by Bella Jewel
I hope someone is going to collect those before the weather gets any worse, or they’ll be like mini spears shooting around in the wind.
“My friend won a vacation; he got to bring ten people,” I tell him, climbing out.
“Oh, you’re with the group that won the competition. They do it every year. What a score, right?”
I nod. “You’re telling me. Now, what are we doing here?”
“We have to trim these trees down; they’re too close to the windows and are dangerous. We’re trying to have as minimal damage as we possibly can if it hits. We’ll fill the bin, and it’ll get taken away later.”
Well, thank god for that.
Lyle gets out of the buggy and goes to adjust the spotlights so they’re pointing right at the trees and the bin, making it easy for us to see. He also puts on a head lamp and gives me one. Not that we really need it, they’re doing a good enough job shining light on the situation.
“Okay, I’m ready,” I say, putting my hands on my hips.
Lyle grins at me.
Hot. So hot.
“Then let’s get you to work. Are you sure you’re up for it?”
I snort and wave a hand. “Honey, I was born to work.”
I was.
I swear.
7
ERIN
I was not born to work.
I was definitely not born to work.
What the ever loving hell did I sign up to this for?
Wind, that was one thing. Now we’re dealing with the rain. The stinking rain. It’s pouring down now, and we’re on our last branch. We had to hustle, as Lyle put it, because the wind was picking up and we got radioed back in. It’s not safe anymore. I’m guessing the hurricane is moving closer, judging by the dramatic change in weather. Lyle had two more big branches to cut down and chop up, but he told me I could go back if I wanted, that he’d make his way back when he was done.
I said absolutely not. I don’t leave a man alone in this.
I’m regretting that poor decision now, because holy shit, my hair is practically sideways it’s blowing that hard, and I’m drenched, and dammit, I want to go back inside. Lyle cuts through the last branch, but his chainsaw stops just before it breaks off. Cursing, he climbs down and looks around for some gas to refill it.
“You should go, Erin,” he calls out, hunting around for what he needs. “It’s not safe.”
“You just have to get that branch down, I’ll help you. It’ll get done quicker. I’m fine,” I yell over the wind and rain.
“It’s my duty to keep you safe, you have to go or I’ll lose my job. Go, I’ll be back soon.”
He walks over to me, pulling the keys for the buggy out of his pocket, and that’s when the loud crack echoes through the night sky, through the wind, through the rain. My eyes widen as the branch that was hanging by not a lot, snaps, and comes swinging down so fast we can do nothing to stop it. It crashes into Lyle’s body sending him launching toward me, and then we both topple over, landing hard on the ground. Lyle’s body covers mine, and the tree sort of lands half over him, squashing him down.
“Lyle!” I scream, trying to wiggle free.
“Erin, are you okay?” he croaks, his voice ragged and winded.
“Yes, yes I’m okay. Are you?”
“The branch is pinning me down, I’m going to try and get it off.”
He squirms and wiggles, trying to push the branch off, but it seems to be caught on something.
The rain is coming down harder, and it’s cold. So cold.
“We need to get it off, but it’s stuck on something, we’re going to have to try and shuffle out of it.”
My leg is aching, and I’d bet anything that it’s injured. I ignore it, trying to catch my breath, because Lyle and the tree branch are damned heavy. We need to get it off or I fear I’ll pass out. The rain is coming down so hard that I’m struggling to concentrate. I can’t hear much over the wind, but I know he’s right, we have to get this branch off or we’ll end up stuck here.
That won’t be good.
For anyone.
~*~*~*~
“On the count of three, we’re going to both wiggle as hard as we can,” Lyle says to me, through the wind and rain.
“Okay,” I say, my body sore. I’m out of breath, but mostly my leg is aching. Lyle’s own leg is in a bad way, which leaves us both fairly weak.
“One,” he says, sort of half wrapping me in his arms.
“Two,” I croak.
“Three.”
