SEALs of Summer 2: A Military Romance Superbundle (77 page)

“Did you hear that? They tapped back! They can hear us!”

“Help!” everyone yelled at once.

Suddenly, Ysabeau could hear many voices calling for help under the hotel. She wasn’t alone. They would all be rescued. Any minute now.

“Luke! Luke!” she added her voice to the trumpeting cheers.

*

“Shit! Shit!”

Luke stared at the broken sledgehammer in his hands. On that last blow, the handle had snapped in half. It was useless. He’d gotten so excited when he heard voices inside the wreckage that he swung with superhuman strength. Now it was busted in two. But he wasn’t. He was energized and hopefully for the first time since that damned earthquake hit.

People were alive inside the Hotel Montana! Ysabeau could be one of them. He ran to tell the young cop and to get more tools.

*

Ysabeau cupped her
ears and listened with every ounce of strength she had. The tapping was gone.

“Marisol? Do you hear anything?”

“No, my friend. I do not.”

“What about the American men? Can you hear what they are saying?”

“They are disappointed.”

She wished she could hear them. “What do they say?”

“They wonder why they don’t hear anything else. They worry it has been too long and the rescuers didn’t hear us after all.”

“Uh.” She couldn’t keep the disappointment out of the word.

“Do not fear. They will find you.”

Ysabeau frowned. “
Us
. They will find us.”

Marisol was silent.

Ysabeau’s heart sunk. Why was Marisol so sure she wasn’t going to survive this? “You must keep your spirits high, Marisol. We
will
get out of here, just a little while longer. Have faith.”

“Who is Luke?” Marisol asked quietly.

“What did you say?”

“When the others were all calling for help, you called for Luke.”

“Did I?”

“Yes. Who is he to you?”

“To me…” Tears welled in her eyes. “He is everything.”

She heard Marisol let out a deep breath. “That is good. You need one another. Keep your thoughts on him.”

“Yes.” Ysabeau wiped her eyes. “I love him.”

“Then you will get out of here. Have faith. Love is the strongest bond of all. It will keep you alive.”

“Yes. I believe that too. You must have faith as well. We will get out together.” She sensed that Marisol was holding back her pain, keeping it a secret from her. Being strong for her. Ysabeau cleared her throat. “Do you have anything to drink? To eat?”

“No, nothing.”

Ysabeau grimaced. She still had two water bottles, a banana, an apple and the last granola bar in her purse. She wished with all her heart she could share what she had with Marisol. The water alone could mean life or death. This was horrible. All her life she had worked to save lives and now…now she couldn’t even hand Marisol a water bottle.

“Even if I did have water, how would I share it with you?” Marisol asked. “It is impossible, no? I cannot reach you and you cannot reach me.”

Ysabeau didn’t trust herself to answer.

“If you had water, I’d expect you to drink it,” Marisol said firmly. “You must stay strong, Ysabeau. I would not want it any other way. Do you understand?”

“I do,” Ysabeau said and sipped her water as quietly as a mouse.

*

Luke ran up
the stone stairway that led to the pool, skipping steps as he went, jumping over the large chunks of debris. He’d heard voices under the rubble! He needed help to get those survivors out. Fast!

He saw a cop standing on the terrace where the poolside bar once stood. Luke didn’t need to be a vibe-reader like Gochi to sense that the cop had a huge chip on his shoulder. The man’s hands were on his hips and he was doing his best to give off an air of intimidation.

“Hey!” Luke yelled to the cop. “I found people! They’re alive!”

The cop turned his flashlight on Luke. The sudden brightness stopped Luke in his tracks.

Blinking in the glare, he continued forward. “They’re alive! I heard people inside the wreckage!”

The cop growled a word that sounded aggressive. If Luke had to guess, he’d say the word was, “Freeze!”

Luke didn’t stop. “We can save them. I’ll show you. We need tools and more help, but they’re alive!” Luke yelled.

The same word pierced the night, only louder this time.

What in the hell is the matter with this guy?
Luke came closer. “Stop yelling at me! You’re wasting time. The lady I love is in there. Help me!”

The cop made a move for his gun. His voice was a deep guttural threat.

Luke realized the guy mistook him for a jacked-up mental-case. “You don’t get it! I’m not… I’m saving lives. See?” Luke brought the sledgehammer up.

The cop aimed his gun at Luke’s chest. Suddenly, Luke saw everything in a different light. He grasped that he’d been waving a broken sledgehammer and yelling foreign words at a cop. No wonder the guy felt threatened.

