Page 27 of Heartbeat

“Stop! Stop! I can’t understand a damn word you’re saying. Please start over!”

Ruiz shuddered. “Senhor? This is really you?”

Wolf frowned. “Who the hell else did you expect it to be?”

“We got a call this morning. They said you died in a chopper crash. They said your chopper blew up in midair. They said you were dead.”

The skin crawled on the back of Wolfgang’s neck.

“Who said this?” he asked.

Ruiz took a deep breath. “I don’t know. The call came in from your office. Yesterday, I tried to call you about what’s happening here, but Stu took the message and said he’d let you know. Then Stu no longer answers me, either.”

Wolf’s head was spinning.The chopper exploded in midair? That’s sabotage. The refinery was targeted. That’s sabotage. Oh God, Stu. I sent Stu to his death.And then it hit him. If a bomb took down the chopper, then they were after him, and when they find out he didn’t die, they’ll come after him again.

“Listen, Ruiz. Don’t tell anyone you’ve talked to me. Don’t tell anyone I’m still alive. I think someone meant to kill me, but Stu was the one on the chopper. He was carrying my proxy to a board meeting, and obviously, there aren’t enough remains to identify who died or they’d already know this. Will you do that for me?”

“Yes, Boss. Of course. But what do I do about the refinery?”

“Do you believe it was sabotage?”

Ruiz took a deep breath. “Yes, Boss, I do.”

“Are you in danger?” Wolf asked.

Tears quickened when Ruiz heard true concern in the boss’s voice.

“Probably.”

“Then here’s what I want you to do. Go home. Make sure the families of those who died know that Outen Industries will pay for the burials and full compensation for their losses and pay for the ones still in the hospital. Give every employee four months wages to tide them over while the refinery is shut down, and the same to the families of the deceased, and then leave it to the authorities to put out the fire. If there’s anything left, we’ll deal with it then. But I’m not putting any of you in harm’s way for a damn barrel of oil.”

Ruiz was so relieved he couldn’t focus.

“How will I tell them this is so, if you are supposed to be dead? They’ll think it is me making promises I can’t keep.”

Outen frowned. “Tell them it’s company policy, and in the meantime, I hope to have the mess cleared up here soon, but I’ll need time, and if they think I’m dead, then I’ll be safer to investigate for myself.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. But you can’t be seen here. Where will you go?”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be in touch when I can.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,” Ruiz said.

The call disconnected, but for the first time since itall began to burn, Ruiz had a plan. Wolf had nothing but questions, and the moment he ended his call to Ruiz, he called his pilot.

“Toby, it’s me. Don’t talk to anybody back home about where we are. I know you must be exhausted, but this is an emergency. Just get the jet serviced and be ready to get us out of here.”

Toby West was used to Outen’s crazy life and didn’t blink an eye.

“Yes, sir. Consider it done. I’ll have to file a flight plan. Do we have a destination?”

“Right now, back to Miami. But just list you coming in with no passengers onboard. Nobody’s going to question where I am. They already think I’m dead.”

Toby frowned. “Sir?”

“My chopper to Jubilee blew up in midair. Stu’s dead. Someone mistook him for me. Say nothing.”

“Jesus,” Toby muttered. “Then take a taxi to this address. It’s a private airport for bigwigs in Sao Paulo. I know the owner. I can land there without raising an eyebrow.”

---