We wiggle. With all our might. But Lyle roars in agony. His leg. It’s right under the weight of the branch, and whatever the branch is stuck on, it’s not moving. It has wedged itself against something, and for right now, we’re unable to get it off.
“I’m sorry,” Lyle gasps through the obvious pain, “I don’t think I can do it. The branch isn’t that big, or heavy, but it is pinning us down. I think it’s wedged against the bin and the hotel. We’re kind of stuck beneath it.”
“The weather is getting worse,” I say, my voice a little concerned now. “What are we going to do?”
“You might have to try and get out without me. It’ll hurt, a lot, but at least you can call for help. They’ll notice us missing soon, but I’m worried we’ll end up injured further if we don’t move shortly.”
“How will I wiggle free?” I ask him.
His weight and the branch is kind of pinning me to the ground, it isn’t going to be an easy task wiggling out, and I’m not about to admit to him that my leg is aching so bad I want to vomit. No, he’s right, we have to get out of here before it gets any more dangerous.
“Use the heels of your feet, if you can, to push yourself. Press them against whatever you must, even if it’s me. Then just push, and push, until you get out enough to move from underneath me.”
“What if when I move, you get even more hurt?”
“We have to risk it. The branch isn’t over anything vital, I’ll be okay. Push, Erin.”
I hesitate for a second. I can’t even see him now, it’s raining that hard. He’s just a hazy shadow above me. But, I do as he asks. I put my heels to the ground as best I can, and I start pushing. The pain that shoots up my leg has tears rolling down my face, but I don’t let Lyle know how much it hurts, I just keep pushing, and pushing, and pushing until slowly I start to move out from underneath him.
“Good,” he encourages, his voice ragged and in pain. “Good, keep going.”
I keep pushing, but come to a little bit of a snag when I try to shift my legs out from underneath him. His leg is sort of thrown over mine, and I know it’s the broken one. When I try to move it, he’s going to get hurt, really badly. I don’t like hurting anyone, ever, so understandably, it stops me.
“I know what you’re thinking, Erin. I’ll be okay. Just move your leg from mine.”
“It’s going to hurt, Lyle, so bad. I don’t …”
“We have to get out of here. Please, pull your leg free.”
I bite my bottom lip and start to pull my leg free.
Lyle’s screams fill the night.
And my heart breaks in two.
But I have to do it.
I do.
Or we won’t get out of here.
8
FINN
“If everyone can help gather everything, we’re going to move to the shelter now. It won’t be safe for much longer, while we’re not in line for direct impact, we are in the path therefore wind, rain, and damage will be had. We need to ensure everyone’s safety. If you can all move this way …”
“They’re not back,” I say to Slater, holding his eyes. “She isn’t back …”
“They’re callin’ the last of them back now, brother, I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“Doesn’t feel fine,” I say, eyes scanning the room.
Two lots of groups aren’t back, but the other just radioed in saying that they’re nearly in. Erin and that douche she left with haven’t radioed in. They’re still out
there, and nobody is yet concerned.
I am.
Doesn’t feel fucking right.
Something is wrong, I just know it.
I turn and stride toward the man who just made an announcement.
“There is a group out there, and they’re not back yet,” I tell him, voice gruff, watching as the other group comes through the doors, wet and puffing, but okay.
Still no Erin.
“Yes, we’re radioing them now, but so far we haven’t had an answer. We’ll send someone out soon, if we don’t hear from them. I assure you nobody will be left out there.”
“It’s fuckin’ windy out there, and rainin’ hard, and while it isn’t probably any worse than a normal storm yet, they could be hurt, or worse. You need to call them, find out if they’re okay.”
“We’ve tried, as I explained, sir, no answer. We’re onto this. Please, calm down.”
“Calm down?” I growl. “You shouldn’t even fuckin’ have people out there.”
“We wouldn’t have sent anyone out there if it wasn’t safe, I assure you of that.”
I shake my head and turn, striding back toward Slater and Lincoln, who are both watching me. “I’m going out there,” I say, grabbing the wet jacket I just shrugged off after coming back in from moving some outdoor furniture to a safe place. “She’s not okay, I know it.”
