The Cradle Conspiracy. Robin Perini
“Stubborn woman,” he grumbled, but he admired her grit.
They worked side by side, and before long, they’d created an opening large enough for her and Trouble to escape. He peered through the hole. “Can you slide through?”
She studied the gap. “I think so. What about you?”
“I’ll be fine. Trouble,” Daniel ordered, “go on.”
The dog looked at Daniel; then the stupid mutt seemed to roll his eyes. He lifted his paws to the hole and climbed through.
Daniel grasped her waist. “Go on. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Your shoulders won’t fit through that opening.”
“I’ll move a few more rocks, then follow you.”
She hesitated. “Promise?”
“Believe me, honey, I want out of here worse than you do.”
Finally she nodded and reached her arms into the hole. Trouble whined from the other side. Her body slithered through. The rocks groaned in protest and shuddered around her.
Raven stilled.
Dust and gravel landed on her back.
“Don’t stop! Move!” Daniel batted a falling rock away.
Daniel shoved her hips forward, and she tumbled to the ground with a moan, clutching her head. Trouble nudged her cheek, giving her a quick lick.
“Hey! Are you all right?” Daniel asked, as loud as he dared given the avalanche just waiting to happen.
“Yes.”
She rose unsteadily and faced him, too wobbly for his liking. He peered at her through the frame of rocks. “Get outside. Stay at least twenty feet from the mine’s entrance.”
The obstinate woman just shook her head and came toward him. “I won’t leave you. I can dig from this side.”
Another warning grumbled around them.
“Look, lady. This place is coming down soon. A few more rocks, and I’m running like hell out of here. I don’t need to be concerned about you, too.”
She hesitated.
Daniel tossed a stone aside. “Don’t worry. It takes more than a cave-in to do me in. This little challenge doesn’t even break my top five. Now get the hell outside.”
With one last look, she stumbled around the bend toward the mine opening.
“Go,” Daniel said to Trouble. “Guard her.”
A soft whine escaped the dog, but he followed her.
Daniel widened the hole, his adrenaline ratcheting higher with every second. The stubborn woman didn’t weigh more than a hundred twenty pounds, and she’d nearly brought the unstable wall down on them. At over two hundred, he might get one shot to reach the other side, but these stones were like the last blocks in Jenga. Very precarious...and dangerous.
If he was going to die, he wanted it to be out in the open, under the sky, not like a rat trapped in a hole. At least the fight to stay alive was beating back the past—just barely.
He tried to squeeze through, but his hulking six-foot-four frame scraped the edges of the passageway. Damn football shoulders.
Two more rocks should do it.
He moved one, and a spray of dirt sifted over him.
One more to go.
Daniel took a deep breath then tugged out the rock and heard the cracking start.
He shoved through the hole, ignoring the rocks hitting his body. He dragged his bad leg through just as the roar grew louder.
Then the whole damn mountain started coming down on top of him.
* * *
“DANIEL!” THE GROUND around Raven shook, tossing her to her knees as debris scattered over her.
She’d made it to within three feet of leaving the tunnel, and despite several attempts, she couldn’t stagger to her feet. Her aching head spun in the dimming light from outside.
Oh, God, she couldn’t leave Daniel alone. He’d rescued her. She had to get up and help him somehow.
Suddenly he burst around the corner, plowed into her and knocked her flat.
“You’re supposed to be outside!” He scooped her into his arms as if she weighed nothing and hauled her outside through a cloud of dust.
Daniel stumbled, and they went down hard, just a few feet outside the cave’s opening. Dirt and dust spewed from the mine, raining down on them, but Raven didn’t care. They’d made it.
Trouble bounded next to them, barking until Daniel finally rolled onto his back, his face screwed up in agony. He sucked in several gulps of air, then glared at Raven. “What were you thinking? I told you to get out.”
“I wanted to help—”
“Are you always this obstinate?” he growled, shifting his leg, his jaw tightening.
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I really don’t.” The blankness in her mind scared her, terrified her. She rubbed her temple. Why did everything seem like a foggy void, one she couldn’t see past?
His lips thinned into a grimace, then he sighed. “It’s a miracle we made it out in one piece.” He scanned up and down her body. “You look like hell. I don’t suppose I look much better.”
She gazed at his dirt-covered figure. He looked great, actually. His dusty clothes didn’t take away from the fact that he appeared every inch the hero. From the stubble on his chin to the mussed light brown hair kissed with sunlight, to the V-shaped body, there wasn’t anything to complain about. When he walked over and grabbed a brown Stetson from the ground, dusted it off and settled it on his head, the look was complete.
She didn’t know what kind of guy had attracted her before, but this one was doing it for her now. She struggled to a seated position. Actually she was seeing two of him now, which couldn’t be a good sign.
“Let me help you up.” Daniel held out his hand to her. “We’re in the middle of nowhere, my canteen is behind a wall of rock, and you need a doctor. We have to get moving.”
She placed her small hand in his and stood beside him. “I can make it.”
He glanced over at her. “I have no doubt of that, honey. We just have to walk to my phone and call the sheriff who patrols these parts. I’d like to try to get you into the shade.”
She took a step and swayed into him, then bent over, resting her hands on her knees. Her stomach roiled, and she swallowed down the nausea.
He snuck his arm around her waist. “We’ll go slow,” he said softly. “It’s been a tough day.”
She leaned against him but tried to mostly stand on her own two feet. Daniel hadn’t said anything, but the hitch in his step told her that he’d been injured. Maybe it was because he’d come to her rescue, but the closer she looked at the scar on his face, she could tell his skin was still healing from recent wounds. He looked like he’d had a rough year, not just a rough day. War veteran, maybe?
The bright sun in the clear blue sky blinded her after the dark mine, so she stared at her feet and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. That’s all she had to do.
One step.
The world spun a little.
Another step...gray clouded her vision. The darkness enveloped her, blocking out the sun.
From far, far away she heard a loud curse and watched the ground tilt toward her.
Then all went silent.
*