Despite going down instead of up, she was sweaty and twitchy by the time she reached the double doors on the bottom level.
Two security guards let her out but Hara immediately wished she could turn tail and go back upstairs. The barely lit causeway, jammed with thousands of ticket holders trying to exit the arena at the same time, smelled like an overcrowded zoo. The scene was chaos.
Namaste, namaste, namaste, she chanted in her head, trying to control her anxiety in the dim, stuffy corridor.
Then, Derek Darcy jogged up to the security guards next to her.
“O’Donnell told me to meet him after the game. Is he still in the owners’ box?” he barked at the guards.
Hara blinked, tried to step back, but there was a wall behind her. She edged slowly sideways, not wanting to attract attention.
“Nope,” said a door guard. “He beat feet right after the lights went out.”
Three team assistants were behind the ballplayer, providing a barrier between him and the shuffling throng of ticket holders. In the low flickering light, wearing a beanie cap, quilted jacket, and sweats over his uniform, Derek went unnoticed by the bystanders. Why would a player be out here, with the hoi polloi?
His eyes widened when he caught sight of Hara. “I thought you left.” Then, “I’m looking for Charles, too. Is he up there? Is Tina?”
“Um. No. Tina left before I did. I haven’t seen Charles. But I did see him push you at the end of the game. That was—”
“Hey!” It was Eddie, his eyes bugging out, his hair looking extra red in the gloom. He skidded to a stop next to her, not realizing he was about to get taken out by an amped-up security guard.
“It’s okay, I know him,” Hara told the guards and assistants, hoping they cared what the random girl talking to their player had to say on the matter.
Eddie, still impervious to the people closing in around him, said, “I’m glad I found you! Friggin’ pissa out there. Let me give you a ride. You can crash at my place.”
“Hara, you need a ride?” Derek asked, looming over her, his eyebrows knitted together.
“I—”
“Oh geez. Darcy.” The red-bearded man blushed. “I mean, Mr. Darcy. I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
Most nonobservant reporter ever.
Darcy threw his chin at the reporter but said to Hara, “I’ve got my SUV. I can get you where you need to go.”
Hara swallowed, her throat clicking with dryness.
Then her phone vibrated with a message. She read it and frowned. “That’s not good.” She looked up at Derek, who folded his arms impatiently. “It’s Naomi. The girl you saved from Tina at the bar? You gave her a ride home”—just before he’d almost kissed Hara and then blew her off—“I’m staying with her, but she has no power, and I guess her place is full of smoke, thanks to a small fire in the restaurant below her.”
“You’re not at O’Donnell’s? Never mind. Come on.” Derek grabbed her hand and pulled her down the causeway, Eddie and the team assistants jogging alongside.
“Hey! Hey, let go of me!”
He stopped. “We need to leave if we’re going to go get Naomi.”
“Use your words, man.” She tugged her hand free.
“Do you, or do you not, want to go to Naomi’s?”
“Well, yes…”
Eddie puffed up, stroking his beard nervously. “Don’t do that! I’ve got a fireplace, you’ll be warm and safe—”
“Can your car drive through high water?”
“No.”
She turned to Derek, grimacing. Before she spoke, she had to swallow again, trying to clear the gigantic, dry slice of pride caught halfway down her throat. “I’m sorry I mocked your jacked-up SUV. Would you maybe be willing to get Naomi and take her somewhere?”
After Derek nodded, she turned and patted the redheaded reporter on the shoulder. “Thanks, Eddie. I know you’re trying to help. But Derek has an SUV.” Plus, she didn’t really know Eddie; maybe he was a serial killer aiming to stock his freezer. Better the devil you know.
“Let’s go!” Derek started moving again. “I want nothing more than to spend my evening, driving through water-covered roads and ferrying you about.”
“You offered! Never mind, then.” She planted her feet. Serial killer it is.
The basketball player didn’t turn around, just kept walking. One of the assistants looked back to see if she was following, raised a quizzical eyebrow.
