Page 11 of Never Let Me Go

Marisa pulled away. “Fine,” she said. “Forget I said any of that. Apparently, the fire has dimmed after all.”

Beneath the sarcasm, he witnessed hurt. She was so unaware of what she did to him. Even now.

For a moment he considered reaching for her hand, putting it over his sex. Proving to her what he wanted. But if he really planned to get out of this room unscathed, that might make matters worse. He wouldn’t take her like this. No matter how badly he wanted to sink inside her body and lose himself.

His forehead was clammy now. His heart thundered in his chest.

“Marisa, I...”

Before he could formulate a sentence, a faint voice sounded outside their crypt-like hiding place. “Helloooo. Anybody down there?”

He froze. Marisa did the same. They looked at each other.

“Yes!” Their cries rose in unison.

“Hang on...”

The voice sounded very far away. But that could be because the safe had thick walls. He glanced at his watch, marking the time. Who knew how long this would take?

Marisa paced again, clearly agitated. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” she said. “Saving us, I mean.”

“They won’t.” His reply was automatic. He didn’t truly know. Rescue guys and gals were trained, but anything could happen.

Five minutes passed. Then ten.

Jeff felt his impatience spiral out of control. “Anybody out there?” he called. “Anybody?”

“Still here. Hang on.” The voice sounded farther away now.

Was his home a total disaster? Had he lost everything?

It didn’t matter, he told himself. Marisa was safe. He was safe. All the rest of it could be rebuilt.

Thirty-two minutes passed before they heard a screeching and pounding close at hand.

“Stand back,” someone shouted.

Jeff and Marisa moved to the rear of the safe. Without thinking, he put his arm around her waist, drawing her close.

Slowly, the door swung open. A helmet-clad fireman stood framed in the opening.

Jeff blinked. “Lucas? Shouldn’t you be out saving the world?”

The tall blond man winked at Marisa. “Nothing’s more important than rescuing my best bud.”

Jeff didn’t like the way Lucas grinned at Marisa. But then again, Lucas was newly married to Leah Marks, so maybe it was okay.

He made the introductions. “Marisa Evans—Lucas Carter.”

“Nice to see you again, Marisa.” He smiled at Jeff. “She sometimes brings food down to the station.” Lucas scanned the confines of the safe and gave Jeff a thumbs-up. “You told me about this room, but I never got a chance to see it. Nicely done, man.”

“Thanks.” Jeff swallowed. “Before we get out of here, tell me. Is my whole building gone?”

Lucas shook his head, smiling. “Surprisingly, no. Tornadoes are unpredictable bitches. Today, that was a good thing.”

Marisa spoke up. “How bad was it?”

“A strong F2. Maybe an F3. We’ll let the experts make that call. It touched down on the north edge of town, bounced over the quad—then hit this street pretty hard. Blew a transformer. The empty warehouse in the block behind you is rubble. You’ve lost part of your roof, but as far as I can tell, that’s the worst of it. One interior wall collapsed and took your stairs with it. The debris blocked the door. That’s why you couldn’t open the safe.”

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