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"You have to keep an eye on your bags in Grand Central Station. In any station, for that matter. There are a lot of pickpockets and thieves in this town."
"I know. I feel like I'm like the country mouse in the big city for the first time. The pickpockets and confidence men can probably spot me a mile away."
"I'm sure they can," I said. "You do have that general innocent look about you."
"You mean rube, right?"
I laughed. "I mean unthreatening and maybe inexperienced."
We smiled together – then the elevator jolted to a stop, the lights blinking out.
She screamed.
Chapter Nine
Ella
"It's okay," Josh said, his voice calm. "The auxiliary lights will come on within twenty seconds. You don't have to worry."
"It's not the lights I'm worried about," I said, breathless, both my hands reaching out to find the wall. "It's the elevator falling." I found him
instead, my hands gripping onto one of his biceps, which even to my terrified mind felt impressive. "Oh, sorry," I said and pulled my hands away, searching for the wall. "I wanted to hold onto the railing."
"No problem," he said, his voice amused in the darkness. "Always happy to help a damsel in distress. And the elevator wouldn't likely fall. If anything, it'd probably go up and hit the roof."
Of course, that sent my heart rate racing. "Thanks for those words of encouragement."
"Any time," he said softly and I could almost see his smile in the darkness.
I found the railing and held on, my eyes shut tightly. If it was pitch black, I didn't want to know it. Somehow, with my eyes closed, I could pretend it was just dark because they were shut and not because I was in a stalled elevator somewhere above the tenth floor.
It seemed like an eternity but was probably more like ten seconds before the lights did click on. Secondary lights, not as bright as the usual overhead lights. I kept hold of the railing but turned my head to meet his eyes, needing to see that he, at least, was calm.
"Power must have gone out. It happens sometimes. This building's old and being renovated," he said quickly, like he was trying to calm me. "Just internal offices being refinished. Drywall. Electrical. That sort of thing."
"This has happened before?"
He nodded, and bit his bottom lip. "Hate to tell you, but several times, in fact."
"Great," I said. "I have to take it at least four times a day, five days a week."
"So, this is your first day?"
I nodded, glad to be distracted for a moment, but I didn't want to tell him too much.
"Cool," he replied. "We're neighbors."
"Yes," I said, my throat dry. I swallowed, trying to moisten my tongue, which felt like cotton. "It's only my third day in New York, in fact. I'm from New Hampshire."
"You're having a really great intro to Manhattan. Almost killed by a cyclist. Robbed in Grand Central. Caught in an elevator with the power out." He shook his head. "I officially apologize for my city."
"Thank you, but I've wanted to live here all my life," I replied, my voice wavering. "But I really am having a great day. I have no money and no ID. And I may be homeless, if I can't get someone to accept a wire transfer for me."
He frowned. "You really have no money? No ID?"
"Yeah, someone stole my fantastic custom-made and designed backpack with slots for everything. There was a GoFundMe campaign by the creators, and I was one of the early adopters. It had a slot for a laptop, a tablet, an iPhone, your passport, a built-in wallet, places for pens and notebooks... There was even a built-in battery charger so like a fool, I put everything inside."
"Jesus. I saw those advertised on the internet. I was almost going to buy one for myself."
