Page 20 of Rules of the Heart

“Ma’am, we checked already. We got everyone out.” The call from the firefighter fell on deaf ears.

Ella shoved her way past the search-and-rescue operative and started picking her way through the rubble, right into the belly of the collapsing plane.

Valerie growled under her breath as she broke into a run. No way was Ella getting herself killed on Valerie’s watch. Valerie would drag Ella away from that plane herself if she had to.

“Ella! Ella, get back here right now! You’re not to go in here! Ella, do you hear me?”

Ella, however, seemed to have gone selectively deaf, ignoring Valerie completely. Valerie kicked rubble aside as she dashed after Ella, reaching her just as she stepped into the cabin.

She grabbed Ella’s shoulders, yanking her back. “Not a chance,” Valerie snarled. “You’re coming with me, whether you like it or not.”

She knew she was stronger than Ella and would wrestle her out of here if need be.

Ella’s angry response was drowned out by a thundering crash.

Ella grabbed Valerie and pulled her forward just in time to avoid the side of the cabin collapsing on her.

They landed on the ground, with Valerie’s body covering Ella’s. She didn’t even have time to appreciate the feeling of Ella’s body pressed against hers, because they were both coughing up dust and small pieces of rubble were falling all around them.

Valerie rolled off Ella, coughing until her lungs were clear.

“What the fuck did you do!” Valerie demanded as soon as she could talk. She stared hopelessly around them. The way out was completely blocked. The only light came through the cabin’s windows. The metal around them was completely collapsed. It would probably take hours for search and rescue to dig them out.

Ella wasn’t listening to Valerie. She was already searching the body of the small plane. It was empty.

“FUCK!” There were tears in Ella’s eyes as she realised the mistake she had made and now they were trapped.

The reprimand died on Valerie’s lips. She wanted to scream at Ella for putting them in this position, but in the face of Ella’s distress, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Ella had risked her life to save someone she thought was in there and there was nobody there; she was understandably upset. There would be time for reprimands—time Valerie would use to its full advantage—but this was not it.

Valerie looked at Ella, her incredible aquamarine eyes glimmered in the dim light. Her smooth brown skin and honey streaked ponytail were covered in dirt and debris from the collapse.

Valerie thought she had never looked more beautiful.

“I really thought I heard someone. Must have been from outside of the plane though.”

Valerie sighed and leaned back against the cabin wall. “Well, I don’t suppose there’s much to do but wait for them to dig us out.”

“Nope,” Ella said gloomily. “I guess you were right—at least this time.”

“About what?”

“If I’d followed the rules and stayed out of here, I’d be out there right now saving patients. Instead, I’m stuck in here, and people are dying because I’m not there to help them.”

Valerie dearly wanted to say, “I told you so,” but Ella sounded so dejected that she decided that, too, could wait.

“Beating yourself up for past mistakes is a waste of energy. You can only learn from them and move forward.”

Ella nodded. “I know.”

The two were silent for a while, listening to the sounds of search and rescue trying to dig them out. It must be a difficulttask, as they obviously couldn’t do anything that would cause the plane to collapse any further. This might take a while.

Valerie glanced at Ella out of the corner of her eye. She was so pretty, even covered with dust, blood and tears. Even in this state, Valerie would totally kiss her if she could. She wondered what Ella’s lips would taste like, and if she would get their natural flavor from underneath all the dust and salt.

She realized that she was staring at Ella’s lips and forced herself to look up into Ella’s eyes, only to find that Ella was staring at her lips as well.

Shit. This was not going in a direction Valerie felt like she had much control over, and she knew all too well that when she lost control, people died. Being stuck in an enclosed space with Ella for hours was the last thing she needed, but it wasn’t like she was being given any choice in the matter.

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