SEALs of Summer 2: A Military Romance Superbundle (82 page)

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he ground out, “I always get mad when people say that. Please tell me that you are not in Haiti.”

Suddenly, he heard cheering from another part of the hotel. Someone was being pulled out of a hole.

“Yeah, not really a liar, bro, you know that about me. Here’s the thing, your buddy called, the guy from the Navy. Mick?”

Luke frowned. “Mack Riley? What did he want?”

“To send reinforcements. I told him where you were, and he sent a helicopter. One thing led to another, and we’ve landed on the island in some field. About five minutes away. You say the word, and we’ll swoop in there and pick you up.”

“That’s amazing! Wait, you brought Sunny?”

“Have you ever tried to say ‘no’ to that girl?”

“Every day.” He forced himself to think rationally. “Okay, this will be good. When they pull Ysabeau out, I’ll give you the heads-up, and you guys get us out of here. If she needs medical help—”

“The SEALs have it all worked out. If we need to take her to a hospital, there’s one ready in Miami. We’ve got this bro. Hang tight.”

Luke shoved the cell back into his pocket, marveling at what Danny and his SEAL buddies had done for him.

S. Mitchell was talking on his walkie-talkie and then said, “That’s great news! Keep at it!”

“Yes!” He pumped his fists into the air and explained to Luke. “They just pulled out a bellhop. He and an American man were trapped near the elevators. Both survived. They’re working to get the other guy out now.”

“Congratulations.”

“To you too. You’re part of the team.”

“Thanks,” Luke said. It meant a lot to him that the Commander had accepted him.

They both turned their attentions back to the hole and waited.

After several grueling minutes, Ant wiggled himself out. He was empty-handed.

Luke ran to him. “Where is she? What happened to Ysabeau?”

Ant’s face was serious. He was breathing heavily. “We’ve got a problem. There’s not much time.”

S. Mitchell stepped up. “What’s going on?”

Ant didn’t sugar-coat his words. “Her leg is trapped. She’s in shock. We can try to lift some of the debris off, but I don’t know how much longer she can stay in there. She’s slipping away fast. I say we amputate her leg and get her the hell out of there.”

Luke’s guts ripped apart at the seams. He bent at the waist and vomited.

“Luke? You know we’ve got to do this, right?” Ant’s voice sounded more like begging than a question.

“Do it,” S. Mitchell said.

“Okay. I’ll get the anesthesia. She won’t feel a thing, Luke. I promise.”

“No. Wait! Let me go in there first and try to free her leg. Please,” Luke begged.

“We don’t have time!” Ant said. “Five minutes more could be life or death for your lady. Do you hear me?”

“Get the anesthesia ready. If I’m not out in four, we’ll do it your way.”

Luke shoved the head of the broken sledgehammer in the back of his pants and dove into the hole.

‡

Sixty-four and a half hours after…

T
he flashlight on
his helmet was on, but it was still dark and claustrophobic inside the tunnel. Luke barely fit. He couldn’t help but think about how horrible this had to be for Ysabeau—a woman afraid of the dark, terrified of being tied down and trapped. This had to be her worst nightmares come true in spades.

“Ysabeau!” he called as he inch-wormed his way in. “It’s Luke!”

“Luke?” A faint voice said.

He shoved his body through and found himself staring at the most beautiful amber eyes. They were tired, and ringed, but damned if they weren’t heart-stopping.

“Angel,” his voice stuck in his throat. “Oh, my God. I can’t believe I’m looking at your beautiful face.” Gently, he kissed her on the lips.

“Knew…you’d…find me,” she whispered.

His heart melted. She was so weak. Her teeth chattered as if she was freezing to death in that stifling hot tunnel. “Listen, sweetheart. There’s not much time. We’ve got to get you out of here.”

“My leg’s…stuck.”

“Let’s fix that.”

“You’ll have…to…amputate.”

He palmed her cheek. “Not if I can help it.”

He turned his flashlight toward the back of her cave. It narrowed considerably back there, but he thought maybe, just maybe, he could fit. “I’m going to try to lift the debris off your leg. Can you turn on your side a little?”

She struggled to move. It was hard for her, and she was huffing with the exertion by the time she finally made a little space for him.

“That’s good. Real good.” Slowly, carefully, he pulled the sledgehammer out from behind his pants. “It’s going to be a tight squeeze, but I think it’ll be okay.”

She held him by his collar. Her eyes full of panic. “Don’t leave!”

He swallowed his despair and brushed her face with his hand. “I’m not going anywhere, Ysabeau.”

