Bennett (Lighthouse Security Investigations West Coast Book 6), page 18
“Diana,” he whispered, “it’s me.”
Her body jerked then stilled, each muscle locking. Her rigidity had him fear she was about to have a seizure. His arms tightened, then eased off her chest while still covering her mouth. “Diana, baby, it’s me.”
With his grip less tight, she managed to flop around until she faced him. With the barest hint of lighting from his watch, her gaze searched his face with disbelief and pain etched into her expression. Her face crumpled, and a tear fell as a wail attempted to escape her lips.
“Oh, babe, please don’t cry. We’ve got to stay quiet. We’ll get out of here. I swear you can fall apart later, but you’re so strong, Diana. Please, baby, hang on.”
She attempted to swallow several times, then jerked her head up and down.
Keeping his hand over her mouth, he said, “I’m gonna move my hand, okay? You okay?”
Again, she nodded as the fight had left her. He slowly lifted his hand over her mouth, and she gasped, sucking in a ragged breath.
“I… I… thought… you were dead.” His arms squeezed around her tightly again, hating that she’d suffered not only the kidnapping but thinking he’d been killed.
“Injured but not dead, baby.”
She blinked, seeming to take longer to process his words than normal, and then jerked again. He grunted but remained on his back with her protected against his chest. She scrambled to the side, her eyes and hands searching.
“Oh God,” she breathed, and he looked down to see renewed blood on his shirt.
“It’s fine. We can’t worry about that now. We need to get out of here.”
A roar sounded from deep within the mine, and they stared unblinking before he scrambled to his feet, pulling her upward along with him. “Looks like he’s discovered you were smarter than he gave you credit for.”
Her face, which just a moment before had been crumpled in grief and shock, now morphed into a wide-eyed fright, then morphed again into resolute determination. Her chin lifted as she wiped her tears, mouthing, “I’m ready.” Bennett couldn’t help the grin that slid across his face at the woman in front of him that held his heart.
Heavy, fast-approaching boot steps crunched on rock and echoed through the chamber.
“You can’t escape, you stupid bitch!” Edgar called out, his voice bouncing off the rock walls. “You, of all people, should know I have this place rigged. You have no choice but to work with me!”
Not wanting to waste a second, Bennett grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her onto the ladder going up to the next level that he’d just come down. “Up! As fast as you can go!”
Still gaining strength from his presence, or perhaps it was just adrenaline rushing through her body, she scrambled upward at a pace much faster than he’d seen her use a few minutes earlier. He hesitated for a few seconds, debating whether to follow her immediately or wait for Edgar to arrive so he could take him out once and for all. But with the possibility of explosives rigged along the tunnels, chutes, and shafts of the old mine, he didn’t want to leave Diana unprotected again.
Making his decision, he radioed, “We’re heading up from level three to level two through the shaft. Masterson says the place is rigged with explosives. He’s right behind us.”
Not waiting for any instructions from LSIWC, he grabbed the wooden ladder and hoisted his body upward, closing the distance between Diana and himself. By the time he got to the next level, she had stepped off the ladder and stood with her back plastered against the rock wall. He cursed, realizing she needed more light to see clearly but was hoping to keep their location a secret from the ever-approaching Dr. Masterson.
Abbie radioed in return, “There’s a chute at the next widening. It’s closer than the next ladder shaft. It’ll go up to the first level if you want.”
“If he sets off an explosion, what’s safer? Chute, shaft, or tunnel?”
“Chute. It’ll be fortified.”
“Fuck,” he breathed. He hated to have Diana crawl up an ore chute, but there was no time to make a different plan. Turning, he leaned closer and clamped his hands on her shoulders. Bringing his face close, he whispered, “We’ve got to hurry. Can you climb up an angled chute?”
She nodded, her eyes boring into his, although he had no idea how much she could see. He held up his watch light and spied the opening to the wide chute, glad to see it was almost five feet wide and about three feet tall. With his hands spanning her waist, he hoisted her upward until she grabbed the wooden slats and pulled forward until her knees and toes could find purchase. “Go as fast as you can, babe. I’ll be right behind.”
In typical Diana fashion, she immediately followed his instructions, and even though a layer of dirt covered the chute, she scrambled upward, her feet slipping occasionally. As soon as he had room, he jumped and grabbed hold of the bottom of the wood and pulled upward using his arm strength. It was harder for him to maneuver in the space, but he ducked after hitting his head once on the upper rocks that formed the ceiling of the chute.
He caught up to her and dodged her feet as she crawled. Another roar of fury met their ears from below as Edgar reached the level they’d just left. Needing them to hurry, Bennett climbed closer to her and shoved his shoulder under her ass, boosting her upward. Like a trooper, she didn’t say a word but continued to hoist herself up the forty-five-degree angled chute until she whispered, “I’m at the top!”
“We’re here, man,” Hop’s voice called out over his earpiece radio. “Coming up on the top level, out inside the mine entrance.”
