“There’s a shitload of code ones,” Louis said. He rattled off a list of frogs, centipedes and salamanders. “We couldn’t catch King, either.”
Helena glanced at Trent in dismay. King was the largest cobra in the reptile house, and he was incredibly aggressive.
“I milked him last week,” Trent said.
“Does that mean he’s safe?”
“No, but he’ll probably just hide. I’m more worried about Bam.”
“He’s out?”
“And he hasn’t eaten lately,” Louis added.
Bambang was a Komodo dragon, the largest lizard species on earth. They were ambush predators, known to attack humans.
Despite this bad news, Helena was grateful to Louis and Trent. They’d gone above and beyond their duty—but she’d come to expect that from her coworkers. The primate keepers had secured their area before leaving. Greg had done his utmost to contain Zuma.
All of the park’s employees should be commended, Josh included. The fact that there were still animals on the loose didn’t mean anyone had been careless.
“Thanks for staying to help,” she said.
“Of course,” Trent said, frowning.
Louis puffed up at the praise. “No keeper worth his salt would do otherwise.”
“What’s your plan for tonight?” Trent asked.
She didn’t have one. It was early evening already, and lions had excellent night vision. “Get some rest.”
“And tomorrow?”
“I don’t know.” She’d only been sitting down for five minutes. Surviving until morning was the best idea she could manage.
“I have to go,” Trent said.
Louis did a double take at this unexpected announcement. Traveling through the ravaged city after dark seemed unwise. The fires hadn’t reached them, but they were burning elsewhere. “Right now?”
“I haven’t heard from Melody.”
Melody was Trent’s on-again, off-again girlfriend.
“Dude,” Louis said. “No one’s heard from anyone.”
Trent dragged a hand down his face. He looked exhausted. “She’s pregnant,” he said in a low voice.
A collective hush fell over the table. Helena wasn’t sure how to respond to this news. Melody was a bit of a free spirit, evading Trent’s attempts to tame her. An unplanned pregnancy was a tricky situation. Congratulations didn’t seem appropriate under the circumstances, and Trent’s expression invited none.
“We were keeping quiet about it because she hasn’t decided what to do,” he said, sounding grim.
“
She
hasn’t decided?” Louis repeated, incredulous. “Don’t you get a say?”
Trent shot his best friend a warning glare. “Shut the fuck up.”
Louis put his palms up in surrender. “Whatever, man.”
Helena wasn’t so indifferent to human dynamics that she couldn’t feel sympathy. Trent was worried about his pregnant girlfriend. Helena didn’t blame him for wanting to leave. “We’ll be okay here without you,” she said. “Go on and do what you have to do.”
Before he left, Trent tossed some supplies into a backpack. He grabbed one of the flashlights, several bottles of water and a few snacks.
“Take the rifle,” Josh said flatly. “You might need it.”
“I don’t care,” Trent replied. “I won’t use it.”
“I will,” Louis said, picking up the rifle and slinging the strap over his shoulder. “You shouldn’t go alone.”
Trent turned to Helena, his brow furrowed.
“He’s right,” she said. “Safety in numbers.”
“I don’t want to leave you in the lurch, Helena.”
“Josh is here.”
“You won’t try to catch King or Bam?”
She’d sooner wrestle alligators. “No.”
“What about Zuma?”
That was a trickier issue. Zuma had already killed or seriously injured Greg. A roaming lioness was a more significant threat to human life, especially if she got out of the park and ventured into the downtown area.
“We’re just going to hold down the fort for now,” Josh said. “Maybe the fires will burn out by morning and the evacuation warnings will be lifted.”
Helena murmured an agreement, though she wasn’t sure help would arrive so soon. The park wasn’t a nuclear reactor, threatening global meltdown. Even if the director was trying to get through, roads were blocked and access was limited. Emergency service workers had their hands full with other problems.
“I’ll take care of Helena,” Josh added.
She glanced his way, surprised by this claim. She didn’t need anyone to take care of her. Trent nodded his approval. After shaking Josh’s hand in an oddly antagonistic manner, he said goodbye to Helena with a crushing hug.
