled. "Thank you."

"For what?" I said, opening the box.

"Not transporting drugs. I would have hated to arrest you."

"You're a jerk," I said, wiping my eyes.

"I know." He rolled down his window to flag down another officer.

With the help of the National Guard, the turnpike had been cleared, and traffic was running smoothly again, but as the sun began its descent, another set of dark clouds started to form on the horizon.

"That looks ominous," I said.

"I think we've already experienced ominous."

I frowned, feeling impatient. "We have to find Shepley before dark."

"Working on it." He nodded to an approaching officer. "Landers!"

"How's it going?" Landers said.

With him standing next to Reyes's window, even in a cruiser, I felt like we were being pulled over, and any minute, Landers would ask Reyes if he knew how fast he was going.

"I have a little girl in my car-"

"Little girl?" I hissed.

He sighed. "I have a young woman in my car who's looking for her boyfriend. They took shelter under that overpa.s.s when the tornado hit."

Landers leaned down, giving me a once-over. "She's lucky. Not all of them made it."

"Like who?" I asked, bending just enough to get a better look.

"I'm not sure. Can you believe one guy was thrown a quarter of a mile and ran all the way back to the turnpike, searching for someone? He was covered in mud. Looked like a melted candy bar."

"Was he alone? Do you remember his name?" I asked.

Landers shook his head, still chuckling at his own joke. "Something weird."

"Shepley?" Reyes asked.

"Maybe," Landers said.

"Was he hurt? What was he wearing? Early twenties? Hazel eyes?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, ma'am. It's been a long day," Landers said, standing up.

All I could see of him then was his midsection.

Reyes looked up at him. "C'mon, Justin. She's been looking for him for hours. She watched him get sucked out by a d.a.m.n tornado."

"He had a significant laceration on his shoulder, but he'll live if the fire chief can talk him into getting it taken care of. He was h.e.l.l-bent on finding his, um ... how did he put it? Epically beautiful girlfriend." Landers paused and then leaned down. "America?"

My eyes widened, and my mouth fell open into a gaping smile. "Yes! That's my name! He was here? Looking for me? Do you know where he went?"

"To the hospital ... to look for you," Landers said, tipping his hat. "Good luck, ma'am."

"Reyes!" I said, grabbing his arm.

He nodded once as he flipped on his lights, and then he threw the gear into drive. We bounced as the cruiser crossed the median, and then Reyes pressed a heavy foot on the gas, barreling down the turnpike toward Emporia ... and Shepley.

Shepley The nurse shook her head, dabbing a cut on my ear with a cotton ball. "You're lucky." She blinked her long eyelashes and then reached behind her for something sitting on the silver tray next to my stretcher.

The ER was full. The rooms were only available for the more urgent cases. Triage had been set up in the waiting room, and I'd waited for over an hour before a nurse finally called my name and escorted me to a stretcher in the hall where I'd waited for another hour.

"I can't believe you were going to walk out of here."

"It's getting late. I have to find America before dark."

The nurse smiled. She was a tiny little thing. I'd thought she was fresh out of nursing school until she opened her mouth. She reminded me a lot of America-tough, confident, and would accept zero percent of s.h.i.+t anyone might give her.

"I told you. I looked," she said. "America is in the system, which means she's been seen here. She's probably out looking for you. Stay put. She'll come back."

I frowned. "That doesn't make me feel better"-I looked down at her badge-"Brandi."

She smirked. "No, but getting these wounds flushed will. Keep this clean and dry. You'll have a small nip gone from your ear."

"Fabulous," I murmured.

"You're the one who took shelter under an overpa.s.s. Don't you know anything? That's worse than standing in an open field. When a tornado goes over a bridge, it increases the wind velocity."

"Did they teach you that in nursing school?" I asked.

"This is Tornado Alley. If you don't know the rules already, you'll be eager to learn after the first tornado season."

"I can see why."

