AllFreeNovel
Share Us
JD stared at me. Then his face softened and he stopped pulling on my hand.. He got it. He was a leader. You don’t leave people behind.
I turned to look at the scaffold tower. A lot of the ladders had fallen over. People were trying to get them back into place so their friends could climb down but there was no time. The whole thing was collapsing in on itself. I looked at the shifting, trembling boards and the straining poles and my weird brain kicked in: I could see the stresses, see the weakest point. It needed support…there.
I ran to a fallen support pole but it was too heavy for me to lift. “Help me with this thing!” I yelled, and JD raced over and picked up the other end. “We’ve got to cram this underneath,” I told him, pointing. “Right there, where that board’s sagging. Come on!”
We ran up to the dam, dodging the people running the other way. I got my end of the pole up and under the collapsing tower and JD helped me force it into place. The scaffold tower stabilized and there were shouts of relief from above. But there were worrying creaks and groans, too. Tons of weight were now resting on this one pole.
I grabbed hold of it. “We’ve got to keep it vertical,” I panted. “It’s strong when the weight’s coming straight down but if it leans, it’ll bend and snap.” I glanced up. We were right under the scaffold tower: if the pole did snap, it was all coming down on top of us.
JD nodded grimly and grabbed hold of the other side of the pole. We leaned inwards, using all our strength to hold the pole upright, our faces inches apart.
There was a creak of tortured metal above us, then a crash as something gave way. The foot of the pole skittered across the ground. “Push!” I said through gritted teeth. My boots dug trails in the mud as I pulled and JD pushed.
We got the pole vertical again and I heard running feet above us as the men raced to ladders and climbed down. That was good, but as their weight moved around, it made the tower teeter even more. The pole started to lean towards me and I heaved against it. JD raced around to my side and pushed with me, his chest against my back, his hands on mine. The tower stabilized again, but I could feel it getting more precarious every second. We braced our legs, putting everything we had into keeping the pole straight…
“They’re all off!” yelled Michal. “Get out!”
As soon as we let go of the pole, we heard the metal groan. We sprinted away from the dam, scaffold boards falling all around us. I looked over my shoulder and saw the pole we’d been holding twisting and rocking as the forces built up. Then it started to lean…and I winced as it suddenly snapped clean in two. The entire scaffold tower collapsed, sending up a huge cloud of dust that engulfed everyone.
I coughed and choked. “Everyone okay?”
Michal repeated it in Polish and the work crews started sounding off, checking they had everyone. But as the dust cleared, there were nods and cautious smiles. Yes. Everyone was okay. I slumped in relief.
In the quiet that followed, I heard someone start to clap. Then another, and another. I looked around and saw Bolek, the negotiator, leading the applause. I realized they were clapping me. I flushed, embarrassed but pleased.
Bolek walked right up to me and gripped my shoulder hard. Then he gave me a firm little nod of respect.
24
JD
Lorna stayed at the site for two hours, helping with the clean-up, and agreeing a six and a half percent pay deal with Bolek. I stayed within touching distance the entire time, scowling suspiciously at anyone who came close.
I almost lost her. I almost lost her!
As soon as the bulldozer had been dug out of the scaffolding wreckage, I’d checked the cab. Someone had wedged a plank of wood on the gas pedal. A few guys had gotten a glimpse of someone jumping from the cab, but in a hard hat and high-vis vest, it could have been anyone.
On the plane on the way home, I sat watching her sleep, fuming at myself. I’d completely underestimated the danger she was in. I’d thought she’d be safe, thousands of miles from home. But either the killer had followed us here or, more likely, he’d hired locals to do his dirty work. That meant it was someone with serious money and international reach.
Her hair was still full of dust and I leaned closer and brushed a little of it out, then cursed under my breath when she nearly woke up. Dumbass! I stared at her in the dim light of the cabin. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I’d thought she was special before but the way she’d risked her life to save those men…my feelings had grown to a whole new, dangerous level.
