Aftershock

When the announcement ended, Lauren exchanged a glance with Penny. Disaster teams were focused on evacuation. It could be days before they launched a concerted rescue effort. When she considered the specialized equipment and manpower necessary to sort through a freeway collapse, she anticipated a much longer wait.

Penny placed her hand on the top of her belly. “The baby’s kicking,” she murmured, her eyes flat.

“Will you stay here and tap the SOS code every few minutes?”

“Sure,” she said, sighing. “I don’t have anything else to do.”

Lauren left Penny to it and returned to Don and Garrett, relaying the latest information. “We might not get rescued until evacuations are complete.”

Garrett made a noise of agreement. “If they’re doing airdrops, putting out the flag is crucial. They’ll prioritize searches by areas where they know there are survivors. Even then, they’ll do the easy jobs first.”

Lauren couldn’t imagine how many small-scale rescues the disaster teams would perform in the next few days. Crews would start on the outer edge of the most affected areas and work their way toward the epicenter.

Which they were smack-dab in the middle of, as far as she knew.

“I need the mirror you were using last night,” Garrett said.

“Why?”

“I’m going to stick it through the crevice in the concrete and try to look around. Assuming I make it that far.”

Lauren retrieved the mirror, watching while he taped it to a wire clothes hanger, which he’d bent and doubled. He was a regular MacGyver. Although she admired his ingenuity, she worried about his safety. She knew he worked well under pressure and had courage to spare. But he seemed a little too willing to put his life on the line.

“We should search the rest of the cars first,” he said. “It might take all day for me to climb the wall.”

Before they set out again, Lauren strapped a pair of scissors to her belt. It wasn’t an ideal weapon for stabbing, but the blades were sharp and handy. For Penny she found an even better tool: landscape clippers in a leather sheath. She attached them to a strip of gauze that Penny tied around her waist, under her belly.

The teen looked like a pregnant pirate. With Mary Ann braids.

Lauren exchanged a smile with Garrett as they walked away. Although his face was streaked with dirt, his teeth appeared very strong and white. Her breath caught at the sight. Then she remembered how he’d reacted to her touch.

She looked down, focusing on navigating through the debris. He might like her as a friend, or be attracted to her as a woman, but he wasn’t comfortable with intimacy. She should keep her smiles—and her hands—to herself.

* * *

PENNY WATCHED LAUREN and Garrett fade into the dark edges of the cavern.

They were cute together. Total opposites, in looks. Lauren was light haired and small; Garrett was dark haired and big. Both were save-the-world types. Penny’s soccer coach had been that way. Miss Alisos had cried when Penny quit the team.

Penny had cried, too. Just not in front of everyone.

She didn’t consider Garrett as much of a threat as the other men. He’d saved her life, which counted for a lot. He’d also protected Lauren from a rapist. Although Penny had caught him checking Lauren out when he thought no one else was looking, he seemed like a good guy. Penny didn’t think he’d hurt anyone.

She did the Morse code thing again and listened for a response. Nothing.

Bored and restless, she rifled through the trucker’s sleeper cabin. There was a stack of dirty magazines and a box of condoms in a drawer under the bed. Curious, she selected the most shocking cover and returned to the driver’s seat to peruse it.

The images were pretty gross. She’d only seen one men’s magazine before, which featured glamorous women in sexy shoes and expensive lingerie. These shots depicted worn-out hookers with mussed hair and weird grimaces.

They weren’t just posing, either.

Shuddering, she closed the pages. If getting pregnant by a stupid jerk hadn’t already put her off sex for life, this would have done the job. While she was placing the magazine back in the drawer, the semi started shaking.

Letting out a cry of distress, she covered her head with her arms and stayed still, waiting for the tremor to pass. The latest aftershocks weren’t as bad as the first ones. Those had been almost as strong as the original quake.

Maybe her father was right; God punished sinners. Especially female ones.

When it was over, she lifted her head, listening. That annoying car alarm sounded again, but only for a few seconds. Penny rose to her feet and looked toward the RV. Cadence had rushed outside to hug Don, her face crumpled in fear.

Penny felt a tiny stab of envy at the sight of their embrace. She missed her aunt, who’d been her only remaining supporter. She missed her parents, even her father, who thought she’d sullied the family name. Before she left home, he’d issued a stern warning about her pregnancy. If anyone found out, he would disown her. She was supposed to deliver the baby and quietly give it up for adoption. Either that, or get married.

Those were her only options.

Although she feared her father’s wrath, she was more afraid of dying in childbirth. If she got through to someone on the radio, she’d tell them who she was. She’d be honest about her family name and her condition, no matter what the cost.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and climbed out of the truck. Maybe Cadence would enjoy learning the SOS signal and hanging out inside the semi. Distracting the traumatized girl was the least Penny could do.

Before she reached Cadence and Don, one of the convicts stepped out of the shadows. It was the youngest, Owen. He came forward hesitantly, looking up at the ceiling of the cavern as if worried about falling debris. He held a brown paper bag against his chest.

When he saw Penny standing by the semi, he froze.

She didn’t even think of brandishing the pruning shears. Lifting her chin, she stared back at him. He looked awful. There were shiny black crescents under both eyes. The tattooed script along his neck and arms reminded her of newspaper.

He was a walking advertisement for hate.

His demeanor didn’t quite match the outside. He was tall and scary, but he didn’t appear comfortable in his skin. There was no hint of derision or arrogance. If anything, he seemed uncertain. Or...fascinated.

With what—her hideously misshapen form?

Don picked up his baseball bat in a challenging manner.

Owen tore his gaze away from Penny, blinking a few times, as if he’d seen a bright light. “I found a bag of toys and stuff in one of the cars,” he said, setting the package down. “It’s nothing we can use.”

They were all silent for several beats.

“What kind of toys?” Cadence asked.

He looked from Don to her, the corner of his mouth quirking. “The Nintendo DS might interest you. It’s got ‘Mario Kart.’”

“I’ve never played that game,” she said shyly.

“You haven’t? It’s pretty fun.”

Penny couldn’t imagine why he’d brought the device to Cadence. Most young men enjoyed video games just as much as kids. Under these circumstances, anything that could be used to pass the time was invaluable.

“There’s some baby blankets, too,” he said, glancing at Penny again. “They look new.”

Don didn’t thank him or set aside his bat. He kept his hand on Cadence’s shoulder, preventing her from moving forward.