Linda Andrews - The Meltdown

Callused hands skimmed her arms then unwound her hands and eased her away. His brown eyes locked with hers. Anger simmered in their depths. “Did they…hurt you?”

Audra cleared her throat and read the subtext. “No, we’re fine.” She turned her hands so her fingers glided between his. “I’m fine.”

His gaze raked over her wet shirt sticking to her breasts. His lips thinned and he pulled free. “You can tell me about it later. For now, we have to run.”

Tina knocked Audra’s arm. “Here.”

Turning, Audra grabbed her jacket and stuffed her arms in the sleeves. Why was he acting so stand-offish? She was fine. Except for the kidnapping, nothing had happened to her.

“Hold the door.” Eddie spun on his heel and stalked to the edge of the small porch. He leaned forward and glanced left then right. “It’s clear. Let’s go.”

Yes, they would talk later. Audra flattened against the kitchen wall as the others stampeded by. If he was going to court her, he’d have to do it properly. This juvenile playground dance nonsense would have to stop. She just didn’t understand it.

Tina grabbed her elbow and dragged her toward the door. “Come on.”

Audra stumbled after her. How long had she been standing there lollygagging anyway? She stomped in the slush the others created. Cold stung her nose and sucked the body heat off her skin from her wet clothing and now damp jacket.

“I knew Eddie would come for you.” Tina hunched deeper into her fleece-lined bomber jacket.

Wrapping her arms around her waist, Audra shivered. “He shouldn’t have. He was supposed to keep the others safe.”

They rounded the house. The bush next to the sagging back porch scratched at her as she passed. A frigid wind carried the scent of fire and gasoline.

“Geez.” Tina rolled her eyes and jerked free. “It’s okay to think of yourself now and then, you know.”

Tina didn’t understand. A Silvestre had a duty.

Her friend jogged away until she reached Becky’s side.

Audra stuffed her hands in her jacket pockets and she ran across the yard. Cold. Cold. Cold. Her teeth chattered. Eddie waved the others onward.

Deputy Pecos waited by a snow dusted pine near a listing mailbox. Tina’s bat rested on his shoulder. “This way ladies.”

Eddie met her on the street. He shrugged off his Army jacket and draped it around her shoulders.

She snuggled into the warmth of his body heat. The sleeves were a poor substitute for his arms. Numb fingers fumbled with the buttons. “Won’t you get cold?”

“We don’t have far to go.” He wrapped his arm around her waist. Trees crowded the road and the temperature dipped. “And you’re wet.”

She slipped on the black ice coating the pavement.

Eddie kept her on her feet.

Another boom sounded in the distance.

She glanced back. Fire painted the area in orange and red hues. Through the pines, she saw men racing back between the burning buildings. “I thought you’d arranged that.”

“Dunn agreed to create a diversion so we could get to you.”

“The principal?”

“Yep. He’s quite the fire bug.”

“The principal?” Of her school. But the man wore suits and ties and talked incessantly about proper behavior and district rules. Was no one what they seemed?

Eddie slanted her a look as they approached a tee in the road. “You sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine.” Maybe. She filled her lungs with his scent. Her thoughts scattered. Then again, maybe not.

Deputy Pecos led everyone to the right.

Silence stretched between them. Awkward. Drat Tina and Becky. They’d put such stupid thoughts inside her head. Thoughts she had no business thinking. She had people to get to safety. “Thanks for coming back for us.”

“We’re not good without our leader.”

“Stuart said—”

Eddie’s fingers dug into her waist. “Stuie is not you.”

No. Nor was he an Eddie. She rounded the corner. A small yellow and black bus idled in front of a white clapboard house. She blinked back her tears. It was the most beautiful sight besides him she’d seen all day. “Where did you find it?”

Deputy Pecos stood guard while the women lined up single file to board.

“The school yard.” Eddie tsked.

She jabbed her elbow into his side. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Your mom dropped us off about five miles outside of town.” He slowed down to a fast walk. “We found it while we were looking for you.”

“And the other bus?” The one she’d foolishly driven over those spikes.

“Useless. Even if we could find two spare tires, they’d cut the gas line to get the fuel.”

Principal Dunn broke through a low hanging bough. Soot stained his cheeks. “We need to be on our way. I saved the biggest explosion for last.” He grinned at Audra when she neared the bus steps. “The fools stored their fuel in one convenient location.”

The next explosion rattled the teeth in her head and echoed through her chest. He hadn’t been exaggerating.

Eddie’s fingers skimmed her hips. “Back of the bus with you.”

Audra climbed the steps. “Just because you rescued me, doesn’t mean you get to boss me around.”

Mrs. Rodriquez winked from the driver’s seat. “Welcome back, Princess A. Or maybe I should call you Damsel A, since you had to be rescued?”

Bending down, Audra kissed the older woman’s wrinkled cheek. “I’m glad to see you too.”

Eddie bumped her behind. “We gotta get your carriage on the road, Princess.”

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Audra straightened. The last two rows of the short bus were clear. Coincidence or was there a conspiracy afoot? She unbuttoned Eddie’s jacket as she walked. Not that she minded, precisely. She wiped her damp hands on her equally wet jeans.

The doors hushed shut and the bus coasted forward. She stumbled the last two rows before sinking onto the bench. Shrugging off his jacket, she hand-pressed the folds. Cold air washed over her when she handed it back.

Bracing his knees against the edges of the seats, Eddie folded his arms over his chest. “Take off your shirt.”

Her mouth fell open and the jacket fell to the floor. “What!”

He bent over as they rounded the corner and stuck his face in hers. A vessel beat at his temple. “You stink of soap.”

She blinked. That didn’t make sense. “Soap doesn’t stink. It smells clean.”

“It’s foul when you use it to wash away…” Muscles worked in his throat as if he struggled to free the words.

Poor Eddie. She cupped his cheek, felt the rasp of his beard against her palm.

“I wasn’t raped. None of us were. We spent the last few hours watching children die and scrubbing dirty laundry.” She swept her thumb over his bottom lip. “Guess which duty I got.”

His eyes narrowed. “Is that the truth?”

“Yes.” Tina’s voice bounced off the metal interior. “Now kiss and make-up. Some of us would like to sleep.”

Embarrassment heated Audra’s cheeks and her attention dropped to the floor. My, look at all the mud.

Eddie crouched down.

Her gaze was now firmly on his crotch. Good Lord. She jerked her attention to his face.

“I’m gonna have to insist you take off your wet clothes.” He chuckled. “I can’t have our fearless leader getting hypothermia. Not after all the trouble we went to getting you back.”

She slouched in her jacket. Must they have this conversation in front of everyone? “I don’t have anything to change into.”

“I don’t mind.”

Her palms itched. “This is not funny.”

Eddie reached for the hem of his shirt. “Today’s your lucky day, Princess.”

A flame ignited low in her belly. Was he going to strip here? Now? Leaning to the right, she glanced around the bus. Was anyone watching?