Loyal Heir

by Michelle Heard

  “Forest?” I gasp, fear soaking into my bones.

  “I think it’s an earthquake,” he manages to groan as he tries to sit us up.

  Again, the elevator slips, and the sound of metal and cables popping is distressing, making my heartbeat speed up uncontrollably. “Oh my god!” Terrified, I wrap my arms around Forest’s neck, and I try to press close to him. His arms are steel bands around me while the violent tremor tries to pry us away from each other.

  Oh, my God. We’re going to die!

  The sound of metal bending, concrete cracking, and the elevator groaning as it plummets makes anxiety close around my insides with a tight fist. It squeezes the blood from my veins until I feel faint and nauseous.

  The elevator jerks twice, grating and swaying, and then it feels as if my stomach is sucked out of my body as we fall again.

  I let out a petrified scream, but it gets swallowed by the roaring noise of twisting metal and collapsing concrete.

  It feels like endless terror-filled hours pass while we plunge to what feels like certain death, then suddenly we’re jolted into the air. I let out a startled shriek while we’re tossed around in the metal container.

  Everything shakes violently, and the building groans like a wounded beast.

  We’re hammered back against the floor, and before I can think to draw a breath, we’re plunging again. A deafening roar fills the box we’re stuck in, and it tears a hopeless cry from me.

  It feels like we’re falling forever, but then we come to a sudden and bruising stop, and our bodies are thrown into the air before we’re yanked back to the floor. The blow is bone-crushingly painful and bewildering.

  There’s a ringing in my ears, and I’m totally disorientated.

  The violent shaking continues, and dust and debris begin to fill the air around us as the thunderous noise increases. A crushing sound pierces through the stuffy air, and I watch in horror as one of the elevator’s doors bends in half as if it’s nothing more than paper.

  “God! Forest!” I cry.

  Chapter 20

  ARIA

  Forest throws his body over mine, covering me from falling debris. I hear a pain-filled groan from him, and it makes my panic-stricken gaze snap to his face. I only see his features for a couple of seconds before the lights flicker, and then we’re plunged into darkness.

  “Are you okay?” he wheezes.

  I hear my winded breaths explode over my lips. Every banging and creaking noise makes me cringe.

  Forest moves into a sitting position, and then he pulls me onto his lap, cradling me against his body. I feel his breath burst over my forehead. “Aria, are you okay?”

  I begin to nod but a loud crash yanks a cry from me. I wrap my arms around Forest’s neck and press as close to him as I can. My body is a trembling mess, and tears begin to fall faster than my petrified breaths. “I don’t want to die. Not like this.”

  “You’re not going to die,” Forest states as if it’s something he knows for certain.

  Deep booming noises surround us, and I cringe tightly against Forest. “Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God,” I ramble in absolute terror.

  The metal sheet of the ceiling begins to groan under the weight of whatever is falling on top of it, and I feel the suffocating air move as it’s pressed down.

  “Make it stop!” I cry desperately.

  Forest holds me tightly with his right arm, and placing his left hand behind my head, he tucks my face under his chin. “We’re okay.” He starts to cough but still manages to reassure me.” Shhh… we’re going to be okay.”

  Feeling the strength in his body helps ease the unnerving panic a little. It’s enough that I dare to open my eyes, and I peek out from under Forest’s chin. I still can’t see anything.

  It feels like I’m breathing sand. It’s scratchy, making me cough. Within seconds it becomes sweltering hot in the small space.

  “Forest? The air?” I instantly voice my concern.

  Taking a deep breath, his chest expands against me. “Let’s just calm our breathing.” He coughs again. “Do you have your phone?

  I turn my face back to his neck, hoping the air will be a little cleaner as I try to take a deep breath.

  I feel him move, and then the light from his phone gives us our first look at the destruction we’re imprisoned in. There are slabs of concrete that have broken through the ceiling and the side of the elevator. Dust and pieces of debris float in the air. Everything is gray and grim, and the elevator looks twice as small as when we got into it.

