Page 80 of Dropping the Ball

I step inside. “Rebar.”

He follows me in. “Rebar.”

“It’s on theme,” I say, sending the elevator down.

“With labor and materials, I could get this done for about two thousand.”

“That’s it? Two thousand? That’s—”

A hard jolt knocks me off-balance. I stumble forward, catching myself with my hands against the elevator door.

Micah’s hand flies out to grip my elbow and steady me. “You okay?”

“Yeah, fine.” I push back hair that slipped into my face. “You?”

He releases my elbow. “Fine.”

“What happened?”

He crouches to study the elevator panel. I scan the top of the door and the ceiling, not that I’d recognize a problem if I saw it.

“It’s not the electricity,” he says. “These light up when I push them, and the overhead light is on, obviously. Has to be mechanical.”

“Can you fix it?”

He looks over his shoulder. “Can I fix an elevator?”

“It’s not an insane question. You’re good with your—never mind.” I break off when I realize finishing the sentence will only set me up. “Does it have one of those emergency call things?”

“All elevators have them,” he says. “It’s the law.”

“So push it!”

He stands and gives me a look of concern. “You okay? You sound . . .”

“What? Stressed that if we don’t get out of here in the next three minutes, I’ll be late for my meeting?”

“Right. Just call and explain. No one’s going to hold that against you.”

We have the same realization. My dress does not have pockets. My phone is in my purse, which I left on the table when I came in.

“Oh,” he says.

I do not panic. Not ever. I’m not about to start now. “Can I use your phone?”

Micah leans against the wall and crosses his arms over his chest. “As soon as I get it from the table.”

Still not panicking, but I feel a rising urge to scream. “We are stuck in an elevator in an empty warehouse with no way to let anyone know?”

He crouches by the panel again. “I’ll push the emergency call button.”

We wait. Several seconds tick by.

“Should we hear anything?” I ask.

He doesn’t answer, only presses the button again.

I count to thirty Mississippi. “Is this a silent thing? Is it triggering an alert somewhere, letting them know to send a SWAT team to get us out?”

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