Chapter 28
She buckled up as the chopper took off, with Phoenix at the helm and Boomer beside him, leaving the unknown barrier island behind. The remaining bad guy was trussed up next to her, still out cold. Served him right for trying to kill them.
The helicopter ride reminded her of the first time she'd flown out to the Explorer—filled with excitement, hopes, and dreams. Ellie scoffed. What a fool she'd been. If only she'd known then that they'd hired her only to take advantage of her… and to easily dispose of her should the need arise.
Thank God for Phoenix. He'd saved her life—in more ways than one.
She admired the back of his neck as he flew the chopper, operating the throttles and equipment like he’d been doing it all his life. How could he be so calm? Only moments ago, he’d admitted he'd only flown a couple of times before.
Somehow, he always managed to make her feel safe.
She marveled at how different he was to Rafael. Rafe had only shown her a toxic form of love, laced with uncertainty and fear. Thanks to him, she'd hidden herself away in Scotland, preferring the sanctuary of an isolated oil platform rather than real life. This job had been the same, until she'd met Phoenix.
It was insane how much had happened. In the last two weeks, she'd been almost swept off a rig, blown up, drowned, attacked by a shark, and stranded on a deserted island. Not to forget the team of mercenaries hired to kill her.
And somewhere amidst all that, she'd fallen in love with an ex-Navy SEAL. A man who'd repeatedly put his life on the line to save hers. A man who would die to protect her.
Her eyes stung with tears, not of sadness, but of hope, gratitude, and love, but she blinked them away before anyone noticed.
They banked, and she turned to look out of the window at the azure blue ocean far, far below. There was still the matter of who was trying to kill her and why. But she wanted to enjoy this moment, this slice of freedom for a little longer, before they had to think about what to do next.
When they landed in Corpus Christi, Texas, they were met by two more men just like Phoenix and Boomer. They were both tall, broad shouldered, and drop-dead gorgeous. Honestly, where did they find these guys?
Ellie could tell straight away they were both ex-military. Something about the way they held themselves, that quiet confidence that Phoenix had in spades, and the reserved smiles that held so many dark secrets.
After the backslapping and hand shaking, Phoenix introduced them as Pat and Blade.
Pat's eyes crinkled as he grinned at her. "Good to meet you, Ellie. We heard you guys might need some backup." She guessed he was in his early forties with salt and pepper hair and a handsome, rugged, face. As Ellie gazed into his steely-gray eyes, she found herself warming to him. He exuded strength and competence.
"I think we're going to," Ellie replied, trying not to show how relieved she was to see them. They needed all the help they could get to take down the organization behind this.
"When we heard about the explosion, we jumped on a plane as fast as we could,” said Blade, who could have been made of granite, he was so chiseled.
"Appreciate it." Phoenix thumped him on the shoulder.
“Who’s that?” Blade pointed to the semi-conscious mercenary in the chopper.
“One of the guys who tried to kill us,” Phoenix said. “We’re going to turn him over to the authorities.”
They called the Coast Guard, who were involved with the oil rig’s clear-up operation, and explained what had happened. They, in turn, called the police. As expected, there was a ton of red tape to get through, but after she’d given her statement, Ellie let Pat and Blade take her back to their hotel.
Phoenix and Boomer, it seemed, still had a lot of explaining to do since they’d left three dead mercenaries on the barrier island and had a fourth, semi-conscious one in tow.
“They’ll be okay,” Pat told her, clocking her worried frown in the rearview mirror. “After what’s happened, they’re going to have to give statements about the IED they found on the rig as well as what happened on the island.”
She nodded, unsure what to make of these two hulking men who Phoenix had entrusted her to. She hadn’t missed the curious glances they’d been giving her since she’d landed in the chopper.
“How’d you meet Phoenix?” Blade asked conversationally, as they drove toward the hotel.
“On the Explorer,” she said, figuring it was too long a story to start at the beginning. “After the bomb went off, I pulled him out of the water. He was concussed and bleeding, but we managed to get to the island where we found shelter and medical supplies.”
“Lucky for you,” Pat said.
“Is that when the hit squad found you?” Blade asked.
She cringed at the term, and saw Pat elbow him in the ribs. “There were two of them. They’d followed us to the island, I’m not sure how. Phoenix… dealt with them, and we escaped to the beach to see if they had a boat waiting, but that’s when the others arrived in the helicopter.” She took a shuddering breath. Four men, including the pilot. Phoenix said they were mercenaries hired by the organization responsible for all this.”
“Does this organization have a name,” Pat asked.
“Gilded Futures LLC. That’s who hired the hit squad, as you put it. We don’t know who they are or what they do, but we think my boss, the man who hired me, is part of it.”
“What makes you think that?” Pat glanced at her in the mirror.
She took a shaky breath. “I think he hired me on purpose, hoping I’d be too inexperienced or intimidated to question the anomalies in the test samples. That way, nobody would have found out about the falsified survey reports until much later.”
“Huh?” Blade spun around, his brow raised.
“Oh, sorry. I forgot you don’t know what I’m talking about.”
She filled them in, starting with the fake geographical data and ending with the IED. She even told them about the attempt on her life during the storm, when Billy had been knocked overboard.
“They’re trying to cover their tracks,” Pat said, and she could see his forehead was deeply furrowed.
“Most of my evidence was lost in the explosion,” Ellie told them. “I don’t have anything that can prove the reports were faked, or that my samples were useless.”
Saying it out loud made her heart sink. If they couldn’t prove any of it, how were they ever going to catch these guys?
“Well, the Coast Guard and relevant authorities have launched a full-scale investigation into the oil rig explosion,” Blade told her. “Maybe they’ll find something.”
“I hope so,” she murmured, feeling the tension of the last few hours weigh down on her.
They pulled into the hotel parking lot. Ellie stared up at the gleaming high-rise and then at her filthy attire and cringed. “I can’t go in there looking like this.”
“I’ve got a clean shirt if you want to wear that,” Blade offered.
“Okay, thanks.” It was something, at least.
Ellie changed into it in the car—it was like a dress, reaching her all the way to her knees. Coming up with a plan, she asked Blade if she could use his belt, and buckled it around her waist.
There, that wasn’t so bad.
Hopefully nobody would notice her filthy tennis shoes.
“Are you okay to share a room with Phoenix?” Pat asked, casting a sideways glance at her.
She flushed, but nodded, her heart doing a funny little flip at the thought of sharing a luxurious hotel room with Phoenix.
“It’s probably best you don’t check in under your real name, just in case they’ve got people out looking for you.”
That was a sobering thought. He must have sensed her trepidation, because he put a hand on her arm. “Don’t worry, we’re right next door if you need us.”
“Thanks, Pat.” He was a sweet guy, for a former SEAL Commander.
“And tonight,” Blade added, sticking his hands in his pockets. “We’ll figure out how we’re going to deal with these guys once and for all.”
“You really think that’s possible?” She didn’t miss the look that passed between him and Pat.
“Oh, you can count on it.”