Aftershock

CHAPTER NINE



GARRETT HELPED LAUREN roll the stretcher to the corner.

They removed the rocks from the tarp and placed Mrs. Engle among the others. The temperature had dropped over the past couple of days, slowing the rate of decomposition. Even so, he tried not to inhale through his nose as he covered up the bodies.

Neither of them said any last words. This wasn’t the final resting place for Mrs. Engle—he hoped.

He was glad Lauren had opened up to him emotionally. In extreme situations, a lot of people became detached. Garrett had seen this phenomenon in Iraq. He’d lived it. Dissociation helped Marines get through day-to-day battle, but they paid more in the long run. They paid with nightmares and cold sweats.

She stuck her hands in the pockets of her jacket, watching him pile more rocks at the edge of the tarp. Although he did a thorough job, he used chunks of concrete that could be easily moved aside again.

Sam Rutherford wasn’t looking too good.

“We have to find a way out of here today,” she murmured, kicking at the gritty debris beneath her feet.

Garrett agreed with her. It would be a miracle if their water lasted through tomorrow. Penny was about to pop. The convicts were growing restless. They’d had a difficult time so far, but the situation could get a lot worse.

Dying of thirst was a slow, agonizing process. Their mental faculties would break down before their organs failed. They’d become walking zombies—if they didn’t kill each other over the last drink.

He dusted off his hands and straightened. “I’ll climb the wall again.”

“Why?”

“I need to try to chip through the concrete. Make an escape route.”

“Do you think you can fit?”

“Not with the rebar in the way.”

“How are you going to get around it?”

“I don’t know.”

He also wasn’t sure he’d be able to climb down the outside of the structure in the unlikely event that he freed himself. But he kept that drawback to himself, not wanting to worry her. Since they’d found Mrs. Engle dead, Lauren seemed vulnerable.

Now that she’d come to her senses, she was probably relieved they hadn’t slept together. It would have been an epic mistake.

Garrett couldn’t share her relief. He was too keyed up to feel anything but shame and acute disappointment. For her protection, he couldn’t tell her why he wasn’t available. If she knew what he was hiding, she’d tell him to get the hell away from her. He had to guard his secret in order to keep her close.

As they walked past an old Ford, he noticed condensation on the windows. Putting his arm around Lauren, he directed her away from the car before glancing into the interior. Owen was asleep in the backseat.

Garrett didn’t wake him up.

“What it is?” Lauren asked.

“One of the convicts. The youngest.”

“Do you think he’s dangerous?”

“Yes.”

“As dangerous as the others?”

“Maybe.”

“Don told me he brought some toys for Cadence, and baby blankets for Penny.”

It was possible that Owen had a soft spot for women and children, but Garrett wasn’t convinced of his good intentions. He might be trying to ingratiate himself to them. The kid had a feral glint in his eyes, as if he expected violence at every turn. Garrett had seen that look before. In Ramadi, they’d have put him on point.

Owen was a loose cannon. He also knew Garrett’s secret. For that reason alone, Garrett didn’t want him around.

“Those dumb f*cks wasted their water putting out a fire last night,” he said.

“You’re joking.”

He shook his head. “I wish.”

She continued to the triage area to care for Sam. Garrett stood watch outside the tent, his mind in turmoil.

He was so hung up on what happened after he woke that he hadn’t even begun to process what he’d done before. He had no recollection of the nightmare. When he came to on top of Lauren, his face stinging from her blows...

He’d feared the worst.

Garrett was glad he hadn’t sexually assaulted her. That would have destroyed them both. He’d never forgive himself for hurting a woman that way.

Last night’s fires and car crashes had reminded him of war. He should have anticipated a flashback. Memories of Jessica Morales must have seeped into his subconscious. He rarely thought of her while he was awake. It was too painful.

Lauren elicited some of the same feelings that Jessica had inspired in him. Fear, protectiveness, respect. Caring.

He didn’t fool himself into believing that Lauren had any special regard for him. She might be into casual hookups, or she might not. It didn’t really matter. He knew what she wanted from him: an escape.

