Sample Sunday - From Chapter Twenty of Storm Rising

Sunday August 30th, 4:55P.M. Yonkers

Home of Kelli Storm

   Kevin’s beat up Expedition was sitting out front when Kelli pulled into her driveway. She wasn’t surprised to see it. In fact, she had hoped he would be there. He was already walking to her car as she got out.

   She put her arms around him and kissed him. He half-heartedly kissed her back, and she could see by the look on his face that something was wrong. “What is it, Kevin, what’s wrong?”

   He frowned as he took her arm. “Let’s go inside,” he said, leading her toward the front door.

   “No, tell me now”, she said, pulling away from him, a feeling of panic rising.

   “It’s not what you think. Your mother is fine. It’s something else. Now, let’s go inside and we can talk.”

   Her panic subsided a little and she nodded. “Okay, we’ll talk inside.”

   She headed for the front door, with Kevin at her side. When they were inside, she turned to Kevin. Before she could speak, he took her arm and guided her into the living room. “I think you’d better sit down,” he said, frowning.

   She felt the panic rising again and sat down on the sofa. Kevin sat next to her and took her hand. She looked into his eyes and could see the pain they held. “Kevin, tell me what’s going on.”

   He lowered his head, avoiding her gaze. “They tried to reach you on your cell, and when they couldn’t, they called me. Kelli, your partner’s been shot.”

   Her hands flew to her face as she cried out. “Oh my God! Is he okay? Where is he?”

   “He’s at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx. Your lieutenant said they had him in surgery and it’d be a couple of hours before there was any news. Kelli, he wasn’t alone. His wife was with him.”

   “No,” she said, shaking her head. “Tell me she’s okay.” She looked at Kevin, and felt the hot tears streaming down her cheeks. She could see it in his eyes. He didn’t have to say anything.

   He lowered his head and sighed. “I wish I could tell you that she’s fine, but I don’t know. She’s in surgery too, and your lieutenant hasn’t heard anything. The bastards didn’t care about anyone else. They just wanted to make sure they got your partner.”

   Now she felt the anger welling up inside, her face growing hotter. “It’s one thing to come after me, I can understand that. Taking my mother was a big mistake too, but this is too much. What about his son?”