“It’s not a cavern.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a room used to hide runaway slaves more than a century ago, dug deep and behind the old Byrd place. Probably fifty feet from here, if I had to make a guess.”
“Was that the meth kitchen?”
“No. It was only a place Davis stored the drugs in rock form. Gage suspected the kitchen was elsewhere.”
“Okay. That’s good. We can’t take the chance some of the chemicals aren’t getting to him, but the situation sounds better.”
After he helped her lie on her stomach on the opening’s edge, he laid the other tank in front of her. “Bobby. Once you get down into the tunnel, if it looks like the thing’s going to completely collapse tell me and I’ll get you out. Understand?”
She nodded.
“Okay. Here we go. Take it slow and careful.”
He stood, giving Wes the flashlight to keep the beam shinning in front of her. He wrapped the rope around his body. She slowly wiggled forward, head first, guiding Gage’s air tank ahead of her.
God, don’t let them lose either of these people.
***
One inch at a time. Just take it one inch at a time. Gage is depending on you.
Dear God, why had she agreed to do this? Because no one else could. Because the man she’d fallen in love with was trapped down there.
It was insane. She couldn’t do it. She should just pull on the rope, get out before the walls caved in around her.
Gage was trapped down there. He could die before any other help arrived.
No choice.
Bobby pushed the air tank along the solid part of the chasm, not thinking about the dark below or the narrow space surrounding her. Her vision grew dark for a moment, her pulse pounding in her ears.
Stop it! You will not black out.
She would do this. She had to do this.
The tank knocked a large stone loose. Dirt and more stones poured into the hole.
Dammit. She paused. Caught her breath, willed her heart to slow. Think about the man down there. That’s all that matters.
“You’re doing fine, Bobby.” Deke’s voice sounded out of the mask’s radio. A beacon of reassurance.
If he only knew how badly she wanted to pull on that damn rope. How badly she wanted to crawl back out of this hole. He wouldn’t sound so damn reassuring.
“You’ve gone about twenty feet. Almost halfway.”
Crap! Only halfway?
She couldn’t do this. Couldn’t breathe. Her pulse pounded in her ears like kettledrums marking the orchestra’s crescendo and the opera heroine’s demise. She had to get out of here.
STOP IT! If you don’t go down there, Gage could die.
She paused. Forced air in her lungs. Exhaled slowly. Sweat dripped into one eye. The air mask kept her from wiping it away.
Okay. She was half there. Only a little farther to go.
Gage wasn’t too far below.
Carefully watching the tunnel ahead she pushed the tank forward another inch, wiggling up behind it, like an inchworm making its way along a tree branch.
With each movement she focused on Gage’s actions.
Big, bad frickin’ man! He just had to get the bad guy. Just had to put himself in danger for a town he swore he didn’t care about. Yeah, right. Talk about denial.
Now look at the fix the two of us are in!
He’s gonna hear about this! Just as soon as they were above ground. He’d damn well better appreciate her playing mole for him.
“He’ll appreciate it, Bobby. You’re doing great,” Deke coached in her ear.
Damn, had she said those words out loud?
She allowed her anger at Gage for running into the damn tunnel after Davis to override the fear bubbling just beneath the surface of her mind. Anger was way more productive than panic.
Suddenly, she heard tapping from below. Her heart swelled and her panic ebbed further with the positive proof he still lived. But why was he tapping instead of talking? Was he injured?
“Gage?” she called, wondering if he could hear her.
No answer. She pushed the tank forward, avoiding the grapefruit-sized rock just in front of her. The light from above barely reached this far down. Another few feet and she’d be in total darkness. She wanted to see his face, hear his voice.
“Gage, dammit can you hear me?”
***
“Gage?”
Gage shook his head.
Bobby? Had he just heard her voice?
No. No way could she be that close to him.