  I wet my lips and taste dust.

  “I have no signal,” Forest says. He pushes me a little back and scans the light over me. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

  I feel banged up and bruised, but nothing alarming. Shaking my head, I say, “I’m… okay, and you?”

  Forest’s answer comes quickly. “I’m fine.” His hand finds my face, and he forces me to look at him. “Do you have your phone on you?”

  I begin to nod but then shake my head. “It was in my clutch. I dropped it.”

  Forest gently moves me until I’m sitting on broken pieces of concrete. As he scans over the floor, I use a trembling hand to move the rubble to the side so we can sit without them digging into our butts.

  I find my clutch, covered in debris, and opening it, I pull my phone out. Unlocking the device, I instantly see there’s no signal. “I’ve got nothing.”

  “How much battery life do you have?” Forest asks.

  I check. “Eighty-nine percent… and yours?”

  “Ten.” Forest takes my phone from me and switches it to battery saving mode. “We’ll use mine for light until it dies.”

  “Okay.”

  I sit and watch as Forest inspects the elevator. He glances up, and it’s only then I see the blood coming from his ear.

  “Forest!” I crawl closer and place my hand on his shoulder. “You’re bleeding.”

  “It’s nothing,” he answers me way too quickly again.

  My eyes lock on his, and when he glances up, I place my hand against his jaw and turn him back to me. “Where else are you hurt?”

  “Don’t worry about me, Aria. I’m fine.”

  Forest cushioned my fall every time. He took the blows of being slammed against the floor.

  Panic grips my chest, and I grab my phone from him. Turning the light function on, I scan over his body. A shocked gasp explodes from me when I see the torn fabric of his jacket and shirt, exposing a gash on his arm below his elbow. “That’s not nothing!” I shriek, but it sounds muted because we’re stuck in a tin can.

  My mind races for a way to stop the bleeding. I glance over Forest and seeing his pocket square peeking from his jacket, I yank it out. “Take off your jacket.”

  I’m about to attempt ripping a piece of my dress off when I focus on my pantyhose. Scrambling to my feet, I have to bend over as I kick off my heels. Reaching under my dress, I pull the pantyhose down my legs.

  I drop back to my knees and wait for Forest to shrug out of his jacket. I unbutton his cuff and gently roll the fabric up his arm. I’m cautious when I reach the gash, then quickly press the pocket square to his wound.

  “It’s not clean, but it’s all we have right now.” I wrap the pantyhose a couple of times around his arm, and glancing at him, I say, “This is going to hurt.” When I tighten it, I hear Forest hiss.

  The sound of him being in pain stabs at my heart. I press my lips together as tears rush to my eyes. I hate that I’m causing him pain, but we need to stop the bleeding. “I’m sorry,” I whimper as I tighten it as much as I can.

  Forest grinds his teeth and bangs the back of his head against the panel behind him, and then he grates, “Fuck.”

  “Sorry. Sorry. I’m so sorry,” I sob. I bite my bottom lip to keep the emotion from spiraling out of control again. When I’ve tightened it as much as I can, I tie a knot.

  Slumping back, I let out a quivering breath, and unable to stop the tears, I cover my face with my hands as a sob esc
apes. My body begins to tremble again as emotions flood me, from being scared to death and feeling claustrophobic because we’re trapped in the elevator.

  Forest takes hold of my shoulder, and he pulls me against his chest. He presses a kiss to my hair. “Shhh… it’s going to be okay.”

  I shake my head and mumble, “We’re stuck. God knows how bad the devastation is outside. Is anyone even looking for us?”

  “Yes.” Forest pushes me back, and placing a finger under my quivering chin, he nudges my face up so I’ll look at him. “Your parents will find us. They know we’re here.”

  A new worry bleeds through my soul. “What if they got hurt? What if –”

  Forest shakes his head. “They left way before the earthquake and were probably already flying home. They’ll hear the news and come back for us. Okay?”

  Forest’s level-headed reasoning calms me a little as I suck in a shaky breath.

