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The brick was tougher than it looked. His first blow merely sent chips spinning back in his face, and Greg had to deliver two more before it gave and the chisel punched through to the other side. He called to Jess, and a minute later the key was slid through the hole and into his possession. Then she was in his arms.
‘It’s okay.’ She was shaking, but Greg couldn’t tell whether it was from the cold or from shock. His hand found hers. ‘Are you all right? You’re freezing.’
She nodded against his chest. ‘I’m fine. Just a bit cold.’ She seemed to be trying to burrow into his arms, and Greg held her tight, willing his own body heat to radiate into her.
‘How long have you been down here?’
‘I’m not sure. Since the beginning of my meal break.’
‘That’s almost two hours.’ He rubbed her shoulders and back, trying to warm her, and she smiled up at him.
‘That’s better. I’m sorry.’
‘What happened?’
‘I came down here to get one last pile of documents for scanning. I wedged the door and put the key in my pocket.’ She turned the edges of her mouth down. ‘Fat lot of good that was. The admin staff made us promise to keep the key on us at all times, but neglected to mention that it was no good if we got locked in.’
Greg glanced down at the door wedge. ‘Someone should have thrown that away years ago. It’s not enough to hold a heavy door. Look, it’s gone straight over the top of it.’
She didn’t even glance downwards. ‘Thanks. But it was my own stupid fault. I should have looked for myself.’
He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, settling her against him. That was where she was supposed to be. The place her body seemed to fit exactly. ‘Accidents usually happen when we’re not looking. That’s the thing about them.’ He ran his hand down her back, rubbing in the smooth, circular motion that he knew would calm her. ‘Sure you’re okay?’
‘I’m fine.’ She answered the question that he hadn’t dared to ask. ‘The baby’s fine, too. She’s used to the dark.’
‘She?’
‘Yeah. She told me.’
He chuckled. ‘Must be right, then.’ This was nice. For the first time in months everything seemed as it should be. The cold dread that had pushed every other worry out of his head had now given way to thankfulness that he’d found her, and it seemed to suffuse his whole body.
He dipped his head and planted a kiss on her brow. It really was the only thing that a man could do in the circumstances. She tipped her face upwards so he could reach her lips. It was impossible to do anything other than kiss her again.
She was always soft, always sweet. There was always that touch of fire that made his body react, as if his cells held the memory of her touch, craving it again. There was always more, too, and this time the sheer happiness of something averted curved her lips into a smile against his.
‘Thanks, Greg. For coming for me.’
He’d been too busy to even notice that she had been missing. ‘It was Gerry who told me you were gone.’
‘You found me, though.’
She gave him too much credit. He could tell her so, or he could resolve to do better in future and move on. ‘I’d better give him a call. Let him know that you’re okay.’
She nodded. ‘There’s no phone reception in here. You have to go outside, into the corridor.’
He let her go, long enough for her to lock the secure room door again and gather up the pile of documents she’d come for. Greg considered confiscating the key so that she wouldn’t be able to come down here again without him and decided that would be construed as over-protective.
The corridor outside, leading to the boiler room, was a welcome few degrees warmer and he stopped, leaning against the wall and pulling her against him between his outstretched legs. Pulling out his phone and dialling Gerry, he curled his other arm around her waist.
‘Gerry, panic over. I’ve found her.’ He regretted the word ‘panic’ as soon as the tips of her ears started to redden. ‘I’m getting on to Maintenance—that door really isn’t safe. It slammed shut even though Jess wedged it open.’
She looked up at him, a brief thrill of gratitude in her eyes. Greg imagined that she’d been sitting down here wondering whether she’d get a hard time for allowing herself to get locked in down.
‘But she’s okay?’
Thank you, Gerry. If he wasn’t allowed to fuss, then perhaps he’d leave Gerry to do it for him. ‘She says so.’
Gerry went for the bait. ‘Well bring her up here. I want to make sure.’