Before the second beam fell and the earth tried to swallow him up he’d seen the size of the shrunken tunnel. She wouldn’t be able to get to him. Not in that narrow space above him. She hated small closed rooms, a shaft less than four feet wide would do her in.
Great. Trapped below ground in a small space, seven feet by four feet on three sides, and a couple of beams holding more earth above him wasn’t bad enough? Now he was hearing things.
It was his own stupid fault he was trapped. He’d let everyone down. He’d come home to lick his wounds, got caught up in losing Dad and believing danger only existed in the city, not in sleepy little Westen.
Idiot.
How many times over the years as a cop had he found the most innocent-looking situation held the most dangerous outcome? Davis had murdered and manipulated his crimes under the radar for a long time, risking countless lives. Now, the whole town depended on him to protect them from evils such as Davis and he’d failed.
Light flashed above him. Then it was gone. Had he really seen it? Or was it just another hallucination like hearing Bobby call him?
Maybe that beam that hit his head had done more than daze him. Maybe the meth kitchen’s explosion spread chemicals down here and they were messing with his brain. He had to be hallucinating.
Ah, but what a great hallucination to have before dying. Bobby’s sweet, sexy voice. The voice that reminded him how great she felt writhing beneath him. If he was going to hallucinate, he might as well enjoy it.
“Gage, dammit can you hear me?”
Okay, Bobby just cussed at him. That wasn’t a hallucination. She really was just up the narrow shaft from him. What the hell was she doing there? And why had Deke let her climb to the shaft in the first place?
“Bobby!” He croaked out around the dust that clogged his throat.
“Thank God! Are you hurt? Can you reach up into the hole?”
“I’m a little dazed.” His dry throat hurt to talk. “Beam hit me. It’s blocking part of the passage.”
“Okay. I’m coming down farther. I’ve got an air tank and some bottled water for you. Will they fit?”
“Water, yes. Don’t know about the tank.”
Pebbles rained down on him. He closed his eyes until they stopped. Something clanked against the beam a foot over his head. Damn, let it hold.
“Bobby, stop.”
Bracing his back and feet against the small space’s walls for purchase, he wiggled close. His head one foot below the largest beam, he reached up.
Fingers caught with his.
Warm, soft, sweaty fingers.
Bobby.
She’d faced her worst fear to come after him.
Tears filled his eyes. Other than Dad, no one had ever sacrificed so greatly for him.
“Gage,” she whispered and he heard the relief in her voice.
He swallowed around the lump in his throat.
“Why?”
“Why am I here? Because you need air until we can get you out of here.”
He swallowed again. “No. Why are you down here?”
“Because Deke and Wes wouldn’t fit.”
“You hate small spaces.”
She didn’t answer him.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. It took great courage for her to come down here and now he’d reminded her of her fear. What if she panicked now?
“Here take this. You put the cloth thingy over your head
.” She thrust something into his hand.
Taking the cloth, he fit it over his head. “Ready.”
She slipped a bottle of cold water in his hand. “Drink first.”
It tasted like manna from heaven. Cold, clean, wet.
As soon as he’d finished it, he dropped the empty bottle below him. The hollow sound of plastic bouncing echoed beneath him. “What’s next?”
A hard plastic mask was thrust into his hands.
“This snaps on the front. You inhale deep to seal it.”
Following her instructions he fit the air mask in place. Instantly he inhaled clean air. The mask also kept the dirt out of his eyes and mouth.
“Push the button on the side of the mask to amplify your voice so we can hear you.”
With one hand, he pushed the button, the other groped above him, only to be met by her fingers. He curled his around them. God, they felt good! She gave his a little squeeze.
“We’re going to get you out of here.” The confidence in her words brought an ache to his chest.
“You need to get out of that shaft before…” the words clogged his throat. He didn’t want to think about her dying here with him. Dying from the thing she feared the most to be with him. He swallowed. “…before it collapses.”
“I’m not leaving you alone down here.”