Luke dropped his “weapon” and lifted his hands. “Okay, calm down. I’m cooperating. Put the gun away…”

The cop barked a command to someone who had crept up from behind. He never saw who it was. Before he could comprehend his predicament, he was clubbed over the head.

He recognized that ringing sound a split-second after it had begun. Luke Carter had gotten his bell rung. Again. Falling through the darkness, he was out before his crumpled body hit what was the former pool deck of the Hotel Montana.

‡

L
uke woke up
to find his nose pressed into a disgustingly dirty vinyl seat. He tried to sit up. His hands were cuffed behind his back. He’d been thrown into the back of a squad car.

“Smells like wino barf in here,” he mumbled. At least they’d left the window open.

Using his core muscles, he lifted himself up and looked around. The police car was parked next to the giant mahogany tree outside the Hotel Montana. He rolled his neck and scrunched his eyes. His pounding head reminded him that this was no nightmare. It had all been excruciatingly real.

“Ysabeau.”

He kicked the door as hard as he could. “Help! Somebody! Get me out of here! Help!”

Just as he’d hoped, someone came running. A flashlight blinded him again. While squinting through the glare, he made out the shape of a uniformed cop. He hoped it wasn’t the one who clubbed him returning to finish the job.

“What is it with you cops? Let me go!” he said and kicked the door again.

“Stop it!” The guy climbed inside the front seat and left the door open ajar. The dome light flooded the dark car. “Quit with the noise. You are making things worse for yourself.”

“It’s you!” Luke said to the young cop who had asked for help in finding his bartending friend. “Did you hit me? Scratch that, I don’t care if you did. Get me out of here.”

“You told me you were a rescue guy. Why’d you try to loot the hotel?” The kid’s voice sounded disappointed, hurt.

“For all the—! I wasn’t looting. That cop had a stick up his ass. Get me out of here. I found survivors. Time’s wasting.”

The cop’s jaw dropped. “You found people? You are not saying this just so that I will let you out?”

“Survivors. I heard them and they heard me. Hurry. We need tools and—”

“Can’t. My Captain, the one you threatened with the sledgehammer, told me to go home. I’ve been…” He looked down, his face awash with shame. “…excused.”

“He’s a jerk wad. Let’s rescue some people and you will be the hero of the night. I promise.”

The young cop shook his head sadly. “You go in there and they will shoot you. Dead.”

Luke was incredulous. “Who? The cops?”

“Yes. We’ve been given the order to shoot looters on the spot.”

If Luke had a free hand, he’d slap his forehead. “I’m not a looter! How many times do I have to say it?”

“You could say it a million times. It wouldn’t matter. They will shoot you first and check your pockets for stolen goods later.”

Could this get any worse? Luke tipped his head back and exhaled toward the torn headliner on the squad car. “I don’t care if they shoot at me. I’ll take my chances. Take the cuffs off, please. Let me go. The woman I love is in there.”

“Ah. That is very bad. But I am not letting you out of here. Not yet.”

“Why?”

The kid’s face crumpled as if he was going to burst into tears. “I do not want to see another person dead tonight. I can’t take it.”

Luke saw that the young cop was shaking. It had been a rough night for all of them. “How about this? You tell them not to shoot me and we save those people together.”

“No. They might shoot us both. I shouldn’t have given you the sledgehammer to attack people with. My Captain told me that if I do one more stupid thing he’ll throw me off the force. It’s a good job. I can’t lose it.”

Luke cursed softly.

“But!” The kid snapped his fingers. “If we wait a while it might be okay. The Search and Rescue teams will arrive in a few hours. If I let you go then, you can blend in with the other foreigners. The Captain wouldn’t dare shoot you in front of the rescue teams.”

“Wait a few hours? Every minute is too long. I need to get in there now.”

“I’m sorry. It is the best I can do. Are you hungry?”

“No, I’m not hungry!” His stomach growled loudly.

The kid’s teeth were exceptionally bright in the dome light. “I will get you some food and water. Be back in a moment.”

“No. Wait, forget the food. Open this door—!”

It was too late. The kid was gone.

Suddenly, it felt like twenty gorillas were jumping on the car. Aftershock.

“Ysabeau!” Luke screamed. The longer she stayed under the rubble, the more chance of it all crushing her in an aftershock. “Get. Me. Out of here!”

No one came running.

*