Read Online Lightning Strikes (The Almeida Brothers Trilogy #3) by Trevion Burns - Free Book Online

snuck out of the room without at least waking me up.  I wanted to buy you breakfast.”
    “I’m fine.”
    “You’re already bordering on too skinny for a man of your height.  I have no doubt you would have demolished the massive stack of pancakes I had sent to the room when I woke up and look… we both ended up in the same place anyway.  One of us just has a much fuller belly than the other.”
    When Jack’s stomach growled at the mental picture of pancakes, he grew irritated.  “Don’t you have a phone call to make?”
    Backing away from him, she held up the phone, waving it.  “7171?”
    Jack nodded.  “Yep.”
    “Well…” Eyes falling, she pressed two fingers to her forehead and saluted him.  “Bon voyage, Aries.”
    Jack watched her back away.  The wind from the sliding doors at the entryway crossed the room and pushed her hair into the air.  He watched it float as she turned and walked away.
    “Bon voyage.” He smirked. “Hurricane Nina.”
     
    ***
     
    Outside, the wind continued assaulting Nina’s hair.  She could see the curious, borderline rude, stares from the people around her.  Those curious gazes always overstayed their welcome, watching her curls as they moved through the air.  Having grown up with big hair, she was used to it, but still, somewhere in the back of her mind, it bewildered her.  Was the way her hair grew out of her scalp, naturally, really so fascinating?
    She kicked her black boots against the gravel of the station’s large parking lot.  The rising sun cast a soft glare on the iPhone screen as she scrolled through all of Jack’s missed calls.  She’d promised him she wouldn’t go through his phone, but she just couldn’t help looking at his missed calls.  She had to know if it was one person who’d called him three hundred times, or several people.
    It was several, both men and women.  Hundreds of different names and area codes—most New York and Cambridge based—glared up at her.
    “Who the hell are you, Jack?” she mumbled, laughing as she scrolled and scrolled.  Even as she scrolled, calls were coming through, all of which she had to reject.  Every call she rejected was followed up by a voicemail.  “Why are so many people after you?”
    Had he robbed a bank?  Killed someone?  Was he a fugitive on the run? Did he owe all these people money?
    Ignoring the voicemails, she went to the home screen and dialed one of the only two numbers she knew by heart.
    Unlike every person hunting Jack, Nina had the pleasure of her callee picking up on the second ring.
    “Thank god you answered,” she said.  “It’s Nina.”
    “Jesus, Nina.  Where the hell are you?”
    Darkness swept in, even as the sun shone brightly.  Her skin prickled with bumps, and her heart sped up to an unbearable pace, to the point that it became difficult to breathe.  She crossed one arm over her chest while cradling the phone to her ear.
    “I’m in Chicago,” she said.  “Plane got diverted and almost crashed.”
    “I know that, Nina.  It’s all over the news.  I’ve been calling you non-stop.”
    “I lost my phone.”
    “Are you alright?”
    “I’m fine, and so is your retainer, so don’t worry.”  She heard him sigh.  “Look, I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to get home.  All three airports are closed; trains are down.  Bridges lifted.  The news is saying the storm could shut New York down for weeks.  If I can’t make it there on time, for whatever reason… do you think we can get a continuance?”
    “New York is underwater. I assure you, everyone will be granted a continuance.”
    “I know you lawyers are a different breed.  If anyone can breathe—and argue—underwater, it’s you guys.  The show must go on, right?”
    “As much as I enjoy hearing what a cold blooded monster I am, like I said… New York is underwater.”
    “I just wanted to touch base and tell you that I’m doing everything I can to get home, and if I’m not