Love Inspired Suspense September 2015 #2 (32 page)

Maddie started walking again, but there was another question that had been nagging at her.

“What happened to the men on the speedboat?” she asked. “Did the captain move them?”

Grant looked to Antonio and then back at Maddie.

The uneasiness was back. “Tell me what happened.”

“Antonio wanted to question them and asked the captain the same thing.” Grant drew in a deep breath. “The captain killed them and dumped their bodies overboard. Apparently it really was personal for him.”

Maddie stopped in the doorway, feeling the air rush out of her lungs. This time a sick feeling replaced the fear.

Oh, Lord. How did it come to this? Lives ruined on both sides because of revenge and greed.

The men deserved to be punished, but not this way. “Why would he do that?” she asked.

“Sometimes taking the law into your own hands is the only way to get justice in this part of the world,” Antonio answered.

“But that doesn't make it right.”

A loud hammering sounded from the engine of the boat. Then nothing.

“No, it doesn't,” Grant said. “But for the moment we have other things to worry about. Sounds like they're having problems getting the engines going again. If we could just get close to that island...”

* * *

Halfway down the stairs, the boat lurched again. Maddie grabbed tighter to the metal staircase leading down to the deck and made sure Ana was okay. Maddie didn't miss the look of determination on the young girl's face, but she also knew that Ana needed to be resting somewhere safe...not on the deck of a sinking boat.

“Maddie?” Grant called down to her from above.

“We're okay.”

For now. Maddie looked out at the sea of passengers camped on the deck. Something was going to have to change quickly.

She watched as an orange meteor-like object flew out of a flare in an arch above them. The crew was already at work on the lower deck, handing out life jackets to passengers.

Maddie pulled one of the crew members aside, shouting above the noise of the passengers. “I'm a doctor. If there's anything I can do to help—”

“One of the other crew hit his head a few minutes ago.”

Grant nodded at her. “I'll watch Ana. Go.”

The story from the Bible of the little boy and the five loaves of bread and two fishes popped into her mind, as she hurried after the crew member.
Lord, we could sure use a miracle.

In facing death daily, she'd learned the simple truth that no one was promised another day. Life could be snuffed away in the blink of an eye. Because of that, she'd tended to look at each day as a gift. Keeping that in mind once more, she pushed away her negative thoughts and focused instead on the situation before her. She needed to do what she could to help anyone who was injured.

Out of the corners of her eyes she caught Alistair busy recording the confusion with his camera. But her focus went immediately to the man lying on the ground, eyes opened but with a bump already beginning to form on his head.

Maddie ignored what was going on around her and squatted down beside the man. “My name's Maddie Gilbert and I'm a doctor. I understand you hit your head,” she said in Portuguese.

He nodded.

“Can you tell me your name?”

He blinked a couple times. “Bento.”

“Okay, Bento. Do you know what day it is?”

“Monday.”

“Good. I need you to do something else for me.” She placed her finger about twelve inches from his face. “I want you to follow my finger with your eyes. Can you do that?”

She watched his reaction while she moved her finger side to side, then up and down. “You're going to be fine, Bento. Can you tell me how you got this bump on your forehead?”

He grabbed on to the metal rail beside him and started to pull himself into a sitting position.

“Whoa...be careful,” she said. “Are you sure you can sit up?”

He nodded.

“Okay. Nice and steady. Bento, do you remember what happened?”

“I was just walking across the deck. The ship jerked, and I lost my balance. Hit my head on this railing.”

“I've just got a couple more questions, then,” she said. They were lining everyone up around them, ensuring they had life jackets. She ran through the list of possible symptoms of a concussion with him.

“No, just a headache where I smacked it.”

Maddie grabbed a flashlight from her bag. “I'd like to do one last thing, Bento. I'd like to check your eyes with my flashlight, is that okay?”

Bento nodded.

Maddie watched the pupils constrict as they focused on the light. “I think you're okay, but if you start having any strange symptoms, like vomiting, headaches, problems with balance or light, I want you to find me, okay?”

Someone shouted behind them. In all the confusion, it took a moment for Maddie to realize there was a man running toward her with a child in his arms. Blood ran down the young boy's face.

“I heard you were a doctor.” The man's eyes pleaded with her. “Please...you must help my son.”

TWELVE

T
he wind tugged at Maddie's hair as the man pleaded with her for help. She pushed the loose strands back from her face. Grant had come here to rescue her. To protect her. How had it managed to come to this downward spiral of events? Sam's murder... Reid Johnson wanting her dead... A sinking ferry quickly turning into an ER...

She felt the restless crowd press in around them.

“Grant, I'm going to need your help. We need to get the boy upstairs on one of the benches. It's too crowded for me to take care of this here on the deck.”

She gave the father instructions in Portuguese and reached for her bag.

Antonio grabbed Ana's hand. “I'll stay with her down here.”

Maddie nodded her thanks and motioned for the father to take the boy up the metal stairs, while Grant followed behind them. Inside, the television still droned on in the background, but beside that, all that was left in the VIP room was a trail of food wrappers and a couple water bottles people had left behind in the panic to get to the deck.

“Tell me what I can do,” Grant said.

