“Lo siento.”
She didn’t know what that meant. “Thank you for saving us,” she said, her leg still tingling from his touch.
“Por nada,” he replied, flashing a smile.
Something about him took her breath away. Either she’d developed a serious case of hero worship, or he was handsome. The body was a ten all by itself. His face wasn’t perfect, but it had character. She liked his dark eyes and white teeth, his fierce hair and hawkish nose. “Do you speak English?”
He shrugged, apologetic.
“I’m Chloe,” she said. “This is Emma.”
“Soy Mateo.”
She wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. “What?”
“Mateo,” he said again, pointing at himself.
“Ma-tay-o,” she repeated.
He nodded.
She wanted to ask him more questions but the horror of their surroundings distracted her. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Had they really just survived a bridge collapse? Had anyone else made it? She searched the bay, which was calmer now. There were no boats nearby, no floating cars. Behind them, the park was empty. The broken bridge loomed in the distance, massive and surreal. Traffic had dispersed on either side. The air was thick with smoke from dozens of small fires.
And it was quiet. Unnaturally quiet.
She stared out at the water, her eyes filling with tears. An earthquake this size meant lots of human casualties. Dozens, maybe hundreds, had plummeted to their deaths. By some crazy stroke of luck, they were still alive.
She didn’t know why they’d been spared. Or who else was left.
Her parents were on a Caribbean cruise. They’d set sail a week ago, so they were probably fine. Josh might not have fared so well. He worked in a densely populated area of San Diego, just a few miles away.
“Mama,” Emma sobbed, wanting milk again.
Overwhelmed by the traumatic experience, unable to comfort her child, Chloe hung her head and cried.
CHAPTER FOUR
JOSH COULDN’T THINK about Chloe and Emma without his throat closing up.
He loved his sister, but he was more worried about Emma. She was just a baby. They’d celebrated her second birthday right here at the zoo, with pink cupcakes and princess party hats. Josh had donned his with pride.
Fuck.
If something had happened to them, he didn’t know what he’d do. Jump off a bridge himself, maybe.
Pushing thoughts of Chloe and Emma aside, he focused on Helena. She was calm and in control, as usual. Dependability was her default mode. She approached every task with brisk efficiency. Shoulders straight, head high. A born leader. He was surprised he’d been able to stop her from charging into the lions’ den. She struck him as the type of person who rarely changed course once she had her sights set. He liked that about her.
He liked a lot of things about her.
Unfortunately, she didn’t hold him in the same regard. She’d formed a low opinion of him and he couldn’t seem to shake it. He’d asked her out once, and she’d said no in a “not if he was the last man on earth” sort of way.
He hadn’t meant any insult; on the contrary. But she’d kept her distance ever since, as if he’d offended her with his interest.
Before they raided the weapons cabinet, she collected a few more cell phones from the employee lockers. She gave one to Kim and returned Josh’s. He tucked it away, hoping he’d hear from Chloe soon.
The guns were stashed in the director’s office, which was next door, by the banquet hall. Although Josh had patrolled the area during the day, he’d never been inside. A private agency provided security for the swank events the zoo sponsored by night, and his pockets weren’t deep enough to get invited the old-fashioned way. He wondered if Helena attended those parties, clad in strapless black velvet and long gloves.
Probably not. She wasn’t much of a schmoozer.
There would be no charity galas here for anyone, anytime soon. The place was in shambles, with smashed bottles and a broken mirror behind the bar. Helena stepped around the glass and continued to a back office. Inside, there was a large desk, sleek leather furniture and an overturned bookshelf. No animal trophies, of course. A metal cabinet dominated one wall. When she opened it, he let out a low whistle.
They had an arsenal at their disposal. In addition to several shotguns, there was a lever-action Winchester and two Browning BLRs—big-game rifles with serious stopping power. Helena selected a tranquilizer gun and a set of slim darts with feathered ends. There were more types of darts than rifles.
Josh hadn’t fired a gun in several years. He’d had a bad experience with a rifle, and he wasn’t eager to repeat it. But he’d learned his lesson about hesitating, so he pushed aside his misgivings and took the Winchester off the rack. She watched him load it, a crease forming between her brows.
“You’ve had weapons training?” she asked.
“Of course.”
She seemed surprised, as if she thought anyone off the street could do his job. He didn’t carry a firearm for safety reasons, but he was certified in law enforcement. He’d also participated in several code one drills. His role was to evacuate the park and communicate with local authorities, not to take the kill shot.
“At a police academy?” she asked.
“No. I was in the navy for five years.”
“I didn’t know that.”
He just shrugged. His stint in the military hadn’t worked out the way he’d hoped, so he rarely mentioned it. There was nothing funny about watching his career aspirations go down in flames. On the bright side, he’d gained life experience and earned money for a college degree. And he was fairly accurate with a rifle.
She cocked her head to one side. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-nine.”
He was pretty sure he looked his age, but she must have assumed he was younger. He figured she was about thirty. With her jet-black hair, pale blue eyes and statuesque height, she was striking.
His comic-book fantasy, come to life.
She returned her attention to the gun rack. “Why did you choose the Winchester?”
