Too Strong: Chapter 17

“SHIT… FUCK!” I snap, my blood running cold, when a panic attack throws Vivienne into a frenzied abyss.

Her heart beats against her ribs like a hummingbird’s wings, her fear almost tangible.

I cradle her to me, my lips plastered to her forehead, fingers framing her face. “Easy, baby. Look at me. Hey, hey…” I angle her face so she can’t see anything besides our tiny jacket tent shielding us from the rain. “We’re okay. You’re okay. I’ll get you out of here.”

She bites her lip hard enough to draw blood, nodding once.

“Close your eyes.” I whip away my jacket.

Rain immediately saturates my hair. I rise to my knees, pulling Vee with me, then haul her into my arms, grabbing the jacket and Ares’s leash along the way.

She quivers. Clings to me like a second skin, face buried in my neck as she swallows big, irregular gulps of air.

“Shh, shh… I’ve got you. You’re okay.” I wrap my jacket around her shoulders, high enough to cover her head and make a run for the car. “Hold on tight.”

She does. Her legs clamp my waist in a vice grip, arms lock around my neck so tight I can’t breathe. The rain comes down in sheets now. So hard it jabs my skin like microscopic needles.

I can’t see more than a few feet ahead, squinting as the wind tears at my clothes, whipping my wet hair into my face.

Ares tugs on his leash, almost dragging me behind as he barks, bulldozing forward.

Vee’s muffled sobs echo against my neck, her heart racing in frantic rhythm.

The palm trees sway, their leaves whipping back and forth, and debris flies in every direction, carried by the gusts.

Another bolt of lightning sizzles into a nearby palm tree that falls onto the road. The world turns blinding white for a split second, illuminating the chaos. Vee’s hysterical, screaming and wailing in the thunder that follows. It’s so loud it seems to shake the very foundation of the earth.

Fuck, this is bad.

With trees falling already, it’ll be category two, maybe even three within the hour. Newport doesn’t get hurricanes often, but I remember a couple that stripped the cladding of my parents’ mansion when the fallen trees took days to clear, paralyzing the town.

This right now… it feels the same. An aura of impending doom hangs in the air, the scene unfolding like a sequence from a high-budget disaster movie.

The wind whistles around us, thankfully blowing from the sea and helping me along the way instead of blowing in my face to slow me down. The keyless entry in my car is a blessing, no matter how crazy it drives me on a normal day.

The lock clicks the second we’re by the door. Yanking it open, I let Ares take the back seat first.

“Baby, look at me,” I say, peeling Vivienne off me as I maneuver her inside. “Deep breaths. We’ll be home soon. I need you to breathe.”

She nods rapidly, still swallowing her sobs, shaking as she leans back, tucking her feet inside. I buckle her up before I round the hood, hopping behind the wheel.

“Head between your knees,” I tell her, starting the engine. “Deep breaths for me, baby. Close your eyes.”

I wind the audio system as loud as it’ll go without blowing the speakers. “Royalty” by Egzod pumps out. The mix of classical music and strong beat muffles the hurricane, so Vee can’t hear the rain battering the car from all sides or the thunder roaring more frequently now.

Stamping my foot down, I shoot out of the parking space. Tires skid the back of the car almost fucking level with the front on the wet asphalt. We slide onto the empty main road, half drifting across the intersection. My heart pumps blood faster. My pulse hammers in my ears.

“Fuck!” I slap the steering wheel, spinning it all the way left. A fallen tree blocks the road ahead, forcing me to take a longer route.

Left, right, left again.

We’re fucking flying down the streets as I mentally map the roads least likely to be blocked.

Vee reaches her hand to the audio system when the song changes to something less intricate. She pats the controls blindly, her head still between her knees.

I press a button on the steering wheel, restarting “Royalty,” my foot stomping the pedal all the way down as I reach across, stroking Vee’s back for a moment.

She’s still shuddering, her fingers drumming the melody blasting from the speakers like it keeps her grounded.

Trash flies around the streets, bins roll down the sidewalks, leaves whirl in the gusting wind, and a few smaller trees litter the sides, but nothing significant blocks our way.

Halfway across town, my phone connects with the car, and flashes on the screen.

The rain falls so heavy my wipers can’t keep up, and the deafening sound of his ringtone swamps us in 5.1 surround once the music’s cut. If I don’t answer, he’ll jump in his car and come looking for us.

Fuck. I jam my thumb into the button.

“Where are you?” he asks, a nervous undertone layering his voice. “Tell me you’re not still on the fucking beach!”

“On our way home. Five minutes. I need a parking space in the garage, a big towel, and music on full volume.”

“Wha—?” Cody starts, but Colt’s

booming in the background cuts him off.

Thank fuck he’s bright and doesn’t need me to spell this out. I cut the call, music back on, the song the whole ten-minute ride to Nico’s.

I don’t slow down until we’re right in front of the garage. Colt’s inside, two towels in hand, and the door rolls down once my wheels come to a full stop.

I kill the engine, shooting out like I’m on springs. Snatching one towel from Colt’s outstretched hand, I round the hood, yanking the passenger door open. Ares gets out, barking and shaking off water before he bolts upstairs, leaving a trail of wet sand.

“She good?” Colt asks.

A headshake is my only answer as I unbuckle Vee’s seatbelt. “We’re home. C’mon, baby, you’re safe now.”

Slowly, she lifts her head, shuddering softly, her eyes bright, rimmed pink, and teeming with tears. It takes a great deal of maneuvering to haul her out and into my arms. Colt helps me wrap her in a towel, though it won’t do much other than keep her warm. Most of the water has pooled on the seat.

