8. Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
A nd then there was silence.
It wasn’t a comfortable silence. It was filled with dread of when the next creak, crack, or thud would happen.
Lily noticed that this time Tony didn’t have any words of comfort. In fact, when she glanced over at him, his face had paled. She didn’t care what he said, he was going to be just as happy to get out of this elevator as she was.
Hand-in-hand they waited. Every now and then, she could hear sounds of people working outside the car. What they were doing was anyone’s guess?
And then, finally, the hatch was pulled open, and a familiar face came into view. Ethan Walker was now the island’s fire chief. And Lily had never been so happy to see him.
“I heard you two would like to get out of here.” Ethan wore a safety helmet with a bright light attached to it.
“Yes, please.” Lily resisted the urge to jump to her feet.
“Okay. We can’t get you out the traditional way because the car is stuck between floors. So, we’re going to hoist each of you up to the third floor. Who would like to go first?”
The answer “me” teetered on the back of her tongue. It was all she could do to hold it back. Still, she looked over at Tony to see what he wanted to do.
At the same moment, Tony looked at her. Their gazes connected. And she noticed how blue his eyes were. They reminded her of a sunny day out on the ocean.
The more she stared at him, the faster her heart beat. She tried to tell herself it was only racing because she was excited to finally escape the elevator, but she couldn’t deny that there was something more to it.
“Go ahead,” Tony said in that sure, even tone of his.
Now she felt guilty for going first. “Are you sure?”
He nodded. “Positive.”
“Come on,” Ethan said. “I need one of you to put on this harness.”
He dropped a red harness that was connected to a rope. It made a slight sound as it hit the floor of the car.
“Go ahead,” Tony said. “You put it on.” It looked like he wanted to say more, but then he resisted.
“Okay. But you’ll be right behind me.”
When she went to stand, Tony said, “Remember, move slowly.”
She nodded. And then it was with the greatest reluctance that she let go of his hand.
She didn’t want to break their connection.
He was the person who had gotten her through one of the scariest experiences of her life.
The scariest had been when her father had his heart attack. But this was a definite close second.
With great care not to move too quickly, Lily got to her feet. It took her a minute to figure out the harness.
As they started to lift her, she looked down at Tony. She knew in that instant that things between them had changed. The wall of distance that had grown between them had now been torn down. And she didn’t want to go back to being barely more than strangers.
Now he was a true friend—he was the man who had been trapped with her. She had no idea that behind that silly bow tie he insisted on wearing was such a caring man.
“I’ll be waiting for you,” she said. “In fact, I’m thinking we might have to swing by Dips and get some ice cream to celebrate our release.”
“It’s a date.” His voice followed her through the opening in the top of the car. “See you soon.”
As she was lifted upward, he slipped from sight. She really wished he was holding her hand as she was lifted through the dark, dank shaft. Her heart beat faster, and her breaths came in short gasps.
This will be over soon. She closed her eyes and pretended that Tony was next to her, holding her hand. They were chatting about nothing in particular.
The next thing she knew, first responders were grabbing her arms and pulling her through the opening in the shaft. At last, her feet touched solid footing. She was safe.
After they helped her out of the harness, her gaze returned to the open doors of the elevator shaft. Now they just had to get Tony out. She wanted to tell Ethan to hurry, but before she got the chance, Ethan lowered himself back into the shaft.
“You need to be examined by the paramedics.” Owen Turner stood in front of her in his turnout gear.
She shook her head without taking her gaze off the gaping elevator doors. “I’m not moving until Tony is safe.”
No sooner had she said the words than there was a loud snapping sound. Her heart launched into her throat. There was an ear-piercing screech of metal on metal. This was louder than anything she’d experienced while she was in the elevator car.
“Tony!” Tears rushed to her eyes.
A hush fell over the crowd of first responders. All she could imagine was the worst—the car had plunged to the bottom with Tony in it. No. That can’t be it. He has to be safe.
More first responders rushed to the open doors. She fought to hold her ground. She wasn’t being pushed out of the way. She wouldn’t leave Tony. She knew if the roles were reversed, he would be there for her.
The breath got caught in her lungs. She strained to hear news of his safety. She didn’t know it was possible to grow to care about someone in such a short amount of time. Please, let him be all right.
“Ethan!” Owen shouted. “Ethan, are you all right?”
More silence.
“Ethan?”
“Yeah! I’m okay.”
The pent-up breath escaped her straining lungs. At the same time, tears rushed down her cheeks. She swiped them away.
“What’s the damage?” Kent Turner shouted into the shaft.
“The cable snapped and sliced through the line we’d secured the car with. The car looks to be wedged. But it’s not secure. Both the original cable and the security line have been completely severed. We have to get him out before it goes the rest of the way down the shaft.”
More tears stung Lily’s eyes. She swiped at her eyes. She would hold it together for Tony’s sake.
How could this be happening? In an alternate universe, they would have Aster’s laptop, and she’d be back at the Lily Pad formulating how to split the work with Tony. Lily loved the idea of bringing more art to the island. But none of that mattered at this moment.
“How’s the mayor?” Kent called out.
“Shaken and injured,” Ethan responded. “I have to go into the car to help him with the harness.”
Injured? Her chest tightened as her worry for Tony escalated. Please don’t let it be serious.
“Ethan, don’t do it. It’s too dangerous.” Owen said.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Ethan,” Owen called out, “I’ll go in after him.”
“It’s too late,” Kent said. “He’s already lowering himself through the hatch.”
Tony must have been injured when the car shifted. Lily’s insides were twisted up in a giant knot. If they weren’t careful, that car was going to take them to the bottom.