“It’s better at long distances. You don’t need an elephant gun to take down a lion, or any smaller predators we might see along the way.”
“Shooting is a last resort,” she said. “I want to use darts.”
“I understand.”
“Don’t fire without my okay.”
He couldn’t make any promises. “If a lion jumps out at us, I’m not going to ask for permission.”
“They charge as a warning, and don’t always follow through.”
Nodding, he loaded the rifle and put the strap over his shoulder. The weight felt familiar and comfortable, but he couldn’t say he’d missed it. “How much time does it take the tranquilizers to work?”
“Depends on the animal. A few minutes, at least. They’re more dangerous when cornered, and often attack after they’ve been darted.”
“Great,” he muttered.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
He didn’t, actually. It was his job to protect the park’s human inhabitants, Helena included. Hunting lions was way beyond his pay grade. Code ones should be handled by top officials and a team of experts. They needed a half-dozen armed keepers casing the perimeter, and more crew members relaying information from webcam footage.
Instead, they were going in blind, just the two of them. He didn’t like the odds, and he wasn’t optimistic about Greg’s chances for survival. Lions went for the jugular and didn’t let go. Even if Greg was alive, they might not be able to reach him. Josh didn’t want to shoot two healthy animals. He didn’t want to shoot anything.
“I’d rather wait,” he said.
“For what?”
“The other keepers. They can help after they’re done rounding up snakes and securing the gorilla enclosure.”
She contemplated his plan for about three seconds before shaking her head. “I have to drive by
and check it out. Those lions might be loose. They could attack again. I’d never forgive myself if I waited and someone else got hurt.”
He didn’t argue with her. Driving by was a fair plan.
“You don’t have to come with me,” she added.
“You think I’d let you go alone?”
She adjusted the gun strap, not answering. On closer inspection, she wasn’t as unruffled as she appeared. There was a smudge of dirt on her cheek and dried blood at the corner of her mouth. She also looked as if she’d been crying. These hints of vulnerability unsettled him. He wasn’t used to seeing any chinks in her armor.
He wondered if she assumed he was untrustworthy, despite his military background. Maybe she was just too independent to trust anyone.
She wasn’t an easy woman to read, and he’d been wrong about her before. After four years of working with her, the only thing he knew for certain was that she loved animals. Her face softened when she interacted with them, and her dedication to the job was undeniable.
She left the gun cabinet unlocked. They exited the banquet hall and approached the storage yard, where the maintenance vehicles were parked. His golf cart wouldn’t protect them as well as a pickup truck with closed windows. Josh had the keys to one of the older trucks, so he unlocked it and climbed behind the wheel. Helena settled into the passenger seat, not protesting the arrangement. He started the engine and drove out of the yard.
It only took a minute to reach Heart of Africa. After they passed the elephant exhibit, he had to slam on the brakes. There was a huge rift in the middle of the road. The asphalt had lifted and separated, leaving an uneven section he couldn’t go over. It was a major obstacle. They needed a ramp, and a couple of strong men to place it.
“Can we take Safari Street?” she asked.
“No. There’s a tree down by the gorilla enclosure.”
Both of the roads that encircled the zoo were blocked. Another path went straight up the middle, but it forked into a nature trail with stairs and a rustic footbridge. The second, wheelchair-accessible option was too narrow for the truck to squeeze through. Although his golf cart could fit, it would also leave them open to attack.
“We’re almost there,” she said, craning her neck to see around the corner. “Let’s get out and walk.”
He didn’t think that was a good idea. There was five hundred yards of obstacle-filled space between them and the lion enclosure, with zero visibility. He surveyed their surroundings, searching for an alternative. Maybe he could get a better look from the roof of the vehicle, or the top of a building….
“The Skylift,” he said, spotting one of the tall poles for the aerial tram. “We can see the enclosure from up there.” It also had an excellent view of the downtown skyline and the San Diego Bay, including the Coronado Bridge.
“There’s no electricity.”
“We don’t need it to climb the ladder to the top of the pole.”
She followed his gaze to the tram pole, her expression wary. It occurred to him that she didn’t ride the Skylift often. If ever. “What if there’s another earthquake?”
Josh considered the pole. He’d seen service workers climb them before. There was a safety guard around the ladder. Compared to approaching the lion den without protection, it was a piece of cake. “You can go up first. I’ll stay right under you.”
“Why should I go first?”
“I don’t want to fall on you. I’m heavier.”
She studied his lean form. “Not by much.”
He gave her an equal perusal. She had long legs and nice curves. He was no hefty bodybuilder, but neither was she. Had she forgotten that he’d overpowered her less than thirty minutes ago? “I’m always happy to be on top, if you insist.”
Her eyes narrowed at his innuendo.
He regretted the joke as soon as it left his mouth. Suggestive humor wasn’t appropriate at work, especially under these circumstances. Sure, he’d flirted with Kim, but Kim was friendly. They hadn’t been alone together. And he didn’t actually want to sleep with her. Those three details didn’t apply to Helena.
