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Jena wedged herself into the corner closest to the pipe. It wasn’t directly in front of her, but she could lean forward to shout through it. She could hear Matt, which was the most important thing. Without his voice she would be all alone in the darkness. She felt like she’d been stuck underground for hours, but it couldn’t have been that long. Could it? Matt had been talking to her, telling her tales of life with the twins and his cousins. Telling her all about the trouble they got into as kids. His voice was the only thing stopping her from having a complete and utter meltdown.
Her broken leg was stretched out in front of her and throbbed with pain that made her want to wail. She dug her fingers into the dirt beside her every time it became too much. Her ribs didn’t ache as much as her ankle, but moving and breathing were uncomfortable. She was pretty sure she was covered in cuts and bruises. Her head still ached from the tumble in the car, and she didn’t even want to think what bugs were nested in her hair.
Sounds echoed down through the pipe. People shouting. Orders given. An engine revved. Something heavy hit the ground with a thud, making some loose dirt shake down onto her. She shuddered.
“Matt? What’s going on?”
“They’re laying down a couple of wooden beams for the hobby digger to roll across.” His voice sounded tight with tension. “You’re under a kind of an island; there have been cave-ins all around you. We’re trying to get the equipment to the right spot without causing any more damage.”
She rested her head back against the wall behind her as a shiver of fear went through her. He meant they were trying to avoid burying her alive. Yeah. It would be real good if they did everything they could to avoid that. A spasm of pain hit her, making her groan through clenched teeth. She was shivering and sweating at the same time. Adrenalin reaction. Nothing she could do about it except distract herself.
“Frank—did you get him?”
“Not yet.” The promise of pain was clear in those two words.
“I don’t understand why he’s still in town. Didn’t you send him away?”
“Harry checked. Frank didn’t make the connecting flight in London. No one thought to tell me.”
Jena closed her eyes. The thought of seeing Frank again made her shudder.
“You’ll get him, right?”
“I promise.” There was absolute confidence in those words.
Jena let out a relieved sigh then winced at the pain it caused. The room was closing in on her. The air becoming increasingly stuffy. She had to get her mind off it—before she went insane.
“You’re sure Abby’s okay? And Katy? Was their house damaged?”
“They’re fine, princess. The only person who was hurt was you.”
She barked out a tight laugh, jerking her ankle and making it throb. “They’re going to start calling me Calamity again, aren’t they?”
“They never stopped, princess.” His voice was soft. His worry clear. He was trying to distract her. She appreciated it. With her eyes closed, she could almost imagine she wasn’t trapped underground. That she was cuddled in the dark with Matt.
“They’re moving the digger across now. You’ll feel some rumbling, and some dust will fall once it starts, but don’t worry about it. Magenta says you’re safe, and she knows what she’s talking about. She’s dug up some old plans of the mine and there’s definitely an air shaft above you somewhere—that will help us to get to you. We have a drill attachment for the digger. You’ll be out in no time.”
“Will it make a hole big enough for me to climb out?”
“Of course it will.” To Jena’s anxious ears that sounded an awful lot like a “probably not”.
“The doc wants to know if you’re allergic to anything,” Matt said.
Jena half laughed, half growled. “Dark underground spaces.”
“Funny.”
“No, nothing. I’m not on any medication. Except the pill. Which is probably something we should have talked about before we had sex without using condoms.”
There was silence, then lots of muffled laughter.
“Jena, there are a lot of people around here and they can hear you.”
She wiped a hand over her eyes. She didn’t care about eavesdroppers. Invertary was full of them anyway. You couldn’t sneeze without someone knowing about it. She blinked back a bout of sleepiness. How was it possible to be in pain, yet so incredibly tired at the same time? She wanted Matt. She wanted his arms around her. She wanted his strength and comfort. She wanted his deep brogue whispering in her ear. If she had anything left in life, she’d give it all to have him with her. Touching her. Soothing her.
“Tell me you love me again,” she said. Please don’t be the last time I hear it. Please.
“You’re trying to embarrass me, aren’t you?” He didn’t sound like he minded.
Jena smiled through a sudden sharp pain. “No, I just want to hear it.”
“I love you, Jena. And I’m keeping you.”
She laughed, but it sounded strained. “You had to add that last bit, didn’t you?”