Before he could respond, a blast resounded in the tunnels, reverberating throughout his body. Diana cried out, her body sliding back but stopping when he threw his arms and legs out, pressing them against the rock and wooden walls to keep himself from moving back down the slide. “Explosion!” he called out but knew it was unnecessary. The Keepers would have heard it already.
Rocks pelted them as he tried to move her upward to the next level. She bent over, her head and torso now flat on the ground, and he shoved harder to force her legs to make it out of the chute. Just when his head and shoulders made it free, the rock and wooden walls of the chute filled with debris, trapping his lower half. Unable to move his legs, he cursed, banging his fist against the solid floor.
Dust and gravel filled the air like a thick fog, coating everything and filling his mouth and nostrils. Squinting, he tried to protect his eyes, feeling around with his hands until his fingers wrapped around her ankle. She choked and coughed, gasping in air, but he knew she was still alive.
“Are you hurt?” he growled, trying not to suck in the debris.
“No,” she replied, her voice sounding far away after the explosion had dimmed their hearing.
“Keep going. I can’t come right now but keep going. Keep going up. The Keepers are here, and I’ll get to you.”
She twisted around until her face was directly in front of his. Her hands clutched his cheeks. “Why can’t you come?”
“The chute caved in on the bottom part of my legs—”
“Oh my God, Terrance! Oh my God!”
Hearing her panic, he assured her, “I’m not crushed. It’s just the rock has filled the space. Once gravity can shift more, it’ll go on down the chute, and then I’ll work my way up.”
“Here, I’ll help!” She scrambled to her knees, and he heard rocks shifting as her hands clawed beside his body.
“Stop, there’s no time. I don’t want you breathing all this shit. Get out and then—”
“I’m not leaving you! I’m not going to leave you!” Her voice bordered on hysterical even though her movements were steady as she shoveled more debris away.
The idea that the walls could cave in and kill her was more than he could bear. “Diana, babe, listen to me. I need to know you’re safe. I need to know you’re getting out of here.”
A sob ripped from her lungs, and she clutched his filthy face. As the dust settled a little more, the light from his watch allowed him to see they were covered in thick, gray, powdered rock dust.
“I don't care what you say, Terrance Bennett. I am not leaving you! Save your breath and help me get you out of here!”
Not willing to waste time arguing, he joined her efforts as he fought through the rubble that had filled in around his waist. Scooping handfuls of rocks to the side, they made headway, but he still couldn’t move his legs. Focusing his energy on wiggling his feet, he felt a slight shift as some of the rocks below his body appeared to be loose enough to slide down the chute. It wasn’t much, but he would take any inch of freedom he could manage.
“I don’t know how long this is going to take,” he choked out as they continued to shovel rocks from his hips and toss them up. A pile had gathered next to her, but she was unfailing in her continued efforts.
“I don’t hear anything,” she muttered. “I wonder what happened to Edgar?”
“With any luck, he blew himself the fuck up,” Bennett growled.
A snort erupted, and he looked up. As more dust settled, his watch light could pierce through the haze, and her face became visible. Her entire body was covered in a thick layer of gray dust, with only a few swipes around her eyes, giving life to the zombie effect of living through a mine explosion. “You’re beautiful.”
Another snort erupted from her, and she shook her head. “You’re crazy. If you keep talking like that, I’m going to wonder who has the vision problem.”
Their fingers bumped into each other as they hauled out the rock by handfuls until his hips were visible. He wiggled his feet a little more, finding that he was now loose at the other end from mid-calf. “We’ve got about two feet still around my thighs to get out of here,” he reported.
“We got this.” Her chest heaved from her exertion, and her movements were halted in between coughing at the dust they inhaled.
He searched beyond her to see what he could discern of the tunnel’s integrity. While their section of the tunnel had not caved in, he had no idea if the way was blocked to the outside.
Her thoughts must’ve followed the same as his when she asked, “Will the Keepers be able to get to us?”
“One way or the other, babe, I guaran-damn-tee you that they won’t leave without us.”
She held his gaze, a tremulous smile playing about her lips. “Then let’s keep going. I want to meet your friends.”
Now the chuckle came from deep inside him as he nodded. “You got it.” Looking back down, he pulled more rocks from the trapped chute. Together, they could do anything.
23
The soot-like dust filling the air had coated every inch of her being, and Diana wondered as she coughed again if she would ever be able to wash it all off, sneeze it all out, or get it out of her throat and lungs. Terrance was just as covered, but on him, he just appeared more rugged instead of bedraggled like her.
Rugged and alive. Alive. Her heart was slow to catch up to her mind, and the realization that the man she’d fallen for wasn’t dead after all, settled deep inside. Maybe if they’d had a slow reunion, time to talk, and find out everything that happened, it would’ve seemed more real. But instead, he’d swooped in, catching her off guard and sending her mind into a tizzy. And it had been nonstop since that moment.
She was amazed at how instinctively he’d adapted to each change, making instant decisions. Tunnel or ladder? Go up the ladder. Is Edgar coming? Take the chute. She knew someone was helping him through his earpiece radio, but Terrance made the split-second decisions that kept them alive.
She was used to methodical analysis of research. Test, analyze, reevaluate, change, then test again. But Terrance was able to assess and move into action while she was still trying to get her bearings.
