Their eyes locked. Fear radiated from her shaking body. In two strides, he made it to her side and lifted her in his arms. “We have to get out of here.” “The rain, everything’s stopped.” Wide-eyed with wonder, Tess looked around. “It won’t hold off for long.” He sheltered her against his chest and headed back toward the door. “Is this the eye of the hurri—” She stopped talking the second he carried her across the threshold and out into the early morning. Suspended in dead air was a wall of water, its watery grasp reaching out, barred from capturing its intended victim. Black mists swirled around them as the wind fought to free itself from a grip more powerful than its own. And the rain hung halfway between the sky and the ground, held aloft by an otherworldly force. Bathed in the harshness of the hurricane’s fury, the sky simmered above them. The oppressive heat pushed against their clothes. Even the thin, cotton material of Tess’ shirt clung to her as perspiration coated her skin.
