Debra Webb - Tremors

Basic human compassion, he told himself.

Nothing more. She’d likely gotten over him already. She took in stray dogs and cats all the time with every bit as much compassion. Her concern for him was nothing outside the norm for Lisa Malloy. Nothing he wouldn’t expect…and yet it touched him somehow.

“I’ll climb down as soon as you’re on the ground,” he explained.

She blinked rapidly, a frown drawing her sweet face into a scowl. “But how will you—”

He snaked the line around her waist. “Don’t worry about me, babe. I know what I’m doing.” He gave her a few quick instructions on how to pull the line down around her hips and then how to hold on so she didn’t slip. She paid close attention though he sensed that his every touch disturbed her almost as much as their current predicament. He imagined that she didn’t feel comfortable being touched by him since he’d walked away so easily from what they’d shared.

If she only knew.

Easy had not been the way of it.

She stepped into the narrow opening that would take her to freedom as he tugged on his gloves.

“Now, swing your legs over the edge of the wall and I’ll lower you down,” he said as casually as if she did this sort of thing every day.

Her gaze locked with his. “You…you won’t drop me?”

It took all his strength not to kiss the hell out of her. That pouty bottom lip trembled, tempting him almost beyond endurance.

“Not a chance.”

She nodded, then did as he’d instructed.

He heard her gasp as she dropped free of the shelf the remaining wall formed, but he had her. Slowly, but surely, he lowered her through the narrow crevasse to safety. Cheers went up as O’Shea tugged the line free from Lisa and gave Joe a nod. As he hoisted up the line, he watched the two women embrace and couldn’t help feeling a little jealous that it wasn’t him holding Lisa like that.

“Idiot,” he muttered. He’d had his chance. He’d walked away. He couldn’t go down that road with her or anyone else. Staying single was the right thing to do. No matter how wrong it felt at the moment.

LISA WATCHED as Joe rappelled downward as easily as he would walk across a room. When his feet touched the ground, the whole squad flocked to him, thankful their leader had survived.

As she stared up at the collapsed parking garage that she had used so many times, Lisa swallowed hard. It just didn’t seem possible that a building could crumble like that. As if it were made of sand and fragile sticks rather than concrete and steel. But it had.

She closed her eyes and thanked God yet again that she and Joe had made it out safely. It was an absolute miracle that neither of them had been killed.

A wave of dizziness washed over her and she swayed on her feet.

Strong arms went immediately around her. “Whoa.” Joe’s deep, husky voice rumbled in her ear.

“I’m okay,” she assured him as she pulled free of his embrace. “Really.”

He didn’t look convinced.

Shannon started to say something and Joe cut her a look. “Take it from here, O’Shea, I need to run Ms. Malloy by the hospital to be checked out.”

Lisa looked from Joe to Shannon and back. “I’m fine.”

Shannon seemed a little taken aback but didn’t buck her captain’s orders. “Yes, sir, Captain Ripani,” she said sharply, and did an about-face without a word to Lisa.

Joe glared after her.

“I don’t need to go to the hospital,” Lisa said, drawing his attention back to her. “I’m fine. Really, Joe.”

He studied her face and she suddenly felt embarrassed about how she must look. A mess, she felt certain.

What was wrong with her? She’d just survived an earthquake. Her car was a crushed metal pancake on what used to be the third level of that parking garage. She wasn’t supposed to look good. And she owed her life to the guy who’d recently broken her heart.

“You’re pretty shaken up, Lisa,” he said in that soft, pleading tone that likely got him laid anytime he wanted.

Lisa tamped down a rush of jealousy. Her fling with Joe was over. She wasn’t supposed to be jealous. Besides, he’d just saved her life. She should be grateful. She was! She just couldn’t get past that other thing. The hurt.

“A little shocky, I’d guess,” he went on, clearly oblivious to her mental tirade. “You need to be checked out and the paramedics here have their hands full.” He shrugged those massive shoulders that would no doubt be bruised tomorrow from squeezing through that narrow passage. “Besides, you need a ride home anyway. We’d have to go right by the hospital to get to your place. Might as well stop by emergency just to be sure.”

He had an answer for everything. And she was completely at his mercy.

That was the way with men like Joe Ripani. Women were putty in their hands.

Maybe he was right. Maybe she was a little shocky.

It might take her a few minutes, but one way or another, she promised herself, she would get her anti-Ripani defenses back into place. And when she did, he could just take his sweet-talking ways somewhere else. As much as she appreciated what he’d done for her, she couldn’t risk letting herself fall into that trap again. Not if she hoped to survive.

She had his number and it added up to only one thing…heartbreak.

THE UNEASY SILENCE in his truck unsettled Joe even more as he turned from Fifth Street onto Washington to head toward Courage Bay Hospital. He’d insisted that Lisa ride with him back to the firehouse where he could pick up his own truck. The search-and-rescue canines and heavy equipment had arrived at the parking garage just as Joe was leaving.

In an emergency like this, local jurisdiction resources would be somewhat overwhelmed with rescue and treatment. Assistance would be called in from surrounding communities. Joe and his squad had done the same many times. Just as soon as he was sure Lisa was good to go, he had every intention of getting back out in the field. This wasn’t the sort of situation that would be resolved in a few hours. He let go a heavy breath. It would be a while before Courage Bay was back to normal. But the city was no stranger to disaster, and its emergency-services personnel had earned a reputation for excellence.

Lisa hadn’t argued when he’d urged her toward his own vehicle. In fact, she hadn’t said a word since they left the parking garage. At first he’d worried about shock, but he now had a feeling that she was simply annoyed at him.

She wasn’t the kind of woman who cared for heroic tactics, and she would see his rescue of her as exactly that.

His fingers clenched the steering wheel. Funny thing, if he’d been trapped in that SUV, he would have been damn happy to have someone help him out. But not Lisa. No, she would consider any rescue attempt as the foolish act of an adrenaline junkie. She would rather have sacrificed herself than risk anyone else. That was something else they had in common, he realized abruptly.

Besides, he had to admit he’d been called far worse than an adrenaline junkie. The thing was, it usually didn’t bother him. Somehow her rebuff did. He thought he’d gotten over his inability to impress a particular woman. Obviously that wasn’t the case.

What was it about quiet, sensitive and highly intelligent Lisa Malloy that made him want to revert to adolescent tendencies?

He flicked a glance in her direction. Sure, she was pretty. Long, chestnut-colored hair that she wore up more often than not. Blue eyes the color of the Pacific when the sun hit the water just right. Her compact frame carried more visual punch than most petite women could possibly hope for. Lush curves and yet an athleticism that spoke of strength.