“Because it’s true. I can’t wait to get you out of there, princess. I’m never going to let you out of my sight again.”
For once, Jena wanted nothing more. All she wanted was Matt. The man she needed. The man she loved. A sigh left her at the acknowledgment of something she’d known for weeks.
“Now, can we stop talking about personal stuff in the middle of a crowded field?” Matt said. “Or is this payback for Magenta’s turn in the mine with Harry? It wasn’t my fault the whole town turned out to listen to them make out.”
Jena had no idea what he was talking about, but made a mental note to ask Magenta when she got out of the mine. If she got out of the mine. She wiped her damp forehead. She couldn’t decide if she was hot or cold. Weird.
“I need to tell you something else.” She took a deep breath, forgetting that her ribs were damaged. The pain robbed her of breath, making her action pointless. “I love you, Matt,” she said.
There was a whoop. Then a growl.
“You say that now? Princess, your timing stinks.”
She swallowed hard. “You’re not wrong there. I wanted you to know now. In case...” Her eyes welled up. The tears fell. She hiccupped back a sob.
“Don’t you dare say anything else. We’re getting you out of there. You’re going to be fine and you’re damn well going to say those words to my face.” He sounded angry and desperate.
“They destroyed my house, Matt.” She wiped her tears away.
“I saw. You can stay with me. I want you to stay with me.”
“Your house is butt ugly, Matt.”
There was laughter.
“Well, you can fix it up and we’ll look for a new house together.”
Together. She liked that, but it made her wonder. Why did he want her? She had absolutely nothing to offer. She was homeless. Penniless. Now she couldn’t even work. Being a dance teacher with a broken leg was tricky.
“I can’t contribute anything right away, Matt, I can’t even teach dancing for a while.”
“That’s okay, princess. I don’t care. I only want you. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll contact immigration and get you an extension on your visa. They’ll understand under the circumstances that you can’t work straight away.”
Jena’s head was woozy. She wasn’t sure what Matt was talking about. “What visa?”
“Jena.” Matt sounded like he was trying really hard to be patient. “What kind of visa do you have?”
She shrugged, then groaned when her ribs protested. “I don’t know. They stamped my passport at the airport when I arrived.”
“You’re here on a visitor’s visa?” His voice was unattractively high-pitched. “The standard visa only lasts twelve weeks. You’ve been living here illegally since it ran out, Jena.”
“Oh. I assumed it would be fine. After all, I bought a house. Doesn’t that make me a resident?”
“No. Crap, it really doesn’t. We need to fix this or you’ll get deported. I’m going to have to marry you.”
There was howling laughter and cheers. Jena was dizzy. The pain was making her see double. She’d never been good with pain. Some people had really high tolerance for it. She wasn’t one of them.
“Did you just propose?” Jena found it hard to focus.
“No. I told you we’re getting married. Probably this week. Otherwise you’ll get kicked out of the country.”
“I think that’s a bit extreme,” Jena told him. The noise above her head was getting louder. “Nobody knows I don’t have a visa, so who’s going to kick me out?”
“Jena, try to remember for five bloody minutes that I’m a cop.”
“Oh, yeah.” Were the earth walls spinning, or was it in her head? “What if I don’t want to marry you?”
“I didn’t ask. We’re doing it.”
Part of her knew she should be mad at him. Instead she just felt strange. “Matt, I don’t feel so good.”
“What is it? What do you feel? Are you bleeding from anywhere?”
“No, I just feel weird. Is the ground moving?”
“Jena, take deep breaths. You’re going to be okay.” He sounded panicked and very far away. Jena swayed in place. Her ribs made her groan. Her ankle jerked and she whined with pain.
“Jena, listen to me, hold on. We’re nearly there.”
“Love you, Matt,” Jena said softly.
And then she lost consciousness.
“Jena? Jena?” Matt looked at the men around him in panic. “She’s not answering.”
“She’s probably passed out,” the doc said.
“What if there’s gas down there? Lack of air? Magenta, what do you know?”
Magenta tossed her bobbed black hair and peered at him, her eyes rimmed with thick black eyeliner. “There’s air. There’s no gas. Trust me. I know. This mine isn’t anywhere near a gas seam. Especially this close to the surface. They didn’t use gas of any sort in the mine.”
