by Maegan Abel
"What time is it?" he asked, reaching for the device I held out to him. I didn't answer as he looked at the screen and frowned. "What's up?" he asked into the phone. His brow creased and he glanced toward the window with a sigh. "Okay. See you in thirty."
I watched him as he groaned, dropping his head back to the bed and yawning. The last time I remembered looking at the clock, it was well after one in the morning, so we'd only been asleep for a few hours.
Finally, he sat up and looked at me, his eyes still puffy with sleep. "There's flooding all over the county. They need all first responders."
He leaned in and kissed me quickly before sliding off the bed to start getting ready while I sat in place, watching him. He paused at the small closet, looking over his shoulder at me. There was something in his expression and he came back over, leaning down to put his face close to mine. "Britt's picking me up, but do you want us to drop you off at Tish's? Or Nikki's?"
I sighed, hating that he was so concerned about me being home alone. "No. I'm good. I'll probably try to get a little more sleep before Tom brings Conner home."
He nodded and returned to his task of getting ready for work. When he went into the bathroom, I climbed back under the covers, laying on his side of the bed. It was still warm and it smelled strongly of him. Something tugged at my mind, turning my stomach as the worry tried to seep in, but I wouldn't allow it. When he came back in, still buttoning his shirt, I couldn't help but smile. He loved his job and it was obvious most days, but tonight he seemed just as disgruntled as I was.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, coming back over to the bed. He bent down and kissed me, tasting strongly of mint from the toothpaste.
"Don't apologize," I said, forcing a small laugh. "Go save lives. Be safe."
"Always," he replied, his eyes tight.
He waved again as he headed out and I listened to the sound of him resetting the alarm before the door closed behind him. I couldn't hear Brittany's car over the rain. Had it always been this loud? An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach, knotting it with tension as the baby started squirming.
"Daddy will be back soon," I whispered aloud, needing to hear it myself. I wasn't normally one to talk to my stomach and it still felt a little silly to me, but I knew her unease was based off mine. We both needed the reassurance tonight.
By late afternoon, the unease was weighing on me. I'd stopped checking my phone, sick of seeing the news updates on the flooding. Apparently, Fremont Street in downtown was one of the worst areas hit and people were trapped in the basements of flooding buildings. It wasn't the first time flooding had been an issue in Vegas, but it was the first time my husband was out in the middle of it, leaving me to worry.
The baby squirmed again as I finished doing the dishes from Conner's lunch. I hadn't been able to eat anything, my nerves completely ruining any appetite I might've had. I wasn't feeling light-headed at all and I was monitoring my blood pressure like the doctor told me to. It was a little elevated but not too terrible—nothing I didn't expect with everything going on.
I jumped when my phone sprang to life, vibrating against the counter and blasting out the ringtone so loud, it echoed through the house. I'd turned it all the way up, afraid I would miss a call or update from Zane even though I knew he was busy. My screen read Tish's name and I sighed, figuring he was calling to check on me like everyone else had. They'd closed the shop because it was slow due to the weather and they all seemed dead set on spending the day worrying about me.
"I'm good. I promise," I said instead of greeting him. My voice was exasperated but not quite irritated.
"Glad to hear it, but I need to know where the files are for those two apprentices who interviewed this week," he said and I heard the sound of papers shuffling in the background.
"Oh. Umm…I could've sworn I put them on your desk," I said, scanning my brain. I'd been so scattered recently, I couldn't remember what I'd done after making the files for the two applicants.
"I looked on my desk already. They aren't there. I need to add them to the others to go over tonight," he said, sounding irritated.
"Okay. Well, I'll be there in a few minutes and I'll find them," I said calmly, ending the call and scowling at the phone. Blowing out a breath, I headed into the living room, finding Conner playing on the floor with cartoons on in the background. "Hey, Boog, we need to go to the shop for a few. Can you go put your shoes on?" He stood, heading to his bedroom while I went to grab my flip flops, because fuck shoes. For the last week or so, my feet had been so swollen, I was pretty much living barefoot whenever possible.
