Nothing.
“Shit,” he muttered, yanking his two-way radio off his belt. He knew that he should call 911, but he needed help now. Besides, he wasn’t about to leave Rory wherever she’d just landed so that he could run outside and try getting a signal on his cellphone.
“Andrew!” Connor said, clicking off and dropping the radio by his side so that he could widen the hole while he waited for a response. When one didn’t come quick enough, he tried again with the same results.
Cursing, he switched the radio to the channel he knew the James brothers used. “Craig, I need someone to call an ambulance and I need help down in the basement, fourth storage room to the right,” Connor said, releasing the button with a click and praying that someone heard that.
“Connor, what the hell is going on?” Craig returned almost immediately.
“Rory’s hurt. I need an ambulance and some fucking help!” he said, quickly releasing the radio and set back to work on the hole.
“If you hurt her, I will-”
“I didn’t hurt her!” Connor snapped, feeling his patience fray as his body shook. Please let her be okay, he prayed as he ripped another chunk of wood away. “Call a fucking ambulance and send some men down here now!” he snapped, tossing the radio aside, promising to kill the bastard if he didn’t move his ass.
Not even a minute later, he heard the sounds of men running in his direction.
“Rory!” he heard Bryce yell.
“In here!” Connor answered as he ripped another piece of wood off, but it wasn’t wide enough.
Shit!
He tore off another piece and then another until he was sure the space was big enough for him to fit through. He grabbed her flashlight off the floor where it had fallen, aimed it into the hole and squinted as he took in the stone steps below.
“Rory!” Connor yelled, but there was no answer.
“Shit!” he snapped as he dropped down onto his ass and shifted until his feet were in the hole. He shoved the flashlight in his pocket and moved to go after her.
“Where the hell is she?” Sean asked as he ran into the room with three of his brothers close behind. Connor didn’t need to look to know that Craig wasn’t with them. The last he’d seen of the oldest brother, he’d been on the roof tearing it apart, but he also knew that Craig probably wasn’t far behind them.
“Rory crashed through the floor. Make sure they send fire and rescue with that ambulance,” Connor said as he quickly lowered himself into the hole, ignoring the sharp splinters that sliced his skin as he went.
“Get the hell out of there and let one of us go. It’s our sister down there,” Johnny said, reaching to grab his arm and yank him out of the hole.
“Back the fuck off. I’ve got this!” Connor snapped as he sucked in a breath and worked his way through the opening. Johnny paused in surprise just long enough to give him a chance to work his shoulders through the hole and when he dropped down, he released his hold on the splintered wood and did his best not to fall down the stairs and land on Rory.
With a grunt, he landed on his feet and quickly righted himself before he toppled over into the pitch-black room. He yanked the flashlight out of his pocket and turned it on, chasing away the darkness. He aimed the beam down the stairs and nearly dropped to his knees when he spotted her.
“Oh, God...” Connor mumbled even as he raced down the stairs. “Rory? Rory!”
He dropped by her side, careful not to brush against her and quickly looked her over with the flashlight. She was on her side. Her left arm was obviously broken, blood trickled down her forehead and onto the dirt floor, forming a small pool beneath her head and she was out. He wasn’t sure what else was wrong with her, so he didn’t try to move her, terrified that he’d make things worse.
“Rory? You have to wake up,” Connor said gently as he pressed his fingertips against the cut on her temple, careful not to hurt her.
“Is she okay?” Sean yelled down the hole.
“Her arm’s broken, she has a head wound, and she’s unconscious,” he yelled back, never taking his eyes off her.
He heard her brothers arguing over who was coming down but didn’t pay much attention to them as he placed the flashlight on the ground with the beam pointed at her. With a shaky hand, Connor pressed two blood-stained fingers against her neck and searched for a pulse.
When he didn’t find it, he promised everything that he had if she would just be okay. Hell, he couldn’t imagine a world without Rory in it, didn’t want to think about that happening. The moment his fingers came in contact with the proof that she was still alive, he released a shaky breath.
“Connor?” Rory said weakly.
“I’m here,” he said softly as he told himself that she was going to be okay. He’d make damn sure of it.
“We’re all coming down!” Johnny yelled down.