“Right, okay.”
Harry patted him on the back. It didn’t help. Punching Frank a time or twenty might have eased him a little, but right now the only thing that could make a dent in his stress level was getting Jena out of that hole.
“We’re through,” Grunt shouted.
There was a cheer. Matt made a move to rush across the beams to the grassy island. Magenta put her hand on his arm. “We’ve got this. You’ll get in the way.”
Matt wanted to roar. Instead he nodded. He put his hands on his hips and bowed his head. It was the worst feeling in the world to stand back and do nothing when others were saving the woman he loved. He took a deep breath as he watched his friends work.
The digger had been removed. The drill-bit attachment they’d been using to get deeper was gone. The two large wooden beams stayed in place. A frame rested across them. Attached to the frame was a swing-like construction, with a harness. It hung over the newly drilled hole. The idea was for Jena to sit on the swing and be strapped into it. Then the men would winch her up. Gordon had put most of the contraption together while they waited for the hole to be dug. Magenta was the one to source the harnesses and safety rigging from her caving business.
Magenta strapped on a safety harness and a hard hat. “Okay, I’m going in.” She winked at Harry and jumped into the hole, abseiling down to Jena.
“She’s an expert,” Harry reminded him. “She’s also the smallest here. None of those ex-forces guys would get through the hole.”
“Magenta wouldn’t let them anyway,” Matt said.
“True.” Harry chuckled. It sounded tense.
The wait was endless. At last the signal was given. Grunt and Lake hoisted Jena up. Matt held his breath until he saw her honey-coloured hair appear in daylight. There was a cheer. Matt ran across the beam to get to her. No one and nothing would have stopped him. The men were laying her on the grass beside the doctor.
“Is she...” Matt fell to his knees beside her.
“She’s passed out. Probably too much pain.”
As the doc examined her, Matt did the same. Magenta had immobilised her ankle with an inflatable boot. She’d placed a brace around her neck for the ride out of the mine, to stop her head lolling and to prevent any neck injury. Her arms were strapped to her waist to reinforce her ribs. It was a good job. As Magenta climbed out of the mine, he gave her a grateful smile.
“She did good, Matt,” Magenta said as she unstrapped her safety hat. “She was in the right spot. The room was pretty stable too. There was plenty of air down there. She would have been fine for a while yet. I think her ankle got to her. It looks bad.”
Matt clenched one of Jena’s hands in his while stroking her hair with his other hand. “Will she be able to dance?” he asked the doc.
“I hope so,” he said. “Let’s get her to hospital and find out.”
Matt leaned forward and kissed her grubby, tear-stained cheek. “It’s going to be okay, princess. I promise.”
He stood aside to let the paramedics load her onto a stretcher. Matt followed them over the makeshift bridge to find his family waiting.
“We’ll go to the hospital with her,” his mum said.
The twins nodded.
“Grunt will take us,” Claire said.
Grunt wrapped an arm around Claire’s shoulders and she leaned into him. “I’ll make sure they’re safe. I’ll check in with you every half an hour.”
“Every fifteen minutes,” Matt said.
Grunt grunted. Matt ran a hand through his hair. He wanted to be the one to go with her.
“You can’t,” his mum said, as though reading his mind. “You need to arrest the bastard who did this.”
His eyes shot open as the twins told his mum off for swearing. His mum gave him a quick hug. “Don’t worry, son—we’ll take good care of her. After all, she’s about to become family.” And with the first smile he’d seen on her face since her husband died, she followed Grunt to his car.
Matt watched the ambulance until it disappeared. When he looked away from it, it was to find half the men in Invertary watching him, waiting for orders. He nodded his thanks.
“There’s been a sighting,” Harry said. “The domino boys saw Frank near the loch. They’re keeping an eye out.”
Matt took a deep breath. “Jason, Rusty, you follow the Glasgow boys to the hospital and hand them over to the local cops.”
The men nodded and left.
“Pete, Dougal, you two rope this area off. I don’t want anyone near it.”
“No problem,” Dougal said as he rolled up the sleeves of his surprisingly white shirt. Although he had teamed it with bright red tartan trousers, so he was still Dougal.
“The rest of you are with me,” Matt said. “Time for this to end.”
Grimly, the men climbed into their vehicles.