Page 69 of Risking the Pucking Defense

“Press the button. Call for help. It’s the right thing to do.”

She nods once before she lifts a perfectly manicured finger and presses the button, and…nothing happens.

“Shouldn’t that make a noise or something?” she asks, glancing over at me.

“I don’t know. I’ve never been stuck in an elevator before.”

“Me either,” she says before pressing the red button with the alarm symbol etched into it.

My eyes lift to the sign above her head.

“In an emergency, hold for five seconds and wait for operator.”

“Pretty sure I’ve been holding longer than five seconds.”

“Yeah.”

I pull my cell from my pocket and unlock it.

“Uh, Hails.”

“Yeah?” she says, finally releasing the button and turning to face me. “I don’t have any service.”

She opens her purse and pulls her cell out. “Me either. No data…” She taps on the screen and waits a few seconds. “No Wi-Fi networks to connect to.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah,” she agrees.

“I’m…uh…not sure…huh.”

“What?” she asks, her brows pulling together.

“Nothing. I just love seeing this different side of you.”

“What side?”

“The non-work, not-always-in-full-control version.”

Her mouth opens and closes a couple of times as she fights to come up with a response.

“See, work Hailee always has a comeback.”

Putting her cell away again, she lets her purse drop to the floor.

“I don’t like being out of my comfort zone,” she confesses quietly. “I like to have everything planned and know what’s likely to happen.”

“Sounds…boring. Don’t you think?”

“Safe,” she counters.

“I get that, Hails. I really fucking do. But don’t you ever just want to say fuck it, jump, and see where you end up?”

She shakes her head. “I can’t,” she admits.

Concern rolls through me like a tidal wave.

“Someone hurt you,” I reason, and the second she lowers her gaze, I know I hit the nail on the head.