Page 23 of Brighter than the Boss
Okay, that was straight uncalled for. Yes, I wore a red suit and my breasts jiggled indecently when I ran in this thing, but I wasn't some airhead actress. I was trying to save his freaking life. I took a deep breath and tried a different approach.
I knew his camera was not only recording the waves, but recording my voice too. Swallowing the anger and disgust I actually felt, I answered him calmly, sticking to the script I knew my boss would want me to use. "Last warning: you need to evacuate the beach right now. I will not be back to help you. Do you understand me?"
"Yeah, go already!"
He was clearly done with me too.
For his sake, I hoped he'd smarten up and leave before the tide came in. Contrary to what movies depicted, tsunamis weren't usually one huge wall of a wave that hits land. They were constant wave after wave that hit the sand and didn't stop, swelling the sea level and flooding the coastal area. The danger usually became the debris that was floating in the water. Cars and cement pylons were known to be floating around in the powerful waves after the tsunami, decimated houses and buildings. If a human was in there too, it went without saying, you didn't want to get hit by something that large. Mr. Tough Guy here wouldn't stand a chance.
I left him, knowing I had other people to help. People who would actually appreciate my help and heed the evacuation orders. Survival of the fittest was alive and well today.
Looking left I saw a mom trying to pack up what equated to a whole campground of stuff with three kids in tow, all looking to be under five years of age. She had a backpack on, a bag over one shoulder and was dragging a packed tent in her other hand. She kept looking back to encourage the little kids to follow her. The smallest one, barely a walking toddler, kept falling down and crying. The mom was nearly in tears too, so I sprinted over and grabbed the tent from her before swinging the bag onto my arm.
"I got this stuff. You grab the kiddos."
She gave me a look of pure relief and sobbed out a thank you before turning and picking up the two youngest children. We picked up the pace, nearly running, giving smiles and encouragement to her little boy trying to keep up with us on foot.
By my estimate, we had twenty minutes left to get everyone out of here. Given the traffic congestion they'd face just getting out of the parking lot, we didn't have a moment to spare. The mom pointed to a light blue minivan up ahead. The little boy didn't have his shoes and therefore couldn't walk on the hot pavement so I told them to wait there while I ran and dropped off the bags and tent at the vehicle. When I sprinted back I picked up the boy and carried him over to the car.
"You good?" I asked the mom.
"Yes! Thank you so much!" Her shaky smile was better than the tears I saw earlier so I was hopeful she'd remain calm and get the kids into the car quickly.
"No problem, ma'am." I gave her one last reassuring smile and ran back to my tower, seeing one of our ATVs pull up and Cain hop off.
I was out of breath when I reached him. He saw me approaching and ran the rest of the distance to reach me. He grabbed me by the shoulders and searched my face with concerned eyes.
"You okay, Sunshine?" His voice was gruff. The kind of gruff that disguised kindness. No one had ever followed me home late at night to make sure I was safe. I was pretty sure he didn't use that voice with the other lifeguards either. So that rough exterior? I was learning it hid a kind heart, always looking out for others.
I smiled at him and poked him in his hard stomach. "I'm good, Cain. Just helping people and handing out warnings. Any further word on the landfall ETA?"
His hands drifted down my arms, grabbing onto my hands, not letting go. "Nothing yet. By my watch, we have less than twenty minutes."
We both looked out onto the beach, seeing hundreds of people down our stretch of beach still making their way across the sand. My stomach dropped and the fear was back. Could we really do this? Was it even possible to evacuate an entire beach in thirty minutes?
"Well, the good news is it hasn't advanced to a red warning, right?" I always looked for the silver lining, the good news, the positive in a bad situation.
Cain looked back over at me and smiled, that rare expression making him more attractive than any male had any business being. My heart took notice but my brain decided to duck dive the crash of emotions I couldn't afford to deal with right now. He nodded slowly, the grin reaching his eyes, taking over his whole face.
"Yeah, that's exactly right. Let's go save some people, huh? Stick with me." He gave my hands a squeeze and then let go and turned to jog back to the ATV. Behind the fear and the nerves that made my stomach sour, I felt a frisson of excitement. The feeling that happens when you know you've made a real connection with someone you care about. Things were all wrong around me, yet other things felt exactly right.
I shook off the dreamy look on my face and ran after him. We had people to help. My daydreams of a happy ever after with Cain could wait. I climbed onto the back of the ATV and wrapped my arms around Cain, that tickle of excitement making a comeback no matter how much I tamped it down. I had visions of clutching my Greek god while riding into the chaos on the back of his chariot. Plus I got to feel up his rock hard abs. I was still a hot-blooded woman, even in a natural disaster.
We stopped at the first cluster of people and hopped off to help them pack up and get to the parking lot. I saw a person in a wheelchair trying to make their way through the throng of people on the cement strand.
"Cain." I pointed to the man and didn't even get a chance to explain. Cain saw where I pointed and sprinted off to help him.
I assisted another family loading the kids in the car, glancing back to see Cain clearing a path for the man to steer his wheelchair to his van. I jogged over and folded up the wheelchair when Cain picked him up like he weighed nothing, swinging him into the driver's seat of the vehicle. We got the wheelchair in the back of the van and waved him on his way.
A police motorcycle zoomed into the parking lot, lights and siren going. He parked, hopped off and began directing traffic, trying to help with the bottleneck of cars trying to leave the lot.
Cain and I jogged back to the ATV and zoomed along the sand, now almost vacated completely of beachgoers. I held on to Cain with one hand and held the hair out of my face with the other hand, searching for citizens that needed assistance.
"See that guy?" Cain yelled over his shoulder, pointing to the man I'd talked to earlier. He was still standing right on the water line, phone out, recording everything, oblivious to the danger.
"I warned him already. He refuses to leave," I shouted back.
Cain paused for a moment, then nodded. "We help everyone else then go back for him."