Although Helena was disconcerted by Trent’s sudden embrace, she allowed it. These were special circumstances, and she couldn’t deny him this small comfort. She’d always found him attractive. His body felt strong and masculine and pleasant against hers. At the same time, she noticed something missing. There was no heat between them.
“I hope everything works out with Melody,” she said, releasing him.
Louis didn’t get sentimental over the farewells, which came as no surprise to Helena. According to him, there were two types of zookeepers. “Bunny huggers” were affectionate, diehard animal lovers, usually women. They acted on emotion and instinct. Non-bunny huggers took a more scientific approach. They were detached and analytical, basing their decisions on data, not warm fuzzies.
Louis wasn’t a bunny hugger, obviously. Neither was Helena. But some of the best keepers in the park were, Kim included, and Helena didn’t like the term. It was sexist and derogatory.
“If you see a green frog with red spots, don’t touch it,” Louis said.
She promised that she wouldn’t. Then they were off, walking through the employee exit and across the parking lot, disappearing like thieves in the night. When they were gone, she wrapped her arms around herself, frowning. She couldn’t remember how Mitch’s embrace felt. She knew one thing—he’d never stared at her mouth the way Josh had.
“That was interesting,” Josh said.
“What?”
“The news about Melody,” he said, giving her an odd look.
“Oh. Right.”
“What else would I be talking about? Trent’s passive-aggressive hug?”
She flinched at the question, unwilling to admit she’d been comparing Josh to other men in her mind. “I don’t know what you mean.”
He made a skeptical sound.
She’d picked up on Trent’s protective attitude, and the weird vibe between him and Josh. The reasons behind it were a mystery to her. “I thought the two of you were friends.”
“We are, but he’s been a little bent out of shape lately.”
“Over what?”
“I danced with Melody at a pub after the Christmas party.”
Ah. Helena hadn’t joined the revelers or heard about this minor scandal. “You said you weren’t a poacher.”
“I’m not,” he said, scowling. “It was just a dance.”
“You weren’t trying to hook up with her?”
“Hell no. Trent was right there. Looking back, I think she wanted to make him jealous. I guess it worked.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Obviously he laid it down. Maybe even that night.”
She wrinkled her nose at the idea of using unprotected sex to stake a claim.
He laughed at her expression.
“You approve of his strategy?” she asked.
Shaking his head, he said, “I doubt there was any preplanning involved. People get carried away and make mistakes. It happens.”
“It’s happened to you?”
“No.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want kids.”
“Maybe she doesn’t.”
Helena sat down across from him, contemplating a bag of cookies. Although she was still hungry, the conversation made her stomach tight. It hit too close to home. Children had been a divisive issue between her and Mitch. “Do you?”
His brows rose at the question. “Sure.”
“How do you know?”
He shrugged, tearing open a candy bar. “I like kids, even little ones. It’s been cool to hang out with Emma every day.”
“You see her every day?”
“Pretty much,” he said, chewing a bite of chocolate and nougat. “They live with me.”
“Since when?”
“Last year.”
Helena hadn’t known that. With a start, she realized that she’d been grilling him about personal matters. His responses interested her. Everything he revealed about himself made her want to know more. This was worse than almost kissing him. Disturbed by the revelation, she shut up and ate cookies.
After refueling, Helena made a list of code ones by priority. Then she considered the needs of the secure animals, many of whom would be easy targets for a loose predator. The park required a staggering amount of daily care and upkeep. Without the staff, cages and enclosures couldn’t be cleaned. Food couldn’t be delivered.
The good news was that most of the exhibits had water features, and some species could go a long time without water. Animals often went hungry in the wild. Most were able to survive for extended periods on very little nourishment.
Her main concerns were the cheetah, the lions and the Komodo dragon. Cats were roamers and hunters, by nature. She imagined Zuma prowling the beaches at night. Komodo dragons, while less likely to attack a human, were attracted to carrion. Bambang might smell Greg and investigate.
Helena groaned, fisting her hands in her hair. The entire situation was a nightmare.
“I have an idea,” Josh said.
She looked up from her list. He’d been bouncing a tennis ball off the wall for the past thirty minutes, like a hyperactive kid who couldn’t sit still. “What?”
“There’s meat in the fridge, right?”
“Right,” she said, wondering if he wanted to fire up a grill.