“I need a pair of latex gloves and a couple of the compress dressings.” She helped the father situate the boy on one of the benches. “We need to get him cleaned up first so I can see just how bad this cut is.”

Grant unzipped her bag, while she tried to calm the boy, who couldn't be more than six or seven.

“You took quite a tumble, didn't you?” she said, catching the fear in his eyes.

A big tear slid down his face as he nodded, clearly trying to be brave.

“What's your name?”

“Marco.”

“Marco, I'm going to have to clean this cut up, okay? And I know it looks like a lot of blood, but it doesn't look like it's really that bad,” Maddie said, pulling on the latex gloves Grant had handed her. She took one of the water bottles and carefully began to wash the four-inch gash just above the boy's temple.

“Can you tell me what happened?” she asked the father.

“He fell when the boat jolted and his head struck a piece of sharp metal. There's so much blood. My wife... I'm meeting her in Bissau...if anything happens to our son...”

“Your son is going to be fine. When someone has a cut on their head, it tends to bleed a lot. I'm going to finish cleaning this up and then I'll decide whether or not he needs stitches. I just need you to help keep him calm.”

A minute passed as she cleaned the wound and asked him some routine medical questions. “It's deep enough for him to need stitches. There's a packaged suturing kit in one of the front pockets,” she said while jutting out her chin toward the backpack.

Grant pulled out the single-use suturing tray. “This is impressive. Needle, scissors, gauze...”

“At least I can take care of this situation.” She laid out the supplies next to the boy on the poly-lined drape that had come with the kit. It wasn't as if she'd packed her bag that day intending to treat a cholera epidemic. Or discover someone wanted her dead. “I need you to hold the flashlight above the wound, so I can stitch it up.”

Standing beside her, Grant aimed the light directly on the injury.

“I used to think conditions at the hospital up north of the country in Bolama were primitive,” she said to Grant in English, as she began to sew up the wound. “I never imagined I'd be doing a medical procedure on a ferry taking on water in the middle of the ocean.”

Grant laughed. “Not exactly a scenario I'd ever dream up, either.”

“You're not squeamish, are you?” Looking up briefly, she threw Grant a grin before making another stitch. “I had a student nurse pass out on me last week when I went to sew someone up.”

“I hate snakes, remember, not needles.”

She laughed. “I'll buy that. You are a former marine and work as a deminer. Not exactly professions for the squeamish. But you want to hear a secret of mine?”

“Of course.”

“I've always hated needles.”

“You hate needles...you're kidding.”

“It was the one thing I almost let get between me and medical school.”

“And now?”

“Thankfully I learned that watching injections or suturing, and being the one doing it, are different. As long as I'm holding the needle, I'm fine.”

She worked to finish suturing the wound, wondering why she felt an urge to open up to him. Wondering if the rapid heartbeat didn't have more to do with the man standing next to her than the situation they were in. And her dislike of needles wasn't the only confession she wanted to make. She wanted to tell him how much she enjoyed being around him, how she wanted time to get to know him better, and that him just being here had given her the courage she knew she was going to need to ensure Reid Johnson ended up being accountable for what he'd done.

“Finished.” Ignoring her heart, Maddie clipped the thread with a pair of scissors and carefully bandaged the wound.

“Are you sure he's going to be all right?” the father asked.

“Might leave a little scar, but he's as good as new.” She grinned at Marco. “And you have been very, very brave.”

Grant pulled a peppermint candy from his pocket and handed it to Marco, who rewarded Grant with a smile.

She gave the boy's father instructions in Portuguese on how to care for the wound and watched as he carried the young boy away. Hopefully, this injury would be the worst thing that happened to this little boy tonight.

Grant helped her clean up in silence and then turned to her. “Before someone arrives with another emergency, do you have time for me to show you something?”

“As long as this ship doesn't sink,” she said, putting away the rest of her supplies. “Because actually I've got all the time in the world. We're not exactly going anywhere.”

“Good, because I didn't notice this before, but there's a small balcony attached to this room on the back of the ferry.”

She stepped out in front of him onto the small ledge that was surrounded by a rusty iron railing. The heavy early-morning mist and storm clouds had begun to dissipate, leaving behind a clear azure-blue sky with barely a whisper of cloud to obscure its intense color.

She leaned against the railing and let the wind blow against her face. “Wow. From here, I can almost forget what's going on around us. It's beautiful, isn't it?”

“I thought you could use a short reprieve.”

She looked at him and felt her stomach dip, but she wasn't sure she could tell the conflicting emotions apart anymore. Worry over what might happen mingled with anticipation. And even though the magnetic pull she felt toward him seemed dwarfed by her own fear, she couldn't deny the way he affected her. And it went beyond the spicy scent of his cologne and his nearness at the moment.

Which was also making it very difficult to shove aside the resolutions she'd made when it came to guarding her heart. After Ben, she'd convinced herself she didn't want a rebound relationship. That she wanted a chance to focus on her humanitarian work. And that she was perfectly content being single.

Which she had been. Until Grant had waltzed back into her life.

Somehow he'd begun to make her wonder if all of her excuses were simply that. Excuses.