I grabbed my purse and dug out my keys and wallet. I didn't need to lug the rest of it along, especially in the rain when I had Conner to worry about. I searched the closet, growling that we didn't own an umbrella. Hell, it only rained a handful of times a year. Apparently, today was making up for that.
I was drenched by the time I climbed into the driver's seat of Zane's car. I watched Conner finish buckling himself in, the superhero action figures he'd brought with him hindering his progress a few times. I took a deep breath, not allowing myself to get frustrated with him even though I was stressed and soaking wet. This day was not going the way it was supposed to, but it was far from his fault. When the final click sounded, he looked up with something like pride in his expression and I smiled, waiting for a second, hoping he would smile back. After a brief moment, his eyes slipped from mine and moved to the rain as it beat against the windows.
Watching him continue to struggle was harder than I ever imagined. Some days, it felt like we were on the verge of a breakthrough, and others, we were sliding backwards down the hill, trying to find something to hold onto.
I focused on the road as I drove the few miles from our house to the shop, having to detour only once due to a flooded road. It was slow going at a few points and I realized very few cars were out for the time of day. Everyone was probably staying inside, avoiding this mess like I wanted to be.
When we pulled up behind the shop, I sighed, thankful the parking lot was nearly empty. I searched through my keys, finding my key to the back door so I wouldn’t have to rush down the alley and around to the front in the rain.
"Okay," I said, turning to face Conner. "You can unbuckle now and then we're going to hold hands and head for the door. Sound good?" He worked on the buckle, not answering but getting himself out of the straps.
I jumped out of the car, grabbing his hand as we rushed toward the back door. I jogged carefully, nothing more than power walking, trying to get out of the rain. There was no awning over the back door so we continued to get soaked as I fumbled to get the key to work. Finally, we rushed into the safety of the building and I slammed the door closed behind us. My flip flops squeaked as I turned and I slipped, throwing out my arms to catch myself against the wall.
"Easy. Why the hell did come in that way? You know we don't have a mat back here," Tish said, his annoyance still clear.
I looked up at him and rolled my eyes. "Well, you're welcome, Tish. I was happy to drive all the way over here in this mess, dragging my son when I'm supposed to be resting, all because you can't wait until tomorrow for a few files." Clearly, I'd lost the battle with reining in my temper.
"If you'd put them where you were supposed to, this wouldn't be a problem, would it? Just find them."
I suppressed the urge to spout of a litany of profanity as I walked past him, Conner's footsteps squeaking along behind mine as we headed toward the front of the building.
"And what the hell is up with the pens?" Tish asked, his voice still coming from behind me. I grinned, fighting back the urge to laugh.
"What about them?" I asked innocently, unable to look back at him because of my smile. I headed behind the counter to start searching for the files while Conner moved to sit in the waiting area chairs, his toys in his lap.
"Are you serious with this shit?" Tish paused in front of the counter, dumping the pens out of the cup they sat in.
"Oh, l
ighten up. It's funny," I said, rolling my eyes. I'd ordered them to annoy him, knowing he would find them unprofessional, but the clients cracked up when they saw them.
Written in black along the white barrel of the pens it said:
STOLEN FROM LIVING INK TATTOOS
Las Vegas, NV.
He grunted, shoving them back into the cup. "They write blue." I had to look down at the papers on the desk to keep from laughing again.
"So?"
"The caps are black but the ink is blue."
I shrugged, unable to hide the laugh now.
"You're supposed to be mature enough to be an office manager. If you keep pulling shit like this—"
"You're going to fire me?" I asked, my humor gone. "Look, I ordered the pens as a joke. I thought you'd get a kick out of them. The clients laugh when they see them."
He sighed, running his hands through his hair before finally looking back up at me. "When were you going to tell me about you and Tony?"
