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It took another four hours. They’d found three more people alive. They’d found a member of the custodial crew already gone. Daryn had told Mike quietly that it had most likely been instantaneous. The middle-aged man hadn’t felt a thing.

It wasn’t much comfort. Crews from the governor’s orders had arrived. They were going to take over now. Give the first round of rescuers a break. They were going to go through what they could in the entire town.

Estimates were saying it had hit a quarter of the city and surrounding areas. The devastation was horrific. And the work had just begun.

Daryn’s brother hugged her again, finally taking off the helmet and vest he’d worn. The search teams from the national guard had given him fresh gear to wear several hours ago. They’d also asked him and Shelby if they wanted to continue searching.

They’d been concerned with Shelby’s inexperience and lack of formal training. One guy had pushed her to back down and get out of his way. To let him come in and take charge. Darrell had ripped into the guy over that.

He’d trained Shelby himself. Far more than he had Daryn. Shelby had needed it more—the need to feel in control of her own life. Darrell had understood. And had been so patient with her. Darrell had helped save Shelby after what had happened to her before. Now, in a terrible twist of irony, Shelby was using the skills he’d taught her to save the very monsters in her own closet.

That was going to hurt Shelby. It was inevitable. Darrell turned toward Daryn. “We’re done. The governor’s teams are taking over fresh. The search dogs they brought in aren’t alerting. We have no heat signatures. And we don’t have any reports from anyone on the clock of anyone else missing. Go home, Daryn. Shelby… the two of you have earned it. And… take Evers to get that leg checked on the way. Go home. We’ve all done enough tonight.”

It was over. For now.

But Daryn knew the truth. It was just beginning. And there was no way she was making it back home to her place in Value tonight. She’d found her car already. And it wasn’t going anywhere ever again. Neither was Shelby’s. Darrell’s truck was operational, though. But there wasn’t a path out.

They were going to have to hoof it. She and Shelby would walk together. Stick close, and have each other’s backs like they always had before. She looked at Mike. “You?”

“I’m going to limp to the hospital. See if Sean and A.J. are still there. Check on my parents. Then see if the rest of the brothers are ok.”

“How many are there?” Daryn asked. She’d thought A.J. had said she had a million.

“I’m one of seven boys. And we have an A.J.”

Eight. Wow. There were six more of him out there somewhere. “Let’s go. Shel?”

“L-L-Logan’s house is half a mile from here. I have the keys with me. I’m going there to sleep and get cleaned up. I have s-s-some things there.”

Logan’s house. Shelby’s safe place. Of course.

But there was no way she was letting Shelby be alone now. Shock was going to hit Shelby soon. The things she had seen and done. Shelby had never been prepared for the horrors of death. She was a pianist and a social worker and a woman who did charity work. Digging dead bodies out of rubble was going to leave scars. Daryn would stand next to her friend now when Shelby needed her. No question.

And Daryn would not leave her alone there, in a house owned by a man who Shelby had lost not all that long ago in a violent way. She just wouldn’t.

But she couldn’t just leave Mike, either. He was going to need help getting to his parents, too. “Shel, we’ll help Mike to the ER. And then I’ll go with you to Logan’s. There is no way I’m going to be able to get to Value. I don’t think I have much other choice tonight. Did you see my car?”

Shelby gave a rueful, tired smile in the artificial lights the national guard had strung around triage. “It was next to mine. They look like giant roller skates now. At least we have i-i-insurance. If that takes too long… I’ll just buy us both new ones. Matching. We’ll get Zo one, too.”

Daryn wrapped her arms around her friend and hugged her. She could have lost both Shelby and Darrell tonight. They’d gotten lucky to survive. Darrell and Shelby had ridden out the storm together in a storm drain next to the parking lot. A three-foot storm drain was all that had kept her brother and best friend safe.

She wouldn’t be forgetting that soon, either. And there would be nightmares. For all of them. A warm hand wrapped around hers. Daryn looked up. There was a tall man with light brown hair and green eyes looking at her. With a paper tissue in his hand.

He blotted the tears away. “Hey, we’ve made it this far. And you still owe me dinner to show me you don’t think I’m the jerk you thought at first.”

A watery laugh escaped. And then he was pulling her against his broad chest and just holding her. Daryn let herself rest against him for a quick moment. His arms around her… Felt exactly right. Like everything would be ok because Mike was going to make it that way.

“Let’s… lets… let’s go…” Shelby said. “I’m ready to…”

Daryn looked at Mike. “We’re going to walk to Shelby’s place. You?”

She wasn’t ready to be away from him yet tonight. She didn’t have the energy to analyze possible reasons. She just didn’t want to let him go.

“I don’t have any place to go after I hit County. My parents’ place is twenty blocks north of here.”

“Daryn, you sh-sh-should go with him. Darrell is going to walk me home, take a shower. Borrow some of Logan’s old clothes. Then he’s coming back here to help more, if he can.”

Daryn nodded. As the teams from the guards got ready to take the next shift, she felt… displaced. Like she didn’t know what to do next. Now. Adrenaline was going to crash for all of them.

But first… Mike. He needed her now. She was getting him to the hospital to get his leg checked out first. At least then she would be doing something. The faces of the dead she’d seen tonight flashed back into her mind. Reminding her she’d been too late to do anything.

She had never felt so powerless in her life.