by Storm Riders
She took it and stepped away from the door. “Come in please. I think we need to talk.”
He sighed. “I have to go to town to buy some things and then get going back to the ranch. I wanted to give your wallet back to you;, I figured you’d miss it and wonder where you lost it. And I wanted to warn you about Wyatt. I don’t know what your 50
kinda kink is or anything, but my partner isn’t one for long term relationships. And—” She touched his arm. A spark went between the two of them loud enough he heard it crackle. The world began to spin. He caught the doorframe before he stumbled. There’s definitely something more going on here than meets the eye. Maybe Wyatt was right. “Yeah.
Maybe I’ll come in and sit for a moment. If that’s okay?” George smiled and released him. Once that happened, his head cleared, but the charge in the air didn’t recede. He followed her inside taking in the farmhouse at the same time. It was a mixture of old and new. Antiques and modern furniture were placed here and there. He noticed that she had good taste. He made it to the sofa and fell into the cushions. His host sat across from him and barely met his gaze. She wrung her hands together and took a few deep breaths. When she did, the static in the air lessened. He noticed the hair was standing up on her arms too.
“When I was a kid, we had this bad storm. I was out in the middle of it. My mother was in the storm cellar yelling for me to come to her, but I couldn’t hear her because of the roar of the tornado. You can still see the scar in the earth it made out front. Anyway the sight of the funnel cloud transfixed me. Debris was flying everywhere. I knew that it was going to take me and that was okay. It was peaceful. There in the place I was in.
Then a man appeared out of nowhere and scooped me up. He held me to him while the twister passed over us and it didn’t suck him up. My father wasn’t so lucky. I saw him pulled into the cyclone. Th-that man was you.” She met his eyes and surprise rolled through him. He understood now why she seemed familiar. She was the little girl he had saved. How does she remember me? Her memory should’ve been erased.
“Ahh, George. I really don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m sure that you had a brush with death and it was traumatic for you, but if it was that long ago I was ten or eleven. How could I have been able to save you?” She rested a hand on his knee. When she touched him a strong jolt ran through him causing him to jump closer to her. He rested his hand on top of hers intending to move it away, but found the energy increasing between them. He couldn’t deny the instant attraction. I’ve never had this happen to me when touching another person. It seemed his 51
insides would blow apart from his power almost going out of control. He gripped her fingers and saw an arc of energy pass over their flesh. Her muscles shivered.
“What’s going on?” George asked.
“I don’t know. This has never happened to me before.” 52
Chapter Nine
Wyatt rested his head against Tempest breathing in his animal aroma and the scent of earth which blended with his steed. He didn’t bother with a saddle when he rode.
He’d never fallen off his horse. When Wyatt was riding Tempest they were in perfect accord. The two of them were in harmony with the elements and stronger together because of it. Landon’s words ran through his head about finding the storm chasers.
There was also a sense of fear he never had when dealing with the thought of the angels. He’d only ever met their commander Raul a couple of times in his existence, but each time had struck a deep seeded terror in him. He understood why Landon didn’t want him to show up in the kitchen. Landon had told him a few times about his old partner being punished. He never assumed it would happen to him. One reason he screwed around was because he liked making his job fun. He never once let the power go to his head. Even though he had a responsibility to do, his mind drifted back to George and the way she had made him feel. Being away from her now the world seemed unsteady. His power rattled around inside him and he wasn’t sure why. Part of him was missing. He’d never encountered that with any woman before, not in his hundred years of existence. It was a physical need to touch her and be next to George.
He couldn’t shake it. She electrified him and that scared him.
He sensed Tempest’s question and wished he could make out the words the horse really spoke. Landon was able to get pictures from his steed, but his mind wasn’t as developed. He scratched Tempest behind the ears.
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“I don’t know, boy. There’s a lot going on that I don’t understand. I’m going to need your assistance. You think you can help me track down those storm chasers we saw the other day?”
The horse snorted and pawed the ground. He felt the horse’s negative response and he kicked up some dirt dancing away from him. Wyatt got the feeling he was missing something. He walked toward the horse with his arms open. “Come on. You got more bloodhound in you than horse. You were with me the whole way on showing off in front of them. You know I love you.”
Tempest gave him an evil eye and lifted his top lip at him. Wyatt knew he was being an ass and loving every minute of it. Over the years, he had come to understand his horse. “Fine. Don’t help me, but I won’t put in a good word with Landon about Whirlwind. I see how you’ve been looking at her.” The horse pawed the ground again and he sensed the beast’s shock. Wyatt began to walk away and after a moment, he felt the horse tug on his shirt. He turned and patted Tempest. “Okay. I forgive you. We have to get this over with because I want to call George. I think you’ll like her. She’s… I don’t know, but she’s something.” Wyatt swung his leg over the steed. Once they were together, the air swirled around him. He looked skyward at the blue sky and thought about a storm. At once, the breeze blew stronger until the stallion bucked and made him remember that he wasn’t supposed to be using his powers outside of riding a storm, but he was itching to do something.
