Ashfall Read Free

company was recruiting when I was looking for work.”
    “Guess there won’t be much call for protecting celebrities in California for a while.” She tried to imagine him working for some rich woman as an overpriced pool boy. Okay, that wasn’t fair. She didn’t know jack about this guy. Which meant she shouldn’t give him too much information.
    He cleared his throat. “We’ve never done that kind of security work. This company used to take contracts overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
    “Did you? I mean, work for them while they did contracts?”
    “No.”
    She must have paused too long, because he changed the subject. “Where are you at, RomWriter148?”
    “Same town as you.” It slipped out before she could make up some bullshit.
    “You shouldn’t tell guys that.”
    She laughed, an explosion of indignant sound. “So why did you ask?”
    “To see if you’d tell me.” Humor colored his voice. “Sorry. I’ve got safety on the brain. Can’t be too careful.”
    “I agree. Long Valley gave us a whole new set of safety rules I suppose,” she said and went quiet.
    “Hey, you there RomWriter148?” he asked softly.
    “Yes, I’m still here.”
    “What do you do?”
    Good way to distract her, and she knew it.
    She braced. Most macho men, in her experience, made fun of her occupation. “I’m a romance author.”
    “Awesome. I’m very impressed.”
    His voice sounded silky, and she couldn’t decide if he was intrigued with the romance part or impressed because she was any type of writer at all.
    So she decided it was better to ask than wonder. “Impressed with the writing or with the romance?”
    “Both. Anything published?”
    “Yes. Ten books. I’ve been doing it quite a few years.”
    “I’m even more impressed.”
    “Well, thanks, but publishers aren’t much interested in manuscripts these days. Not even from people who escaped the initial disaster and have dramatic stories to tell.”
    “Why not? People still want to read.”
    “Not as many as you’d think. They’re just trying to survive.”
    “Got that right.”
    A voice intruded way in the background, another rough-and-ready deep masculine voice. “Hey man. My turn. Get the hell off the box.”
    “Roger that,” Rescue248 said. “Gotta go RomWriter148.”
    “Sorry to hear that.”
    A hesitation made her wonder if he’d already signed off, but then he asked, “Hey RomWriter148, will you be available tomorrow?”
    Immediately she craved more connection with that rumbling, unforgettable voice. “Definitely. Same time?”
    “Yep. Two o’clock tomorrow then.”
    “Roger out, RomWriter148.”
    He’d signed off, and when she looked at the clock she wished it were two o’clock tomorrow afternoon and she was listening to the smooth, sexy voice of Rescue248.

Chapter 2
    Mally stopped typing and exited the word processing program on her laptop. She closed the computer and put it on the coffee table in front of her. She was sprawled on her couch topside, enjoying the sun streaming in the windows even though it was muted by the tinted windows and the ash fall that had entered the high atmosphere. She wondered if she could smell the ash if she went outside. She glanced at her wristwatch and jumped from the couch. Almost two o’clock. She ran downstairs, eagerness nipping at her heels. She realized at the bunker door that she was acting like an idiot. She’d been burned several times when she hadn’t realized men were interested in her money and not her. She kept hoping she could find a man who appreciated her. Regardless, she went into the bunker and crossed the living room and into the office and headed for the ham radio.
    She waited patiently for Rescue248 to sign on. All day she’d worked on her manuscript, fortified by an energy she hadn’t felt in some time. During that time, she thought of her mysterious Rescue248. She’d inherited her father’s paranoia, and one half of her distrusted strangers with a passion. Oh yes,