Empty by Suzanne Weyn Read Free Book Online Page A

you thought I was a loser after we ran out of gas.”
    Niki waved his comment away. “That could have happened to anybody.”
    Stepping closer to her, he noticed how anxious he felt. He inhaled to quiet his rising nerves. This morning, he never would have dreamed he’d be alone with Niki Barton. Even an hour ago, it would have seemed impossible.
    Niki stepped closer and took his hand. “I need a date for the bonfire,” she said. “Want to go with me?”
    Was this really happening? “Yeah, sure I would. I’d love to go with you.”
    â€œI’m glad. That’s great,” she said, her face softening. Lifting her hand to caress his cheek, she kissed him on the lips.
    If this was a dream, Tom didn’t want to know.
    He placed his hand on the small of her back and pulled her closer, kissing her passionately on the lips.
    Though his stomach growled, he was no longer hungry for anything but her. Let the world fall apart; he didn’t care. “When are your parents coming home?” he asked.
    â€œI don’t know. Not until later.”
    Still holding her waist, he kissed her again.

NORTH COUNTRY NEWS
    Hundreds Flock to Marietta Township Seeking Gasoline
    The well-to-do residents of the usually quiet town of Marietta have seen their sleepy lake vacation community transformed in recent days. News has traveled fast that in these tough times, the town has been able to parlay the clout of its most influential citizens into tangible advantages—most significantly, a daily visit from a tanker containing gasoline.
    The Route Six thoroughfare leading into Marietta is clogged for miles as motorists, desperate to obtain a tank of this liquid gold, line up at the local station—all willing to pay from seventy to ninety dollars a gallon, depending on the day in question.
    â€œWe’re out of gas by ten in the morning,” says Pete Patterson, the station’s owner. “Folks come with ten-, even twenty-gallon containers. I don’t allow them to fill up with extra gas, though. I only permit each driver to fill his or her tank.”
    â€œThat’s so unfair,” complained Alice Tucker of Sage Valley. “My tank is smaller than the tanks of some of these gas guzzlers. Why shouldn’t I be allowed to buy as much gasoline as they do?”
    When asked about the source of this gasoline tanker, Patterson revealed that Shell has released some of its emergency oil reserves to key distributors.
    â€œThat’s a lie,” Mike Kravner, a spokesman for Shell, claimed last night in a widely released response. “We are sending all our oil reserves to the military fighting in Venezuela and to our troops onalert in Bolivia. As much as we respect the hardship on Americans, making oil and its by-product, gasoline, available to our troops is a higher priority. What the Marietta Shell is selling is stolen gasoline. Patterson obviously knows someone with access to our emergency reserves. We are sending a team of investigators to get to the bottom of this.”
    In the wake of Kravner’s comments, the line of cars lined up outside the Shell station more than tripled. Violence ensued in several incidents when cars with low fuel tanks had their engines quit while on line. In one instance, a motorist refused to push his stopped vehicle to the side of the road or even get out. Several waiting on line rammed the stalled car until it careened down an embankment and into Lake Morrisey with the driver still inside. (He was rescued shortly thereafter.)
    Police commissioner Jay Parks announced in a press conference yesterday that due to the chaos caused by this situation, only residents who can prove they own property in Marietta will be able to access gasoline from the station. This was met with loud booing. A man was arrested for throwing a rock at Commissioner Parks.

CHAPTER 6
    Niki ransacked her top dresser drawer, searching for a box of contact lenses. Her