Love Never Fails (8 page)

Something happened with Selina’s oxygen.  She isn’t getting anything.

Jesus.  We’ll call the paramedics on our end and get them to the dock. Let me know what happens.  Hang in their D.  She’s a tough lady.

God I hope so.

“They are up, they are up!  Pull Dr. Harrison up and clear out of the way.”
Selina’s lifeless body was pulled up over the side of the boat.  The boat’s doctor and his assistant got right to work on her.  I tried to get to her but was held back by two of the deck hands.
“I don’t have a pulse.  Chest compressions and charge it up!”
I just stood there totally helpless as the woman I’ve already lost my heart and mind to was lying there motionless on the boat deck.  Everything was in slow motion as I saw them pulling down the zipper to get to her skin.  As the doctors alternated together the chest compressions, I prayed. 
I don’t know how long it has been since I have prayed to the Almighty but I did.  I hope He wouldn’t decide to turn his back from me now as I have done for so many years to Him.  It’s funny that one turns to Him when there are dire circumstances but I was helpless to do anything else for her at this moment. 
It was the only thing I had to give to her.  I prayed for Him to bring her back to me.  For the first time ever, this was a woman that I felt was a part of me;  I have never felt this connection before with any of the women that came in and out of my life like a revolving door.  Here is one that challenged me, could make me a better man and could give me LIFE. 
“Clear!” The doctor zapped my Selina and I saw her body convulse with the electrical charge piercing thru her body.  Checking for a pulse, the doctor shook his head.  More compressions were being done until the machine was ready.
“Again, clear!”
Another zap went thru her body.  Please Lord, bring her back to me.  I can’t lose her.  I felt myself weakening under the stress.  The relentless Damien Stone, being brought to his knees by this woman and a situation out of my control.  At this point, I couldn’t care what anyone thought.  Please Lord, bring her back to me. I need her with me. You can wait for her. Please Lord, let me have her.
“We have a pulse!  Oxygen now!”
Pushing a few of the divers away, I knelt down next to her as she started coughing into the mask.
“Selina baby, please come back to me,” I whispered into her ear.  Seeing her eyes fluttering as they were trying to open, I shielded them from the blinding sun.  Then those gorgeous topaz eyes focused on me.
“Damien,” whispered Selina.  I just bowed my head down in thanks and gratitude. Applause went up around the deck from the crew as the doctor just covered his face in his hands, the emotions just too overwhelming for words. I could give two shits what the diving crew and the Captain thought as I pressed my lips to her forehead.  I needed her to know that I was right by her side and would never give up on her or on us. I felt her move her hand up to me as I clasped it firmly in mine.
“You will be fine now.  Steve has the paramedics at the dock waiting to take you to the hospital for observation and treatment.”
Hearing the Captain shouting orders to get us underway, I stayed right where I was next to her.  Taking my phone out of my pocket, I talked a message into it to Steve, letting him know that Selina was with us and that we were getting ready to head back to shore. Then smiling down at Selina, I took the blanket that was handed to me to place it on her. 
“What happened Damien?”
“Seems there was a malfunction with your oxygen tank. You only had two minutes worth of oxygen. Dave swam both of you back to the boat and shared his oxygen with you.  Another of the team came to assist too but you lost consciousness.”
“How can that be Damien?  My tanks were checked out by the crew as well as by me, twice.  It doesn’t make sense.”  I could tell Selina was getting really upset by this.  Pushing her hair totally off her face, I told her to relax.
“Listen, let’s get to the hospital and then we can figure this out.  The main thing is you are here and I want you checked out, ok?”
“Yes Sir.”
“I like the sound of that.”  I smiled down at my Princess but had an off feeling in the back of my mind that maybe someone did do something to her oxygen tank to sabotage this dive and I wanted that looked into immediately.

