Regan wished she were, too.
The flashlight flickered over the kids sitting around JJ. “Seven. Good. Where is your teacher?”
Regan’s hand hurt too much so she linked arms with Delaney. “Mrs. Wilner’s not here. She went to the admin building. Before.”
“Okay then.” JJ tied a rope around the teacher’s big desk and straightened. She pulled in a breath.
Regan’s eyes widened. JJ was scared, too.
“I know this is frightening, and you’re all hurting,” JJ said. “But no matter what, you keep going. Regan, you have the other flashlight. I want you to lead. Remember to listen for me.”
Go first? Regan shook her head.
“You can do it. I know you can. Just grab the rope and follow it out.” With a smile, JJ patted her shoulder. “I’m going to bring up the rear, and my flashlight will help the ones in the middle see where they’re going.”
JJ pointed to the hole in the wall. “Move ’em out, Regan. Let’s go.”
Caz had just finished giving a woman directions on how to care for the splint on her broken arm when he heard shouting from the lobby.
“Landslide at the school. A portable classroom got buried.”
“The cop needs help.”
The school? A cop? Caz ran out of the clinic and into the dimness of the lobby that was lit by the generator-powered emergency lighting.
Two middle-schoolers, a boy and girl, stood panting in front of Regina’s reception desk.
Fear shot through Caz. Sarah had said JJ was going to the school. He should have gone there, too. “What happened?”
“The cliff—it’s gone. Like a slide or avalanche or something came down, and hit our buildings. And ours got pushed out, but”—the girl paused to pull in a breath—“it buried a building. The three-fives.”
The third through fifth graders. Regan’s room. A ruthless hand seemed to be squeezing Caz’s chest.
The boy added, “Officer JJ said she could hear them. Hurry. Please, please hurry!”
Caz started to move, and a hand closed on his shoulder. Gabe.
“’mano, I need to go.”
“You will,” Gabe said. “JJ has the patrol car there. Let’s take what else she’ll need.”
“You can’t even see the classroom,” the girl said.
Gabe pointed to Regina. “Get rope and the tackle gear from the station stores. Caz—”
His brain kicked in. “On it.” To the right of the clinic door, he’d stocked the cupboard with emergency first-aid gear in case Gabe or anyone else had need. He yanked on his coat, slung two of the emergency packs over his shoulder, and grabbed a stack of blankets.
In the lobby, Gabe had Audrey and Zappa, the gray-haired, hippie gas station owner beside him. “Regina, deal with triage here, draft anyone who knows first aid to the clinic, and send help where it’s needed.
“Zappa, you’re with Caz.” Gabe turned. “Audrey, you’re with me.”
Finally. With Zappa behind him, Caz ran out the back to his SUV.
At the school, the town’s patrol car sat at the edge of the unholy mess of the landslide. JJ wasn’t in sight.
“Fuck me,” Zappa muttered, looking up the steep hill above where the school had been. “Looks like the quake busted off a ledge or something. Turned that shit into a landslide.”
As Gabe’s black Jeep pulled up, Caz worked his way closer to the slide. Fear blasted through him. Had JJ tried to help and been buried? “JJ!”
Spotting a rope tied to the patrol car’s tow bar, he followed it to where it ran into the rubble. Crouching, he could see a hollow, no, a thin excuse for a tunnel, directly under the tangle of branches, snow, and rocks.
Gabe opened the patrol car. “Her coat and duty belt are here.” After locking it back up, Gabe squatted next to him. “Do you—”
Caz held up his hand for silence. “Listen.”
High, terrified voices came from under the slide. Along with a calm, firm woman’s voice.
Alive. She was alive.
The relief blanked his brain for a second. What about Regan?
After steadying his own voice, Caz called, “JJ. We’re here. How can we help?”
“Stay out. There’s no room. Seven kids coming out.” There was a pause. “Call to Regan. She’s leading.”
Regan and JJ were alive. Under all that. His whole body shook with fear for them. With the need to scramble in and grab them and save them. The rockslide was still groaning, could give way at any moment.