“You okay?” he asked.

“It's been a challenging day,” she said finally. “Okay...a challenging week. Do you really think this ferry could sink?”

“I'm not sure, but at least we're still afloat, which is good news.”

“Right. She leaned back against the rail, liking his optimism. Liking the way he had a habit of going against the odds. And winning.

She tried to ignore the murmur of voices from the deck below and tried to concentrate on what was okay.

The warm sun that was finally out. The fact that they
were
still afloat. That Reid Johnson had no idea where they were. And that Grant was here with her.

“What I do know,” he continued, “is that I'm impressed with the way you handle things. Even with your medical preparation, today hasn't been easy. You have this knack of taking the knowledge you were trained with and making do with the few resources you have.”

“I've only done what's needed.” She turned back toward the sea, trying to brush away the compliment.

“Maybe, but you've managed to step outside your comfort zone, one where you have almost unlimited resources, to a place where doctors are in short supply and diseases are rampant, and make it work. It's been...it's been a long time since I met someone who possessed the inner strength you have.”

She stared out across the sea, knowing she was blushing. “I'm not the only one. You can't tell me you do your job just for the money.”

“No, but I'm not always sure my reasons are very noble, either.”

She took a chance and searched his expression, wondering if guilt from losing Darren played a part.

A drop of rain hit the tip of her nose, and he leaned forward to brush it off.

She couldn't move. He was close enough she could feel his breath on her face. Close enough he could almost make her forget everything that was going on around them. And he definitely made her want to kiss him. She turned away from him finally, so he couldn't read her expression, and let her gaze settle back on the gray-blue waters beyond them. Because one kiss and she knew she'd never be the same again.

* * *

Grant wanted to ignore the unexpected moment that had just passed between them. Because what if he'd misread her? Or misinterpreted her body language. But he'd seen something in her eyes as she'd looked up at him, and knew he couldn't just walk away this time.

Settling down with a good woman is a good thing. And worth it. It's time you got married and had a couple kids. It will quickly show you what's important in life. Things like family.

Antonio's words replayed in the back of his mind. Running was easy. He knew how to do that. Putting himself in a position of vulnerability was hard. He'd been using his job as a sort of wall he'd erected around himself. The one guarantee that he'd keep his distance and protect his heart.

Somehow, though, Maddie had continued to chip her way through the weak spots of those walls.

The boat jolted again beneath them. He pulled her against him and steadied them both. He had to find a way to keep her safe. Not just from their current situation, but from Reid as well.

“It sounds like they're trying to get the engines working,” he said, “but we still don't seem to be moving.”

She rested her hands against his chest, making no attempts to pull away from him. “What if we don't manage to make it off this boat alive? What would be your one regret?”

“That I missed the chance to get to know you better.” He spoke before he had a chance to think through his response. But Antonio had been right. She was the one thing that made sense in this situation.

A smile played on her lips, melting through another corner of his heart. “That would be your one regret?”

He hesitated, knowing it was probably foolish to even go there right now.

He took a step backward, needing to put some space between them. “I don't want you to get the impression that I'm the kind of guy who falls for every pretty girl I meet, but I did have a crush on you back then. And if I'm honest, not much has changed.”

The blush was back in her checks. And he was being far too forward.

“I'm sorry,” he said.

She shook her head. “No... I admit I had a bit of a crush on you as well.”

“Really?” He hadn't expected that.

“But you were always hanging out with Darren and my dad. Talking cars, and football and politics... I never thought you noticed me.”

He smiled. “Trust me, I did.”

“But then our lives went different ways.”

“What about now?” He was stepping on rocky territory. Just because she'd felt something back then didn't mean those feelings were still there. A lot of time passed. She was a different person and so was he.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Our lives have managed to overlap again. Completely unexpected.”

Am I off on this, God? Am I trying to force something simply because of the crazy situation we're in?

“You did sweep in like a knight in shining armor,” she said, “but once this is all over—if this is all over—I don't know. These past few days have been a bit surreal for me. I was convinced I was going to die and then you showed up, and now you've been there each time I needed someone to lean on.” Maddie looked up at him, her brown eyes wide with question. “But the truth is, we live in two different worlds. So yes, I do feel something. I just don't know how things could ever work between us.”

“Maybe it is just the intensity of what's happened, but I think you're wrong.” Grant struggled for what to say. He'd been certain the interest he felt wasn't one-sided. And now that he knew he was right, he wasn't ready to simply drop the subject. “We both care about the world around us and are trying to make a difference in people's lives. Why can't we take a chance and see what would happen? No commitments or promises. Just time to get to know each other and see what's there?”

Maddie leaned back against the railing. “We don't even live in the same city, and what happens when they relocate you to another mine-infested country?”

“Email, phone calls.” He reached out and let his fingers briefly stroke her arm. “There are always ways to make things work.”

“I don't know, Grant.” Maddie reached down and played with the hem of her shirt, rolling the fabric between her fingers. “You're a deminer, and to be perfectly honest with you, I don't know if I could live with that.”

Her words were like a punch in the gut. “I'm good at what I do, Maddie. Yes, there are dangers, but you can't say your line of work is hazard-free.”