Read Sizzle (St. Martin Family Saga): Emergency Responders for Free Online

“Everything okay?”
    Clay shrugged. “I just got bored.”
    “Well, get ready to rock and roll now. You ready for this?” He angled his chin toward the door leading outside.
    Lives had been lost in the larger cities during the last hurricane due to an evacuation fiasco. Baton Rouge had fared relatively well considering the overall devastation.
    Clay nodded. “I’m going to get moving on local preparations today.”
    “What are you thinking?”
    Clay rubbed his chin as he spoke his thoughts. “I’ll check on Davis High School, take inventory, see what’s needed.”
    Clay’s phone rang. He looked down at the screen and saw it was his father calling back. “Shit, it’s my father. I called him earlier.”
    “He still believe technology is a tool of the devil?”
    Clay laughed as he held the phone to his ear. “Dad, hang on for a second.”
    Augie held up his hand in a wave. “Let me know if you need my help.”
    Clay nodded. “I’ll call you.”
    ***
    After the meeting, Clay picked up Jackson from the station and headed to the high school that served as the town shelter.
    “Dammit.” Jack tossed his phone onto the dash
    Clay raised a brow at him. “Problem?”
    He rubbed his index finger across his upper lip. “I can’t reach…”
    Clay looked over at Jack and looked again after he passed through an intersection. Jack was acting strange lately, long before the hurricane’s arrival.
    Jack reached for the phone he’d just tossed and scrolled through screens. “Did you call the family?” he asked.
    “I talked to Dad.” As he steered the truck, he watched Jack closely. Worry lines on his forehead had been added to the darkness under his eyes, but Clay would have bet the underlying cause wasn’t physical. The man was torn about something.
    Jack stared out the window, sighing. “What about Clara?” He turned to Clay, his eyes searching.
    Clay pulled into the school lot and parked the fire department’s mammoth SUV near the gymnasium. His sister was the only one Clay hadn’t been able to speak to. “I left her a message to call me asap.”
    “I can’t reach her either.” Jack’s hand went to his hair and rubbed.
    Clay shot Jack a curious glance.
    “What?” Jack lifted his hands in the air, further revealing his exasperation. “ You know how New Orleans gets once evacuation orders go out. There will be a run on gas and Clara never has any gas in her car as it is. I was just thinking about Katrina, and she’s down there. I mean, what if I can’t get to her and she can’t get out?”
    “Shit, you’re right. If she doesn’t get my message, she’ll be stuck.” The thought of his baby sister in dire straits without him to protect her sent chills down Clay’s spine.
    Jackson turned his phone so Clay could see the screen. “Tulane’s canceled classes.”
    Clay didn’t have time to think about why Jackson had such a sudden interest in Clara. He opened his door and said, “Let’s get this stuff unloaded.”
    Once they delivered the supplies, Clay hit the interstate. He’d called his father on the landline and learned that no one had been able to reach Clara because the cellular circuits were already jammed. The evacuation order hadn’t even come down and the town had already gone mad.
    “Hey, she got my text. She’s waiting for us.” Jack’s demeanor changed from mopey donkey to what Clay imagined was an astronaut being rocketed to the moon.
    And Clay was once again wondering why Jack was so worried about Clara.
    *
    Traffic was building to the north, but they headed south. When they pulled up to Clara’s apartment, some of her neighbors were outside, huddled and talking, while others were loading their belongings—all their belongings, from the look of it—into vehicles. He stepped from the SUV, and several pairs of eyes followed him. Jack ran up the stairs, taking them three at a time.
    A woman with a child in tow approached him.
    Kind hazel eyes met his. “Excuse me, sir, are