Page 62 of Inferno

She shined the phone around, lighting the small space between what looked like the table and a part of the wall that had collapsed. Which meant they were in a small space, against a load-bearing wall. In a pocket of air, such as it was.

She didn’t think beyond that assessment.

No signal. No way to dial out, if she even could with the smashed screen.

“Julio.” Her voice emerged, barely a whisper. Just the act of inhaling set her off into a fit of coughing.

He groaned, shifting very slightly in the small space. The weight on her eased and then increased a second later.

“Julio,” she repeated, patting his shoulder. Then she shined the light on him and gasped, coughing some more.

Blood tracked down the side of his face. A lot of blood.

He was turned toward her, his shirt covered in dust.

“Sammy?”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

He shoved up, leaning against her leg while he forced his upper body upright. It was at that point she saw the unnatural angle of his shoulder.

Samantha gasped. She coughed again.

Julio groaned. He slid his arm against his body with his other, holding it there while he looked around.

She used her phone to show him the space they were in.

“Side wall collapsed. Must’ve been a bomb.” He inhaled through his nose. “Something ignited. Maybe the gas in the kitchen.”

“There’s a fire?” she croaked.

“We need to call out.” He looked around, then at her. “Does your phone work?”

She handed it over, her head still full of everything. Barely able to process what had happened and what they were going to do about it.

He looked at the screen. “It’s busted. We might be able to get a callout, though.” He tapped the screen, his other arm still tucked against his chest. “Maybe.”

She stared at him. The man she had loved for as long as she could remember. The guy she had never stopped having feelings for, no matter how hard she tried.

Samantha shifted her legs, trying to move them now that he was off her.

The space around them groaned and shifted.

Julio’s head jerked up. “Hold still.”

“I don’t know if I can. I need to move my legs.” She gasped.

“I don’t know if I got a callout.” Julio set the phone aside, facedown so they could see the light.

He touched her cheek with his good hand. Just a brief glance of his warmth on her face, then his fingers sank into her hair. It took her a second, but she realized he was checking her for injury. Shoulders. Arms. “You’re not bleeding anywhere as far as I can see. Which is a miracle.”

Thank You, Lord.

“Amen to that.”

She’d said it aloud?

“What about your legs?”

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