“Man, you can’t just go runnin’ out there,” Lincoln tells me, grabbing my shoulder. “You don’t even know where she is.”
“Yeah I fuckin’ do, looked at the sheet. They were cuttin’ trees.”
“Finn …” Slater says.
“Would you go out there if it was Ellie?” I growl at him, then look to Lincoln, “Or Shania?”
“Fuck,” Lincoln growls, but then nods. “You’re right, we’re comin’ with you then.”
I nod and turn, glancing at where the staff are. They’re standing by the food and drink table, talking. I can make a fairly easy slip past them. I stride without pause straight past them and out of the conference room. I walk to the front doors of the hotel and push them open, Lincoln and Slater close behind me.
“Sir!” a man yells. “Sir, you can’t go out there.”
I turn and glare at him. “Someone is out there, in trouble. I’m goin’. I’d like to see you try and stop me, or any of us, for that matter.”
The man looks to the three of us, and his cheeks grow red. “Let me escort you then, it’s my duty of care.”
I nod, and we all walk out of the hotel and to the buggy parked out front. We get in and I yell over the wind where they were supposed to be. We make our way in that direction. Nobody says a lot as we drive. All I can think about is arriving to find her hurt. Mostly, I think about how fucking terrible that feels. Why does it feel so bad? I’ve never given a crap about a girl in my life, except Ellie of course, so why the fuck am I feeling like my chest is going to explode over this one?
We pull the buggy around to the path behind the hotel, and drive down a little ways. That’s when I see them. On the ground. She’s half way out from underneath him, squirming, trying to get free. He’s bellowing in pain. There is a branch covering his legs. They’ve been pinned down by it. I am out of the buggy before it even comes to a stop. I run, through the pouring rain and horrendous wind, and drop to my knees next to her.
She’s soaked, and I can see blood, but I don’t know if it’s hers or his.
“Erin!” I yell, grabbing her face in my hands.
“Finn,” she cries back, trying to focus on me, but it’s so wet out. “Finn, is that you?”
“It’s me. You okay? Are you hurt?”
“I … I honestly don’t know. Please, get us up. Be careful, Lyle’s leg is broken.”
I nod, holding her face for just a second longer than I need to, and then I stand and turn to the men behind me. “His leg is broken, one of you support him, the other pull the branch off.”
Lincoln moves quickly, so does Slater. I go to Erin, grabbing her under the arms as I position myself behind her. Slater grabs hold of Lyle as best he can, and then Lincoln pulls the branch off. It takes a few goes, because it’s kind of wedged in there, but finally he moves it. Lyle roars in pain, and Slater does the best he can at bringing him up onto his good leg. He hops painfully for a second, and the other man with us rushes over with a blanket, throwing it over him and helping him back to the buggy.
I reach down and scoop Erin into my arms, she’s shivering she’s so cold.
“Look at you coming to my rescue,” she stutters. “Prince Charming after all.”
I shake my head. Only she could make light of this situation. Fucking adore her for it, too.
I glance down at her leg, and I can see it’s her that’s bleeding. I don’t say anything, not until I can get a better look. I just get on the back of the buggy with her in my arms, and then we’re off. It is a far slower ride back to the entrance, and the wind is picking up at a rather rapid pace. Yet, I know this is nothing on the power to come. This is just the warning.
Fuck what the real thing will be like.
We reach the entrance, and Malakai comes rushing out, helping me with Erin. He takes her from my arms so I can get off the buggy, and then I greedily snatch her back. He moves over to help Lyle then. Once we’re indoors, there are staff everywhere, and way too many fucking voices. Everyone is talking at once, and I can’t think. I just want to help the girl shivering in my arms.
“Everyone shut the fuck up!” I roar, and the whole room goes silent. “For the love of God, we need blankets, first aid kits, and escorts to get these two showered so they’re warm before we bunker down. Now, can you get your shit together and make that happen?”