Every time he got on his horse, their joined powers overwhelmed him. He was a part of something and it was one reason he loved being a Rider so much. He closed his eyes and remembered the field where he had stopped the twister, the white van, and the two people inside of it. The image of the boy inside came to mind first. He telegraphed it to Tempest knowing the horse could read his thoughts even if Wyatt couldn’t understand his.
“Let’s go get ‘em.” The horse reared. Wyatt hung onto his mane as he went off at full gallop down the field. The other horses knew to move out of the way. They rode hard and right when he didn’t think they would make the fence, Tempest sailed over 54
the barricade. Before his hooves touched the ground, horse and rider became invisible and one with their element of air. Wyatt never got over the exhilaration of watching as the world flew by him while they traveled upon the currents leaving only the rustle of the trees and grass behind to show they had passed. The intensity of leaving human form behind and becoming elemental was mind-blowing, better than sex and for him that said a lot.
The world went by in a blur. When they began to slow down they were in the field.
The tire tracks from the van were still imprinted in the mud. Tempest drew in a normal breath not even winded from their run. He saw the van and the boy in his mind. The horse sniffed the ground and craned his neck so he could see he had something in his teeth. It was a piece of silver material. Part of the weather balloon they were chasing.
“Can you find them with that?”
The horse kicked his back legs and nearly made him fall off. Wyatt clutched the horse with his thighs catching his amusement. “I’ll take that as a yes. Okay then. Let’s go.” He wheeled the horse around so they were facing the open row left behind by the tornado and they dashed off again.
The next time they stopped, they were outside of a brick building with students lounging on the front steps. He saw books in their hands and knapsacks slung over their shoulders. This was a college campus . Maybe they weren’t storm chasers after all.
Maybe they were doing some kind of researc
h. I wonder what they were doing. Oh well it doesn’t matter now. I have to wipe out their memory and any pictures they might have taken of me to be sure that I got everything. He slid off Tempest’s back feeling the solid ground under his boots once again. Taking a few steps, the wind that had gathered around him kicked up a small dirt tornado. He resumed human form. As he got closer to the building, his body began to solidify. As he passed people, they felt a small gust of wind which knocked them back until he was completely solid.
Once he climbed up the steps, he met the gaze of several of the girls. They gave him wide smiles and straightened up. This was the typical response he expected from most women, but this time he didn’t feel the need to pursue any of them. His mind was 55
set on winning George over. Damn, she’s put a spell on me because there are some fine lookin’
ladies here. He approached one of them.
“Excuse me.”
She perked up and grinned. “Yes.”
“Can you tell me where the Meteorology Department is?”
“Why do you want to go there? I can tell you the weather and it’s hot.” He chuckled. “I’m sure it is, but I really need to cool off. So if you don’t mind.” She wilted, but the mischievous gleam remained in her eye. She touched his arm feeling his bicep. Normally that would have really gotten him going. “Why don’t I show you?”
He removed her hand. “Not interested. Thanks.” Wyatt shook his head and went inside. Once he did, he was met with a security guard.
“Meteorology Department?”
The guard pointed down the hall. “Take a right at the end. Up one flight. Be careful of crazy George.”
Wyatt nodded. Crazy George. Their professor must have an interesting side if the guard thinks he’s wild. He followed the directions and the closer he got to the department, he heard blaring rock music coming from one of the open doors. It was a Saturday so most of the doors were closed. He peeked in. A man in his early twenties sat playing air-guitar thrashing his blond hair to the music. Wyatt smiled. A man after my own heart. He knocked, but the kid didn’t hear him.
“Hello!” He yelled over the music.
The boy looked up. His cheeks reddened from being caught in the act. He brushed his hair out of his face and smiled. “Can I help you?”
“I hope so. I was looking for the Meteorology Department.”
“Yup. That’s me. Well not me. George runs it. I’m only a student. I’m Jeremy.” Wyatt looked around at all the equipment in the room. Computers, printers, cameras, and the weather balloon were on the back table. There were barometers and charts. There was even an old weather vane sitting in the corner with a horse on the top 56
of it. “You were conducting an experiment the other day with the weather balloon.
Right?”
Jeremy glanced back to the balloon. “Yeah. Me and George were trying to get some readings off this twister. Man it was insane. Then the most outrageous thing happened.
Well almost as crazy as George, but oh man.”
He stepped in and closed the door. “What happened?” The man before him grew more animated. “Shit. The twister was coming at us and then out of nowhere this dude appears on this horse. He jumped over the van and faced down the twister. It was almost like in the old west where the cyclone was the bad guy and we were at the O. K. Corral. God it was awesome.” He feigned disbelief. “That’s amazing. I’d be willing to bet no one believes your story.”
Jeremy shook his head. “Yeah. It was awesome. Oh, stupid me, what was it that you needed?”