She’s so fucking stiff as I carry her upstairs. Her muscles bunch so tight she’ll get cramps if I can’t calm her a little bit.

Music seeps through the house, calm, classical.

Mozart, I think.

I half expect Mia at the piano, but besides Cody, who’s toweling Ares dry, the house is empty. I sit on the couch, clutching Vee to my chest, her nose pressed against the crook of my neck, holding me so hard her fingernails turn white.

“Shh,” I tut against her hair, pulling a warm blanket to her chin. “We’re home. You’re okay.”

She nods, parting her lips to force a long exhale, and slowly, very , her tremors subside.

“Where’s Nico and Mia?” I ask Cody as he sets four beers on the coffee table.

Pointless question. The main door opens, then closes quickly with a bang, making Vee jump in my arms.

“God, you’re such a brute!” Mia’s wail reaches our ears first. A second later, Nico enters, carrying her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “I can walk, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” he grumbles, running his hand down his face. “Is she okay?” he asks me, eyeing Vivienne.

“Scared of thunder,” I explain, tracing a line up and down her spine. “We were on the beach when it started.”

“Who’s scared?” Mia tries to peek from behind Nico, but can’t and whacks him hard. “Um, could you put me down now?

. It’s bad out there. I won’t run. Promise.”

“You ran again?” Colt smirks, dropping onto the piano stool with a bottle of Corona. “You sure make his life entertaining, Bug.”

Vee stirs, a little less tense, and peeks from under the blanket. “Hey,” she says quietly. “I’m sorry, I—”

“Don’t apologize,” Nico cuts in, dismissing her with a flick of his wrist. “You have no idea what I’d give for this little diva to be scared of thunder.” He slides Mia down his front until she stands barefoot. “Fucking reckless,” he snaps, his angry voice a stark contrast to the soft, tender kiss he stamps on her head. “We stopped for takeout,” he continues, ignoring her folding her arms and the three of us chuckling.

It helps Vee relax, too. She pulls the blanket lower, no longer stiff in my arms, no longer shaking as much.

“Five minutes,” Nico says, taking a towel from Cody to turn Mia into a pink ghost so he can dry her hair. “I was gone fucking minutes. I come out, and it’s raining, the car’s open, her shoes on the dashboard, and she’s gone.”

“Lifeguard station again?” Colt chuckles, looking at the rainwater pooling at their feet.

A small smile curves Vee’s lips when Nico wraps Mia in the towel like a straitjacket, then sets her on the couch beside us.

“I like the rain!” she says, failing to escape the cotton constraints. “Ugh! Let me go! I want wine.”

“I spent fifteen minutes chasing her down the beach.”

Mia smiles, blowing a strand of wet hair off her face. “You like chasing me.”

“Not in the middle of a fucking hurricane, Mia. What did I say when I went to get the food?”

Her cheeks flush pink. “You told me to be good.”

“And were you?”

“No…”

Vee chuckles, moving her hand under the blanket to weave our fingers together.

“Not funny,” Nico tells her, but his tone isn’t laced with the same aggression he rarely keeps in check. He’s watching how he speaks so she won’t feel uncomfortable. Something he learned during the last few months. “I’d be much happier if she was scared. At least she’d behave.”

Another laugh, much louder, falls from Cody’s lips. He passes one glass of wine to Mia, and another to Vee, taking a seat in the corner of the couch. “You’d be bored if she was any more obedient.”

“I’d be calm,” Nico retorts, looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows where rain cascades down the glass in sheets. “We better find something to keep us entertained because the town may as well be on lockdown with how bad the roads are. You should call your parents, Vivienne. No way we’ll get you home tonight. Probably not tomorrow, either.”

Wish granted… she’ll sleep in my bed.

“Have you checked in with anyone?” Nico asks, pulling his phone out.

“Everyone save Theo called already. They’re fine.”

Within a minute, Nico’s holding his phone at a distance, angling it so we all see the screen.

Shawn’s the first one to answer, still in his police uniform, water dripping from his hair. “I was about to call you. How’s everything with you guys?”

“All here. You heard from Mom and Dad?”

“Yeah, they’re good. They’re at Grandma’s, so not stuck at home alone,” he says, towel-drying his head. “Where’s Conor?”

“Here.” Nico angles the phone further until we’re visible. Vee tenses like she’s unsure whether to dive under the blanket. “You heard from Theo?”

“Yeah, River’s here now.” He pauses until our cheers die down. “Born half an hour ago. I’ve not seen him yet, but the nurse said he’s healthy and a screamer.”

“Something to look forward to when we’re babysitting,” Nico says, hugging Mia closer. “How’s Thalia doing?”

“As you’d expect. Good. Absolutely no issues… Can’t say the same about Theo, though.” He pinches a smile behind his lips. “We’ve got our first fainter, boys.”

“Argh, damn it,” I huff, reaching for my wallet to retrieve a hundred-dollar bill.

Nico’s already holding one out, and within seconds, Cody’s three hundred dollars richer.

“Told you,” he grins at Shawn, gripping the back of the couch. “We’ll split it when the storm passes.”

“Yeah, you still need to collect from Logan. He called ten minutes ago, Nico. They’re fine. He was about to put Noah down for a nap, so give him half an hour before you call.”

Nico nods and disconnects the call, dialing Mom’s number next. He won’t stop until he knows first-hand that the whole family is safe.