He cleared his throat. Calm and reassuring. That was what they needed from him right now. “Regan, head for me, mija.”
“Papá.” The shaking in her voice wrenched at his heart.
“I hear you, mi tesoro. You’re almost out.” She wasn’t. Wasn’t close enough at all.
Nothing he could do. Hands fisted, he waited at the entrance. Behind him, Gabe was opening the first-aid kits and assigning Zappa and Audrey to tasks.
From the tunnel came the sounds of other children. Crying, whimpering, protests.
“That’s perfect, Regan.” JJ’s voice drifted out. “There you go. Good job, Delaney.”
A second later. “Keep going, Niko, you’re past the worst spot. Almost there, kids. The doc is waiting for you.”
Caz saw a light, a flashlight bobbing. “Only a bit more. Come on.”
It was Regan in the lead. His heart gave a leap.
Then his little girl was there, crawling out, covered in mud and blood. As he pulled her into his arms, she was sweaty, shaking, crying, and alive. He barely kept from squeezing the breath out of her. “Are you hurt? Let me look.”
“You came for me—you said you would, you always would, and you did.” She was crying so hard she was choking.
He patted her up and down. Noted the winces. Blood covered her palms, her elbows and arms, her knees. Her face was scraped. A gash on her chin was bleeding.
“I’m okay.” She swiped away the tears. “Help JJ.”
Gabe was already pulling the next child out. And Zappa another.
“Fuck, I’m so fucking proud of you,” Caz murmured, pressing his cheek to the top of her head. With gut-wrenching reluctance, he passed her to Audrey and bent to help another child.
Five, so far. No more came out.
He heard the murmur of sound, a child crying, another,
“JJ,” Caz called. “Talk to me.”
“There’s a narrow place with a hole to cross. Brayden is—I can’t get him moving.” The carefully controlled tone showed JJ was terrified.
Fuck, so was he.
Gabe knelt to crawl in, and Caz pulled him back and took the flashlight from his hand. “You won’t fit, ’mano. This one is mine.”
“Dammit.” Gabe scowled. Nodded.
“Maybe, I should?” Audrey asked.
Caz shook his head. “They might need more strength than you have, chica. If it’s too narrow, I’ll come back.”
After eyeing the tiny opening, Caz yanked off his coat. Smaller was better. He dropped to his knees and crawled into the barely open gap. He could almost feel the weight over his head. “I’m coming, JJ. Hang tight.”
“We are.” Her voice had a tremor in it. Fear or hypothermia? Her coat was by the car.
The landslide groaned around him, only kept from moving by the logs and tangled branches. Under his knees, the logs moved an inch. His gut tensed. He crawled forward, expecting to be crushed at any moment.
The way narrowed, curving slightly around a huge tree trunk. Too tight for his shoulders.
There was the boy, just past the curve. The kid was on hands and knees, staring at a black gaping spot in the branches and rocks. Not moving.
“Easy, Brayden.” Caz shined the light past the kid and saw Delaney right in front of JJ. The space between the logs and rocks was so narrow JJ couldn’t get past the girl to reach the petrified boy.
Caz wouldn’t fit through the narrow spot on this side. But, maybe…
He shoved his shoulder up
against the tree and stretched an arm out.
Staring into the dark hole, the kid didn’t react.
Easy, easy. Any sudden movement and the kid would back out of reach. Caz stretched painfully, not touching the boy until…
His fingers closed around Brayden’s wrist. The child jerked, but Caz had a good grip.
Do it fast. If Brayden dropped into that damn hole, there wasn’t any leverage to pull him out. Caz yanked him forward and shoved himself backward, making room. The boy hit the tree at the corner with a yelp, but he was past the gap.
Caz pulled the hysterical, crying child close, stroking what he could reach. “It’s all right, Brayden. We’re going to get out of here now.”
If he could manage to crawl backward and drag the boy at the same time. “JJ, you good to follow?”
No answer.
“Officer JJ?” Delaney whispered. Her voice went higher. “JJ?”
Silence.
“JJ?” Hypothermia? Bleeding? He sharpened his voice. “Officer Jenner. Stay with me.”
