minute to register that it was his phone. He fished around until he found the cell phone he’d left behind on the seat, rather than risk losing it in the water.
He glanced at the screen. This call he would take.
“Mahew,” he croaked in a harsh, raspy voice that sounded nothing like his own.
“You are late,” the familiar voice with the smooth British tone and Middle Eastern accent snapped through the speakerphone.
Easy money? What easy money?
“You didn’t provide all the information,” Terence growled, trying to stay conscious enough to guide the van to the emergency room. “You didn’t tell me about the freakin’ ninja protecting the woman. I lost my partner, and I’m half-dead myself. Check the news. Their boat exploded in some marina and took out two Jet Skiers. That was us.”
“Their boat exploded? The woman is dead?” A string of foreign curses spewed through the phone. “If she is dead, you are, too. I have friends who will make certain that your liver will be a sacrifice, and your family will receive your head to remember you.”
“Chill out. She’s not dead. It was a setup. Some guy with serious skills rigged the boat to blow. No bodies have been found, other than Jimmy’s, but I saw some shapes in the water nearer to the shore. I couldn’t tell, but I’d bet it was them.”
“Graham,” his contact muttered.
“You know the guy?” Anger gave Terence a small burst of energy. “If I live through this, he’s mine.”
His contact ignored the comments. “You must find them. My...customer...is unused to delay. He will not be pleased. The situation could turn ugly.”
“I’ll give you ugly. Half my damn body looks like I went through a meat grinder,” Terence said. “I couldn’t incapacitate the baby right now.”
Terence’s vision grew blurry. He tried to steer the van toward the emergency entrance door. He blinked, then blinked again. The van slammed into a wall and shuddered to a stop. Thrown forward, Terence smashed off the steering wheel and hit the windshield.
Sirens went off, waking him. Terence heard someone yelling.
A medical person opened his door. “Get a stretcher. Now!”
“Where are you?” the tinny voice on his speakerphone shouted.
Terence feebly lifted the phone to his mouth. “Hospital...”
His head slumped, and Terence groaned as someone reached in to move him. They bumped his left side and he screamed.
“We need an O.R. stat. Tell the burn unit to stand by.”
“What is going on? Who is that talking?” The accent grew thicker.
His client’s shrill voice brought Terence out of his stupor again.
“My new best friends,” Terence drawled. “By the way, I quit.”
He let the phone drop to the floorboard and slumped forward into the arms of the waiting medics. This time, all those damn zeros on a check weren’t worth it.
* * *
“CLAY!” THE AIRBOAT SHIFTED back and forth with the waves. Erin clutched Brandon in her arms and tried to edge closer to the man bleeding, facedown, on the deck. At her movement, the boat tilted.
“Da...owie! Mama, Da owie!” Brandon threw a fit at the sight of all the blood.
She paused to move the boy so he couldn’t see, then eased her way over to Clay’s still body. He hadn’t said anything. She couldn’t see a wound, but the parts of the shirt visible beneath his life jacket were soaked red. Balancing Brandon, she reached for the life vest. Her fingers fumbled at the fastenings.
Clay groaned and tried to move.
“Be careful. Some of these cuts are bad. We have to stop the bleeding.”
“I’m fine.” He rose to his hands and knees. “Just a little dizzy. We have to get out of here. We’re not safe.”
He stood and grabbed hold of the pilot’s seat, steadying himself. “Sit down and hold the baby on your lap,” he said, nodding at the double-wide passenger bench in front of the perched captain’s seat.
Not knowing what else to do, Erin followed his instructions.
She watched him steer the boat. He didn’t even flinch, though every movement had to be agony. His clenched jaw was his only giveaway.
Today had shown her a whole new side to Clay that scared her. He was so hard and...tough. The man she’d fallen in love with on Santorini had swept her off her feet, made her laugh, made her tremble for the touch of his lips.
He even let her drone on endlessly about her prototype, nanotechnology, engineering and every other geeky topic that flitted through her mind. Most men’s eyes would have glazed over, especially when she’d gone off on the potential