When The Wind Blows James Patterson Novels & Stories

Fatigue still lingered on her face, but so did something new—a fragile calm, imperfect yet real. James took a small blanket from a chair and draped it over Emma’s shoulders. The gesture was simple, but careful. “You’re cold,” he said. “A little,” Emma replied with a faint smile. “Thank you.” They sat side by side, their shoulders touching. There was no need to speak. The wind moved softly through the leaves, like a breath being reset. “I made something,” James said suddenly. He stood, went briefly into the kitchen, then returned with two cups. Thin steam rose into the air.

"P-P-Perhaps he was a repairman from elsewhere—" I let out a scoff, interjecting, "That's not all. Mr. Rowland is a lefty. He always uses his left hand whenever he smokes or holds onto his walkie-talkie. "However, the person in the photo is making a peace sign with his right hand. On top of that, Mr. Rowland has a dark burn scar on his wrist, whereas there's nothing on the hand of the person in the photograph." Peter turned to look at me. His eyes were filled with shock. He had finally realized that I was fully sane and lucid.

He took a deep breath, an undeniable thrill of victory pulsing through his veins. It was late into the night. James sat in the back of the sleek town car, watching the glowing city blur past the tinted windows. He closed his eyes, inhaling the faint, salty scent of the Pacific Ocean seeping through the air conditioning. "Pull over here," James instructed suddenly.

"A shell of her former self, eh? That's spot on, Grandpa. Let's just focus on ourselves from now on. They're nothing to us." He nodded in agreement. "I won't get worked up because of her anymore. We'll live well together." Jolene dropped by not long after. She came bearing gifts for Bruce, but didn't plead for Leon. "Bruce, I'll get to the end of this. I'm just glad you're alright." Bruce didn't give her a warm response. She felt guilty and left on her own. However, she felt an odd sense of emptiness growing inside her as she walked away, leaving her increasingly uneasy. She lit a cigarette—something she hadn't touched in a long time.

He would bring trouble to Winston if he aggravated Victor by giving him the impression that he was in cahoots with the Taylor family. Jasper didn't mind cleaning up the mess after the Taylors. However, exposing himself now just wasn't the smartest thing to do. The sky was dark, and the wind was howling like mad. The wind blew against his body. The weight of the wind almost felt like the beating that he had taken the previous night. Jasper's eyes were dim and deep. Dark stubble had begun to emerge on his sharp jaw, accentuating his gruffness and the dire situation. It was as if he had returned to the time when he was in the military.

He moved all of his limbs. “There’s no way, bro. You probably flew like twenty feet in the air.” Tres was incredulous. James just shrugged and stood up. He studied the ground where he had landed and noticed a pattern to the dirt. Sand had been blown from every direction, creating an oblong shape in the vicinity of where he had fallen. It was almost as if his landing had caused the loose minerals to be pushed from his very presence. That’s odd, James thought. He cleared his head with a shake and met the disbelieving eyes of the father and son. “I’m good, promise,” he assured them. “How’s the buggy?”

The air smells like horses and male sweat, sweetened by the heather that grows in the surrounding mountains. A little way ahead of them stands James with a large white horse. Its mane is the color of moonlight. He’s looking away from his men, up at the sky. Not far from him, I spot Blake. He’s dressed all in black, and stands still among the chaos. The wind ruffles his dark hair. His expression is unreadable. A flash of anger surges through me. I walk to him, and tilt my head. There is no smirk on his lips. He emanates darkness.

After all, he did get her phone number and was going to call her in the morning. All in all James was in a good mood as he walked home. It was well after midnight. Trick-or-treaters have long since cleared the streets. The suburb was deathly quiet as James walked along the edge of the neighborhood park. As he crossed the midpoint, he got the feeling that something was off. He had the distinct feeling that he was being watched. James tried to shake the feeling off but it just got worse the closer he got to his house.

“You know me. I just wanted to clear my head. Nothing happened.” For a moment, he didn’t look convinced. His sharp gaze swept the area around me, lingering on the disturbed dirt by my feet, the faint rustle of leaves, exactly the direction where the girl had disappeared. My stomach tightened. Finally, he exhaled sharply and dragged a hand through his hair. “You shouldn’t wander off tonight. The party is already over.” Something cold coiled in my chest. “Why? Did… something happen?” James’s expression darkened, his jaw ticking before he answered. “I just got word from the border patrols. That a rogue pack was sighted very close to the pack borders.”

After I was reborn, I burned every photo I had with Natalie Landers and tore up the three years' worth of love letters Kristen Rhodes had written me. In my last life, I'd been nothing but a joke caught between those two women. Natalie swore she loved me, but the moment I gave up my study-abroad spot for her, she left the country with Freddy Palmer. Before she left, she wrote me a letter, saying, "He needs me more than you do." I spent three months falling apart. Kristen brought me dinner every night and told me, "I've waited eight years for you." Once we were together, she came home on time every evening and never so much as looked at another man. I thought I'd finally bet on the right