LITMIR.BIZ

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telegraph a picture of her fine features and luminous skin, men from all over the country might come running.

      Unfortunately, the only response they heard was static.

      Lauren demonstrated the SOS signal that Garrett had taught her. Penny picked it up easily. She seemed to have a quick mind and a nice personality. Lauren assumed that her pregnancy was unplanned, and wondered if Penny would keep the baby. Being a young mother was always a struggle.

      “I wanted to talk to you about the other men,” Lauren said, tackling an even more difficult subject.

      Penny brought her attention back to Lauren. “The convicts?”

      “Did Don tell you what happened?”

      “He just said they were dangerous, and that they attacked you and Garrett.”

      She nodded, swallowing hard. “The heavy one, Mickey, woke me up last night. He tore my shirt and held his hand over my mouth. When I started struggling, he tried to slam my head into the concrete.”

      Her mouth thinned. “What did Garrett do?”

      “He hit him with a flashlight and broke his nose.”

      “Good.”

      “But Jeb threatened to shoot, so Garrett let him go.”

      “You think they’ll try again?”

      “Maybe not,” Lauren replied. “But I wanted you to know...what they’re capable of.”

      “I already knew what they were capable of.”

      “How?”

      “They’re men.”

      Lauren wasn’t sure how to respond to this logic. Extreme caution seemed appropriate in a survival situation. Maybe Lauren had been too reckless. She shouldn’t have been sleeping out in the open, where she was vulnerable.

      “I’m glad you warned me, though. I’ll talk to Cadence.” Penny paused, studying her. “Are you all right?”

      “Yes, of course.” Tears sprang into her eyes, but she blinked them away. “Garrett hurt his knuckles.”

      “I hope Mickey’s face hurts more.”

      Lauren took a deep breath, pushing aside the disturbing memories. “If they do come back, be careful. I wouldn’t put it past them to attack you. You’re a beautiful girl. I could tell that Owen noticed.”

      “Owen?”

      “The blond guy with the bruises.”

      She squinted out the driver’s-side window, surveying the space where Owen had stood. “I’ll throw rocks at him if he comes back.”

      Antagonizing the convicts wasn’t a good idea, but it couldn’t hurt to be prepared. Garrett was carrying a crowbar. Don had been keeping a baseball bat next to his lawn chair. Lauren wouldn’t mind having a blunt object at the ready. The women needed to be able to defend themselves, too.

      “This is a cool crash pad,” Penny said. She sat down on the bunk, testing the mattress. “It’s like a tiny apartment.”

      Lauren was distracted by the local radio, which she’d kept on at a low volume. A series of beeps indicated an emergency broadcast, so she turned it up.

      “The president has declared San Diego a disaster zone. Yesterday the city experienced a powerful eight-point-five earthquake and a series of strong aftershocks. Rescue teams are in the process of evacuating the entire county. If you are located near the epicenter, emergency personnel may not be able to reach you. The greater downtown area has sustained considerable damage and many roadways have been destroyed.

      “Those who cannot evacuate are urged to take shelter. Air support will be delivering supplies to strategic urban locations.”

      The broadcast went on to give advice about tap water, warning that pipelines had been contaminated. Power wasn’t expected to be returned to the area soon. Most residents had no electricity and no means of communication.

      It was a mess. The death-toll estimates were astronomical.

      When the announcement ended, Lauren exchanged a glance with Penny. Disaster teams were focused on evacuation. It could be days before they launched a concerted rescue effort. When she considered the specialized equipment and manpower necessary to sort through a freeway collapse, she anticipated a much longer wait.

      Penny placed her hand on the top of her belly. “The baby’s kicking,” she murmured, her eyes flat.

      “Will you stay here and tap the SOS code every few minutes?”

      “Sure,” she said, sighing. “I don’t have anything else to do.”

      Lauren left Penny to it and returned to Don and Garrett, relaying the latest information. “We might not get rescued until evacuations are complete.”

      Garrett made a noise of agreement. “If they’re doing airdrops, putting out the flag is crucial. They’ll prioritize searches by areas where they know there are survivors. Even then, they’ll do the easy jobs first.”

      Lauren couldn’t imagine how many small-scale rescues the disaster teams would perform in the next few days. Crews would start on the outer edge of the most affected areas and work their way toward the epicenter.

      Which they were smack-dab in the middle of, as far as she knew.

      “I need the mirror you were using last night,” Garrett said.

      “Why?”

      “I’m going to stick it through the crevice in the concrete and try to look around. Assuming I make it that far.”

      Lauren retrieved the mirror, watching while he taped it to a wire clothes hanger, which he’d bent and doubled. He was a regular MacGyver. Although she admired his ingenuity, she worried about his safety. She knew he worked well under pressure and had courage to spare. But he seemed a little too willing to put his life on the line.

      “We should search the rest of the cars first,” he said. “It might take all day for me to climb the wall.”

      Before they set out again, Lauren strapped a pair of scissors to her belt. It wasn’t an ideal weapon for stabbing, but the blades were sharp and handy. For Penny she found an even better tool: landscape clippers in a leather sheath. She attached them to a strip of gauze that Penny tied around her waist, under her belly.

      The teen looked like a pregnant pirate. With Mary Ann braids.

      Lauren exchanged a smile with Garrett as they walked away. Although his face was streaked with dirt, his teeth appeared very strong and white. Her breath caught at the sight. Then she remembered how he’d reacted to her touch.

      She looked down, focusing on navigating through the debris. He might like her as a friend, or be attracted to her as a woman, but he wasn’t comfortable with intimacy. She should keep her smiles—and her hands—to herself.

      * * *

      PENNY WATCHED LAUREN and Garrett fade into the dark edges of the cavern.

      They were cute together. Total opposites, in looks. Lauren was light haired and small; Garrett was dark haired and big. Both were save-the-world types. Penny’s soccer coach had been that way. Miss Alisos had cried when Penny quit the team.

      Penny had cried, too. Just not in front of everyone.

      She didn’t consider Garrett as much of a threat as the other men. He’d saved her life, which counted for a lot. He’d also protected Lauren from a rapist. Although Penny had caught him checking Lauren out when he thought no one else was looking, he seemed like a good guy. Penny didn’t think he’d hurt anyone.

      She did the Morse code thing again and listened for a response. Nothing.

      Bored and restless, she rifled through the trucker’s sleeper cabin. There was a stack of dirty magazines

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