Page 21 of Rusty's Command

“Phone’s dead.” His words dropped like bricks.

“Oh God. What do we do now?”

“Hey.” His hand found her arm. “It’s okay, we’ll figure this out. Panicking doesn’t help either of us.”

“Oh really, and you’re not panicking?” Her tone hit a new crescendo.

“No, I’m not. I’ve been in worse situations than?—”

“Worse than being trapped underground with no food or water?” She tried to recall how long a human could live without water and suddenly hated all thoseI shouldn’t have liveddocumentaries she loved to watch. “Do you know something I don’t?”

“I know that we’re both healthy, fit, and uninjured. I know Soda is a highly trained military working dog, and she can track a scent through several miles of lava tubes, so she’ll help us find a way out. And I also know that remaining positive is a key component of survival. We’ll be okay.”

Okay? We are far from okay.

The blackness that engulfed them was absolute, prehistoric, the kind of darkness that had never known light. Sienna couldn’t even see her hand, just inches in front of her face.

It had taken her months to stop seeing Paige’s body every time she closed her eyes. Coming to Hawaii had been to help her search for light in her life again.

This was definitely not part of the plan.

CHAPTER 7

Rusty

Even the densestColombian jungle had offered some form of light: stars, moonlight, the ember glow of a cigarette. The darkness in this lava tube was different. Absolute. It pressed against Rusty’s eyes like a physical weight, making his other senses strain for input.

He figured it had been three, maybe four hours since his phone died, but time had gone liquid, measured only by Sienna’s faltering steps and the dogs’ steady panting. He kept his hand pressed to her shoulder, guiding her next to him. Every few minutes, her fingers would drift to the back of her head, and she would take a sharp inhale and wince.

Her head wound gnawed at him, and he hoped like hell it wasn’t the reason she was starting to stumble. It could be from hunger or dehydration. Or the darkness could be throwing her off-balance. Or maybe it was because they had no fucking clue if this tunnel led anywhere except deeper into the earth’s crust.

Charging into this tunnel like some untrained civilian was a rookie mistake.

He’d known better, done better, in shitholes across three continents. But he’d seen Sienna in danger, and his training had gone straight out the window when she was unconscious and injured. Now they were trapped with two dogs and exactly jack shit for resources.

“Rusty?” Her voice was thin, stretched. “Are we umm . . . do you think we’ll get out?”

He squeezed her shoulder. “Absolutely. Come morning, we’ll catch some light filtering in somewhere. Plus, Soda’s got one hell of a nose on her. She’ll catch a whiff of fresh air and lead us right to it.”

They weren’t lies. Both could be true. Then again, morning meant nothing down here, but he would be damned if he would let her hear doubt in his voice. Not when her life was in his hands.

Sienna was not your average woman. And nothing like Hannah. Thank Christ.

Soda’s claws clicked somewhere ahead in the darkness, and he tracked the sound, using it to orient himself. At least the dogs were still moving forward. That had to mean something.

Had to.

Sienna’s yawn broke the silence. Then another.

Maybe we should take a break?

She stumbled again, and he moved closer. “You okay?”

“Yeah, sorry.”

“No need to say sorry. You’re doing great.”

Her foot caught, and she pitched forward with a gasp. He snagged her arm, swinging her into his chest before she hit the ground face-first. She collided with him, and his arms locked around her automatically. “I’ve got you.”

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