Landon (In Safe Hands Book 1) by S.M. Shade Page B

to do? Never get laid? Friends. That’s what
we agreed. My sex life is none of her concern.
    Right.
So I need to stop obsessing over what Ms. Difficult thinks, and the blonde
smiling at me from the dance floor should do the trick. My phone buzzes with a
call from Jeremy, and I step outside to answer. “Landon, where are you?”
    “Just
got to Chaos. You coming out tonight?”
    “Nah,
I’m seeing Frannie. You watching the weather?”
    “At
the club?” I snort. “No, why?”
    “It’s
getting ready to storm like a bitch. There’s already been one tornado touch
down in Beech Grove, and they’re predicting more. Shit…sirens are going off
now.”
    The
western sky is ominous and full of lightning. “I’m going home. Thanks for the
heads up.” I usually wouldn’t pay any attention to severe storms, but Zoe is
alone at my house. I’ve never shown her the basement and I don’t think there’s
a siren in my neighborhood to warn her what’s coming. The call drops and I
can’t get a signal. A tower must’ve went down.
    The
drive home is an adventure as the storm picks up. Trees and power lines topple
into the road thanks to the strong winds. Torrential rain falls in sheets and
quarter size hail pelts me while I run to my front door.
    “Zoe!”
I call, brushing water from my eyes and flipping on the T.V.
    “Yeah?”
She rounds the corner, confusion wrinkling her forehead. The National Weather
Service breaks into programming with a tornado warning for our county, and when
it’s tossed back to the local meteorologist, he adds, “I repeat, there are two
confirmed tornadoes on the ground. If you’re in Marion County, take shelter
immediately. If you don’t have a basement, move to the innermost room and…”
    Before
he can finish, I grab Zoe’s hand and drag her toward the kitchen. “We need to
get to the basement.”
    She
comes along without an argument, and I usher her to the basement entrance. The
back half of the kitchen and the basement were added on after the house was
built. Instead of a regular basement door, there’s an access hatch in the floor
of the pantry.
    Zoe
stands back while I pull it open, then follows me down the narrow stairs. When
I flip on the light, she giggles. “Really? Another man cave?”
    “I
didn’t build this one. My uncle did. Stay put. I’ll be right back.”
    I
ignore her protests and dart back upstairs to gather a few supplies. Who knows
how long the storm will last? There are a couple battery operated lanterns on
the front closet floor and a box of candles and matches on the shelf. Thank
you, Uncle Larry.
    Zoe
is perched on the edge of the sofa when I return. “This is the biggest basement
I’ve ever seen,” she remarks. “I notice you’ve cleaned down here.”
    “It’s
nice isn’t it? Jeremy loves to play pool so we hang out here sometimes.” I
gesture to the pool table in the center of the room. A large sofa rests against
one wall and a full size refrigerator stands in the corner. Soft brown carpet
blankets the floor.
    “Yeah,
not exactly the spidery dungeon I thought you were leading me into.” She peeks
through the bathroom door before sitting on the sofa. “You even have a bathroom
down here.”
    “So
trusting,” I tease, sitting beside her. She takes a deep breath and blinks a
few times, a frown on her face. “Are you okay?”
    “Yeah,
just a little light headed.”
    I
feel it too, a faint dizziness. “Shit. Come on.” I grab her hand. “It’s the
drop in air pressure. It’s coming.”
    Fear
widens her eyes. “A tornado?”
    “Yeah,
innermost wall,” I order and have her kneel against it. I crouch behind her and
cover her body with mine. There are no windows to break, but who knows what
might fly around if the hatch doesn’t hold. She’s so tiny, I don’t want her to
get hurt.
    “Landon,”
she whimpers when a dull roar reaches our ears.
    “We’ll
be okay.” I have no idea if that’s true, but what else can I say?
    The
roar grows