He’d love to give it to her.

After her short crying jag, she seemed to have regained her senses. He didn’t think he’d have to worry about going too far with her again. He couldn’t believe that she’d let him put his dirty hands on her once. She’d felt so goddamned good underneath him, so soft and warm and responsive. As if she was made for him.

Smothering a groan, he pushed the erotic images from his mind. He was lucky he’d found the strength to stop. Taking advantage of her under these circumstances would have been really f*cked up of him.

The cavern was cold and eerie at this time of morning. It smelled faintly of decay, mixed with the stronger odors of burned trash and spilled gasoline. Later, light would filter in and the temperature would rise.

Right now it felt like a tomb.

The silence was deafening. San Diego wasn’t New York, but its freeways were usually packed from before dawn to well after sunset. His ears strained for the familiar thrum of traffic, or the encouraging whine of a plane engine.

Nothing.

After sunrise, Don got up to make coffee. Cadence and Penny came outside, their eyes sleepy and hair mussed. The girls, Lauren included, sat in camp chairs in front of the RV. Don and Garrett made seats of overturned buckets.

Breakfast consisted of canned fruit and honey-nut granola bars. While Don passed out the slim pickings, Garrett fantasized about steak and eggs. A few minutes later, Owen emerged from the Ford in the corner, looking as wary as a stray dog. His face was gaunt, as well as bruised. Garrett wondered if Jeb and Mickey had been feeding him.

Don glanced into the can of peaches he was holding. He’d given everyone a half slice. There was one left. When Don shot him a questioning look, Garrett shrugged, referring to Lauren. She didn’t raise any objections.

“You hungry?” Don called out.

Owen nodded, adjusting the backpack on his shoulder.

“Come on, then.”

He came forward and sat down on the empty bucket next to Penny. She acted as if he wasn’t there. Don handed him the can, along with the last piece of granola.

“Thanks,” he said, wolfing down the food. He swallowed the peach slice without chewing and drank the juice straight from the can.

Penny wrinkled her nose at his poor manners.

“Is there anything else to eat, Grandpa?” Cadence asked.

“Not until lunch, sugarplum. But you can have hot cocoa.”

Don made cocoa for Cadence while everyone else drank watered-down coffee. Although no one complained about being hungry, Garrett knew that mealtimes would be disappointing from here on out. There wasn’t enough to go around. Penny squinted at Owen in annoyance, as if he’d stolen her share.

“You can’t eat with us and them,” she said. “It’s not fair.”

His gaze slid over Penny’s rounded stomach. Her condition seemed to make him nervous. “I don’t want to go back to them.”

“Did someone invite you to stay here?”

Shifting in discomfort, he surveyed the group. Garrett kept his mouth shut. If Owen thought they were going to welcome him with open arms, he was in for a surprise. Garrett would let the women decide Owen’s fate.

“Maybe we should consider it,” Lauren said.

Penny gaped at her. “He could be a rapist!”

Owen’s tattooed neck flushed red.

“Are you a rapist?” Lauren asked, sipping her coffee.

“No,” he said hotly. “Hell, no.”

“At least one of your friends is,” Garrett pointed out.

“What do you mean?”

“Mickey tried to assault Lauren the first night.”

His gaze moved from Lauren’s face to Garrett’s bandaged fist. “Guess he got what he deserved.”

Not by a long shot, Garrett thought. “If Jeb hadn’t pulled his gun, he’d have got a little more.”

“Fair enough,” Owen said, unperturbed. “He’s not my friend.”

“Why were you with him?”

He lifted his left arm, showing a dark line around his wrist. “We were shackled together in the transport vehicle. Jeb got free and took off with the keys. Mickey followed, dragging me along behind him.”

Garrett had wondered about that. They hadn’t saved an unconscious man out of the kindness of their hearts.

“You’re not wearing stripes,” Cadence said.

Owen’s clothes were identical to Garrett’s: black boots, dirty white T-shirt, blue jeans. But if either Lauren or Don noticed the coincidence, they didn’t remark on it.

“We’re on the manual labor crew,” Owen explained. “They let us wear work clothes when we go to the job site.”

