“I am.” Coughing, gagging, ready to throw up. I was choking and couldn’t stop. Fading in the darkness, his voice began to drift from me.
“Luca? Luca? Stay with me? I’m coming,” he pleaded. The sound of his voice started to fade.
Love you, I mouthed wordlessly.
And it all went black.
Chapter 40
Axel
“Luca? Luca!” I pleaded. He wasn’t answering anymore. My heart was breaking into a million pieces while the love of my life was trapped underneath a heap of bricks and rubble. And there was nothing I could do.
“Drive faster,” I pleaded with Decker as I cried. “I have to get to him. He’s claustrophobic. I can’t lose him.”
Rocking in my seat with my phone held to my head, I sobbed uncontrollably.
“Keep talking to him,” Decker said. “He needs you.”
He was right. “Love, I’m here. I’m coming to get you. You’re gonna be okay. You can not leave me, Luca. Do you understand? I just found you. Hang on. Don’t let go.” I sobbed and wiped the snot from my face. Decker’s hand found my shoulder and squeezed, letting me know I wasn’t alone. “I don’t want to do this life without you.”
“We’re almost there,” Decker said.
“I’m almost there, love.” The streets were lined with emergency vehicles, police cars, and ambulances so thick that we couldn’t get through. I got out and ran the rest of the way.
A policeman tried to stop me as I got closer. “Sir, you can’t go any closer.”
“I must. My boyfriend is trapped in the basement.” I shook my phone at him. “He’s buried under there. I have to get him out. He can’t breathe. I’ve got to get him out. I promised him.”
He took me by the arm and led me over to the fire chief. “Chief, he says that there’s somebody trapped in the basement. He’s on the phone.”
The fire chief looked at me. “You’re positive?”
“Yes. I was talking to him. I’ve got to get him out. You do whatever it takes to get him out of there. I will pay for whatever needs to happen. You get a crew here. Just get him out.”
The fire chief looked at me, obviously recognizing me. “Mr. Hughes, we are working on it as fast as we can. I have a team over there moving things by hand until we can get the machinery here.”
“Let me help. I have to do something.”
Sympathy poured from his eyes. “You can’t. Let us do our job. Please, just stay out of the way.”
Every muscle in my body was tense as I fisted my hand and held my phone in the other. When I brought it to my ear, my heart broke all over again. The call had been disconnected, and he’d lost his lifeline. I called over and over, but he never picked up. I’d let him down. I’d promised to be with him.
“Axel!” Edith cried. “He’s down there. It’s my fault. It’s all my fault. I asked him to go.” She buried her face in her hands and dropped to her knees in agony. Anger surged inside me at her for sending after what? Trinkets that could be replaced. He couldn’t. And if I lost him, I’d never forgive her. The urge to scream to the heavens as the pain of losing him overtook me.
I was horrible for thinking it. He wouldn’t want me to be angry at her. There was no way she could know. She’d never hurt him. She loved him as much as I did. Dropping to my knees, I held her close. “It’s not your fault. They’ll get him out. I’ve talked to him.”
She continued to sob, but when Decker approached, I passed her off to him. “Can you keep an eye on her? I need to make a call.”
“Sure, buddy. I got her. Karlsson is talking to Coach.”
All I could do was nod. My control was waning. But for the first time in my life, I dialed my father’s number. He answered on the second ring. “Axel, I’m so glad you…”
“He’s…he’s trapped, Dad.” I sobbed, saying the words aloud. “I need you to help me get people here to move this shit out of the way and get Luca out of this building.”
“Slow down, what are you talking about?”
Fighting back tears, I told him what happened and how I’d spoken to Luca. “He stopped talking,” I said, ready to break. “And the call ended.” I covered my mouth to try to regain control. “I can’t get him back.”