Wyatt rested his hand on Jeremy’s shoulder. At that moment, a zap of power passed between them. The boy grew lax and his eyes glazed. Wyatt had complete control over him. Part of being a Rider was also damage control at times when they dealt with humans so altering perceptions was par for the course. “I need you to tell me if you took any pictures, video, or any other evidence of the man or the horse that you saw.”
“No evidence. We were only focused on the balloon and the experiment.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
He nodded. “Good. Now tell me when George will be back in.”
“We’re supposed to meet tonight about six to go over the data we collected.”
“Jeremy, you listen carefully. You don’t feel well at all. You have a bug or you ate a bad burrito. You’re going to go home and sleep until tomorrow night. You won’t hear your phone or anyone knocking on the door. Is that understood?”
“Yes.”
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“Good. One last thing. There was no rider and there was no horse. All you remember is the twister coming at you. Then it stopped. Repeat.” Jeremy repeated everything Wyatt had said. He used a little more of his power and set the suggestion deep into Jeremy’s brain making sure he didn’t remember anything about him. Then he let him go. The boy jumped and blinked. “Ahh, Hi. Can I help you with something?”
Wyatt sighed. “I was looking for George.”
Jeremy clutched his stomach and moaned. “Excuse me. I think I’m gonna puke.
Must have been the burrito I ate this morning.” He rushed past him, opened the door, and ran into the hallway.
Wyatt examined the weather balloon and some of the charts on the table beside it.
He couldn’t make heads or tails of them. He pushed them aside and walked to the teacher’s desk. On it, he saw handwritten notes and a journal. He read the latest entry seeing that George was trying to find a better way to predict storms. Something about measuring the electrons in the air. He lost interest and scanned the remaining contents of the desk. He picked up a photograph of a woman because he’d seen her the night before in the bar dancing with two other men. Her arm was around another woman. He moved the stack of papers. When he saw the other occupant of the photograph, his eyes widened. It can’t be. They can’t be one in the same. He sunk into the chair and stared at the picture. “I can’t do it. I won’t do it,” he said to the empty room.
A blast of air ruffled his hair. “You have to.”
He slipped the picture into his pocket and faced Raul. “And what if I don’t?” He tried to keep his rising fear of the commander under control. He also sensed his steed’s presence in the room.
“You were the one who revealed yourself to her. Now to rectify your mistake in judgment you have to wipe her memory of everything she saw. The boy’s been taken care of. Good job.”
How could he explain the budding feelings he had for George? He couldn’t just rub out her memory of him altogether. She was one in a million. Whatever connection 58
they had could not be wiped away all because the higher ups didn’t appreciate the fact he was horsing around. “She’s special. I don’t know how to explain it. You can’t make me erase her memory.”
Raul stepped forward. The muscles twitched in his jaw. He slammed his hands down on the table where the weather balloon was. “Damn it, Wyatt. This isn’t up for debate. Take care of it or I will. You don’t want me to wipe her memories do you?” He shifted his coat so Wyatt saw the gun resting against his hip.
“You’d kill her. Why?”
“There’s no reason for you to know that. Now do your job before actions are taken for you. I won’t give you a second warning.” Raul turned and vanished in a gust of wind.
Wyatt pounded his fist on the desk. The impact vibrated his bones, but didn’t break his hand. “I can’t. I won’t.” I have to talk to Landon. He gazed out the window and saw Tempest milling about on the grass invisible to everyone but him. The stallion looked up. His ears twitched back. Wyatt got a tingling sensation along his arms. There were a few clouds in the sky. Shit. He knew the signs too well. He raced from the building and outside to his horse. His meeting with George would have to be delayed a little while longer.
The storms came first.
No matter what.
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Chapter Ten
George wasn’t sure wha
t was going on between her and Landon. The spark that flared between them passed through her system and made her shaky. The attraction she felt toward him was stronger than what she had felt for Wyatt, but not by very much.
Wyatt was more the dangerous type and Landon was more controlled. He could deny all he wanted that he wasn’t the man who had rescued her when she was a child, but they both knew it was true. She remembered him. She remembered his eyes and his soft touch. He had kept her safe and that feeling had never left her. Now it was creeping back over her again.
“What’s going on? How are you doing this?” he asked. He slid his hand a little further up her arm. Even this little contact had made the hairs all over her body stand up and take notice. It made her mouth water. Seeing him there, with his salt and pepper hair, the worn jeans hugging his muscular thighs and his broad chest which made her want to see and touch what was underneath the wrapping. I have to get my head out of the gutter. I slept with his partner last night and now I’m ready to jump him.
“Whoa. I’m not doing anything. You touched me, remember. The only other person this has ever happened with was Wyatt last night and that was weird enough.
Now please stop lying to me. I don’t know how it was you, but you were the one who saved me. The twister was barreling right at me, but you were safe from it. The winds didn’t even remove your hat. How is that possible?” 60
“It’s not possible. You don’t remember anything about it.” His expression darkened. Another strong surge of energy moved up her arm. Her head got a little fuzzy, but she shook it off.