Owen returned to her side. “You need to go see the paramedics.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I’m not leaving him.”
Owen arched a brow. “Come on, Lily.”
“Fine. But make it quick.” She followed him over to where the paramedics were waiting. Someone rolled out an office chair and they had her sit down. They asked her a bunch of questions and checked her vitals. In the end, they cleared her.
She returned to her spot, a short distance from the open elevator doors. And when they raised Tony up, she felt as though she could at last take a full breath of air. But it was short-lived when she noticed there was blood on the side of his head, and he was holding his left arm close to his chest.
She was pushed aside as they rolled up a stretcher for him. Tony protested that he didn’t need a stretcher, but no one was listening to him as blood continued to ooze down the left side of his face.
She wanted to rush to his side, but there were so many first responders around him that she couldn’t get past them. The next thing she knew, they were rolling him away.
She felt immensely relieved that Tony was out of the elevator—the deathtrap.
Still, she worried about his obvious injuries.
She wanted to say something to him—wanted to let him know she hadn’t left him.
Now, he must think she’d abandoned him after he’d been so kind and helped her through her claustrophobia.
She rushed toward the steps. Maybe she could catch him before they took him to the hospital.
The stairs were busy with first responders carrying equipment upstairs. She could only surmise that it would be used to secure the elevator car. She didn’t think they’d leave it in such a precarious position that could possibly hurt someone else if it were to fall the rest of the way.
When she finally stepped outside, she was momentarily blinded by bright flashes. She blinked and tried to focus. What in the world?
It took her a moment to realize the light was from camera flashes.
There was a reporter from the island’s small paper.
She heard the reporter calling out to her as she descended the steps, but she didn’t have time to stop and answer questions.
She saw Tony being wheeled up to the ambulance—one of the few vehicles that were allowed to operate on the island without a special permit.
She had to fight her way through the growing crowd. She called out “ excuse me ” so many times she thought she was going to go hoarse, but she didn’t let that stop her.
The medics were about to lift Tony into the ambulance when she finally reached him. “Wait.”
The medics gave her a curious look.
“Give us a second,” Tony said in his mayoral voice that even with him on a stretcher still held a note of authority.
She moved to his right side. “I waited for you. I told you I wouldn’t leave without you.”
Tony sent her a smile. How had she not noticed how handsome he was when he smiled? A warmth spread in her chest as she smiled back at him.
“I saw you.” He reached out for her hand and held it like he’d done in the elevator. His gaze searched hers. “Are you okay?”
She nodded.
“We’ve got to go,” the paramedic said with a note of don’t-mess-with-me-because-I-mean-it.
Tony gave her hand a squeeze. “Make sure you take care of yourself.”
“You too. Don’t give the doctors a hard time.”
Tony smiled before letting go of her hand, but his gaze continued to hold hers. The connection made her heart beat erratically.
She stepped back, and soon she was caught up in the crowd of curious onlookers. The doors to the ambulance closed. With the red lights flashing, they turned on the siren. She hoped the need for lights and siren was only to clear people from the roadway.
She didn’t move until they drove out of sight. Part of her wanted to go to the hospital, just to be sure he was truly all right. The other part of her said it wasn’t her place. For all she knew, he was seeing someone. Plus, his mother and sister were on the island. It wasn’t like he would be alone.
And then she heard her name. She turned to see her mother making her way toward her. Ellen Adams was a hardworking, sensible woman with a huge heart. She was a few inches shorter than Lily.
Ever since the funeral, Lily had noticed her mother’s dark brown hair was quickly turning gray. She wondered if it was from her mother’s overwhelming grief of losing the love of her life. Not that it mattered, her mother was still a beautiful woman.
Today, she was wearing her market shirt. She must have been working that day. Even though she was creeping ever closer to retirement, her mother refused to consider it. She liked to stay busy.
“Are you all right?” Her mother gave her a quick once-over.
Lily nodded once more. “I’m fine. It’s Tony that I’m worried about.”
“Tony?” Her mother arched a brow. “Not Mayor Banks?”
“Come on, Mom. You act like we haven’t known each other all of our lives.”
Her mother smiled and nodded. “I’m just teasing you. I already heard from Agnes Dewey that you two are dating.”
“We are not.” Lily sighed as she shook her head. “That woman needs a hobby.”
“She already has two—reading the horoscopes and gossiping.” Her mother arched a brow. “So, what were you two doing together?”
“Aster wants us to take over the arts festival.”
Her mother frowned. “She’s not doing well?”
“I don’t know. She didn’t really talk about her condition, just that she’s bedridden until the baby arrives.”
“That’s tough. It’s good she has you and Tony to help out. I’m sure you two will work well together.”
Lily didn’t want to continue this conversation. “I’m heading back to the shop. Shouldn’t you be at the market?”
“I was, but then Birdie Neill came in the market and told us there was a report that you were stuck in the elevator and wanted to know if it was true. Everyone wanted to come, but Neil said that wasn’t going to happen.
So, I elected myself, since I’m your mother.
” She pulled her phone from her back pocket and looked at the screen.
“Everyone wants to know if you’re okay.”
“Tell them I’m fine.”
“I will.” Her mother gave her a hug. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Lily set off for the shop.
She glanced down and noticed the dirt and grime on her clothes. A gasp escaped her lips. She couldn’t go to the Lily Pad looking like that. She changed directions and headed for home.
As she walked, she felt the adrenaline fade away, and exhaustion set in. Who knew being stuck in an elevator could be so tiring?
Now, she just had to hope Tony was all right. She felt guilty that he got hurt. If he had used the harness first, he would be safe. And she would have been the one who got injured. She owed him—owed him big time.