“Diana? You okay?”
Her head jerked up from where she stared at the rocks, her mind all over the place. Christ, stop thinking and just dig! “Yeah, sure. How are you doing?”
He reached forward with his arms and grabbed the top of the wooden edge of the chute and pulled. While he tried to wiggle his thighs free, she continued to lean down and pull rocks away. At this angle, she had her face plastered against his stomach, and she could only imagine what they must look like.
Suddenly, his body moved, and the sound of more rocks sliding in the distance met her ears. He shouted triumphantly as he shimmied upward, forcing more rocks around his thighs to fall away. His chest heaved as he hoisted himself up, and she threw her arms around his neck. They clung to each other for a moment, simply glad to be alive and together.
He shifted to his knees, his hands clutching her face as his thumbs swiped at the thick dust covering her. “I can’t believe you got me out of this.”
She shook her head, her heart full. “We. We did it together.”
He stood and gently pulled her up to her feet. Using his watch’s illumination, he swung it around the area, giving evidence that the entire section of their tunnel was coated in dust and loose gravel, just as they had feared. But next to them, the cart rails were still visible.
“Let’s go,” he said, linking fingers with her. He took off, and she was determined not to hold him back even though her feet stumbled over the now even rougher terrain of the tunnel floor. “There are the switch rails,” he said, pointing downward.
She had no idea what he was talking about, so she remained quiet, allowing him to pull her along.
“It shouldn’t be long now. The exit should be just up ahead.”
The area was still dark, only illuminated by his watch, making her wonder why the light wasn’t coming from the outside. “Is it still nighttime? I have no idea how long I’ve been down here.”
Before he could answer, they rounded a bend, and he came to a halt, causing her to run into the back of him. “Fuck!” He cursed as she grunted, bouncing off his back.
She had been staring down at the rails, finding them the easiest thing to focus on besides his body as they stumbled along by the pale light from his watch. But now, she could see what caused him to stop. In front of them was a pile of rocks and wooden rubble covering the end of the tunnel.
“Oh God, we’re trapped!”
She wanted to sit and weep, but he radioed, “We’ve got to be close to the exit, but the area has caved in. Can you work it from outside?” After a few seconds, he replied, “Got it.”
She waited as he turned and looked down, holding tightly to her hand. “Don’t worry, babe. I’m gonna get you out of here. The Keepers are on the other side, having just discovered this cave-in. I’ll work it on this end, and they’ll work it on the other. We’re going to make it out of here.”
With a nod, she sucked in a deep breath to steady her heartbeat. Instantly regretting that, she coughed some more. He gently pushed her to the side. “Sit here. Rest. I’m going to start on the right side of this to remove some rubble, coordinating with what they’re doing on their side.”
Leaning back, she rested against the rock wall for a moment, catching her breath and trying to clear her mind of the panic of being trapped in an underground mine. But standing there worrying wasn’t going to get them out any quicker. She felt around, barely able to see his shadow in the scant illumination. “Show me what to do. I’m not going to just sit.”
He looked at her, and if he thought to argue, he decided better of it. “Okay, come on. We’re going to start pulling some of the smaller rocks out, and then I can shift larger ones and let gravity allow them to roll down.”
Working in tandem just like before, she pulled out all the smaller rocks she could handle, giving him room to haul out the larger pieces and toss them behind them. Unable to see clearly, she heard his grunting as he lifted heavier rocks and could only imagine the strain his muscles were under to work so hard and fast. She lost track of time but kept going, and while she knew he was injured, neither of them wavered in their task.
They had not heard any more noise or voices from Edgar, and she could only assume his attempt to trap them trapped himself as well.
“Stop!” Terrance’s hand shot over to her, stilling her in the middle of tossing a rock to the side.
She startled, her body jerking, but halted, her head turning toward him.
“Poole?” he called out.
“Hey, man,” a voice replied from the other side of the rubble. “We’re close. Hang tight.”
“I’m near the edge on the right side. You keep going on your left, and we’ll be through.”
With renewed vigor, she dove back into the rock pile with him, digging until her fingers bled and her ragged nails tore even more. Suddenly, as he pulled a rock from the top and let it roll down, a ray of light beamed into their tomb.
The sudden light cutting through the foggy darkness caused her to blink and look downward even though her heart leaped at the sight.
“Bennett?” a male voice called out.
Terrance grinned widely and stuck his hand toward the hole, clasping another hand coming through. “Thank fuck, guys. Glad to see you.”
“Dr. Olson?”
“She’s right here with me.”
“Are you all okay?”
“We will be. Let’s keep going.”
He turned his gleeful expression toward her, and a similar smile hit her face. Chest heaving, she looked back at the wall before bending to move more rock. He stopped her and shook his head. “Hang on. It’s getting dangerous here with us taking this down from both sides. A heavy rock could roll down on you.”
This time, she didn’t object but stood slightly to the side as the light grew larger with each rock that fell from the pile. When a hole was large enough for them to slide through, he turned and held out his hand. “You ready?”
