State of Emergency (Book) by Summer Lane Read Free Book Online

doesn’t answer. He just moves his hand towards the ignition, looking for the keys. “Cassie…?”
     I grin.
    “Oh, I have them,” I say. “I didn’t want them to drive off and steal the car.”
    I reach down into my shirt and take the keys out, tossing them to Chris. He stares at me, then at the keys, then back at me. A self-satisfied smirk touches his lips. “ That’s good to know,” he says.
    “What’s good to know?”
    “Where you hide your important stuff.”
    “Shut up.”
    He starts the engine. He takes the Mustang back onto the old road.
    “I say we stay away from all cities until further notice,” I propose, wincing every time we hit a bump. “When you were inside I got the crank radio to pick up a signal. They were playing an audio loop of the emergency camps set up for refugees. Apparently the whole state is down.”
    Chris swears.
    “This could be far-reaching,” he mutters. “Worse than I thought.”
    “At least they have someplace for people to go ,” I say.
    “No,” Chris says, his voice sharp. “Those camps will just be full of panicking people who need help. We need to avoid those kinds of places.”
    “Sometimes people need help, Chris,” I point out. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”
    “Trust me, I don’t think we’re going to want their help.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “Nothing.” He shakes his head. “We’ll take a closer look at that hit above your hip once we get far enough away from the populated areas.”
    “It’ll be fine,” I say. “It’s just a bruise.”
    “It’s still worth checking out,” he insists. “You could have fractured something.”
    His hands grip the steering wheel so hard that I’m afraid he’s going to pop it right off. “The President declared a state of emergency,” I say, trying to change the subject. Calm him down.
    “No kidding,” Chris laughs, releasing a bit of the tension.
    I look down at my hands, still shaking like leaves.
    “It’s a cabin,” I blurt out.
    “Excuse me?”
    “The place I’m meeting my dad,” I explain. “It’s a little cabin we own. We have it stocked with supplies. You…you’re welcome to come if you want.”
    “I gotta find my brother first.”
    “After you find your brother, then,” I say. “My dad says strength is in numbers, anyway.”
    Chris cocks his eyebrow.
    “True.” He looks over at me, ghosting a sexy smile. “Thanks for offering.”
    I blush for no logical reason and turn back towards the window.
    “Chris?” I ask. “Do you think my dad is still alive?”
    I voice the horrible thought that has been nagging at the back of my mind since that first airplane went down in Culver City. Who’s to say that my dad wasn’t caught in one of those freak explosions? The odds are certainly in his favor.
    Chris remains silent for a long time before answering.
    “What do you believe?” he says at last, glancing over at me.
    I hesitate, fear and doubt telling me that my dad is as good as dead. That even if I make it to the cabin in the mountains, I’ll be stuck there alone, because he won’t be there to meet me.
    “I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “He didn’t have the Mustang, so I don’t know how he would have got out of the city. I don’t know how long it would take him to figure out where I went.”
    When I stop to take a shaky breath, Chris grabs my hand. He squeezes it hard and we lock eyes again. “Hey,” he says. “If your dad is anything like you, he’s definitely alive.”
    I bite down on my lip to keep from bursting into tears like an overly emotional child. Unable to keep my voice steady enough to reply, I just smile to convey my thanks. Chris releases my hand and touches my cheek before focusing back on the road.
    As we put distance between ourselves and the gas station from hell, I can’t help but think how much my life has changed in less than twenty-four hours.
    What a trip.
     
    The back roads only go so far. Many of them were