She felt Harrison look up. “I think we smashed through the staircase on the way down,” he said with a groan.
Lainie rubbed her face. “I guess it’s too far out to climb? Damn. Well…” She thought hard. “I think there’s a way out through the basement. An old tunnel that leads down to the beach. I don’t remember it very well. I was never allowed down there on my own.”
“Let’s see if we can find it,” Harrison said. He stood up, pulling Lainie with him. She hissed as he bumped her injured arm.
“What’s wrong?”
“My wrist… I think I sprained it earlier. Don’t worry about it. The important thing is finding a way out of here.” She reached out to find the wall, and started to feel her way along it. “There should be a door…”
Harrison put his hand on her chest, holding her gently in place. “You’re hurt,” he said, his voice firm. “Stay here, and I’ll find the door.”
Lainie did as he said, holding her hands to her chest where she could still feel the memory of his touch, warm and comforting. She listened to his steps as he walked carefully along the wall, and into something solid.
“Ow! I thought all the furniture had been taken out of here?”
“What is it?” Lainie hurried forward.
She could feel the heat of Harrison’s body as she came up beside him. The rain was so cold, she couldn’t help leaning against him, just a bit.
Just because I’m cold. And sore. And… have his pants disappeared, too?
Lainie straightened up again quickly.
“It’s a cupboard of some sort,” Harrison said, his voice muffled. “It must have been tipped over when I—uh, when we fell down here. Hang on, there’s something behind it. It feels like a door.”
“Behind a cupboard?” Lainie rubbed her aching wrist. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Well, that’s where it was… shall we have a look? Er, a blind grope around? Er, I meant—”
Lainie snorted. “Let’s go.”
She stepped back as Harrison hauled the cupboard out of the way. The door had been broken half-off its hinges when the cupboard fell, and they made their way through it carefully. Lainie didn’t want to add a black eye to her list of injuries.
“Does this look—uh, feel—familiar?”
They were still poking around in the pitch dark. “Well, it’s a stone tunnel, with—oops—steps going down. Unless the hill is riddled with secret passages, I’d say this is it.” Lainie took a few careful steps. “I guess my grandmother must have had someone hide the door when she moved into the home. Keeping the secret passage secret even after she left.”
The tunnel was narrow enough that Lainie’s shoulders sometimes brushed up against both walls at once. She heard Harrison grunt once or twice as he twisted himself sideways to get through.
“I hope you’re not claustrophobic,” he said at one point. Lainie laughed with surprise.
“Me? You’re the one who sounds like he’s twisting himself into pretzels to get through. What happens to me if you get stuck?”
She had meant it as a joke, but Harrison took it seriously. “That’s a good point. Here, the passage opens out a bit where I am now—can you fit past me, and go in front?” He paused. “Given how my first rescue attempt this evening went, it’ll be just my luck if I do get stuck, and trap you in here.”
Lainie reached forward until she was touching Harrison’s shoulder. The tunnel had widened out, yes, but it was still narrow enough that she had to press her body against his to get past him. She slid her hand from his shoulder to his chest as she edged past. His heart was hammering.
“Don’t beat yourself up over what happened up there,” she muttered. “It wasn’t like I was up to much before you got here. I didn’t even dare to move in case I sent the whole floor crashing down, and me with it.”
“Which was smart, seeing as the moment I moved near you, the whole house fell down on us,” Harrison grumbled into her hair. She’d stopped moving, wedged between him and the wall.
“Thank you for coming to find me.” She tipped her head up, even though she knew there was no way she’d be able to see his face in the darkness. “How did you know where I was?”
“I guessed.” Harrison slid his arms around her. “Mrs. Hanson showed me your note, and, well, I couldn’t think of anywhere else in town you would be.”
“I was looking for my phone,” Lainie admitted. “God, that sounds stupid. It’s probably smashed to bits by now.” She sighed. “Sorry for yelling at you, before.”
One of Harrison’s hands stroked up her body to cradle her head against his chest. “Sorry my neighbors are such a pack of assholes,” he replied. “If I’d known how they were going to treat you, we never would have gone in there.”