The defiance in her voice stroked that vulnerable spot deep inside. She needed to get out of here, but dammit he didn’t want to let go of her.
“Why?”
“Why am I not leaving you alone? Because I need to know you’re alive.”
“Why?”
“Why?” Her voice grew soft.
“Tell me.” He squeezed her fingers. He wanted to hear the words. Needed to hear the words. Once, before…
“Because I needed to come down here and yell at you for running after Davis. And…”
“And?”
“Because I love you.”
It had to be his imagination. His heart swelled in his chest. “I love you, too.”
“Hate to break up the romance party,” Deke’s gravelly voice rumbled in Gage’s ear. “But we think we’ve got an idea how to get you out of there, Gunslinger.”
“What’s the plan?” He tried not to sound too relieved. Way too much dirt separated him from Bobby and the surface.
“Harold Russet’s bringing in a backhoe from the highway construction. We’ll dig a side shaft down to you. Shouldn’t take…too long to get you out.”
“What aren’t you telling us?” Bobby asked. She’d heard the hesitation in Deke’s voice, too.
“There’s a chance the weight of the backhoe could collapse the whole thing right on top of you.”
“Shit.”
“Find another way,” Bobby ordered, sounding very much like the schoolteacher.
“There’s no other way.”
“Yes, there is. You find one.” Panic laced her words.
“We’ve looked at all the angles.”
“Look again.”
“Deke?” Gage needed to hear what Deke didn’t want to tell him.
“Yeah?”
“Tell me everything.”
“Russet says the spring rains have softened all the ground. With the explosions, we don’t have any idea how long you have before it all collapses anyway.”
A soft sound filled his ears. Bobby catching her breath on a whimper. His heart tore at her pain.
“Deacon,” Gage used his friend’s hated name to get his attention. “Get Bobby clear before it starts.”
“I’m not leaving you.” The pressure on his fingers increased.
“Bobby, you heard him. This whole thing can go at any moment. Thanks to you, I’ve got the air tank now. If the tunnel collapses, I’ll still have some time for them to get to me.” He didn’t know if that was true, but he prayed so. Getting her out of this trap was more important than whether or not he lived. She was his soul.
“Let me stay,” she begged.
His heart broke more.
“I need you to make sure they know just where I am.”
“Deke can do that.”
“Bobby, please.” He swallowed so she wouldn’t hear the fear in his words. “Baby, don’t make me beg you. I need to know you’re up there, safe and sound.”
A soft gasp from above. He imagined she had tears coursing down her soft cheeks. She was trying to be brave, for him.
“Okay, I’ll go, not because I’m afraid anymore…”
“I know you’re not afraid.”
“…but because I want you out of there quickly. I haven’t finished using that body of yours.”
Deke’s laughter rumbled in his ear. Heat flushed his cheeks and for one moment he was glad no one could see the stunned look on his face.
Something clanked just above him. Then Bobby slipped her fingers from his. He wanted to grasp them back, cling to her, beg her not to leave him. Suddenly, she slipped a cloth strap in his hand.
“Your air tank is lying just up on this beam. Don’t let go of that strap, no matter what. Promise me.”
“You got it.”
He gripped it tight.
She covered his fisted hand with hers. “I’m leaving the flashlight up here.”
Normally, he didn’t have a problem with the dark, but the little bit of light above him suddenly eased the tightness in his stomach. Not much, but some. And she knew he needed it. God, what he wouldn’t give to hold her in his arms one more time.
“Thank you.” It came out in a whisper.
“Ready, Bobby?” Deke asked.
“Take care of her, Deacon.” In case I don’t make it out of here.
“You got it, Gunslinger.” Deke knew what he’d just asked. “She’ll be right here when you get out of there.”
Hopefully in one piece and still breathing.
“Okay. Get going.”
Bobby kept her hand on his. Slowly it moved upward, until just the tips of her fingers touched his flesh.
