Aftershocks Read Online Free PDF

most of all, she found herself remembering how it felt to be parentless. That sense of utter desolation—that you didn’t belong to anyone anymore. That the place where you were safest and most special was gone forever, along with those who’d loved you best.
    Patrick’s son, Dylan, was nine, little Fiona five. She’d met them a couple of times at the office and she’d liked them. They were quiet, well-behaved kids. Both times they’d come with their Aunt Shannon, Patrick’s firefighter sister, and the four of them had gone out for lunch. She could see that lunch with Dad was a big treat.
    They must have been so young when their mother died.
    She took a deep breath. He was never going to believe she’d forgotten she had her phone. She’d have to go with the brainless angle, which irked her.
    “Is there a chance my cell phone would work?” she asked simply.
    The silence thickened. “You have a cell phone on you?”
    “In my bag. Yes.”
    “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
    Because I wanted you to seduce me so I could ruin your political career. She couldn’t say that, so she stuck with dumb. “But surely all the phone lines will be affected by the aftershock.”
    “Briana, cell phones work by satellite. It might not work in an elevator, but let’s give it a try.”
    She dug into her bag, pulled out her cell and handed it to him.
    She felt his haste and then saw the eerie green glow as he flipped open the phone.
    As he punched numbers and the call went through, she felt more and more like an evil woman keeping a single father from the children who needed him.
    “Mrs. Simpson? It’s Patrick. How’s everyone? Are the kids safe? Did the earthquake scare them?”
    He must have liked the answers he was getting because she felt him relax, and his tone became less urgent.
    “Look, I’m going to be late. I’m stuck in an elevator at work. That’s right. No. I’m fine. Can you stay? It could be morning before we get out of here. Depends what the damage is like.”
    She heard him give a sigh of relief. “Are Fiona and Dylan asleep? Good. Please go ahead and sleep in the guest room. I’m sorry about this. Right. I’ll see you then.”
    He hung up and blew out a long breath. “The baby-sitter can stay,” he said, handing her back the phone. “Thank God everyone’s all right.”
    Then he sank back against the elevator wall.
    She chuckled. She couldn’t stop herself.
    “What’s funny?”
    “I’m thinking, since the cell phone works, maybe we should make a second call. Like to 911, to get us out of here.”
    He laughed right along with her, a deep, rich sound, as though she’d made the funniest joke he’d ever heard. “Sorry, I got so caught up in my kids I wasn’t thinkingstraight.” And that, she thought, ought to let her off the hook for not telling him about her cell phone earlier. After an earthquake, not thinking straight seemed a perfectly acceptable excuse. For a lot of things.
    Thank goodness it was dark, so Patrick couldn’t see her smile. Once he knew his kids were fine, he was obviously so happy to stay stuck here with her that it didn’t matter to him when they were rescued. Truth was, she was just as happy.
    Right now, her body still pulsing with its own aftershocks of remembered pleasure, she could simply enjoy her new lover’s closeness, reach out and touch him if she liked, lean into him and inhale the all male scent of his skin.
    She heard Patrick’s voice on the phone to the 911 operator. He called her by name. Dorothy. Of course, he probably knew all the 911 operators from his days as fire chief. Whatever he’d done to get the job, he was a good mayor. He asked about the damage elsewhere in the city.
    She heard his tone change, and he uttered a sharp-edged curse.
    “No, Dorothy,” he said. “We’re fine. Put us on lowest priority. I don’t care. I want the full crew on that basement suite fire. Any idea how many people are inside?”
    Briana’s warm and fuzzy