“Caz. God.” There was an audible shaky breath. “Sorry.”
Thank fuck. “If you want a coffee break, princesa, it must wait until we’re out. Sorry.”
There was a huffed laugh from the toughest woman he’d ever met. “All right then. Let’s get this done.” JJ’s voice was back to normal. “Delaney, go on through. Doc is right in front of you.”
The groaning in the mass was increasing. This whole disaster was going to let loose. “Hurry, you two.”
Ignoring the branches ripping his shirt and skin, Caz crawled backward, hauling the boy as he went. While shining the light between his legs, he’d line up the next move, move back, and pull the boy after him. Shine, crawl, pull.
The terrified boy wasn’t doing anything to help.
“Faster, bro. It’s moving.” The deep yell was Bull’s.
Dios, the tunnel was narrower than it had been. It was closing.
Then there was light. Hands tugged him out. Rolling backward, Caz yanked Brayden out. The poor kid would have bruises on his wrist from Caz’s grip.
Delaney had almost caught up to them. Audrey helped her out, and Regan let out a shout of happiness.
With a low roar, the entire mass started to flow again.
“JJ!” Caz dove back in the hole, grabbing JJ’s wrists as rocks and snow started to engulf her.
With a bellow of rage, Bull grabbed one big branch and held it up, keeping the opening clear.
Hands gripped Caz’s legs, hauling him and JJ out.
And then they were free.
Caz wrapped an arm around her waist as Gabe and Bull hustled them away from the moving, rumbling mass. He turned to look. The big tree that’d held the weight off the schoolroom had been shaken loose. A chill ran up his spine as the last trace of the building disappeared. Crushed completely.
Watching, JJ shuddered and buried her face in Caz’s neck. Hot tears dropped onto his skin. “I was so scared,” she whispered.
His arms tightened as he put his lips to her ear. “So was I.”
A tiny thud struck his side as Regan grabbed him. Clung to them both. She was crying, almost hysterical, as they drew her between them.
The bands around Caz’s chest loosened, letting him breathe again. They were both safe.
Behind him, Gabe was assigning children to the cars that had arrived, sending them off to the station and clinic.
A dull roar sounded, making everyone look up. Hawk’s ski plane came in for a landing on the snow-covered lake behind the roadhouse. And Caz felt a wave of gratitude and relief. The patients he couldn’t treat could get airlifted to the hospital.
Knowing Hawk, he’d get someone to give him a helicopter to use once he got to a city.
“Gabe, make sure the area behind the clinic is clear for a helicopter landing,” Caz called.
Gabe raised his hand in acknowledgement and continued moving people out.
“Come, let’s get you two back to town.” Arms around his girl and his woman, Caz guided them toward the cars. “We have more work to do.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
If the patient is screaming, the patient is breathing. ~ Murphy’s Laws for Combat Medicine
* * *
After a time wrapped in a warm blanket and drinking hot fluids, JJ warmed up enough to clean up and apply bandages in the dimly lit station bathroom. The doc had wanted to care for her, but there were far more badly wounded people who needed him.
She donned spare clothing from her locker and managed to pull on her boots. As she rose, every bruise, strained muscle, scrape, and cut yelled in protest. God, she hurt. Yet pain could be set aside.
Unhappily, the terror of being buried alive and the fear of losing the children wasn’t as easy to release. Deep inside, she was still shaking.
Thank God for Caz. She’d lost it in the tunnel. He told her she’d gone hypothermic. All she remembered was that everything had gone foggy and darkness had closed around her. His voice—his love and strength—had snapped her out of it and gotten her moving forward.
When he held her afterward, she’d felt the fine tremor in his muscles, heard the strain in his voice. He’d been afraid for her, for them all, yet his voice had never wavered. He’d drawn her out of the tunnel and into the light.
How much more could she love him?
Leaning on the counter, she assessed her condition. Good enough. Shaky or not, it was time to get her butt back on the job. Her family—she smiled at the thought—her family was doing the same.
Using the patrol car, Gabe was responding to calls.