Chapter 24  The Hospital

Just as Steve promised, the paramedics were waiting for us the minute we docked.  Bringing their stretcher, Selina was easily transferred into the waiting ambulance as I jumped into the back of it with her.  Checking all of her vitals, the paramedics emailed all of their findings to the ER staff waiting for us to arrive.  Modern technology at its finest.  I would make sure Selina got the best care.  I was advised she would be held overnight for observation anyway since this was a diving accident.  Just as long as Selina was ok, then I could relax.  I wanted the full report from the doctor and then we can talk about what happened with this dive. 
I text Steve and Tom about what Selina had said to me.  I had an unsettled feeling someone did try to sabotage this dive now and thought about the other various oil companies that also were drilling in the area. I hoped to God one of them wasn’t that desperate to do this and put one of my team in harm’s way. Selina could have easily died out there.  Steve thought it was a good idea to reach out to our friend, Detective Samuel Peterson. It might be worth it to get something on record in case anything else happened in the future.  Right now, I wanted to focus on Selina and to make sure that everything was ok.
“Damien, please go back to the office.  I’m sure you have meetings to do.  I’m going to be just fine. Think of how this will look to your Dad and the Board of Directors.”  Selina had a point there but I will move at least one of the meetings.
“As an employee at Stone, it’s my duty to make sure your wellbeing is taken care of after an accident.  I’m sure my Dad and the Board will understand this and also be concerned about the nature of this accident.” Lowering his mouth to her ear, Selina felt his breath cause goose bumps down her body. “And besides, there is no place that I want to be but here with you.” Not wanting to alarm her, I wanted to let her know what Steve and I decided together.
“Selina, we are calling in a detective friend of ours, Detective Samuel Peterson to investigate what you have told me.  I want to make sure this was purely an accident and not anyone trying to sabotage our work here.”  Selina just nodded as she shut her eyes. 
“Ok Damien, I agree with this.  Whatever I need to do, I will for you and the company.”
The ambulance arrived without giving me a chance to say anything else to her.  They whisked her away into the ER while I made arrangements with my assistant to cancel my 12pm appointment.  Then I made arrangements for a private room for Selina.  If she was going to have to stay here overnight, I wanted her to have privacy.  As my phone started ringing, I saw that Steve was calling me.
“Hey D.  How is Selina?”
“So far, so good.  She is in the ER now getting checked out.  I told her about Samuel and she will let him know anything she can tell him.  I hope to God this is unfounded or we have a serious problem on our hands.”
“Yeah, that’s for sure.  Your Dad already got wind of what happened and made an appearance here.  I told him what I knew and he is waiting to hear back from you.  He did make a comment that he found it strange that his son took such an interest in the dive this morning and maybe there was hope for you yet.”
“Jesus Steve.  I don’t need his shit now.”
“I’m sure he has it all figured out already D,” chuckled Steve.  “She’s an attractive woman, you worked hard to get her here, I’m thinking he is putting two and two together.”
“The main thing is Selina is ok but I have a bad feeling about this tank situation.  I will feel better with Sam on the case and to get his opinion on this.  Do you know when he can come to the hospital?”
“Anytime D.  He is waiting to hear back from me.”
“Ask him to come this afternoon.  If this is foul play, we have to find out who did this, why they did this and press charges.  Selina could have died out there.  I can’t put her or any others in danger.”
“I hope you are including yourself in the mix D.  You are our CEO.  If the company is targeted, you can be too.”
“Let’s see what Sam says first Steve.  Any one of us can be in danger.  What a fucking mess. I feel like I’ve aged ten years.”
“Go to her D.  Make sure she checks out ok and what about her parent’s?  Do you think she will be in touch with them about this?”
“I don’t know but what a way to meet the family.”  I looked up to see the doctor motioning to me.  “Look Steve, the doctor is calling me.  Have Sam come by as soon as he can.  I’ll be in touch and will be in the office later this afternoon.”
Hanging up with Steve, I practically run down the hallway.
“Mr. Stone, I’m Dr. Harper.”
“How is she doctor?”
“The initial tests came back normal.  We are just waiting on her blood tests and gave her a mild tranquilizer to take the anxiety away.  She is upset as to what had happened and that is totally understandable in this type of accident.  Do you know if she has family here?”
“No, everyone is in New Jersey.  Is she asking for them?  I can reach out to her parents.”
“I would ask Selina first to see how she feels about that and work it out with her.”
“When can I see her?”
“You can go in now.  Selina was already asking for you. “
“I also want you to know that I have Detective Peterson coming to the hospital later this afternoon to speak to Selina about this accident.”
“Just as long as he doesn’t upset my patient, I will allow him to see her. I will have him removed if she becomes agitated.”
“Fair enough Doctor.  Thank you for all of your help so far.”  I reached out to shake his hand but definitely wanted to get in the room with Selina. A huge wave of wanting to protect her came surging over me.
Chapter 25  Selina: Uneasy feelings