“Wow,” Erin says, tipping her head back and looking up at me. I still haven’t put her down. “You’re very scary when you’re mad.”
“Got to get people to listen somehow.” I place her down onto a chair that’s put in front of me by Shania. At least someone is onto it.
“Are you okay, chicky?” Shania asks her.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Freezing my butt off, but I’m okay.”
Lyle is being laid onto a stretcher, and a first aid officer is strapping his leg the best he can and giving him pain relief. There isn’t much else he can do until the storm passes and he can be flown out. The poor fuck is going to have a long, painful night ahead. I turn my attention back to Erin. Amalie arrives with a blanket and some dry clothes and towels.
“Can you hold the blanket up so I can get changed?” Erin asks me, shivering, her lips a dark blue shade. She needs to get out of these wet clothes, now.
“Shania, Lucy, Indi, and Amalie,” I order. “Hold the blanket up around us, I’ll help Erin.”
“This isn’t some excuse for a sneak p-p-p-peek, Finn Knight,” Erin stammers.
“Seen it all before, now sit up if you can, I’m going to get you out of these wet clothes.”
“Dirty,” she laughs, voice still shaky.
I shake my head, but I can’t help the smile that forms on my lips. Fucking woman brings it out of me, she just has this way. This fucking magical way. Damn her. The girls all hold the blanket up, and I help Erin sit up. We move her shirt off first, and for a minute I forget that there are people holding a single blanket around us.
When her shirt comes off, and I reach around her to unclip her bra, and feel the panting breath against my cheek as she exhales quickly, and then sharply inhales. I find it hard to concentrate on anything else. I pull back and hold her eyes and, for a minute, we say nothing. We just stare at each other. The moment so fucking intense it burns the pit of my gut. I want her. Even now. So fucking bad.
I slip the shirt over her head and then shuffle her out of the jeans she’s wearing. They’re stuck tight to her legs, and she winces as I pull them off. She’s definitely bleeding from a rather deep wound in her calf muscle. I study it, and then order, “Shania, let the blanket go or hand it to someone else and grab me a first aid kit. Erin is bleeding.”
&nb
sp; “I’m on it,” Ellie says, her voice drifting through the blanket. “Is she okay? Erin, are you okay?”
Erin smiles, her smile warm and loving. “I’m okay, honey. Just a scratch.”
“Oh, thank god.”
A moment later, Ellie pushes a first aid kit through the blanket. I patch up Erin’s leg as best I can for now. I’ll do a better job when we’re in the shelter, this will be enough so she doesn’t bleed any more. I finish up and pull on a set of soft cotton pants, and then I tell the girls they can lower the sheet.
Ellie is right there and wraps the blanket around Erin, hugging her so tight. It’s fucking something else. Their bond. Out of this world. Then, Ellie spins around and hugs me. “You saved her, thank you, Finn!”
I chuckle and hug the girl I’ve considered a sister for a very long time. “Didn’t save her, just got her back safely.”
“Same difference,” she says, pulling back.
“Goin’ to get you some hot tea, you good?” I ask Erin, and she smiles at me, her eyes so fucking warm I have to look away.
Dammit.
What is she doing to me?
~*~*~*~
Erin’s eyes dart around the bunker that we’re all in, waiting for the hurricane to pass. We were told it won’t be a direct hit, but it will be enough to cause some pretty good damage. Everyone is here, safe, and I think the staff are fucking relieved about that. Know I would be if I was running the show. People’s lives resting in your guidance. Fucking scary, really.
“Confession,” Erin says, shuffling a little bit closer to me. Fucked if it isn’t taking everything inside me not to pull her into my arms and hang onto her.
She has this effect on me.
I’ve never wanted to protect another person as much as I want to protect her. Not fucking ever.
Don’t even know why. Not like we’ve spent lots of time together, just enough that we’re familiar, but the time we have spent together has been … fucking incredible. Like she understands me, hears me, listens without judgement. She’s not just looking at me and hearing what other people have said about me. That I’m broken, and fucked up, and have all these deep fucking issues.