Chapter 17

chapter

seventeen

"I'm scared."

Pierce's heart cracked right down the center at the fear in Rhiannon's whisper. He curled protectively around her and Michael as another section of ceiling crumbled. Raszta whimpered, and he pulled his dog in closer. If he could expand his body to shield them all, he would, but all he could do was hold them and hope a rescue team would reach them in time.

He doubted it, though.

Rhiannon had accused him of being an optimist, but he was struggling to find any glimmer of hope in their current situation. The air was stiflingly hot and thick with dust. Each breath scraped his throat and burned his lungs.

The group sat in a loose circle in front of the registers, all animosities forgotten. Alan, awake again, clutched his family and said the Lord's Prayer over and over. The Sasaki family huddled together, their faces pale and drawn. Will lay stretched out between Dottie and Hailey, only semi-conscious. The retirees—for the life of him, Pierce couldn't recall their names—sat together, wrapped up in each other's arms. They seemed the most at peace of anyone in the group, and he wondered how it would feel to spend your entire life with the same person at your side. Would it make facing death easier, knowing you'd lived a full life with your soulmate?

Weird. He'd never wondered that before.

"Why is it getting hard to breathe?" Brooke asked in a raspy whisper.

Gareth, sitting with his arms resting on his knees, looked up. If defeated had a face, it was his. "Air's running out," he said flatly. "The collapse has sealed us in completely. No fresh air is getting through."

Tears spilled from her big blue eyes. "We're going to die down here, aren't we?"

Pierce clenched his jaw. He wished he could offer words of comfort, but even if he had a voice, what could he say? He didn't want to lie.

Neither, it seemed, did Gareth. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid this fucking gift shop is our tomb."

"How long do we have?" Dottie asked.

Gareth shook his head. "No telling. It could be days or hours. Could be minutes."

"Will it hurt?" Hailey murmured.

"No. We'll just fall asleep, and that will be the end of it."

Unless they were buried alive first.

Gareth didn't say it, but they all knew it was just as much of a possibility as suffocation. And that would fucking hurt.

Pierce felt Rhiannon's fingers tighten around his arm, her grip trembling, and glanced down at her. There was so much fear in those beautiful green-gold eyes, and he wanted to comfort her, to tell her everything would be alright, but his hands were occupied holding her and Raszta close.

Instead, he pressed a gentle kiss to her temple, hoping to convey everything he felt in that simple gesture.

Rhiannon leaned into him, her breath shaky against his neck. "I wish we had more time together."

So did he. More than anything, he wished he could give her that time. He wanted to lay her out on a bed and explore her body from head to toe. He wanted to wake up beside her every morning, to see her sleepy smile and tousled hair. He imagined lazy Sunday mornings spent tangled in soft sheets. He pictured quiet evenings curled up on the couch, her head on his chest as they read or watched movies. He saw himself teaching her to shoot, her tongue poking out between her lips as she focused on the target. He envisioned her beside him as they hiked through the redwoods, her face lit up with wonder at the beauty surrounding them. He wanted her to meet his friends. He wanted to play his guitar for her and watch her eyes light up as she recognized the melody. He wanted to learn every secret, every dream, every fear she held close to her heart. He wanted?—

Everything he thought he never wanted.

A lifetime with her.

The realization hit Pierce with the force of a train. He'd spent so long keeping people at arm's length, but Rhiannon had slipped past his defenses without him even noticing.

The irony wasn't lost on him. Just when he'd finally found someone he wanted to build a life with, it was all about to end.

He closed his burning eyes, breathing in her scent, trying to memorize every detail of her. If these were to be their final moments together, he wanted to cherish them.

"Since we're not making it out of here," Gareth said with a heavy sigh, "you should know Gareth Lawrence isn't my real name."

Pierce looked up to meet the man's steady gaze. He wasn't going to release his hold on Rhiannon to sign, but he didn't need to. He was confident his expression loudly said, no shit.

A flicker of a smile crossed Gareth's face. "It's Gage. Gage Banks. But everything else I told you was the truth. I am running from Halston, and I only tracked you down for help."

Rhiannon stirred against his chest, and he tightened his hold on her. He didn't want her to leave him, but she merely lifted her head to look at Gareth—or Gage. "Why tell us now?"

The guy shrugged, a wry smile twisting his lips. "Seemed like the right time for honesty. No point in taking secrets to the grave."

A muffled sob from across the circle drew his attention. Hailey had curled into herself, her shoulders shaking as she wept silently. Brooke reached out, wrapping an arm around the younger woman's trembling form, and then Dottie got up to hug them both.

The simple gesture of comfort seemed to open a floodgate, and suddenly, they were all reaching for each other, forming a tight circle of interlocked hands and arms.

As the minutes ticked by, the air grew thinner, each breath more labored than the last. Pierce's chest ached, his lungs burning as they struggled to draw in enough oxygen. Rhiannon's breathing came shallowly against his neck, and fear clawed at his insides.

Just as the oppressive silence threatened to suffocate them, a faint sound filtered through the rubble.

Pierce lifted his head, straining to hear. Was it just another section of the building collapsing, or...?

Raszta's ears perked up, his head tilting.

There it was again.

A low rumble vibrated through the debris, growing louder with each passing second. Pierce's heart rate spiked, hope and fear warring within him. Were they about to be saved or crushed by another collapse?

He held his breath, straining to hear. There it was again—a rhythmic pounding, growing louder. He locked eyes with Gage, who nodded slightly, confirming he felt it, too.

Rhiannon lifted her head, her green-gold eyes wide. "Did you feel that?"

Pierce nodded. "Something's happening above us."

"Rescue?"

Before he could respond, the rubble shook around them. Dust rained down, coating them in a fine layer of grit. Rhiannon buried her face in Pierce's chest, coughing as the dust invaded her lungs. He tightened his grip on her, shielding her as best he could as she shielded Michael.

The rumbling intensified, accompanied by the screech of metal on concrete. Suddenly, a shaft of sunlight pierced through the darkness, illuminating swirling dust motes.

"Hello?" A voice called out. "Is anyone down there?"