He glanced away, heat rising up his neck. Instead of making them both more uncomfortable by dwelling on the awkward moment, he moved on. “You can stay here while I look.”
“No. It’s my responsibility.”
Whatever. He backed up the truck a few feet and parked as close to the tram pole as possible. It was off the beaten path, disguised in a wooded area between exhibits. Although public access was prohibited, some people ignored the rules. That was where Josh came in. He’d removed a couple of boneheaded teenagers from the ladder before.
He’d also pulled an inebriated woman from the flamingo pond, and called 911 when a suicidal man jumped into the polar bear enclosure. A popular tourist attraction like the San Diego Wildlife Park drew its share of kooks.
He exited the truck with Helena, keeping his eyes peeled and his rifle ready. They approached a short redwood fence and stepped over it. He stuck close to Helena, his heartbeat thundering in his ears. She skirted around thick ferns, thorny ocotillos and birds of paradise. The park’s exotic plants were well cared for, and almost as impressive as its collection of animals. He hoped there were no predators crouched in the bushes.
The tram pole was in a small clearing between exhibits. It had a built-in ladder with a safety guard on one side. Vertical bars followed the pole to the top and horizontal bars curved around the ladder at regular intervals, protecting it like a giant spinal column.
Josh stood watch at the base of the pole while she ascended. The clang of metal on metal startled him. The barrel of her gun had gotten caught on the first bar of the safety guard, which was about six feet up. He hadn’t considered this complication. It was dangerous to climb with an unwieldy object, even more so to shoot while standing on a ladder. They’d have to leave the guns on the ground.
“Pass it down to me,” he said, doing another sweep of the area.
She fumbled with the gun strap and lowered the weapon to him. He set it at the base of the pole, along with the rifle, and hurried to join her. The hairs at the nape of his neck prickled with awareness as he climbed the rungs. He didn’t stop until he was inside the guard, his eyes level with her boots.
She glanced over her shoulder at him, seeming anxious.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s go.”
After a short hesitation, she started to climb. He went with her, staying right on her six in case another earthquake struck. Her butt was a pleasant diversion, as always. It looked firm and supple and perfect. Although her tan uniform pants weren’t snug enough to reveal much, he enjoyed the view.
“Are you afraid of heights?” he asked.
She didn’t answer his question, so he stopped staring at her ass and concentrated on the ladder rungs. He could take a hint. She didn’t like him, she didn’t think he was funny and she didn’t want to share personal information.
This was nothing new.
“I have trouble with depths,” he said anyway.
“What?”
“Depths,” he said, a little louder. “Deep water.”
“But you’re a surfer.”
He was surprised she knew that. “Yeah.”
“And you were in the navy.”
“Before I enlisted, I thought I was totally comfortable in the water. I starting surfing when I was ten, and I’m no stranger to cold temperatures or rough waves. But I struggled with the underwater rescue phase and I couldn’t scuba worth a damn.”
“Is that why you quit?”
“I didn’t quit. I completed five years of active service. I just didn’t reenlist.”
She kept climbing without comment. He regretted bringing up the subject. Joining the navy’s special combat forces had been his lifelong dream. He’d tried and failed. That wasn’t the same as quitting.
But what did he expect from her, admiration? Yeah, right. He’d never been able to impress her. When they first met, he’d tripped all over himself tryi
ng to make her smile. She’d remained aloof, ignoring his efforts. Since he’d asked her out, she’d gone out of her way to avoid him.
He wasn’t sure why he cared what she thought of him. Maybe her elusiveness was part of her appeal. That, and close proximity. He saw her almost every day. Sometimes his hands itched to strip away that cool facade and reveal the soft heat he sensed was underneath.
He’d accepted the fact that she wasn’t interested. She wasn’t the only beautiful woman in the world, or the only one who’d rejected him. He could take no for an answer. But he’d perked up a little when he heard that her boyfriend had moved away.
If she needed a man to warm her bed, Josh was ready.
He’d always enjoyed a challenge, and Helena certainly fit the bill. His sister had accused him of being a player, but he wasn’t. Not really. He didn’t have to lie or cheat to get lucky with women. It just came naturally to him, like telling jokes and goofing off.
Chloe had a negative view of men because of her ex-boyfriend, and Josh couldn’t blame her. He was bitter about her situation, too. Emma’s dad was a loser who’d shirked his responsibilities. If Josh saw Lyle on the street, he’d be hard-pressed not to kick his punk ass.
When they were about halfway up the ladder, Helena froze. Their radios sounded with employee chatter, but that wasn’t what caught her attention. The metal rungs began to vibrate in his hands. Above them, tram cars swayed with motion.
Aftershock.
CHAPTER FIVE
HER WORST NIGHTMARE: heights and motion.
Helena could handle one or the other. She’d withstood the initial earthquake in the elephant yard and the first aftershock in the barn. She’d managed to set her fear aside and climb a tram pole that stood a hundred feet tall, even though she hadn’t been more than ten feet off the ground in years. An aftershock at this dizzying altitude was too much for her. It rumbled closer and pressed in on all sides, trapping them in a crackling force field. Strange lights flashed in the smoky clouds at the edge of the horizon.
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