Fuck. My. Life. I knew my expression must've looked identical to a frightened animal for a moment before I controlled it. "Right about never. What happened between Tony and I was nobody's business."
"It was my business. Literally." He waved an arm around the shop. "I saw the flirting but I told him to stay away from you. I never thought he would…"
"Look, it happened and it's over. It's been over. It was never anything serious."
"He said he's in love with you."
It had the same effect it always did—a sucker punch to the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. "He's not. He thinks he is, but it's…he doesn't love me."
"He told me he's not sure he wants you managing the other shop. Since he's going to be running that one while I work on the expansion here, it's pretty much his choice." Tish scowled at the doors. "But I told him I wasn't even sure I wanted to continue our partnership."
I gasped. "What? Why? Why would you do that?"
"He lied to my face. Repeatedly." His eyes narrowed on me. "And so did you." I shrunk back from his glare. Not because I was afraid, because he was right and I immediately felt guilty.
"You can't end a lifelong friendship over this. That's ridiculous." I let out a shaky breath, realizing my hands were trembling. I scooted over to the chair behind the counter, carefully perching myself on it as I took a few deep breaths.
"We'll talk about this later. Just look for those files when you calm down. Yeah?" Tish asked, his voice softer. I nodded, listening to his footsteps retreat toward the offices as I started glancing around the counter. The files had to be here somewhere.
Finally, when I felt less shaky, I slipped off the chair. I glanced over to check on Conner when I heard him move. He was looking at the TV and then he turned toward me. I was getting to the point where I understood him, even without words.
"Yes, you can turn it on," I said, going back to my search. I knew Zane hated how much TV Conner watched these days and we'd argued about whether it was adding to his detachment, but I also felt like the quiet might bother him. Sometimes, my mind would go to places I didn't want it to in the silence. I understood that.
I heard voices coming from the TV as it powered on, but I bent down, searching in a few drawers near the bottom. Just as I found the files and stood, a loud sound came from the TV followed by gasps and general voices of concern.
"The evacuation of the casinos is being hindered by…oh…oh no…"
"The building has completely collapsed. We are trying to get word on whether anyone was still inside."
Looking up, I watched as large pieces of debris floated in water near a hole that made no sense to me at first. It was familiar, but only vaguely enough for me to realize something was wrong with what I was seeing. When the large archway covering Fremont Street started falling, I finally understood what was happening.
Chapter Forty-One
Disaster
Zane
"Stay put. We're coming right back," I yelled toward the large group of people making their way to the stairs. There were at least twenty more from what I could see.
We had spent hours hauling people out of the hotel, but the line seemed never-ending. I was sure the other buildings were exactly the same. As we helped the group near the exit, the ground started to shift, rumbling under our feet like an earthquake.
"What's going on?" one of the women in the group asked.
"Stay calm," Brittany said, her expression professional and untroubled, but when her eyes met mine, understanding passed between us. She knew what that was as well as I did.
The small dam thrown in place to keep the water low wasn't holding. There wasn't time to think. "Go!" I yelled at her, pointing in the direction of the makeshift exit. By the time the water hit, this floor would be flooded. "I'm taking the rest higher. Send the next crew to the back of the building."
Brittany's eyes widened as Chris and Matt, the two other fire fighters at the back of the pack, started heading in with me. We weren't supposed to split up, but there wasn't any other choice. We couldn't leave the victims still trapped by the collapsed floor to fend for themselves.
We made our way back to the section that had already collapsed. Water ran beneath, tearing and shredding at the foundation of the building. We cautiously made our way across to the victims as the water began rising from the hole left in the floor.
We started directing people back up the stairs and closed the door to the emergency stairwell. I tried to focus on keeping them calm, but they could hear the creaking of the door as the water started to rise in the main area of the hotel quickly. When we spilled out onto the second floor, we immediately spread out in search of an open door. When someone yelled down the hall that they found one, I jogged that way.