Her fingers, as weak as they were, clutched at him. She wouldn’t let him go. He realized how terrified she’d been trapped down here in the dark, not knowing where he was, wondering if she’d ever be found.

“You’ve got me, angel. I’m never going to leave you,” he said.

“Promise me.”

“I swear. Please, there’s not much time. I’m going to use this tool to try to dislodge your leg. Once I start pounding, there’s a chance that the whole world will crash down on top of us.” he paused. He was taking a huge risk with their lives. “A good chance. Do you understand?”

“You won’t leave me?”

“No.” He exhaled. Time was running out. “I need to know. Do you want me to call to Ant, the man who came in here before, to…to…?” He struggled with the words and with the horror. His mind kept remembering the way she’d wrapped those shapely legs around him in her hallway before Grann had interrupted. Before the quake.

Before this impossible choice.

“To amputate my leg?” she finished for him.

“Yes.” His voice sounded shaky to his own ears. “Do you want that?”

“I want you.”

His heart exploded. “You have me. With, or without your legs. I love you.”

“Two minutes, Luke!” Ant yelled through the hole.

“Dammit!! I’m going to try, Ysabeau. I’ve got to try.”

With the sledgehammer before him, he inched his way through her cave. His light illuminated her bloody leg. It was broken, he was sure of that, and impossibly stuck. The space he had to work with was tight, two and a half feet at best. It was going to be extremely awkward and dangerous to use the sledgehammer. He took his hands and pressed up with all his might. His grunts exploded through the cave. Nothing budged.

“Okay. That didn’t work,” he said softly. “Here goes the hammer.”

He lifted it up with all his might. The bang resounded through the hole. “Cover your ears!” He told Ysabeau and pounded over and over again.

He stopped for a few seconds and studied the obstruction. He made dents, deep dents, but Ysabeau’s leg was still stuck.

“Luke! What in the hell are you doing in there? You’ll cause a cave-in!” Ant yelled to him.

“Do you want me to keep going?” he held his breath waiting for her reply. “I’ll stop, if you say so.”

“Do it,” she whispered.

With several consecutive strikes, he hit the top of the cave as hard as he could. A fissure opened up. He aimed for it and pounded with everything he had left. The top of the cave shuddered with his efforts. He thought he was making progress until…

A cracking sound came from above, as horrific as the breaking of bones. With terror, Luke saw the fissure widening similarly to a fault line. The concrete above them was splitting in two. The hotel was caving-in on top of them.

“Cover your head!” Luke yelled and threw himself over Ysabeau.

‡

Sixty-four hours and thirty-five minutes after…

T
he crash exploded
through the tunnel, followed by a puff of dust.

“Luke!” Ant yelled.

“Go!” S. Mitchell ordered.

With the anesthesia in his pocket and choking fear in his heart, Ant crawled through the tunnel after his bullheaded assistant.

*

The noise stopped
and the dust settled. The chunks of concrete had hit Luke’s helmet pretty hard and bounced off his shoulders. He was very grateful that the wind had kicked up and reminding him to fasten the strap or he might have been knocked unconscious again.

He moved off Ysabeau. “Are you okay?”

She groaned.

Was she hurt? Had he crushed her?

Luke back-crawled as quickly as he could to be face-to-face with her. “Ysabeau, what hurts?”

“My leg. It’s…free.”

“What!” He shone his light to the back of the cave again.

“Hurts, but I can move it.”

She wasn’t trapped anymore. They wouldn’t have to amputate. “Whoo-hoo!” he cheered loudly. “We did it!”

“Hey, Rook. Anyone ever teach you to use your indoor voice inside a cave-in?” Ant said from behind him.

“Ant, her leg’s free.” He choked up. “She’s free. Oh, God…we did it.”

Ant’s voice was soft, “Good work, Rook. Now how about we get you and the missus out of here?”

“We’re not married,” Luke corrected.

Ysabeau’s hoarse voice surprised them both when she said, “Yet.”

It took Luke half a beat before he responded. “I’ll rectify the situation as soon as possible.”

They stared into each other’s eyes.

“I love you, Luke Carter. You are the other half of my heart,” she whispered.

“And you are mine.” He kissed her on the top of her head.

“Ahem, can we take this outside?” Ant asked.

*

Ant went first,
pulling Ysabeau on a plastic sleigh. Luke brought up the rear, pushing the back end of the plastic, making sure that Ysabeau safely cleared the edges of the tunnel. Before Luke crawled out of the hole, he heard cheering. His heart was going to burst with pride and happiness. They made it! Ysabeau was safe.

Rescuers rushed him. He was hugged and clapped on the back. The whole team shared his joy.

Ant planted a kiss on his cheek and said, “This totally rocks!”