“I will say it again,” Eddie, next to her, stage-whispered. “How is it you know these fuckin’ guys? I mean, Darcy is your chauffeur?”
Hara shrugged and said goodbye. She could feel Eddie’s stare crawl across her back.
“Jerk,” she grumbled, reluctantly trying to catch up to Derek’s receding figure. Once again, though, she shoved her ego down. She was a total masochist, obviously. He could help her, and Naomi, so she supposed she could put up with Derek’s arrogance for a while longer. Who else was she going to call? Madeline?
She was at Derek’s side by the time they reached an entrance leading into the private, enclosed garage where he had parked his car. He told the assistants they could go. There were no more crowds, not in the garage, so they left.
Climbing into his vehicle, Hara said, “I don’t know why you are doing this, but thank you.”
He frowned at her. “Who wouldn’t help someone in trouble? What kind of asshole do you think I am?”
She didn’t answer.
CHAPTER 13
It rained hard.
—Pride and Prejudice
Two guards manually tugged open the electric garage doors. Rain sprayed the front of the car, making Hara jump. The guards moved back and waved them through. The driveway sloped down steeply onto one of the main roads in front of the arena.
“You’ve got your seat belt on?” Derek asked.
So thoughtful. I promise not to sue you if we get in an accident.
Hara peered through the night, only their headlights to guide them. They could see streetlights and buildings lit up one street over, but this street was dark. “Maybe it’s not as bad as they’ve…”
They reached street level and pulled out. A sheet of water sprayed up from under the tires. The front tires skidded for half a second, until the back wheels hit the flat road and grounded the vehicle.
“This should be interesting.”
Derek didn’t reply. He concentrated on the crowded road, blurred by the streaming rain and windshield wipers.
A gust of wind rocked the SUV, making both of them jump. There was no talking for the next few minutes, as Derek maneuvered through the traffic coming out of the coliseum, directed by traffic cops in fluorescent yellow at the dark intersections, water dripping heavily off the lips of their police hats.
Traffic thinned out quickly, once they got on the blocks closer to Naomi’s side of the harbor. Water sprayed up in sheets from their tires—something that was once fun to do with mud puddles was now terrifying. The floodwater looked only a couple of inches deep, but Hara knew from past experience, and plenty of hurricane footage, that looks could be deceiving.
As they finally reached Naomi’s building, Hara sucked in her breath.
The Chinese restaurant was closed, and from the outside looked fine, though it was hard to tell in the dark. It was the amount of water on the street in front of it that was so disturbing.
Water sloshed up against the bricks at the base of the structure, hiding the sidewalks; white foam splashed back from the tires of parked cars. Outside the tight circle of headlights, the pitch-black buildings loomed along a street that seemed to be moving. Hara started to open her door, eager to get her belongings and get far away from here.
“Wait.”
Seriously? Hara arched an eyebrow at him and opened the door anyway, slowly and with panache. Rain ran down inside the vehicle. And onto her pants.
He smirked. “Why do you always have so much attitude?”
“You’re an ass.”
/> He lost the smile. “What is it with you? You think you’d be more grateful. I’m just trying to do the right thing here. Maybe you should try it.”
“What!” She’d almost forgotten, after all that had happened in the past hour: Derek thought she was a conniver.
They’d almost kissed, then he’d pushed her away without a word, watched her leave without even a goodbye. Then, he’d listened to O’Donnell’s story about her in the kitchen and believed every word of it. She wiped at the water on her pants. “Forget it. Let’s just get this over with.”
He sighed, handed her a flashlight from the center console, and opened his door, glancing back over his shoulder. “You’re welcome for the ride.” He slammed his door before she could respond.
Hara didn’t want to, but she laughed. He’d gotten himself the last word.
She jumped onto the sidewalk and almost lost her balance, one foot sucked out from under her. Grabbing onto the door just in time, she got herself back upright. The wind worked tendrils loose from her bun and lashed them against her face.
