“I was now officially Beckstrom the storm rod. And I hated it.”

“Fucking hell.” He sighed dramatically. “I hate you, Beckstrom.” “Hold on to that,” I said. “You know, because anger will get you there.”

“You told Detective Stotts you think a wild storm is coming.” “I thought you were puking.” “Not with my ears,” he said.”

“Okay, that was so far down Creepy Lane that it had intersected with Scaring the Hell Out of Me Avenue. I hated that avenue.”

“How does the Authority usually handle storms like this?” “Not well.”

“I don’t know what’s happened to you. You used to be such a nice girl. Now you’ve gone all stabby and whatnot.”

“Zay shrugged one shoulder. “I wouldn’t say it was entirely innocent. All that warm, wet water touching us everywhere. And the soap definitely had ulterior motives.” I wrapped the towel around me, tucking it tight at the top. “That career in comedy? Walk away now, Jones.”