Deep Down (Sam Stone Book 1) by Janean Worth Read Free Book Online Page A

saw the way he wove dizzily back to his seat, she felt a pang of fear worse than any she’d ever suffered.   The illusion that Stone was invincible burst like a thin bubble in her mind’s eye, and she suddenly felt unreasonably terrified that she’d lose him.  She had to get him to a doctor – had to get him out of the museum – before whatever it was that had affected him this way caused any more damage.
    She’d thought it was the air, but the dining cavern, filled with over one hundred visitors, was fairly quiet at the moment.  She heard no violent coughing as she and Stone took their seats.  Those who had been coughing earlier had quieted. 
    Perhaps it had been the food?  But if it was the food, why did it seem that no one else was experiencing any symptoms?
    Jenny sat close to Stone, reaching over to take his wrist in her hand so she could place two fingers upon his pulse and count his heartbeats.   As she counted, she peered at Debbie’s eyes closely.  The woman’s pupils were normal. 
    Jenny stared hard at Gilbert, ignoring his questioning expression when he caught her gaze on him.  Gilbert’s pupils were normal too.  So were Alice’s.  As were the pupils in both Paul’s and Cheryl’s eyes.  None of them had pinpoint pupils. And they’d eaten the same food and were breathing the same air.
    Alice leaned forward, her manner secretive, and Jenny noticed now the anxiety sketched across her lovely face.   Alice’s perfectly arched brows were wrinkled into a frown.
    “The tour guide was here while you were all in the tunnel,” she whispered.  “The guide said that there has been some sort of malfunction with the lift, and that we may be down here a bit longer than they’d originally planned.  She said that they’d used the radios to call in a specialist to fix it, but they have no idea when he’ll arrive. Until then, nobody leaves.”
    Jenny felt a jolt of horror shoot along her spine.  Without a working lift, they were well and truly trapped underground in the mines.  As were the hundred or so other people.  And Stone still needed medical care.  Jenny shuddered.  She could almost feel the millions of tons of heavy earth pressing down upon them.
    Under her finger, Stone’s pulse leapt.  To her surprise, the broken lift seemed to bother him as well. 
    Stone was not easily bothered by such things. 
    “If that’s the case, then why didn’t the security guard just tell us that?” Stone asked.
    Jenny felt her heart’s tempo increase even more.  She now shared Stone’s suspicion. Yes, why hadn’t the guard told them that?
    Now that Alice had shared the tour guide’s instructions, Jenny realized why the room had been so silent when they’d entered.  The other patrons in the room were all equally upset.  They were no longer having a good time. They weren’t talking in animated and cheerful streams of conversation. 
    The actor’s performance had been stopped and the silence was stretching thin now.  It hung unnaturally in the heavy, oddly scented, pumped-in air.  In a room of over a hundred people, who had gathered together for a night of food and fun, there should be jovial conversation and at least a little laughter.  There was none.
    Several minutes passed, and the small group at Jenny’s table shared in the silence, looking at each other with apprehension.   Jenny had stopped counting Stone’s heartbeats, and now clutched his wrist in fear.
    Jenny began to feel a pressure in her chest again, and almost broke the silence by groaning aloud.  Not again.  She could not have another asthma attack  - or whatever it had been.  Not now.  Not when she knew that there was no way to leave if she needed medical attention.   Panic skated across her thoughts.  What if she and Stone both had attacks again?  What if the inhaler didn’t work this time?
    She took a shallow breath to calm herself, closed her eyes and counted to ten.  When she opened them, she felt a bit