Audrey was manning the phones with Regina.
The meeting rooms upstairs were open for people needing emergency shelter, and Bull was gathering supplies and food for them. That was Bull—always feeding people.
With his staff and volunteers, Caz was tending to the injured.
In his Cessna, Hawk was transporting people to the Soldotna and Anchorage hospitals, freeing up the air ambulances for the critically injured.
Here goes. JJ slung on the duty belt, attached the keepers to her inner belt, checked her weaponry, and adjusted everything. After grabbing her jacket, she walked out of the station’s rooms into the lobby.
The babble of a crowd hit her ears.
Those needing medical care were gathered near the clinic door. A few lay on blankets, others sat on chairs or the floor with relatives and friends to help them.
On the side nearest the police station, volunteers waited to be sent out to help.
JJ headed for the reception desk where Regina handled calls to the station and health clinic. Cell service was out, but the landlines and mobile radio were working. Next to Regina, Audrey fielded calls from the 911 dispatcher.
JJ waited for a pause and asked, “Where do you want me to go?”
Audrey frowned. “Gabe said you should head home. You’ve already—”
When JJ shook her head no, Regina half-grinned. “Yeah, I didn’t think you’d agree. He said he had to try.”
The phone rang, and Regina held up a finger as she answered.
“Are you all right?” Audrey asked in a low voice.
“I’m fine.” JJ shrugged, winced, and half-grinned. “Mostly. I’ll be sore tomorrow.” In fact, she’d be lucky to get out of bed at all.
The clinic door opened, and Caz assisted a woman out to join her relatives. He murmured a few instructions on care, smiled at the waiting crowd, and spotted JJ. His brows drew together as he walked over.
Tensing, she waited for him to object—to say she wasn’t strong enough, wasn’t good enough.
He smiled ruefully. “I hate that you’re working when you’re exhausted and injured, but you won’t rest any more than Gabe would if it were him.”
As she stared at him in surprise, he bent down, rubbed his cheek against hers, and kissed her gently. “Do my overprotective heart a favor and be careful, yes?”
“God, I love you,” she whispered, only realizi
ng she’d spoken aloud when his eyes darkened.
His hand cupped her cheek. “I love you, too.”
She would never, ever, grow tired of hearing that.
After stroking her hair, he straightened. “Take my Subaru. It’s got extra rescue and first-aid supplies boxed in the back.”
She snorted. “Of course it does.” Mako had been a survivalist; his sons hadn’t fallen far from the tree.
He handed her the keys, dug in his lab coat pocket, and pulled out a granola bar. Closing her fingers around the bar, he kissed her knuckles and gave her a stern look. “Eat that. There is bottled water in the car. Drink one.”
“Yes, Doc.” She smiled up at him. “Thanks.”
He touched her cheek tenderly then turned and walked to the crowd around the clinic door. “Who’s next, Irene?”
The brusque postmistress was in charge of triage. She pointed to a man lying on blankets. “Glass wounds and concussion, I’m guessing. He’s complaining of stomach pain, too.”
“Let’s get him on an exam table.” Caz pointed to several people. “You four are now stretcher bearers.”
Regan appeared at the clinic door—and held it open for them. She waved at JJ before disappearing after the group.
Regan was helping in the clinic?
JJ fought back the urge to grab the child and tuck her into bed. Hell, that was probably how Caz felt about JJ working right now.
Shaking her head, JJ turned back to the desk and heard Regina saying to Audrey: “I knew there was something between her and the doc.”
JJ tensed. “I didn’t—”
“Disasters are the best aphrodisiac. It took a blizzard to get my man to say he loved me.” Regina’s smile was huge. “This is excellent; you’re perfect for him. He needs a woman with guts, one with more depth than a puddle in the street.”
“I totally agree,” Audrey said.
The two were so openly pleased that JJ could only laugh as her fears dissolved.
“Okay, to work.” Regina handed over two pieces of paper. “Here are two calls for help up on Dall Road. While you’re there, can you swing by the Patriot Zealot farm and check how they’re managing?”