“How’d you get arrested in the first place?” Penny asked.

“My brother robbed a liquor store,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “I drove the getaway car.”

“Did you know what he was going to do?”

“Well, I didn’t think he was going to kill the cashier. But I knew he had a gun, and I understood what he was capable of.”

They fell into an awkward silence.

Penny crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, her body language closed off. She didn’t want a dangerous criminal around. What would she say when she discovered what Garrett had done?

More important, what would Lauren think? She’d be devastated by the news. She wouldn’t trust him anymore.

“Thanks for the breakfast,” Owen said, finishing his coffee. “I only came over because I have an idea about how to get out of here.”

“What’s that?” Garrett asked.

“There’s a cutting torch in your supplies. I watched you take it out of the back of that welding truck.”

“You know how to use it?”

“Yep. It’ll slice right through that rebar.”

Garrett turned to study the crevice in the wall, his pulse accelerating with excitement. Well, hot damn. He’d thought about trying bolt cutters, but the rebar was as thick as his thumb. “You’ve done it before?”

“Lots of times. My dad was a welder.”

“Are you familiar with climbing?”

“No. Can’t do much worse than you at it, though.”

Garrett gave Owen another once-over. The kid was an inch or two taller than him, and he had a lean, whipcord physique. He looked strong and agile. If he fell, Garrett wouldn’t have any trouble holding his weight on the line.

Maybe keeping him around wasn’t such a bad idea, after all.

* * *

PENNY MADE A SOUND of frustration and threw the doll across the RV.

She’d been practicing with the baby blankets Owen had given her, but she couldn’t get the doll wrapped up right. Those infant-care classes she’d taken had stressed the importance of “swaddling.”

Penny was doomed. She couldn’t even swaddle a doll. What would she do with a squalling, squiggling baby?

Cadence picked up the doll and cradled it in her arms, murmuring soft words of comfort. She had more patience—and better instincts—than Penny. “I don’t think you’re tucking the corner in tight enough,” she said. Laying the doll on the blanket again, she folded her into a secure little bundle. “See?”

“I give up,” Penny said.

Cadence frowned. “Already?”

Sighing, Penny went to the front window. Garrett and Owen were having an animated conversation about the welding equipment. “He’s going to get hurt.”

“Who?”

“Owen. He doesn’t know anything about climbing.”

“Neither did Garrett.”

“And look what happened to him.”

Cadence put the doll on her shoulder, patting its back. “He only fell because of the aftershock.”

“The welding stuff looks really dangerous, too. He’ll probably cut his arm off.”

“Why do you care?”

Penny tore her gaze away from Owen. “I don’t.”

“You think we should sit and wait, instead of trying to get out?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I didn’t say that.”

Cadence set aside the doll and started performing her gymnastics routine. She could do cartwheels, back walkovers, the splits. Her lively motions made Penny’s head spin with nausea. She felt huge and ungainly, like a prisoner inside her own body. She was trapped in the RV, stuck under a freeway.

Instead of yanking her hair out, or screaming at the top of her lungs, she took a deep breath and glanced around for something to do. She spotted the clothes Lauren had given her. Desperate for any change, she picked up the outfit and headed into the bathroom, avoiding her reflection in the mirror.

She knew she looked awful. Puffy eyes, round cheeks, mussed braids.

Sniffling, she yanked the borrowed clothes off and moistened a washcloth. After getting as clean as possible, she donned the dark blue dress. It was soft and comfortable, draping over her belly. She used a bit of toothpaste and rebraided her hair. While she applied some of Cadence’s cherry chapstick, the baby shifted.

She sat down on the toilet lid, trying not to cry.

In the early stages, she’d considered terminating the pregnancy, but she knew her parents wouldn’t approve. They were very religious. Tyler had gone away to his Ivy League university, and he was ignoring her emails. He’d been so sweet at that beach bonfire over the summer. She thought they might be able to make it work.

How naive.

