Harper’s gaze shot to Chase and a look passed between them. “Why don’t we go get a cup of coffee?” Harper suggested. “Maybe something to eat. Chase can stay with Reese while we’re gone.”
She didn’t want to leave him. She wanted to be there in case he needed her. But she hadn’t eaten for hours and she was beginning to feel light-headed. “All right, I could use a little food.”
“We won’t be gone long,” Harper said to Chase as she and Kenzie left the room.
In the cafeteria, Kenzie ordered a bowl of chicken soup and a cup of coffee while Harper just ordered a glass of iced tea.
“Chase is afraid Reese was the target of the explosion,” Harper said, once they were seated. “That’s the reason for the guard. What do you think?”
Kenzie shook her head. “I don’t know. The FBI is certain Reese was aboard the chopper that crashed purely by chance. But this is the second time he’s almost been killed, and both times the incidents were related to the Poseidon.”
“Maybe Reese will have some idea what’s going on when he wakes up,” Harper said.
“I’m staying with him tonight. I don’t want him to wake up alone.”
Harper reached across the table and covered Kenzie’s hand. “It’s clear how much you care about him. I think he cares a great deal for you, too.”
She glanced away. “I’m not sure what Reese feels for me, but he’s Reese, so it probably doesn’t matter. In time, he’ll be looking for someone new.”
“Just because he’s been that way in the past doesn’t mean—”
“It’s all right. I’ve known from the start what would happen. I just want him safe.”
Harper fell silent. Kenzie finished her soup and they started back. Visiting hours were long over, but Chase was family and law enforcement had cleared it. Reese was awake when she and Kenzie walked back into the room.
“So who wants you dead?” Chase asked him bluntly.
“I don’t know. But you can be sure I’m going to find out.”
“You need personal security until you do.”
Kenzie spoke before Reese could protest. “Don’t you dare argue. Your brother just wants you safe.”
Reese smiled. “Why do I need a bodyguard when I’ve got my own personal guardian angel?”
Kenzie blocked the memory of Reese’s body hanging limply in the water. “Next time I might not be there when something happens,” she said softly.
Reese’s gaze met hers and there was something in his eyes that made her heart squeeze.
His attention returned to Chase. “All right, fine. A bodyguard—for now.”
Chase and Harper stayed until the nurse finally shooed them out. Then, satisfied Reese was going to be okay, they prepared to return to the airport, where Chase’s twin Baron waited to return them to Dallas.
Reese tried to talk Kenzie into going with them, but she refused. Since he seemed to like having her with him, he hadn’t put up much of a fight. They would return on the jet tomorrow.
By noon, the doctor had signed the release papers and a big male nurse escorted Reese, in the mandatory wheelchair, down to the lobby. The other two men injured in the explosion were still there, but their conditions were reported as stable.
In the lobby, a good-looking, heavily muscled man with short dark hair Reese introduced as Jaxon Ryker, a former navy SEAL who worked at The Max, waited next to the elevator.
Jax would be acting as Reese’s bodyguard. The man looked as if he could handle the job.
“I appreciate this, Jax,” Reese said. “Though it’s probably not necessary. Sometimes my brother can be a little overprotective.”
Jax grunted. “Better safe than sorry, I always say.”
Kenzie firmly agreed.
Ryker stayed close but somehow remained unobtrusive. He drove them to the airport, where they boarded the Garrett jet and settled into their seats.
Reese was quiet as they waited for the pilot to go through the checklist, and the engines roared to life. The jet taxied down the runway and rolled to a stop, waiting for permission to take off.
Kenzie’s gaze moved over Reese, whose pallor was fading, his color returning. “You’re awfully quiet. Are you all right?”
He sighed. “Just trying to make some sense of all this. I’ve had plenty of time to think in the last twenty-four hours, and we both know that explosion wasn’t an accident. It’s only a matter of time until the authorities figure that out. But what the hell was the motive? Now that Arthur Haines is dead, even if Sawyer DeMarco were still alive, he’d have no reason to press for control of the rig. So who else wants it?”
“Maybe the explosion had nothing to do with taking over the deal,” Kenzie said. “Maybe whoever was responsible was after you personally. That’s what your brother is worried about. That’s why Jax is here.”
“I don’t deny it’s a possibility. But if someone wanted me dead, they could have done it a dozen different times. Instead, each time was connected to the Poseidon.”
“You need to make a list of your enemies, Reese, people who dislike you enough to want you dead.”
He grumbled something about the hazards of being a CEO, then fell silent as the jet began to rumble down the airstrip, gathered speed, and pushed into the air. As the flight smoothed out and the jet leveled off, his head came up as if an idea had struck.
“What if there was someone who wanted the rig, but also disliked me enough to kill me? Or maybe just didn’t care if I died as long as he got what he wanted?”
Kenzie turned toward him. “Who are you talking about?”
“Troy Graves.”
“Arthur’s partner?”
“That’s right. Troy and I met in college. From the start, we never got along.” Reese went on to explain how they had competed against each other in everything from sports to women, and Troy always managed to come out the loser. “In the years since then, we’ve been anything but friendly.”
“With Arthur dead, Troy’s now in control of Black Sand Oil and Gas,” Kenzie said. “That puts him in a position to get even for whatever grievances he might hold against you.”
“That’s right. If Black Sand winds up with the Poseidon, the company gets a badly needed boost, and maybe in the process, Troy gets rid of the competition—for good.”
FORTY-ONE
The jet landed at the Dallas Executive Airport late in the afternoon. Reese’s cell phone started ringing as he descended the metal stairs onto the tarmac. Hawk’s name appeared on the screen.