In the Shadow of Vengeance Read Free

pouch in front.
    Spencer stepped out of his car. “Elizabeth, what the hell are you—”
    The roar of the wind took the rest of the sentence. He ducked down as stalks of corn struck him. She settled Erin in the front pouch and removed the thickest blanket from her bag. Wrapping it around Erin’s head, she raced toward a low-lying ditch across the road.
    A new calm settled over her the instant she held her daughter against her. It didn’t matter what Spencer had done or who the man with the gun was. All that mattered at that moment was protecting Erin from the storm that raged overhead. There was only one safety net and Elizabeth had to find it fast. If this field was anything like her father’s, there would be a narrow dirt road. And where that dirt road intersected the paved road, there should be a storm drain.
    As if her very thoughts summoned it to her, her hand landed on a raised mound. She quickly turned and searched the road for Spencer, but the sky opened the floodgates and sheets of rain pounded down on top of her. She couldn’t have seen her own hand in front of her face, and the howl of the wind was deafening. With one hand shielding Erin’s head, she felt for the cemented half-circle opening, and crawled into the dark, wet drain. Settling her back against the side, she removed the soaked blanket and tried to calm her screaming infant.
    She didn’t have a clue how long she hid in the storm drain, but one minute, the heavens were raining terror down on her and the next, everything was completely calm. The wind died down and the rain turned to a drizzle. She hugged her daughter and slowly eased out of the drain.
    She stumbled backward at her first glance at her surroundings. The road was so completely covered in debris, she couldn’t see the asphalt. Rows of corn were flattened to the ground.
    She climbed the wet slope to the road. Where was her car? Spencer and his gun-happy friend were nowhere in sight. Taking in a shaky breath, she wrapped both arms around Erin, who had finally stopped screaming.
    She remembered every sickening event that led her to this place, but her mind couldn’t focus on what she was supposed to do next. Placing one foot in front of the other, she headed down the center of the road.
    This must be what shock feels like
.
    Time stilled as she cradled Erin. The closeness seemed to calm both of them. She followed the sounds of sirens that grew louder the closer she got to a small, one-road town. Wandering down the center of what had to be Main Street, she wanted to scream out to turn that damn siren off, but she couldn’t muster up the energy.
    The few people in the street had the same dazed look on their faces Elizabeth assumed was on hers. The tornado had done a number on the buildings. Very few stood upright. Fragments of the drywall, glass, twisted lumber, and trash covered the road and sidewalks.
    A woman approached. “Dear, are you all right?”
    She wasn’t sure how she found her voice, but Elizabeth answered. “Yes, ma’am. My daughter and I are fine.”
    The woman glanced around her. “It came up out of nowhere. I was in my garden and barely had time to get into the basement.”
    She didn’t know what to say to that. Instead, she asked the only question on her mind. “How close is the interstate from here?” She didn’t care where she was, only how to get back home.
    The stranger placed a hand on Elizabeth’s arm. “It’s about three miles down the road. I need to go check on my husband. He runs the boot shop there,” she said, pointing across the street. Her voice cracked as she said, “You are welcome to wait on my porch. My home, by God’s grace, wasn’t hit.”
    Elizabeth nodded her thanks and watched as the woman made her way to her husband. Instead of settling on the porch, however, she headed toward the car in the driveway. It hadn’t been touched either. Looking inside the driver’s side window, she spotted the keys in the ignition. Before she could