Chapter 21
The command center has a steady stream of official-looking people coming and going. Minutes tick by. Medics deploy to the dig site.
“I’m so nervous.” My hands twist and tug at the hem of my shirt.
Pembrook shifts his weight back and forth. “You’re making me nervous, too.”
“Let’s go over there.” Brian elbows Pembrook and gives him a barely concealed pleading look. “Looks like they are putting together some tables, maybe we can help.”
The guys take off.
I blow out a breath. “I’m glad they left. I don’t need anyone else looking at me while I agonize.”
We watch as the medical teams carry large bags of equipment and stretchers through the rugged debris field. It looks incredibly dangerous. Something could shift at any second.
Belle says, “They’ll be okay. Look at all these experts. I mean, look at that dog. How amazing what they can do with K-9s. That would be a cool job.”
“I can’t imagine going in there. But I’m not going to be able to sit here. I need to do something.”
Belle’s head whips toward me. She looks royally ticked. “Yeah, you do need to do something. You need to wait. I know you heard Bossy Pants SEAL. He might be a grump, but he’s a correct grump. We should stay put. Right now they need strong men. And we need to be here because it’s safer to be around all of these official staff people.”
She’s right. But it’s not easy. “Worrying about them being okay is turning my stomach into a ball of fire.”
“I know.” She frowns sympathetically. “I’m just trying to trust that some angels are on their shoulders. Sit down. Rest. I am grateful to be off my feet for a few minutes. Not that I’m being callous to everyone else. I’ll help out however I can, but right now the focus seems to be them doing their thing.” She nods toward the beehive of rescue workers.
“I’m going to see if I can help them do something.”
She lunges forward in her seated position and wraps her hands around my ankle. “Camy… I know you’re driven, but—” Her words drop off.
Her expression is so… I don’t even know what that look is. I frown and ask, “Driven, how?”
She lifts a brow and tightens her hold on my ankle. “Not that I’m critiquing you. I’ve got my own baggage to sort, but you, my boss-lady friend, are always on some kind of mission, no matter how large or small. When you set your jaw, look out. Right now you only need to focus on one mission. Waiting. So, set the responsibilities aside and take a breath.”
Crap.
“See,” she says, “I can tell. You’re not going to let yourself rest for a single minute.”
“I’m not going to be the failure everyone expects me to be.”
God bless.Did I just say that?
She sighs and lets go of my leg. “There. You said it. Doesn’t that feel better?”
I cross my arms and look away. “Nope. Not one bit.”
She chuckles warmly. “Sit down here, girl. I get you. I know it’s hard fighting your way out of the ghetto. I did it. Now look, you don’t have to prove yourself to me. I know you’re a badass. It takes one to recognize one.”
When I let myself look her way again, she grins. “I want you to know I’ve got your back.”
I feel bad. I’ve been heads down trying to fulfill my job… jobs. Plural.
“I’ve got your back too.”
She nods her approval. “Appreciate that. Now, why don’t we talk about what we’re going to do now that we only have one truck.”
My head drops. “I know. What a mess.”
We spend the next ten minutes talking. Then it hits me.
Anger makes my temples ache. I pick up a pebble off the dusty ground and throw it at a rock a few feet away from me. Maybe I pretend it’s Ralph’s head.
“Ralph, that weasel didn’t even mention how he’d help us out with that problem. All he was worried about was those damned crates.”
“That’s Ralph for you. Girl, I can’t tell you how happy I am not to have to deal with both William and Ralph. Talk about the dynamic duo of rotten.”
I perk up. “What were they up to?”
Her chin tenses. She fiddles with her water bottle. “You know, I’m not sure, but they were always having private meetings. And when William would call in from the field, he was very secretive. Like some teenage girl—not that I acted like that, I’ll add—but he’d sneak around, covering the phone, whispering. All kinds of weird behavior.”
My heart rate ticks up. Not that it wasn’t already up. Waiting for Beast and the team seems to have my pulse in overdrive.
“Do you think they were up to something bad?”
She snorts. “I couldn’t decide if it was that or if it was a bromance.”
I make an ick face. “I can’t imagine anyone romancing or bromancing Ralph. But hey, what do I know about weird man crushes? They’re all about ego.”
“You and me both, sister.”
I twist the end of my hair as I ferret through details about the two men in my head. I already know the answer to my next question, but I want Belle’s take. “William is married, right?”
“He’s married by paper.”
I flick my gaze to her face. “What’s that mean?”
“She was always out of the country. He never said what she was doing. But from what I gather about the way she looks, I don’t think it’s work.”
Belle’s expression leaves no doubt. She’s not impressed with William’s wife.
I grin. “I saw some photos. She’s kind of plasticized.”
“Girl, that woman’s got more fake parts than Barbie.”
I snort and instantly feel bad for laughing. The mood is grim and here we are cutting up. But I needed that so bad.
“Thanks for making me laugh. I feel a little better. This day…night…is really wearing on me.”
Our conversation ends abruptly when a man in a uniform of some kind strides over. “I need you.” He points at me. “And you.” He points at Belle.
I scramble to my feet. Oh, god.
“Is something wrong?”
He’s already moving away. “Come this way.”
Please let everyone be okay. I’m worried for the people of Santa Rosa. I’m worried about Beast’s team too. Not sure when I started thinking of them as our guys. But that’s what comes out of my mouth. “I hope our guys are okay.”
Belle’s up and shaking out her shirt. “I don’t like his expression.”
We hurry toward the triage area, following his path. “I don’t either.”