When he came home for the winter holidays, he hadn’t wanted anything to do with her—or the baby. She’d been forced to contact his parents. They offered her a small settlement in exchange for Tyler signing away his rights, and she hadn’t been too proud to take it.

The money wasn’t enough to give her a comfortable life, however. Caring for a child was a huge responsibility. Penny didn’t know how she would juggle college classes with diaper changes and midnight feedings. Her parents wouldn’t support her as a single mother. They thought she’d brought shame to their family.

Thankfully, her aunt Bernice had stepped in. She wasn’t as conservative as Penny’s parents. Her kids were all grown, and she had plenty of room at her house. Bernice told Penny that she could stay with her as long as she needed to. Penny felt as though a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. With Bernice’s help, she could manage.

But now Bernice was dead—and Penny was terrified. Maybe she’d been crazy to want to keep the baby. She didn’t know the first thing about umbilical cords or breast milk. What if she’d made the wrong decision?

She could die in childbirth. They could both die.

Cadence rapped on the door. “Penny?”

“What?”

“Are you okay?”

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she left the bathroom. “I’m fine.”

“I had a dream last night that the baby came,” Cadence said, picking up her Nintendo. “We were in Mario Kart land, driving around on the track with the baby in the front seat. The bad guys were chasing us.”

“Which bad guys?”

“The convicts. Jeb and Mickey.”

“Not Owen?”

“No. I don’t know where he was.”

Penny cupped one hand over her belly, using the other to rub her lower back. The ache was worse today. “I’m going to see Lauren.”

She looked up from the screen. “Can I come?”

“I’ll only be a few minutes. Stay here.”

Penny waved at Don before she walked away from the RV. Although she didn’t acknowledge Garrett or Owen, their conversation stalled as she passed by. Garrett asked a question about the welding equipment, but Owen didn’t answer. He stared at Penny, his eyes trailing down the front of her body.

She ducked into the triage tent, frowning. What was his problem? He acted like he’d never seen a pregnant woman before.

Lauren was inside, checking some tubes attached to Sam. He hadn’t so much as blinked since the earthquake.

“Where’s Mrs. Engle?” Penny asked.

“She died last night.”

Her mouth fell open. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Lauren tucked a blanket around Sam. “I don’t know. I guess I felt...overwhelmed. Like I let her down.”

“You didn’t let her down,” Penny protested. “What more could you have done?”

“Stayed by her side. Not slept.”

Penny didn’t know what to say to comfort Lauren, or how to broach the next subject.

“How are you feeling?” Lauren asked.

“Okay.”

“No contractions?”

Although she’d had a few cramplike sensations, she shook her head. “I’d like to talk to you about Owen.”

“You don’t want him here.”

“How did you know?”

“It’s pretty obvious.”

Penny moistened her lips, nervous. “He has a swastika tattoo.”

“Yes.”

“And...his brother killed someone.”

“I’m more concerned about the way he looks at you, but I doubt he’ll try anything with Garrett and Don around.”

She pressed her lips together, close to tears. “I can’t stand sitting in the RV. I feel like I’m going to explode.”

Lauren’s expression softened. “Why don’t you walk around a little? You can go back and forth from the semi to the RV. I’d appreciate it if you kept listening to the radio and trying the SOS signal every few minutes.”

Penny promised to help, but she felt self-conscious about strolling around in circles. Owen’s scrutiny made her uneasy. She left the triage tent and trudged toward the semi with her hands splayed over her belly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Owen doing a demonstration with the cutting tool.

He put his face shield down and turned on the torch. It was like a spray wand to wash a car, except blue flames hissed from the tip. He touched the end to a thick piece of metal, slicing it neatly.

Garrett’s grin indicated that he liked what he saw. Owen turned off the torch and flipped up his face shield. They talked excitedly together, not paying attention to her. Something about them reminded Penny of outlaws.

It was like the Wild West down here. There were no rules. Nobody cared about Owen’s white-trash tattoos. Garrett looked uncivilized, with his dirty clothes and beard-shadowed face. They were closed off from the outside world, but it wasn’t really that different. Men were free to do whatever they wanted.

Penny slipped into the semi, feeling as powerless as ever.