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He used her phone to check how much time had passed and whether they could get a call out to help. They had a few false hopes, but none of the calls connected. Too much rubble interfering with the signal was his best guess.

Sean just kept talking to her, telling her stories of when he was a boy, stories of some of his and her brother’s most outlandish case moments, and anything else he could think of. He just kept talking.

He hated the idea of her being afraid, even for a moment.

Sean wasn’t stupid; they could die at any moment. All it would take was the rubble above them shifting, and their little roof would be crushed. Along with them both.

His arms tightened.

He wasn’t ready to die today. He had too much he wanted from life for that to happen.

Sean shifted, grabbing his phone one more time.

Hope . The phone represented both hope and the destruction of it.

Sean dialed 911, hoping the small annex of the fire department four blocks from the TSP hadn’t been destroyed. The dispatchers there were gods and goddesses in his opinion, handling the first wave of stupidity that inevitably hit whenever there was a tiny rainstorm. He could only imagine the hell they were dealing with now.

A roar sounded.

The table jerked.

Autumn Jane screamed.

Sean wrapped his arm tighter around her. “It’s ok. It’ll be ok.”

He hated that she was afraid.

“911, state your emergency…”

He hadn’t heard the dial tone. He cursed and grabbed for it quickly.

“This is Detective Callum with the TSP. I’m trapped beneath rubble. Near the back entrance to the annex.”

“Be advised we have search crews working your way…”

That was it. The voice was cut off.

He didn’t know whether to have hope or fear.

There were rescuers out there, and they knew he and Autumn Jane were there.

But if they would get to them in time was the question. “Come here.”

“I don’t think I can get anymore here, without being practically on top of you.”

“I’m open to that.”

It was about damned time he was honest with her.

“Flirting, now?” she asked quietly. “You must think the world is ending. We’re not exactly the last people on the planet.”

“It’s not like that.” Sean wasn’t going to let her think that even for a moment. “I’d flirt with you more—if you didn’t terrify me.”