by Kat Mizera
“Don’t you two have your schedules synced so that you’re traveling at the same time?”
Jake nodded. “Mostly. She had to go this time because the photographer they use is booked the next few months, but with this being training camp, I’ll be busy anyway. No more of the downtime we had over the summer.”
Aaron nodded. “Yeah, I’m kind of glad summer is over. I was getting bored.”
Jake arched a brow. “Maybe if you didn’t fuck up the best thing that ever happened to you, you wouldn’t have that problem.”
Fuck. Did women talk about everything? Of course they did. So, Sara had undoubtedly told some of the other wives and girlfriends about their tryst and now his friends had found out too.
“I fucked up, never should have done what I did, not with her, and it’s better this way.”
“For whom?”
Aaron shook his head. “Stop it. Sara’s going away to veterinary school, and the last thing she needs is a fuck-up like me holding her back.”
“You’re a tool,” Jake said, getting to his feet. “Hockey isn’t going to keep you warm at night.”
“There are plenty of options for keeping me warm at night,” Aaron grumbled.
“You’re not tired of that yet? Jesus. Anyway, it’s your loss, but you’re not going to listen to me so I’m gonna save my breath.” He laughed and skated away to join some of the others where they were gearing up to start shooting pucks into the net. Their back-up goalie was in goal right now, giving Aaron time to finish warming up, and he tried not to think too hard about what Jake had said.
He hadn’t meant to hurt Sara. Hell, he’d been dreaming about having sex with her for months before it actually happened, but he’d always put their friendship first. Having her make the first move had caught him off guard and, despite what he’d said to Jake, he’d been getting tired of one-night stands and meaningless sex. The physical part was fine but emotionally he was over it. Though he wouldn’t admit it out loud, he hadn’t been bored this summer so much as lonely. After that disaster of a night with Sara, their friendship hadn’t been the same, and though she’d tried, he’d resisted her attempts to talk about anything or make up. Mostly because he didn’t know what to say.
Hey, sorry I’m an emotionally void shithead, and you deserve better?
Hey, the sex was incredible, and we have a lot of fun together, but I don’t think this is going to work?
I think it’s better for you if we’re just friends?
It was all bullshit and she would know it. They were great together, both in bed and out. The problem was all him. His issues with women. His track record. His apparent tendency to fuck up everything. He had the worst luck with women and it was hard not to think about all his previous failed relationships. That was absolutely not going to be the case with Sara. He cared about her too much. Hell, he was probably half in love with her, but she wasn’t going to stay in Anchorage, and he wasn’t going to be the dickhead who broke her heart. Nope. Not going to happen.
He got to his feet and had just taken his first stride when he found himself on the ice. What the fuck had just happened? He looked around, wondering how many of his teammates had seen him fall on his ass, and trying to understand what was going on. Half the team was on the ice and Coach was flailing to keep her balance. What the fuck was going on?
Suddenly there was a sound, almost like a loud boom, and he realized the ice was moving. Holy shit, was this an earthquake?
“Get off the ice!” someone was yelling.
“Laurel!” Jake scrambled to his feet and headed in Laurel’s direction, grabbing her just before she fell. Though Laurel was an Olympic champion and had been skating her entire life, her pregnancy had her off balance and the shaking of the ice beneath her had her struggling to stay upright.
The rest of the team was skating toward the bench to get out of the way of random objects falling from the rafters, and the jumbotron was moving precariously.
Finally gathering his wits, Aaron managed to get to his feet and skate off the ice, following the others to the tunnel where everyone was backed against the walls. Nothing could fall on them here and they had to hope the whole damn building wouldn’t come down. They had earthquakes in Alaska, right? The building had to be built to some kind of code, didn’t it? This was Aaron’s first earthquake, and he didn’t like it one bit. What the fuck was this bullshit? He made a mental note to refuse any offers to be traded to California or Las Vegas.
