Page 27 of Honor Code

"Jesus Christ," Phoenix hissed.

"The police were pointing their guns at us, but Rafe was using me as a shield. He threatened to slice my throat. I was so scared. I thought I was going to die. I've never been that scared in my whole life."

He gave her knee a gentle squeeze. "Did they get him?"

"Yeah. He cut me on the neck to make his escape out the window, but they got him.” Her fingers fluttered at her neck. “I've still got the scar."

He nodded. "I've seen it."

"Oh." She hadn't thought he'd noticed. "Anyway, the cops caught him trying to get away on his motorcycle. He's serving twelve years at San Quentin."

"What were the charges?" His face was a mask.

"Drug trafficking, GBH, attempted murder." She took a shuddering breath. "I can't believe I fell for someone like that."

"It's not your fault," Phoenix said, not for the first time.

"That's where you're wrong," she whispered. "That was my fault. I willingly dated someone I knew was wrong for me. Someone dangerous. Even my sister warned me against him. I was just so bored after those years in the Middle East, I wanted a little fun, you know? I thought it would do me good." She shook her head. "I couldn't have been more wrong."

"We all make mistakes." Phoenix released her hand. She kind of liked holding it. It was comforting, like he cared.

"Some more so than others," Ellie said darkly.

He inhaled and nodded. "Yeah. Some more so than others."

CHAPTER 12

Phoenix stalked the deck, his hands balled into fists. Damn the bastard who'd done this to her. If the creep wasn't locked up, he'd hunt him down and beat the shit out of him. How dare he put a knife to her throat and scare the living crap out of her? What man did that?

Especially to someone as innocent as Ellie. She was a scientist. She studied elements. Wouldn't harm a fly. He knew her well enough to know that. She was dedicated, honest, and principled. She worried about her job and tried to do the right thing. Hell, she even got upset if she felt she'd broken a rule.

A weak beam of sunlight cut through the clouds, which were now dissipating. The gale had decreased to a stiff breeze, and the swells calmed to mere ripples lapping around the base of the rig.

But the transformation was lost on him. Phoenix let out an angry snort. She was a good person. Holding a knife to her throat and threatening her life was the lowest form of low. What a scumbag.

After her revelation, he'd made sure she was okay, then came up here to get some air. Witnessing her panic attack had dug up all kinds of unwanted memories. While he'd never suffered from attacks or PTSD, he had struggled with guilt. Survivor's guilt.

Even though he'd been the cause of it.

Ellie didn't know this, but he felt her pain on a deeply personal level. He'd been there. He was no stranger to fear. He knew how it felt, eating him up inside. The difference was, for him it came with the territory. Running headfirst into danger was his job, or it had been for many years. Subsequently, he'd learned how to handle it. He'd almost become immune to it.

Obviously, he mitigated the risks. They'd been trained to do that. Volatile situations were his bread and butter. Not like Ellie. Civilians leading normal lives shouldn't have to experience the kind of fear she had. That's what law enforcement was for. That's what they were for.

Still, shit happened. He knew that better than most, too.

Ellie would heal, but it would take a while. Two years wasn't a long time. No wonder she'd isolated herself on an oil rig in the North Sea. It didn't get any more remote than that. She was running away, hiding from the world.

He ground his teeth. Fucking prick. He hoped Rafael was having a hellish time inside. He damn well deserved it.

Phoenix did a lap of the deck, stopping in front of the railing. He and Boomer had fixed it earlier that day, so it was no longer a hazard. Even though the wind had died down, he hadn't wanted anyone leaning against it. Or worse, falling over it. The last thing they needed was a repeat performance of last night.

Phoenix frowned, his thoughts taking a dark turn. Had Ellie been a target? Or was the whole thing just a terrible accident? Maybe he and Boomer were reading too much into this.

He thought about what Ellie had said about her sample data and how the results didn't add up. She was conscientious. He imagined her work was precise and accurate. It would match her personality. So while he knew mistakes could be made, he also knew she'd checked her samples multiple times and was still coming up empty.

That was weird.

He hadn't mentioned it to her because he didn't want to spook her even more, but he'd been trained to figure out anomalies, to think strategically about things, and he couldn't shake the feeling that her samples had something to do with this.

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