“I tried to tell you,” said Derek, there to steady her. She stiffened under his touch, but he didn’t seem to notice. Did he not remember the last time he helped her out of a car?
Hara had been prepared to get her feet wet, which was inevitable, and not even the first time that day. A half inch of water wasn’t enough to do anything but ruin her shoes. Or so she thought. But it wasn’t just a puddle she’d stepped into, it was a shallow, fast-moving stream.
Her next steps were balanced and strong and she was able to stand on her own. “I don’t need your help,” Hara said, loud enough to be heard over Mother Nature.
He backed away, hands in the air. “Fine.”
Water, rushing and slapping, ran over her feet, and wind gusts pushed and pulled at her and rattled windows and fire escapes. It was more frightening than she expected. Following Derek, she was almost knocked off her feet by an especially hard gust.
Without thinking, she grabbed the back of his coat, but he didn’t say anything. Didn’t even look around, thankfully, as they buzzed Naomi’s door and waited, bent against the wind. Her pride stung but better that than getting knocked down.
“You’d think these tall buildings would serve as a wind block.”
Derek buzzed again and then glanced around. “I think, instead, the placement of the buildings has created a wind tunnel through here.”
“Lucky us.” Hara saw a light bobbing in the window on the floor above. Naomi’s frightened face appeared, highlighted creepily by a flashlight. Hara shined her own flashlight under her chin and grinned. The light upstairs diminished.
Naomi had the door open for them in record time. “Derek Darcy? Is that you? And Hara? Are you here to rescue me?” She stepped back so they could come into the alcove, out of the deluge. “Where’s Charles?”
“Charles?” Derek said, stomping his feet and shaking out his coat. “He’s not here.” He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Why would he be?”
Hara slowly took off her fogged glasses and put them in her pocket. They’d been useless in the weather anyway. So. Derek really doesn’t know about Naomi. What had he been talking about after the interview, then, telling Charles to come clean? Hara wanted to punch her fist in the air and yell, “I knew it!” She’d been right in the first place; there was a story she was missing.
Naomi colored, realizing her error. “Oh, nothing, no, I figured you guys were always together,” she finished lamely.
“Uh huh,” Derek said. He sniffed. “I can smell the smoke. I assume it’s much worse on your floor. More importantly, the water is rising. You should hurry, if you want to bring anything with you.” He prodded Hara from behind. “You, too.”
“Touch me again and I’m going to rip your finger off.”
* * *
Derek waited in the SUV. It took less than five minutes for the young women to reconvene at the bottom of the staircase, Hara having quickly exchanged her blazer for a sweatshirt and her mules for tennis shoes. She didn’t have rubber boots, and Naomi’s shoes didn’t fit, so sneakers would have to do.
“Be careful.” Hara put a hand on the other girl’s wrist as Naomi reached for the doorknob. The wind howled and the rain hammered down, even worse than it had when Hara first arrived.
Naomi nodded, put down her overnight bag, turned the knob, and slowly opened the door.
An intense blast of wind grabbed the textured metal slab in Naomi’s hands, tugging it outward. Hara watched, helplessly, as the slightly built girl held on to the doorknob, a shocked look on her face, before she was snatched off her feet and yanked outside.
“Naomi!” Hara screamed. “Let go!” But it was too late for that.
She jumped out after Naomi, who’d toppled headfirst down the cement stairs, while the door banged loosely behind her, against the side of the building. Hara was almost blown away herself, buffeted back and forth by the wind, but, keeping low, she was able to withstand the gusts and make it down the stairs to Naomi.
The girl lay facedown on the sidewalk. Water sluiced around her head, her face.
Hara jumped to her side, her mind trying to keep a grip on logic. She crouched low and lifted Naomi’s head clear of the water, praying she wasn’t harming the girl further. Please don’t be a paraplegic, please don’t be a paraplegic.