I keep going thru my mind all of the checks and rechecks with my tank.  I was sorry to cause Damien any cause for concern but I’m not feeling good about this.  Thinking that I could have died and never seen my family, friends and Damien shook me to my core.  I felt a calmness come over me when the nurse came and administered the tranquilizer in my IV.  It was mild enough to just take the edge off my anxiety but still enabled me to think things over a bit rationally about what had happened. 
Oh my God! Damien!  How was he when I was pulled on board unconscious?  I felt a tear course down my face as I turned my head to stare out the window.  It was then that I sensed him in the room with me. 
“Selina,” Damien said with a whisper.
Looking over at him, I felt protected and also something else. Love. How can that be?  We hardly know each other.  I watched him walk over to my bed and pull the chair close to me.  Holding my hand, he wiped my tears away with his other hand.
“Well, saying that you scared the Hell out of me is putting it mildly Princess.  I never want to relive that again.”
“Damien, thank you for being there for me. I’m sorry that this happened and now that I have put a possible cause for concern with this dive.  I just can’t help but feel that something was deliberately done to my tank; maybe not to cause me serious harm or death but just to scare us from making new strides in drilling. It might have gone farther than the person or persons might have wanted this to go.  I just can’t shake this feeling.”  Fresh tears came into my eyes that I just couldn’t help with all of the emotions surrounding me.
“Selina baby, if there is a threat here, Detective Peterson will get to the bottom of it. Now, I just want you to relax. All of the tests have come back normal; the doctor is just waiting for the blood results to come back.  He feels that you will make a full recovery but you have to take it easy for now.  I know that must be very difficult for you but you have to listen to the doctor and then to me too.”  Damien gave me that beautiful smile of his and raised my hand to his lips for a kiss that I felt throughout my whole body.
“Do you want me to contact your family?”
“I was thinking about this because if there is some foul play here, then the news could get wind of it.  I wouldn’t want my parents and brother to hear about this on the news.  Maybe I should call them.”
“Ok, I’ll step out to give you privacy then.”
“No Damien, please stay with me.  I might have to put you on the phone with one of my parents to answer questions I may not know the answers to.”
As Damien dialed the number for me, I prayed that my Daddy would answer the phone and not my Mama.
Hearing my Dad’s voice answer the phone, I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hi Daddy,” was all I could get out as I choked up on the phone.  Damien held my hand to give me the strength to get thru this call.
“Listen, there has been an accident but I’m ok.”  I told him what had happened.  He kept saying “ok” and “hmm” to what I was telling him. I told him how wonderful Damien was during all of this too and that I was staying in the hospital overnight for observation.  Then he started in with his questions.
“So lass, do you think someone is out to do you and the company harm?”
“Maybe Daddy.  You know how I am with my equipment.  I wouldn’t have missed this.”
“And your boss, Damien is it?  Sounds like he has been taking good care of you, maybe more than how a boss would take care of an employee?  That much I have really gathered from this conversation my dear.  Is he there with you now?  May I speak with him?”   Handing over the phone to Damien, I whispered that my Dad wanted to talk to him.
“Hello Dr. Harrison sir.  Damien Stone here.”  It seemed that my Dad just wanted to hear from Damien what the doctor’s reports were and if he felt I was in any danger.  I heard Damien tell him that a trusted detective friend was coming by to interview me this afternoon.  It seemed that my Dad was satisfied that Damien was taking care of me so he asked to speak with me again.
“Such a self assured man Selina.  You seem to be in very good hands.  Now your Mama is here, frantic to speak to you.  You don’t have to sugar coat anything with her as she has been listening in on all of this conversation.  She is very interested in Damien now that she knows you are ok. You take care of yourself and also Damien lassie.”
“Yes Daddy.  Hola Mama.  Slow down Mama.  Yes, I’m fine.”  Then I just lapsed into Spanish to be able to keep up with her conversation.  Damien motioned that he would be right back as he saw Detective Peterson in the hallway.  I went thru everything with Mama.  She wanted to hear my voice tell the story.  Finishing up my conversation with her, I promised to call her back tomorrow when I was released and she wanted to hear all about Damien too.  Hanging up with her, I just had to take a deep cleansing breath.  They said they would tell Sean Jr.  I just didn’t have the strength to go thru this again with him while I knew I would have to retell my side of the story to Detective Peterson. 
“Selina, Is everything ok with your parents?”
“Yes Damien, I’m glad I told them.  I would hate for them to find out from somewhere else.” 
Nodding his agreement, Damien made the introduction to his friend.
“Selina, this is Detective Peterson.  Steve and I are friends with him so you can be totally comfortable with telling him anything about what happened and what you suspect.”
“Hi Selina.  I’m Sam Peterson.  Damien filled me in on your concerns about what happened out at the rig.  I’m happy to see that you are doing fine after this accident.  I can assure you that if there is foul play involved here, I will find out for you and Damien.  In the meantime, this stays between us and Steve, ok?”
“Yes, thank you Sam.  Where do you want me to start?”
“How about who would have access to your tanks?  I already have them in our possession and we are running prints on them.  I’ll get a sample of your prints so this way, forensics will separate yours from their findings.”
So I gave Sam the list of names of the people on the dive team with Dave being our team leader. 
“Was he the one who helped you by swimming for the both of you and giving you part of his oxygen?”
“Yes, Dave did that for me.” 
“Damien, I’ve asked Steve for all of the film footage around the docking area as well as around your building.  I just want to see if there is anyone suspicious hanging around the areas.”
“That’s fine Sam; whatever you need.  If there is something wrong here, I know you will find it.”
Sam asked me some more questions until the doctor came in and told him that he wanted me to get some rest.
“Of course doctor.  Selina, you have been a great help.  I have a lot to work with here.  I will keep you and Damien up to speed on what we find out.  Rest up and I’ll speak to you when you are released.”
Watching Damien walk Sam to the door, the nurse came in and checked my blood pressure and other vitals. I was so exhausted that I just wanted to take a nap.  Damien came back over to me as my eyes struggled to stay open.
“Go to sleep Princess.  I will come back tonight to visit with you.  You have my number if you need anything at all.” Bending over him, he brushed his lips across my forehead.  I watched his formidable figure walk towards the door as my eyes drifted to sleep.  I could have sworn he stopped at the door to look at me again but I wasn’t sure.  I felt protected and cared for.