Chapter 16
As he had one night earlier, Phoenix stopped by Ellie's lab before he got ready to go on duty. As expected, she sat at her desk, but instead of working, she stared dolefully into space.
"That bad?" he asked, entering the lab.
She blew a stray hair out of her face. "You have no idea."
Phoenix took a seat opposite her and leaned back, stretching out his legs. "You got the new satellite images?"
With a nod, she told him what they'd discovered and the implications. It was bad. Really bad.
A dark suspicion grew in his gut. "This could be why you were targeted," he said quietly. "Someone was afraid of what you'd discover."
Her eyes widened, and he saw her catch her breath. "You really think so?" Her voice was a whisper.
"There is no doubt the railing was deliberately sabotaged. The crash brought everyone up on deck, and if it wasn't for Billy coming to help you, you'd have been hit by the mystery object and washed out to sea."
She was weaker than Billy, probably not as strong a swimmer. She may not have made it before he'd gotten to her. Phoenix went cold at the thought. The more he considered it, the more he knew he was right. Someone was out to kill Ellie—and this was the reason why. "Think of what's at stake here. Not only the project but people's careers, the company's reputation, and millions of dollars in investment."
She swallowed, and he could see her chest heaving as she tried to keep her breathing under control. Ellie stared at him, eyes wide, filled with a silent plea for help, to him to make it right.
If only he could.
"What should I do, Phoenix? I can't keep quiet about this."
"I agree." He was thinking hard. "Do you have enough data to prove the survey reports were false?"
"I think so, although it help if I had another way to verify the reports are false. Two sources are better than one.”
“Is there any other way you can check them?” he asked.
“Well, there is another exploratory rig operating in the eastern Gulf. I picked it up on the radar scanner yesterday. I guess I could pay them a visit and check our survey maps against theirs.”
He frowned. “Can’t you hop on a Zoom call?”
“I could, but they’re our direct competitors. I’m not sure they’d be open to sharing information unless I was actually there.”
She was right. With permits for the eastern Gulf rarer than gold dust and competition rife, it was unlikely they’d share information unless they thought it was beneficial to them. Still, he didn’t like the thought of her going alone. “Will they let you on the rig?”
“I won’t say who I am until I’m onboard.”
He hesitated. "I'll come with you. You can't take the inflatable out alone."
"Suzi offered to come with me," she said weakly, "but it would be great having you with us."
"Oh, crap." He dropped his head into his hands.
"What?"
"I can’t. I've been tasked with fixing the blowout preventer on the rig tomorrow morning. It became unstable during the storm, and Billy wants us to take a look at it."
"No worries," she said gamely, but he could see by her eyes that she was upset. No, not upset. Scared. And that tore him apart. Fuck it. If only he could get her off this rig right now and take her somewhere safe. Just the two of them.
Except that wasn’t an option.
"I'll try to get out of it." He clenched his jaw. Ellie was more important. She needed him, and he wanted to be there for her. Hell, he’d never be able to live with himself if something happened to her.
"Only if you're sure."
"I'm sure."
"Absolutely not," Henderson told him. "I can't spare you. Blake and Peterson are on security duty, and I need you and Boomer on the blowout preventer. It can't wait. We're being towed to the new test site tomorrow, and it has to be operational before then."
"I don't feel comfortable letting Ellie go by herself," Phoenix tried, his gut twisting. He wasn't used to disobeying orders from a superior, but this was different. This was Ellie.
His woman.
He swallowed hard and glared at Henderson, but his boss didn't budge. "Ellie and Suzi are quite capable of doing it by themselves Ellie is a smart girl, and this isn't her first rodeo. Suzi is incredibly competent too. Don't worry about them. Report to Billy, and he'll show you where the damage is."
"Yes, sir."
Fuck.
There was no way around it. Unless he wanted to directly disobey Henderson, which might mean the end of his job, he had no choice but to fall in line.