  God, please. Please, let my parents find us.

  FOREST

  I keep trying to look for a way out, but with the thick slabs of concrete burying us, there’s nothing I can do. My body aches all over, but mostly my back and ribs. Every breath is tight and sharp. My left arm… the pain is constant and intense, as if my arm’s been frozen, and it might shatter at any moment. I swallow the pain-filled groan, not wanting to cause Aria any further panic. She’s struggling to hang on as is.

  I glance around the small space, and it increases my fear and panic. Closing my eyes for a moment, I breathe through it, knowing there’s no way I can lose my shit.

  God, we’re in trouble.

  I’m worried about our air supply. I don’t know if air is coming into the confined space. It’s growing hotter by the minute, which is another concern. If the building’s on fire, we’ll die.

  God, please don’t let this get any worse than it already is. Let a search party find us.

  I check the time again and see it’s just gone past eleven pm. With it being dark out, I don’t have much faith anyone will find us soon, but I keep the thought to myself.

  “Let’s get as comfortable as we can. Maybe you can try to sleep a little,” I tell Aria as I try to clean a stretch of the floor with my right hand. I lie my jacket down, then look at Aria. “I’ll stay awake.”

  She gives me an incredulous look. “There’s no way I’ll be able to sleep.”

  “Try. It will make the wait pass quicker for you,” I explain my reasoning.

  Aria takes hold of my right arm and tugs at me. “Come sit here so we can both lean back against the panel.”

  Giving up on trying to convince her to get some rest, I scoot closer to her and lean back.

  I let my left arm rest against my stomach and try to take a deep breath, but the ache in my chest intensifies, forcing me to stick to shallow breaths.

  Aria’s pinned between my side and the back panel, and she rests her head against my shoulder. Lifting my right arm, I wrap it around her shoulders so she can lean against me. The movement makes it hard to breathe for a moment, and I clench my jaw through the ache.

  “How long do you think it will take for someone to find us?” she asks, her voice sounding tight from all the shock and fear she’s suffered.

  “I’m not sure. The city won’t sleep until they’ve found everyone,” I try to reassure her.

  God, I hope someone’s looking for us.

  “Your parents will make sure they search here for us.” I swallow hard, my mouth bone dry from all the dust. “Our families will find us.”

  “Yeah,” she murmurs, not sounding too convinced.

  There’s a loud clanking above us, and both our heads snap up.

  Aria cringes closer to my side, and I tighten my hold around her shoulders. “Probably just a cord falling.” I try to put her at ease.

  The air continues to grow stale and muggy, and then my phone dies, and we’re plunged into darkness. A couple of seconds later, Aria turns on her device’s light.

  Debris trickles in where the concrete has broken through the ceiling, and I watch until it stops, leaving a heap on the floor.

  I glance up again, worried about how long the ceiling will hold.

  Fuck, this is bad.

  Chapter 21

  FOREST

  I take a shallow breath, but still, the pain in my chest is too intense, and I have to wait until it fades a little before I can exhale.

  Every creaking sound and every piece of falling debris has us on edge. It feels as if I’m running on overdrive.

  Feeling Aria shiver, I rub my hand up and down her arm. Seeing her so terrified is killing me. I wish I could wrap her in my arms and disappear from this place.

  We’re still trying to catch our bearings when the ground begins to shake again, causing debris to fall into the elevator. Aria presses closer to me, and I hear her whisper, “Make it stop. Make it stop. God, please, make it stop.”

  There’s a loud bang making both of us jump with fright. The piece of concrete by the doors makes the steel bend even more from the weight pressing down on it.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  A desperate feeling bleeds into my soul.

  The tremor dies away, and we both sit frozen in the light coming from Aria’s phone while waiting for the other fucking shoe to drop.

  The dust makes me cough, and it sends a wave of pain through my chest and arm. Clenching my jaw, I do my best not to make a sound, but I know it’s only a matter of time before Aria notices I got hurt worse than I let on.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispers urgently. “I’m sorry I wasted the past week with my stupid insecurities. Now we’re stuck in here, and God only knows…”

  I press a kiss to the top of her head. “They’ll find us soon.”