She breathed out a laugh. "Consider the ear bragging rights. Not many people can say they've taken a trip in a tornado and lived to tell about it."

"I don't think they'll be impressed by a chipped ear."

"If you're wis.h.i.+ng for a gnarly scar, you'll have one," she said, pointing to my shoulder.

I looked down at the white bandage and tape on my shoulder and then behind me toward the door. "If she's not here in fifteen minutes, I'm going back out to look for her."

"I can't get your discharge papers ready in-"

"Fifteen minutes," I said.

She was unimpressed with my demand. "Listen, princess, if you haven't noticed, I'm busy. She'll be here. We've got another storm coming in anyway, and-"

I stiffened. "What? When?"

She shrugged, looking to the mounted television in the waiting room. People of all ages-all soaked with rainwater, filthy, and scared-stood, wrapped in hospital-issued wool blankets. They began to crowd around the screen. A meteorologist was standing in front of a radar moving a few inches at a time. A large red blob surrounded by yellows and greens crept up to Emporia's city limits, and then it started over, stuck in a loop.

"It's going to swallow us up and spit us out," Brandi said.

My eyebrows pulled in as the panic swelled in my chest. "She's still out there. I don't even know where to look."

"Shepley," Brandi said, grabbing my chin and forcing me to face her, "stay put. If she comes back here and finds out you've left, what do you think she's going to do?" When I didn't answer, she let go of my chin, disgusted. "Do the same thing you would. Go looking for you. This is the safest place for her, and if you stay here, she'll find her way back."

I gripped the edge of the stretcher, squeezing the plastic-covered cus.h.i.+on in my fist, while Brandi carefully slid a scrub top over my head. She helped me slip my arms through, patiently waiting, while I struggled with lifting my left shoulder.

"I can get you a hospital gown instead," she said.

"No. No gowns," I said. Grunting, I maneuvered my arm through the sleeve.

"You can't even get dressed, but you're going to go look for her?"

"I can't just sit here, safe and warm, while America's out there somewhere," I said. "She probably has no clue she's about to get hit again with more weather."

"Shepley, listen to me. We're still under a tornado warning."

"It's impossible to get hit twice in the same night."

"Actually, it's not," she said. "It's rare, but it happens."

I climbed off the stretcher, my breath catching when the torn muscle in my arm moved.

"Fine. If you're gonna insist on being ridiculous, you have to sign an AMA."

"Sign a what?"

"AMA-Against Medical Advice."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Chief said, holding up his hands. "Where do you think you're going?"

I breathed out through my nose, frustrated. "Another storm is coming in. She's not back yet."

"That doesn't mean it's a good idea for you to head out into the rain."

"What if it were your wife, Chief? What if your daughters were out there? Would you go?"

Tornado sirens filled the air. They were much louder this time, the eerie drone sounding like it was just outside the doors. Everyone looked around, and then the panic began.

I started for the door.

But Chief stood in front of me. "You can't go out there, Shepley! It's not safe!"

Holding my left arm to my middle, I shouldered past him and then pushed my way through the crowded waiting room to the doors. The sky had opened up again, pouring down rain on the parking lot. With horror and disbelief on their faces, people were running across the cement to the emergency room.

I looked up for signs of a funnel cloud. I had no car and no idea where she was. I'd been afraid plenty of times in my life, but none of them had ever come close to this. Keeping the ones you love safe wasn't a question, but I couldn't save her.

I turned around, grabbing Chief's s.h.i.+rt with my fist, his badge digging into my palm. "Help me," I said, shaking with fear and frustration.

Screams erupted, and power flashes sparked in the distance.

"Everyone, get in the hallways!" Chief said, yanking me back to my stretcher.

I fought him, but even though he was twice my age, with the use of both of his arms, he easily overpowered me.

"Get! Your a.s.s! Down!" he growled, struggling to push me toward the floor.

Brandi put a young boy in my lap and held on to three more children, hunkering down next to me.