Everything finally stopped shaking, and they all looked at each other. Since Aaron had never experienced one before and it had freaked him out a little, he figured he couldn’t be the only earthquake virgin.
“What the fuck was that?” Logan Pelletier demanded. “Was that an earthquake?”
“No earthquakes in Montreal?” Jake laughed, clearly trying to lighten the mood.
“This is bullshit.” Logan muttered a string of curses in French.
“I think we need to put training camp on hold until we assess—” Laurel’s voice dropped off as the lights went out and they were bathed in darkness.
“Oh, goody,” someone muttered.
“And this is why we should have our phones at practice,” someone else said.
“Emergency lights will come on in a minute,” Laurel said quietly, though her voice wasn’t nearly as confident as it usually was.
“I’ve got mine.” Dani, the team’s assistant trainer and the wife of Sergei Petrov, one of Aaron’s teammates, spoke up. She shined the flashlight feature of her phone toward the tunnel. “Maybe we should head to the—”
An aftershock—or hell, maybe it was another earthquake—shook them even harder than the first. Dani fell back against her husband, who wrapped his arms around her, and Jake reached out to steady Laurel. This time there was no sound, but the movement was equally strong. And scary as fuck. There wasn’t a lot that scared Aaron, but this was fucked up. Jesus. How did people live in earthquake zones?
“These were strong,” Jake said. “I’m guessing high sixes.”
Aaron knew earthquakes were generally measured on a Richter scale from zero to whatever number they hit, and he thought anything over a five was pretty significant. If this had been in the sixes, it could mean devastation in the city. He was a little ashamed to admit he’d never given earthquakes a second thought when moving here.
“Are buildings in Anchorage built to code?” he asked aloud. “I mean, not the arena necessarily, but all of our homes? Kids’ schools…”
“Niko.” Dani’s voice was a frantic whisper. She and Sergei had a five-year-old son who’d just started kindergarten.
“We’ll go get him as soon as it’s safe,” Sergei whispered to her.
“This is some seriously scary crap,” Kane Hatcher, another teammate, said quietly. “I need to get to my phone so I can check on Amy and the twins.” He and his wife had twins that were not quite a year old and they were home with their nanny, Amy. His wife, Hailey, worked upstairs in the sales department and he was probably thinking about her too, but the arena didn’t seem to be faring too badly. Well, the walls were still standing, so that was something.
“Okay, it’s stopped,” Laurel said. “You should all check in with your families while I try to see what’s going on.”
“My phone has no service,” Dani said as they moved into the hallway leading to the dressing room.
“Mine either,” Kane called back from the locker room.
“Cell towers may have been damaged,” Jake said. “Boy, this is going to be a clusterfuck.”
“All right, listen up!” Laurel yelled. “I want everyone to get dressed and go home. If cell towers are out, there may be no way to reach you, so tomorrow we meet here at ten o’clock in the morning. I have no idea if we’ll be able to resume training camp or not, but you need to be here ready to go. If I have to cancel again, I’ll let you know then. If you can’t make it for some reason, try to get a message to someone. Those of you staying at the hotel…” She gave
some additional information to the rookies that had been invited to camp but didn’t actually live in Anchorage. “Okay, be safe, everyone. Let’s try to stay in touch as best we can.”
“Aaron.” Dani came running up to him. “I think Sara was alone at the clinic. Can you go check on her? We have to get to Niko.”
Aaron’s heart skipped a beat. Shit. He hadn’t even thought about Sara and how she was usually by herself at the veterinary clinic where she was a vet technician. She opened by herself on Mondays because they didn’t open to patients until noon and stayed open until nine o’clock to accommodate people who worked and such.
“Taz is with Sara,” Jake said, walking up to them. “She took him last night because he was getting groomed today.” Taz was Jake and Whitney’s black Lab puppy.
“All right, I’ll go to the clinic and make sure Sara’s okay,” Aaron said. “Let’s all try to meet up somewhere this afternoon, in case there’s still no cell service.”