With mob mentality trying to set in, the group began to panic, realizing the windows in the hotel rooms didn't open. Trying to calm them down, I pulled a few away, clearing a path so Matt could get to the window. After a few shots from an axe, he was able to break it and clear the glass. He and Chris let out a few whistles, trying to draw the attention of the other rescue teams as I struggled to keep people back.
The building moved, shifting again, and the panic in the victims escalated as they headed for the window. That was when I heard the screaming. But it wasn't coming from the room. I backed away, tilting my head as the floor shifted yet again.
"We have to get out. Now. It's coming down," Chris said, helping people out of the window. The boat must've arrived. The scream came again. Was it above me? On this floor?
"There's someone else," I said, backing up to the door. I heard the sound again and realized it was echoing from the stairwell. The door was open.
Rushing toward the door, I started yelling. "I hear you. Can you tell me where you are?" I paused inside of the stairwell, repeating myself when I didn't get a response.
"Fifth floor," the female voice said. Without hesitating, I bolted up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
"Are you hurt?" I yelled, passing the third floor. My breath was heavier and I heard the sound of the door below me. I paused, glancing down to watch as the water spilled in from the first floor, quickly filling the small square of the stairwell.
"No. The door won't open. It's stuck," the woman yelled, sounding panicked.
"Hang tight. I'm almost there," I yelled back as I rushed forward again.
I ran past the fourth floor and her pounding became evident as I hit the fifth. I could see her then, her fist pounding against the door to the stairwell. She was young, a teenager. The earbud in one ear and dangling out of the other made it obvious as to how she'd missed the evacuation. The floor shifted and I lunged for the handle, yanking several times, but the movement and settling of the building had jammed the door.
"Okay, I need you to kick on the count of three, can you do that?" I waited and she looked dubious. "We have to hurry. On the count of three, I need you to kick right below the handle." She nodded. "One, two, three." I yanked as her foot hit the door and it flew ope
n, her body colliding with mine as we stumbled back a few steps. "I've got you."
I grabbed her arm but the second I turned to head down, I saw the water. I pushed her toward the stairs leading up instead of down. "Where are we going?"
"The roof. There should be an escape ladder," I said, keeping her moving as we raced up the flights. The water gear was making it more difficult to move quickly and the longer we ran, the more exhausted I became. I was running on pure adrenaline at this point.
When we made it to the roof, I had to fight the door to get it open. The sound of rushing water was almost as overpowering as the wind spraying the rain against me. I wasn't afraid of heights, but the building shifted again and my sense of urgency spiked. We had to get away from this building.
"Come on," I grabbed her arm, hauling her with me when I spotted the small escape ladder. There was a lower landing several floors down and I could see another ladder from there. "Careful."
I stared down first, the rain battering against the metal, making it difficult to keep a decent grip in the bulky gloves. I moved as fast as I could, keeping up a steady pace as the building continued to rattle. I heard a squeal above me and reached up automatically, grabbing ahold of the girls' leg as she slipped from the ladder. She scrambled, reaching for me as she fell. When her hand made contact with my arm, I released her leg and gripped her forearm. Her body weight fell to one side, yanking against my grip. We were at least thirty feet from the landing and my arm shook from the adrenaline.
"Don't let go!" She was screaming, flailing as she grabbed my arm with her other hand. I had to do something. I couldn't continue down with only one arm. I slid my hand through the rung near my face, locking it around in hopes of holding myself steady.
"I've got you. Calm down. I need you to be still and listen to me." She stopped and I almost sighed in relief. My strength was failing after hours of rescue work. I knew I only had one shot at this. "I'm going to lift you up and I need you to wrap your arms around my neck. Can you do that?" She nodded and I took a deep breath, letting it out as I grunted, lifting her dead weight with one arm until she was high enough to wrap her arms around me. I almost choked at her grip and immediately grabbed the rung when my arm was free. "Legs around my waist," I said, my arms shaking. She situated herself on my back as the building took another heavy shift.