Then she was gone. His fist clenched around the strap for the air she’d risked her life to bring him. His mind clenched around the words she’d filled his heart with.
I love you.
Chapter Seventeen
The rope pulled her back up the shaft in slow jerks. It seemed to take forever.
“Careful, Deke,” she whispered into the mic. Her chest ached so badly every inch she got farther away from Gage.
Each movement could bring tons of soil down, crushing him. Oh God, how could she leave him down there? If he didn’t make it out of that shaft, she’d just die, too.
She sank her teeth into her lip. Now that he could hear with the radio equipment, no way was she going to let him hear her cry.
Suddenly two pairs of hands grasped her heels.
“Gotcha,” Deke said as they hauled her out of the hole.
Once she was on the surface, she squinted at the bright lights and snatched the mask from her face.
“Get him out of there!”
“We’re working as fast as we can.” Deke helped her off with the air tank and jacket she’d worn down the shaft. “We need you to draw us a picture of what the underground room and tunnels looked like before the explosions.”
She blinked and looked around. Huge stadium-type lights, mounted on truck trailers, sat spread in a semi-circle safely on the barn side of the area. People milled about like ants on an anthill, moving equipment, setting up tables.
Deke led her over to a folding table where several people in hard hats stood looking at charts. She recognized the middle-aged Harold Russet from earlier in the evening among them.
“Ms. Roberts.” Taking her elbow, Harold drew her into the group, introducing a twenty-something African-American. “This is André Danner, the construction foreman who’s going to operate the backhoe for us. Can you give us some kind of diagram where the tunnels and room were, and maybe how far back the Sheriff might be?”
Didn’t they know how little time Gage had? “Why are you just stan
ding here talking? Not doing something?”
“Bobby.” Deke laid his hand on her shoulder. “The backhoe weighs nearly five tons. If these men don’t maneuver it just right, we’ll crush Gage.”
A small groan escaped her and both her legs wobbled. She clamped her hands onto Deke’s arms to remain vertical.
“Easy. Someone get her a chair.”
Suddenly there was a metal chair behind her and she was eased down into it. With shaky fingers she took the pen someone handed her and drew a sketch of the area around where Gage was trapped.
“Good. Excellent.” Mr. Russet said, pointing to the large X she’d marked where Gage might be in comparison to the graph. “How far down do you think he is?”
“I’m not sure.” Shaking her head. “I’m so bad with distances and it seemed like I crawled a mile to get to him.”
“We had a fifty-foot rope tied around her, Harold,” Deke said. “Given how much lay on the ground when Bobby got to him, I’d say he’s between twenty-five and thirty feet beyond the tunnel entrance.”
“Good.” Russet nodded. He turned to the backhoe operator and pointed to the map. “If we move the backhoe close to the entrance, but at about a forty-five degree angle from it, we should be able to dig the side shaft on this side of the whole mess.”
André sprinted off to his equipment.
“I’m going to go back to the tunnel entrance, Bobby,” Deke said as the other men in the group scattered to clear the path for the big rig. “You going to be okay?”
She clutched at his arm. “Just get him out of there, Deke. Please. Hurry.”
He pressed a radio into her hands. “Keep him talking. Listening to you should keep him from panicking.”
She clutched the radio as he ran to the tunnel entrance. Bobby stood, shivering from fear more than the early morning air. Suddenly a warm blanket was perched on her shoulders and she was engulfed into firm arms.
“There ya go, honey,” Lorna’s matter-of-fact voice tickled her ears. “That boy is gonna be okay. You just wait and see.”
Bobby leaned into the older woman. “I’m so scared.”
“Nonsense,” Harriett handed her a cup of hot tea. “Drink this. Deke and the boys here aren’t going to let anything happen to the sheriff. They’re smart men.”
Flanked by Lorna and Harriett, Bobby looked around her and for the first time realized how many people were in the area.
Close To The Edge (Westen #2) Page 25