“Our house,” Sergei yelled from where he was changing. “Kane lives across the street and you’re not far, so it’s pretty central.”
“See you all later,” Kane called, jogging out of the room and heading for the stairs, undoubtedly in search of his wife.
“Be safe, everyone,” Laurel said, her purse over her arm. “I’m heading home.”
“Wait for me,” Jake said. “I don’t want you on the stairs by yourself, in case there’s another aftershock.”
“I’m a big girl,” Laurel protested, but she was smiling. There was a group on the team that was closer than the others, and she and Gage were part of that circle. Gage had left strict instructions for Aaron and Jake to look out for her while he was away simply because of how hard this pregnancy had been on her so far. She really hadn’t been in any shape to take over coaching duties, but she’d stepped up to the plate, so the guys were doing their best to make sure they helped in any way they could. This earthquake had definitely upped the ante on that.
2
Sara’s car was parked outside but Aaron’s heart sank when he saw the condition of the clinic. The front steps were gone and several of the windows were cracked. The wall on one side had crumpled in on itself and the front door was ajar simply because the frame was hanging limply.
He jumped out of his Jeep and ran inside, oblivious to the dangling wires and shards of glass everywhere.
“Sara!”
“Who’s a pretty girl?” a voice asked.
Aaron froze. Who the fuck was that?
“Pretty girl!”
“Hello?” he called out.
“Go fuck yourself.”
Aaron frowned. The voice was nasally, raspy. Jesus Christ, was this the macaw Sara had told him about? What was his name? He often zoned out when she talked about the animals at the clinic because she could talk about them for hours and they only spoke when they were in groups these days.
Merlin.
“Merlin?” he called out tentatively.
“Go fuck yourself.”
Yup. It was the bird.
“Are you a pretty girl?” Merlin asked him as he rounded the corner.
He cringed as something bright and red came flying in his direction, wings flapping rapidly. He put up his arms to protect his face, unsure what the big bird would do, but was surprised when it landed on the chair next to him.
“Pretty girl.” Merlin was looking up at him curiously.
“Hi.” He stared down at him. “Is Sara here?”
SQUAWK!
Well, he’d hit a nerve. And it was fucking loud.
“Woof! Woof!”
He looked down in relief to see Taz, the overgrown puppy that belonged to Jake and Whitney, running toward him and then pawing at his sneakers.
“Where is she, boy?” he asked, squatting down and petting him. “Is Sara here?”
“Woof!” Taz ran toward the back room but stopped and came back to Aaron.
“Pretty girl!” Merlin flew in that direction, landing on a wobbly piece of wood that had broken off from the front desk.
“You’re going to electrocute yourself, you dumb bird,” he muttered, stepping around overturned chairs and plants.
Macaws could bite down to the bone, he’d read that somewhere, and he wasn’t keen on testing it out personally, but if he left the bird where it was, it was bound to get hurt.
“Are you going to bite the shit out of me?” he muttered softly, holding out his arm but keeping his fist closed. He figured he could withstand a few stitches in his arm but biting off a finger would be detrimental to his hockey career. To his surprise, Merlin gently stepped up on his arm and let out a little squeak that sounded…relieved? He had no idea if that was a thing, but at least he still had his fingers.
Taz was barking and jumping around nervously now, alternately panting and whimpering.
“Where is she, boy?” he asked.
Taz barked in the direction of the blocked-off back room.
“Great.” He looked around. He needed to get Merlin to safety but he didn’t know where that was since the bird could fly. Mostly, he just wanted to find Sara, but all these animals were important to her.
“Sara?” He called out to her again and this time he heard something from the back room. The one he couldn’t get to. Dammit. He was going to need help but cell towers still weren’t working and even if the landline here was operational, he didn’t know anyone else’s landline phone number. The lack of light and electricity told him it was moot anyway.