Hara’s jeans and sneakers were soaked; she knelt, making sure she was planted firmly enough not to get knocked over by the rushing water, and rolled Naomi onto her back, her friend’s head propped on Hara’s leg. With rain pelting Naomi’s closed eyelids and slack face, Hara burst into tears. A huge lump protruded from the middle of the girl’s forehead. “Naomi! Wake up!” About to shake her, Hara pulled herself together. Be gentle. Think.
“Is she breathing?” yelled Derek, crouching next to Hara, swaying in the wind, his face ashen.
Hara nodded, pointed to the girl’s rising and falling chest.
“I am so sorry.” The wind carried away his words, making it hard to hear, but his copper eyes darkened, churned with emotion. “I should have come back for you.” His mouth turned down as he looked at Hara, worry and regret etched into his features. “Are you hurt?”
Hara wasn’t sure, but she thought his voice had cracked.
She shook her head, long, sopping strands of hair swinging slowly with the motion. Her hair had come undone. So had she.
His face turned stern as he gently slid his hands under Naomi. “We need to get her to a hospital.” The basketball player picked up the unconscious girl effortlessly. Water ran off her limp body as if she were a fountain.
“Hold on to me, Hara.”
The sound of her name on his lips made her shiver. Jesus, what is wrong with me? Hara desperately wanted to wrap herself around Derek’s back, wind her arms around his stomach, let him protect her. Instead, she held on to the back of his coat again. Derek opened the front passenger door, gently slid Naomi into the seat, and buckled her in.
An odd whistling and clanging sound pierced the wind. Clutching even harder onto Derek’s coat, Hara whipped her head around, and gasped. A stop sign had been shorn free from its post and flew toward them, spinning, occasionally bouncing off the ground, like a feather on a windy beach. Except this was a large, metal projectile.
She only had a second to act. Derek, leaning into the cab of the SUV, fiddling with Naomi’s seat belt, had no idea they were about to get smacked by a sharp-edged flying object. Hara shoved him, hard. He fell into the vehicle, lying across the unconscious girl in the passenger seat.
“What—”
“Stay there!” Hara screamed. “Don’t stand up!” She grabbed the handle of the back seat door, praying it was unlocked. She wrenched it open and crouched down next to Derek’s legs. Water washed over her feet, splashing her ankles and knees. “Don’t move!”
The stop sign hit Hara’s impromptu shield with an awful shriek of metal, then popped up and over the door. Hara could see it flying for a few doze
n feet, until its weight pulled it back to earth. She heard it continue on, clanging against the ground every few seconds.
“Was that…?” Derek, wide-eyed, stared at her over his shoulder, his body still bent over Naomi.
“I know, right?” Her voice shook. Hara peeked around the door before standing up. Besides small pieces of litter swirling around, the coast looked clear. For now.
Derek closed the front passenger door and they stood facing each other. Again. By a car. Derek wrapped his fingers around her upper forearms and peered down at her. “Thank you. Are you okay?”
She nodded, her hair clinging to her face. She’d give anything to be away from here, and yet … “We should go before a yield sign comes looking for its brother.”
Derek’s warm, strong hands slid away; raindrops took their place. Hara climbed into the back seat, glad for the protection.
Then she tensed. Instead of running around to the driver’s side, the ballplayer bent his long frame into the wind and jogged back inside Naomi’s building. The loose door still flapped in the wind; it had already taken out one of their party.
Minutes later, Derek emerged from the black entryway with two suitcases.
He went back for our stuff?
Hara’s stomach was a writhing knot of worry and frustration at the unnecessary, unwise gesture, watching as he braced against the wind and scanned for flying objects. But she was also extremely moved by his thoughtfulness. He hadn’t needed to come at all, yet here he was, being brave and solicitous.
Derek opened the back hatch, tossed in the luggage, and slammed it shut, making Hara jump. But not Naomi. “Please wake up,” Hara begged her, reaching through the seats to throw a jacket over her soaked and unconscious friend. “I’ve got you, I promise.”
The Wrong Mr. Darcy Page 15