  I hope.

  Trying to keep Aria’s mind of our dire situation, I say, “I have nowhere to go. Want to talk to me now?”

  She brings her legs up, and wrapping her arms around her shins, she rests her chin on her knees. “It’s hard to talk about it.”

  Her words make me frown. “Talk about what? Us?”

  She turns her face away from me. “Remember when I told you Eli broke up with me because I’m high maintenance?”

  I wanted to punch the bastard so fucking hard. “Yeah?”

  “I lied.” The word is soft.

  There’s a twinge in my heart, and a weird sense of dread trickles down the back of my neck.

  She takes a deep breath but then coughs. I move my right hand to her back and pat her, but then the coughing turns into a sob, and she whispers, “It was bad, Forest… and I’m… I’m too ashamed to tell you.”

  It feels as if ice is poured over me, and my muscles tightening intensifies the pain in my chest. I keep still, willing my body to relax, and when I can talk, I ask, “Did Eli do something to you?”

  God, I’ll kill him.

  The fucking second I get out of here.

  The thought makes me feel trapped, like a caged animal, and when I try to shift my body, the throbbing in my arm and chest increases – forcing me to sit still, powerless and fucking weak.

  Then Aria continues, “I caught him cheating on me with Taytum. Remember they used to date before he started seeing me?”

  Clenching my jaw, I whisper, “Yeah.”

  Aria tightens her hold around her legs. “He compared me to her.”

  My frown deepens. “What do you mean?”

  She presses her face against her knees, and her voice sounds fragile as she says, “He compared my body to hers, saying I looked like a boy and not a woman.”

  Her words hit hard, and I close my eyes against the heartache ripping through me.

  God, let me survive this so I can kill him.

  Taking hold of her shoulder, I pull her to me. I move my hand to the side of her head and press my mouth to her temple.

  “I walked in while they were having sex and froze like an idiot. They finished, and then Eli groped Taytum all over while telling me that’s what a woman’s body should look and
feel like…” Aria’s voice cracks over the words.

  It’s so hard to keep quiet while she finally opens up to me, and now I fucking understand why Aria’s been such a mess. Eli mentally fucking abused her.

  Her breath hitches. “I know I’m small, but did they have to be so mean?”

  I press my lips to her temple, then lower my mouth to her ear. “I’m so sorry. I wish you had told me sooner.”

  She pulls a little back, and when I see the trauma that fucker caused her on her face, a lump swells in my throat.

  “He’s a bastard, Aria. A fucked up piece of shit. There’s nothing wrong with you.” Her chin begins to quiver, and a tear escapes, leaving a trail through the dust on her cheek. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. You’re otherworldly gorgeous.”

  “It hurt so much,” she admits. “Until you and I slept together, I thought there was something wrong with me.” She swallows hard. “You…” she lifts her eyes to me, “you made me feel like a woman.” She shrugs. “Then Kennedy came back, and it felt like I was back in that room with Eli and Taytum.”

  I hold her as tight as I can with my right arm. “I’m so fucking sorry. If I had known, I would’ve handled things differently.” Unable to lift my left arm, I whisper, “Look at me.” When Aria’s eyes meet mine, I say, “I’ll never hurt you, Aria. I love you. Not just as my best friend, but as a hot as fuck woman. I love your body, your mind, your soul. Fuck, I love you more than anything in this world.”

  Her face crumbles, and she wraps her arms around my neck. “I’m sorry for pushing you away. I was scared.”

  I hold her until she pulls away. Using the fabric from her dress, she wipes the tears from her face. When she doesn’t look at me, I murmur, “Please don’t feel ashamed.”

  Once we’re out of here, I’m going to do everything I can to show her how attractive she is to me.

  “The feeling is always there,” she whispers. Her gaze darts to my face. “Like it’s a part of me.”