Of course. She stretched her arm out, the light pointing at the ground. His hand covered hers for a moment before grasping the phone. It reminded her that she wasn’t alone this time. If she could get out of her last entrapment by herself, she must be able to get out of this one. Feeling more like her confident self for the first time since she rode up on Domino, she returned her attention to the pile in front of her.
It was very loose gravel, much like the sand she’d dug through in the mountains outside Chora. But itwasdifferent. It could be packed hard and tight. She’d see what she could do. Getting into position with her two spikes, she stabbed them into the ground and pulled back the earth, sending it to her side. She watched as more gravel filled in.
As if he’d been waiting for her first dig, the light went off and she was back in the pitch black. At first, she didn’t move, letting her eyes adjust to the lack of any light. Then she stabbed at the earth where she’d seen it fill in. Stab, wiggle, tug and shove out of the way. It was a familiar yet different motion. Last time she’d had only her hands to dig with. The spikes she held were sturdy and strong. She liked the feel. Leaning forward, she stabbed the spikes in again.
On her third strike, she felt her direction falter. Time to take advantage of having a partner in her predicament this time. “Did you fall asleep on me already?”
“With all the noise you’re making, not a chance.”
She snorted. “Good. So, talk.” Stab, wiggle, tug and shove.
“What would you like me to talk about?”
She shrugged even if he couldn’t see it. “Whatever. I probably won’t be listening. Like you said, just a directional cue.” Tug and shove and stab.
Instead of being insulted, he chuckled. So much about him reminded her of the men at her outpost, but then he did something like that. “You said you fight fires for a living. Tell me about that.” Wiggle, tug.
“That would definitely put you to sleep. I don’t do that anymore, so it would all be me strolling down memory lane. I’ll tell you about my family.”
Great. Now she’d get to hear how functional his perfect family was. She’d lose track of his words in no time.
“As I said, I followed in my father’s footsteps. My younger brother did in a different way. I became a firefighter and then a Hot Shot. My—”
“You fought wildfires?” That, she hadn’t expected. That was seriously dangerous, not that house fires weren’t, but wildfires were huge. Just a few years ago, a bunch of Hot Shots burned to death when the fire surrounded them. She’d seen it on the news. She’d just arrived in Arizona and it was all anyone could talk about.
“Yes, I did. My brother at first became an EMT before deciding to become a nurse.”
Tug and shove. Stab, wiggle, tug and shove out of the way. “Not a doctor?” He was right, it helped to have someone talking behind her.
“No. He said doctors were, pardon the expression, assholes.”
She smirked into the dark void. “Don’t pardon yourself around me. I’ve heard it all and yelled half of it at least.”
“That’s right, you’re Army. You know what it’s like to have to watch your mouth around your mother.”
Actually, she didn’t, but then again, she hadn’t respected her mother. The woman was a weak emotional mess from day one. She stabbed the spikes in hard, wiggled and yanked them back, getting dirt all over herself. “Shit.”
“I know. When I visit my parents, I spend three days practicing to keep my curse words under control, even if I’m alone. It’s hard when you drop a twenty-pound bucket filled with cement mix on your toe.”
Oh, she knew what that felt like, but she never kept herself from cursing. There was no point. Stab, wiggle, and tug. “What were you doing with cement mix?” Just keep talking so I can get this out of my way. Shove.
“I bought a fixer upper in Wickenburg recently. The cement was for around the posts I put in for a porch. I managed to get them in straight, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten. It’s really a two-person job.”
She set each spike to the side of her and leaned forward to pack down the dirt in the small concave area she had so far.This would help her judge her forward progress. The entrance couldn’t be more than a dozen feet away if she remembered correctly. Of course, she’d been running at the time, so it might be farther, but twelve feet was a good number to start with. It made it seem doable.She just needed to keep twelve in her mind, not three. Three killed. Three times four was twelve. She would rest every three feet to honor them. What kind of honor was that? A moment of silence? What good did that do—
“Everything okay up there. Need the light?”
The voice startled her and she froze. Who had found her?
“Riley? Is something blocking the way?”
Garrett. She let out her breath. She was in here with Garrett. “No. Just judging the distance.” Crap, she needed to hold it together. She pressed her hands against the sides of her little tunnel before finding the spikes again. “You’re right, it’s easy to move, but it does like to fill in. I’m just packing the sides to get a better feel in the dark. Keep talking. Tell me about your place.”
As he began describing the deal he got, she stabbed the spikes in. Wiggle, tug, shove away. He could act as her safety net. If she stopped sending gravel down the slope, he’d bring her back. More comfortable with that realization than she should be, she listened to his voice, though she didn’t pay much attention to the words.
Every inch was an inch closer to freedom. She had tools this time to move the debris. This was natural, not caused by a grenade launcher. The cave had been forcefully closed, and it didn’t want the blockage any more than she did. Shit. If this was natural, did that mean Mother Earth was reclaiming her space? She pushed the thought away. Earth didn’t have a mindset. It was all in her head.Just dig.
Stab, wiggle, tug and shove it out of the way. She adjusted her position and continued. She was making good progress. It was so much easier with the tools. She paused again and padded the bottom and sides. Yes, she was making headway. It just took patience. She’d had to exercise far too much patience with her men, even with the one other woman in her unit.
