Page 11 of Day of the Storm

A. J. wasn’t budging. “I’m not moving without him.”

13

Sean knewthe importance of waiting for rescue, but he hadn’t missed how the pile of shit on top of him had shifted two minutes after Autumn Jane and the other woman had left him.

He wasn’t about to wait a minute longer.

He had a future to plan. To live.

One thing he was certain—he and Autumn Jane had some unfinished business.

He was going to tell the woman how he felt, and leave what happened next up to her.

But first, he needed to get out of there and to her.

He used his flashlight and approached the small opening that the woman who’d rescued them had opened with a car jack.

It wasn’t exactly regulation rescue gear, but it had worked.

Sean felt his way through the tunnel.

He turned on his side halfway and sucked in his breath. It was going to be tight for him. There was no doubt about that.

The debris shook one more time. Debris fell on his lower leg. Sean bit back a curse and yanked himself away as fast as he could.

He was able to move a few yards before he had to stop.

Drywall blocked the path now.

Sean was stuck.

For the time being.

Autumn Jane’s face flashed in his mind as he gripped the drywall chunk in his left hand. He put the small penlight he carried everywhere in his mouth. He’d need both hands for this.

He hoped it was just drywall in his way and that there wasn’t anything more than that.

He tugged. The drywall didn’t move. Not for a long, long time.

By the time he got it out of the way, he heard someone on the other side.

It took them fifteen minutes or so to get him a new opening to go through. Sean took it for the gift it was.

He had to inch his way forward while the woman who’d come for him inched her way backward.

She didn’t say much, just giving him information and orders in a firm, almost impersonal voice.

The building shook again.

They were close enough to the end of the tunnel for him to hear people outside scream.

His rescuer wrapped her hands around his wrist and yelled.

For someone to pull.

Sean wrapped his own hands around hers, thinking to hell with his flashlight.

And then they were being pulled.