“Okay, you and me, we need to come to an agreement,” he said to Merlin. “Will you stay here while I try to find Sara?” He put the bird on the back of a chair he’d set right side up again. He pointed at Merlin. “Stay right there, okay?”
“Go fuck yourself.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He turned to Taz. “Where’s Sara, boy? Can you take me to Sara?”
Taz ran to the blocked door and started to bark. Aaron kicked all the shelving and random desk items that had fallen to the floor out of the way and then used his shoulder to push through the door. It was jammed into place by the wall because the ceiling was bowing too, and he wasn’t sure he could move it. He had to, though.
“Sara? Can you hear me?”
“…here.” Her voice was low, which scared him more than not hearing from her at all. She sounded weak, like she might be badly hurt.
He put his shoulder into the door and pushed with his legs, trying to get it to budge. It moved a couple of inches, but not enough, and it was hard to get any traction with dust all over the floor and Taz dancing around his feet.
“I’m coming, Sara!” he yelled, bracing himself and shoving at the door with all his might. The door creaked from the pressure and he pushed at it gingerly, hoping to protect Taz if anything splintered.
“Come on, you bastard,” he muttered, putting his weight into it.
He finally got the door open enough to fit through, and Taz shot in like a bat out of hell.
It was dark back here, and now that the door was open, he heard the distressed sounds the animals were making.
“Sara?”
“Here. Behind the sinks.” Her voice sounded shaky and very unlike her.
“I’m coming.” He gently shifted overturned cages with scared animals out of the way as he moved in the direction of her voice. He felt bad for the animals but he had to get to Sara before—
The aftershock was strong enough to force him to grab onto the cabinets that were built into the floor to keep his balance. A crate of some kind with a cat in it tumbled off a shelf and he reached for it without thinking, catching it in midair before gently setting it on the floor.
Shit. This wasn’t good. They were really rocking and rolling. According to the radio report he’d heard on the way over, the earthquake had been a 7.6 followed by a 6.6 aftershock, and this one felt about that strong. Something made a strange hissing sound and he looked around, trying to see what it was. Was that a gas leak?
“Sara, where are
you?”
“Aaron?” She sounded confused. “I can’t move my legs. There’s something heavy on me.”
“Hang tight, I’m coming.” He finally saw her on the floor beneath what looked like a massive storage cabinet. It was at least eight feet tall and five feet wide. The doors were facing down, so if it was full of stuff, it wasn’t going to be easy to move. This kept getting worse.
“Is Taz okay?” she whispered as he knelt beside her.
“He’s good.” He tried to smile, but he was terrified because she looked rough. There was a deep gash on her forehead that was already starting to swell, and he couldn’t see her lower body at all.
“Are you in pain?” he asked, giving the cabinet a shove to see if it would budge.
“I’m kind of numb,” she admitted as she started to cough.
“Okay, hang on. I’m going to try to—” Yet another aftershock made him stumble, and he threw himself over her as more things came tumbling off cabinets and shelves. “Fuck. We need to get out of here.”
“The animals…”
“Honey, I have to get you out of here first. Another good jolt and this whole building may come down. I’ve already got Taz and Merlin relatively safe, but you have to be my next priority.”
“Okay.” She looked like she might protest but then her eyes fluttered closed.
“Sara? Sara, don’t fall asleep on me, please. I’m going to need your help once I move this cabinet, okay?”
She didn’t respond and he cursed under his breath.
The cabinet was solid wood and not moving, which was going to be a problem. He didn’t know how the hell he was going to get her out from under it and without the use of his cell phone, he’d have to leave her to get help, which might be dangerous for her.. Especially with these aftershocks coming so close together.
“Aaron…” Her voice made him turn.
“Yeah?”
“Am I gonna die?”
“No. Fuck no! Don’t even think that. I just have to get help. I can’t move that whole cabinet.”
“Don’t leave me here alone,” she whispered.