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“Cole!” Amber pleads. “You have to come with me.”
“Can’t! Dane’s down there.” I haul rock after rock as fast as I can from the entrance, praying for signs of life.
“Dane!” I shout. “Dane! Ya gotta yell, boy!”
After a few minutes, Amber speaks again. “You won’t be able to dig him out. He’s gone, Cole. But your people still need you.”
I continue digging frantically until there’s a slim channel I can climb down. I don’t know how far it will lead, but if by some miracle I can get to Dane, I have to chance it.
But as I’m about to lower myself in, Amber grabs my wrist.
“You’re my Keeper, and I need you. Don’t throw your life away over something you can’t change.”
As I’m about to shove her aside, I realize how foolish I’m being.
I can’t save Dane and Georgia. They’re gone. Their blood is on my hands, and I’m going to have to live with that.
And if I don’t leave this shaft right the hell now, Amber and her son will remain in very real danger, and I can’t have that.
“Please!” Amber cries, tears flowing down her soft cheeks.
Another rumble alerts me to the urgency of the situation.
I pull myself to my feet as guilt and regret roil in my gut. “Let’s get you out of here.”
Together, we rush from the mine shaft into the darkness of the night.
“What the hell is going on down there?” Trent says. “The whole fucking ground just shook.”
“The goddamn elevator exploded.”
“What about Dane and Georgia?” Blake says, a worried look on his face.
“They’re gone.”
19
CLAIMED
AMBER
The ambiance is somber. Like being at the funeral of a beloved hero.
Except the men can’t rest. Not with the farm under attack.
I try to help with the wounded, but I feel like I’m just getting in the way. Still, Christine barks orders at me, correcting me when I grab the wrong thing.
Ironically, this isn’t the first time Russ has been shot by Gunther, but fortunately for him, he came prepared this time with a bulletproof vest that protected him.
Two of his men weren’t so fortunate, as one was shot in the neck, and the other through the eye.
“I just don’t understand,” Russ says, a strained look on his face. “Irma and I were good together. Why’d she have to take Georgia?” He exhales, his whole body shaking.
“I’m sorry,” I offer.
He looks at me with disgust. “I’m sure you are.”
“Really, I am. I don’t know why Irma did what she did. He was terrible to us.”