“We can toss a side of beef off the Skylift and wait for the lions to take the bait.”
“There’s no electricity to run the Skylift.”
“I’ll roll out one of the portable generators. You can operate the controls while I’m in the tram car with the dart gun.”
She considered his suggestion. It had potential. Zuma and Tau might be tempted by a choice cut of meat. Shooting from the Skylift was safer than shooting from the ground. The best thing about the plan was that Helena didn’t have to ride the tram.
“Do you think you can hit a target from that distance?” she asked, tentative.
“What’s the range for the gun?”
“About a hundred feet.”
“I can do it.”
They spent the next hour going through the contents of the earthquake kit, studying blueprints by lantern light. There were instructions for all of the park’s machinery, including the Skylift. Helena had never operated the controls before, but it seemed fairly straightforward. Setting up the generator shouldn’t be a problem. If the Skylift was functional, she could turn it on and wait at the landing while Josh rode the tram to an area near the lion enclosure.
“This could work,” Helena said.
“You want to go for it?”
She nodded, folding the blueprints and stacking them in a neat pile. “First thing in the morning.”
“Unless help arrives by then,” he said, optimistic.
“Have you heard from anyone?”
“No,” he said, checking his cell phone. “I’m not sure texts are going through anymore. I’ve had no bars since the third aftershock.”
The park radios didn’t have their usual range, either. The emergency channel that connected them to local authorities had been down all day. Helena imagined that cell phone towers and signal stations were in shambles.
“Where should we sleep?”
She glanced around the staff building. The wildlife park didn’t encourage lounging, so no cozy couches or comfortable chairs graced the break room. The floor wasn’t carpeted. “The hospital has a couple of fold-out cots,” she said. “Sometimes keepers stay overnight in the intensive care unit.”
“As long as I don’t wake up with a cobra coiled next to me.”
She rubbed her eyes, smiling wryly. “Snakes
are
attracted to heat sources.”
“Don’t tell me that. I’ll think about it all night.”
So would she. “It’s almost nine,” she said, glancing at her watch.
“I’m ready when you are.”
She’d forgotten his habit of surfing before work; he’d probably been up since dawn. She gathered a bottle of water and the lantern. He brought the rifle, even though the hospital was in an adjoining building. They walked down the hall together and entered the ICU.
The hospital had sustained minor damage. There were no newborn babies or critical patients at the moment, so the cages were empty. Fluorescent lights and some panels had fallen from the ceiling. Josh cleared the heavy debris while Helena swept up the glass. When the floor was clear, she removed the folded cots from the closet.
“Let’s set up in there,” Josh said, gesturing to a large animal run. It was made of finely grated aluminum that no snake could slither through.
Although the space was tight, she agreed. She might feel awkward about sleeping so close to Josh, but she doubted peaceful rest was in the cards. At least they didn’t have to worry about stray reptiles.
She retrieved two wool blankets and two travel-sized pillows. The disposable pillowcases crinkled under her arm as she carried them back to Josh. He was already inside the cage, sitting on the edge of the cot.
“You look like a convict,” she said, handing him the pillow and blanket.
He accepted the items with a smile. His eyes were bloodshot, his brow still swollen. “You’re a prettier cellmate than I imagined.”
She couldn’t help but smile back at him. “You want me to put a bandage on your head?”
“Does it look bad?” he asked, touching the cut.
“It doesn’t look
good.”
“Pamper me, if you must.”
She went to the cabinets, which were in disarray. After she found a box of bandages and some alcohol wipes, she returned to his side. Sitting next to him, she tore open the square package and removed the moist wipe. He winced as she cleaned the area gingerly. Then she applied a single bandage.
“There,” she said, smoothing the adhesive strips. When his gaze tangled with hers, she realized how close she’d gotten. Her lips were inches from his jaw, and her right breast was pressed against his shoulder. She lowered her arms and scooted back, flushing.
“Thanks,” he said simply.
She studied him for a long moment. He looked the same as always, if a little roughed up. Handsome face, tawny hair, warm brown eyes. He had the relaxed attitude and tanned complexion of an avid surfer. His skin was more weathered than she’d realized, and there were other qualities she hadn’t seen before. Hints of maturity and intelligence.