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followed Scott out of the door wordlessly, immediately buffeted by the strong gusts of wind. Ozone tainted the air along with the distinct smell of rain. Oh yeah, this was going to be a humdinger all right.
    He led her to a four-by-four SUV, unlocking it with the remote, still not saying a word.
    She’d probably hurt his feelings, and part of her bemoaned the fact that she had, even as she reassured herself it was the right thing to do. Scott might have been trained for combat, but the loss of his eye was too new for him to take this on alone. Without a doubt, he would be the most qualified person in the state to attend to any injuries, given his PJ training. She’d seen what a tornado could do first-hand. The carnage was as close to a battlefield as you could possibly get without shots firing overhead.
    She climbed into the cab as he dived into the cargo area.
    “Go. I need to get some of my supplies ready, just in case.”
    She should have known he’d be equipped, even if it wasn’t his life anymore.
    They peeled out of the parking lot, heading south as everyone except storm chasers and emergency vehicles headed north. With no traffic, it only took ten minutes to reach the outskirts of Oklahoma City, and, following the excited voices of the radio newscasters, less than five minutes to find the devastated area.
    Trees were uprooted and power lines down, sparking intermittently as surges shot through them.
    She navigated the mess with care, avoiding upended trampolines, yard junk and the occasional roof until Scott hollered at her to stop.
    He was out of the truck in a flash, shrugging into an enormous olive drab backpack as he ran. Cassidy threw the vehicle into park and jumped out, following him.
    A young girl was crouched on the stoop of a devastated house, crying as she cradled an obviously broken arm. Scott spoke a few soft words to her, and ran a hand down her hair before shooting a glance at Cassidy. His eye conveyed what he was asking of her without words.
    She nodded and went to the girl.
    What she chose to ignore was his parting command of, “Stay out here.” As soon as she’d taken care of the child, she’d be in the house in a flash.
    “Come on, sweetie. Scott’s going to find your family. Why don’t you come sit in the truck?”
    The child snuffled and allowed herself to be led to the safety of the SUV.
    “What’s your name? Corina? All right, Corina, just keep holding your arm this way, okay? I’m going to see if I can help him out. I’ll be right back, I promise.”
    At the girl’s tremulous nod, Cassidy left the vehicle at a run, just as a black and white Oklahoma Highway Patrol car and fire truck wound their way down the road.
    “Ma’am, stop.” The loudspeaker on the cruiser blared at her.
    She hollered right back. “People trapped inside. Little girl in the truck, looks like a broken arm.”
    “Ma’am… Holy shit, Cassidy, is that you?” The cop dropped his mic and stuck his head out of the window. It was her brother Jay.
    “Get help, Jay. Someone’s inside looking for survivors.”
    By now he’d heaved his muscled bulk out of the car and was half running towards her. “Hell with that. I’m going in, you stay here.”
    As always, she ignored the brute and kept jogging towards the damaged building.
    Jay caught up to her. “God damn it, Cass, you can’t go in there.”
    “Shut up, Jay.”
    “You haven’t been a volunteer firefighter for years, Cass. Let the professionals handle it.” They’d reached the stoop and there was no way in hell she was going to let her big brother bully her.
    “You don’t forget things like this, okay? And Scott is a professional.”
    “Bullshit. And who the hell is Scott?”
    Then they were over the threshold and into the murky light of the bungalow’s living room and Cassidy didn’t need to answer his question.
    Scott was working on freeing an elderly man trapped beneath a heavy wood beam, purple latex gloves contrasting starkly against the