Leaving the office, he headed topside to tell Ellie the bad news.
But he was too late.
The inflatable was already heading out into the big blue, and he could see the slim figure of Ellie at the motor. His heart leaped into his throat. Where the hell was Suzi? Why was Ellie alone?
He charged down to the launch pad and grabbed one of the roughnecks by the arm. "Why is she going out alone?"
"I don't know, man." He shrugged his arm free. "I just do as I'm told."
"Sorry." Phoenix stared after the departing figure of Ellie. "I thought she had someone going with her, that's all."
"Feisty one, isn't she?" the roughneck said, approvingly. "I wouldn't have taken that little inflatable out by myself, but then I can't swim very well."
Phoenix ground his jaw.
Where the hell was Suzi?
A throbbing noise in the sky drew his attention, and he saw the transfer chopper coming in to land. A small group of passengers accumulated on deck. He'd forgotten it was Friday, the day that many of the staff and shift workers left to go back to the mainland for the weekend. They'd be back on Monday. Activity on the rig quieted down over the weekend. From what Henderson had said, they were using this quiet period to tow the rig into its new position. New incorrect position—based on false survey data.
But Henderson didn't know that. Not yet.
Once Ellie's report landed on his desk, he'd have a heart attack. Unless he was somehow involved. Was that possible? Could Henderson be behind the sabotage? Had he plotted to kill Ellie to silence her? Phoenix scowled at the chopper as he considered this. The man’s job was at stake, and he was probably being paid a lot to oversee this project. If it fell through and there was an investigation, he'd be the obvious scapegoat.
A hard ball of fear tightened in his chest as he watched the chopper land. To his surprise, Suzi was one of the people waiting to board.
"Hey, Suzi!" he yelled, running over to her. She stood clutching her backpack, a drawn expression on her face. "Wait up!"
She turned, hearing his voice. "Phoenix, what's up?"
"Where are you going?"
Her shoulders slumped. "Back to the mainland. I got an emergency call this morning. My father had a bad fall and is in the hospital. I've got to go."
"Oh, sorry to hear that. I thought you were joining Ellie?"
"I wanted to, but she insisted she was okay. Actually, she said you were going with her."
Shit.
"I can't. I've got to fix something before the rig is towed to the new location."
She gave a distracted nod. People were climbing on board the chopper, its rotors having come to a stop. "Sorry, Phoenix. I've got to go. Say goodbye to Boomer for me."
"Sure." He stood back as she got onto the chopper with everybody else. It was a full flight, and the second one of the day. The place would be practically deserted now.
Still, that was probably a good thing. The fewer people on board, the less chance of something happening to Ellie. He could keep a close eye on Henderson, and he'd be working with Billy, not that he suspected the Ops Manager. There weren't many others who could be responsible for what had happened.
Yet, the gut-wrenching feeling he had when he turned to look at the inflatable disappearing into the shimmering distance wouldn't go away. Ellie was alone out there, vulnerable and exposed to the elements and whoever was targeting her.
Goddammit. He couldn’t handle the thought of her being in danger and having no one to protect her. Unable to help himself, he let out a growl venting his helplessness and frustration.
Worse, she’d think he’d let her down. That he hadn't shown up.
Why had she gone so early? Why hadn’t she told him?
Damn her stubborn independence. She probably hadn’t wanted to bother him with the change in plans.
He clenched his fists, his mind racing. SEAL training had taught him to consider all scenarios, especially the worst-case ones. Plan for the worst, hope for the best, that had been his motto.
What if the saboteur had followed her out there? What if they had tampered with the inflatable, causing it to malfunction or capsize in the treacherous waters? Ellie was a strong and capable woman, but even she had her limits. The open sea could be unforgiving, and if something happened to her, he might never know until it was too late.
Phoenix took a deep breath. He had to calm the fuck down. He had to trust in Ellie's abilities and pray that she would return safely. In the meantime, he had a job to do.
And a mystery to solve.