Page 121 of Through the Storms

They breathed together for several minutes before Lana said, “Are you feeling calmer?”

Chloe opened her eyes, and they were clearer. Her gaze no longer darted around as it had when Lana first arrived. “Oh, my god, I forgot the pool.”

CHAPTER 44

“Pool?” Lana said.

Chloe’s heart raced. “It’s the only thing Mia liked about visiting her dad.” Chloe slapped her forehead. “Why didn’t I think of it before? We’ve wasted so much valuable time.” Chloe frantically scanned the area. “We need to tell Riley.”

“They’re over there.” Lana pointed to where Riley and Oakley were helping an elderly woman into one of the rescue vehicles. “Come on.”

When they arrived at the pickup, Chloe impatiently shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she waited for them to finish. As soon as the woman was safely inside, Chloe grabbed Riley’s arm. “There’s a big community pool somewhere. We need to find it.”

Riley’s eyes narrowed. “Someone already did. They fell in. They were walking the grid, and there was so much rubble over the top they didn’t know there was a pool underneath.”

“Where is it?” Chloe’s heart raced, but she tried to remain calm.

Concentration etched Riley’s face as she scanned the area. “Hey, Jim,” she called.

“Whatcha need?” the man picking through the rubble replied.

“Where was that swimming pool?” Riley asked.

He scratched his head and looked to the east. “Over there. I believe it was the second block we did.”

“Dennis’s house was directly north of the pool.” Chloe bounced on the balls of her feet. “It was in the next block. About halfway down.”

“We were doing one block at a time. Moving from east to west. We didn’t go that far north.” Riley’s eyes lit up. She turned to Oakley. “Can you get Asher and Britt and a few others, so we can search that area?”

“I’ll round them up,” Oakley said and took off at a run.

The group assembled quickly. It didn’t take long to locate the pool since the rubble had been disturbed where the volunteer had fallen, but to Chloe, every minute seemed like an hour.

“It’s north of here.” Chloe pointed. “Just up the street.”

The street was difficult to make out but not impossible.

Riley put her hand on Chloe’s arm. “All right, we’re going to walk north. If you see any indication of the house, let me know. The key is slow and methodical, so we don’t miss anything.”

Chloe clenched her fist. Even though she knew Riley’s instructions were sound, going slow and methodical would be torturous.

“What side of the street is the house on?” Riley asked.

“The left.”

Riley smiled at Chloe. “I need you to walk with Lana along the edge of the street.” Although the street was mostly covered, there was enough pavement peeking through to determine where itwas. “Oakley, Asher, and I will walk through where the houses are.”

“I want to walk there.” Chloe’s voice rose. “I want to find her.”

Riley shot Lana a pleading look before she focused her attention on Chloe. “It can be dangerous walking through the rubble. Oakley, Asher, and I are experienced doing it. You’re not, plus you’re too close to the situation.”

Chloe turned to Lana. “Help me out.”

Lana’s eyes softened. “I agree with Riley. They know what they’re doing. They’ll do it better and faster if we stay out of their way.”

Faster.Lana’s words pierced Chloe’s defenses. Whatever would help her find Mia sooner was what she’d do. “Let’s go.”

They’d been searching for nearly half an hour when Chloe’s gaze landed on a familiar landmark. “There,” she called out. “That big ugly mailbox. It’s right next to Dennis’s.”