Chapter 03: Vital Signs

Billowing black smoke curled into the sky as the 60-foot vessel burned. Flames licked up the sides of the ship, growing taller and darker as more fuel fed the blaze. The explosion had rocked the pier, sending Alexa careening backwards and landing hard on the wooden dock. Gavin was nowhere in sight.

“GAVIN!” Alexa yelled, pulling herself from the ground as she frantically looked around the water and shore for him. “GAVIN!”

“No!” she heard Joan gasp behind her as she and her husband rushed toward the end of the pier. “Gavin? Gavin!” The sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance as the panicked family continued searching the wreckage for their missing loved one.

Alexa hopped onto the muddy bay, coughing as the smoldering yacht pushed dark smoke into her face. She stumbled over the uneven mass of land calling for him until finally she noticed a body lying a few feet away near the shore. “GAVIN!” she yelled and hurried forward. He was on his stomach, unconscious and bleeding from a head wound.

There was flaming debris on the ground beside him and his hand rested in an unburned puddle of fuel. Alexa hesitated to turn him over but she needed to see if he was still breathing. Slowly rolling him to his back, she checked for a pulse and listened for signs of life, sighing in relief when he wheezed. Tossing a piece of wood away from him, Alexa took hold of his hand and gently caressed his hair back, cooing softly as she waited for help to arrive.

Travis and Joan hurried down to them, while Melissa and Dylan waited at the docks. Briefly, Gavin’s eyes fluttered open and Alexa looked down at him in concern as his mother moved to his side. “An ambulance is on the way, Gavin, just stay calm, ok? Help is coming,” she spoke evenly, keeping her tone soothing and steady so he didn’t panic. Moments later, he was out again and a pair of EMTs were rushing toward the beach.

For the next two hours, Alexa paced the waiting room, looking at the face of every doctor and nurse that came through there hoping it was news on Gavin’s condition. She kept replaying the explosion over and over in her head. The sound of the engine stalling and turning again, the smell of gasoline heavy in the ether, fuel leaking into the water and the brilliance of light that blinded her as she was thrown ten feet into the air.

How could someone have known the Starks would be at the docks today? Who would have that kind of access into their personal lives? There had been no pre-arranged appointment that she was aware of. And it was certainly not part of a weekly routine. Alexa didn’t know who was behind it, either her client or possibly someone else from their past, none of it seemed to add up. But one thing was certain, this was no accident! 

The doors to the emergency room opened one last time and Joan along with her husband rejoined the rest of the family in the waiting room. “He’s awake,” Travis remarked, stepping out into the lobby where Alexa waited with Melissa and Dylan. “And he’s asking for you.” Alexa nodded and grabbed a visitor’s pass from the nurse at reception before heading back.

“Hey,” she smiled entering the room. She watched as a nurse finished setting up Gavin’s IV and checked the vitals on his monitors.

“There she is,” he grinned and pointed at Alexa as he spoke to his nurse. “You ever meet a real-life hero? Because one just stepped into my room,” he bragged and beckoned her closer.

“I’m not a hero, Gavin.”

“Bullshit! I heard what you did, rushing headlong into the fire trying to find me. And I saw you there…on the beach, leaning over me, seeing if I was alive. You’re a hero, Hannah Taylor; you’re my hero.”

The nurse exited the room, closing the door behind her and Alexa moved closer to Gavin’s bed. He scooted over, making room for her and, at her refusal, insisted she lay with him. Gavin took her purse and placed it on the table behind him, smiling at her as she cozied beside him. “I guess it’s a pretty silly thing to ask but, how are you feeling?”

“On a scale of 1-10? I’m an 11, now that you’re here,” he confessed, nudging closer toward her, causing a painful ache to tear through his side and trying to keep it from showing on his face.

“I was so scared, Gavin.”

“You?! Try being in the middle of an inferno with no way out as everything explodes around you,” he teased, that handsomely boyish grin spreading his lips. “I didn’t know if I would make it out alive.”

“But you did.”

“Barely. The only reason I survived is because I kept seeing your face; so sad and full of tears. I couldn’t stand to let that happen if I didn’t make it out,” Gavin smiled, smoothing her hair behind her ear while she gently caressed his face. “How are you feeling? I heard the explosion knocked you back too.”

“I’m fine. I landed on my ass so…”

“You had plenty of cushion to break your fall,” he joked and lightly kissed her nose. 

“I see you didn’t lose your sense of humor in the blast,” she smiled, tapping her finger on his cheek. “It hurt…a lot. I was thrown a few feet into the air and crashed on a hard, wooden surface. But…I don’t know, I wasn’t thinking about the pain I was in. I just needed to find you. I’m sure I’ll feel it in the morning.”

“Like I said, my hero,” he replied, pulling her closer. “You’re amazing, Hannah Taylor.”

“Me!?” she exclaimed, watching him shake his head. “You’ve just survived being blown up in a catastrophic boating accident and you’re calling me amazing? Boy, I should call the nurse back in here. I think you clunked your head harder than I thought.”

Gavin laughed and softly rubbed his fingers over her arm as he felt her hand sweep into his hair. He winced feeling her nails scuff against the large bump on the back of his head but smiled nonetheless. “You smell so damn good!” His voice came out huskier than he’d anticipated and Alexa felt tingles ripple over her skin causing goosebumps to appear. Without breaking eye contact, Gavin leaned forward, crashing his lips into hers. They felt softer than ever and tasted as sweet as honeysuckle in spring.

Their lips moved together in sync and she moaned against his, making him react just the same. Gavin tilted his head, sucking her tongue into his mouth while his teeth grazed her lip and Alexa moaned again. The sounds she was making caused his cock to stiffen and the hospital gown to poke out, barely containing the secret.

Her soft hands rolled along his back and a deep growl rumbled through his chest as she thrust her hips into him causing her dress to rise above her thighs. He could feel the warmth between her legs as if the fabric of her panties evaporated from the heat and he reached down between them to touch her.

“Ahem,” Joan cleared her throat as she walked in on them. They both jumped like two kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar and Alexa nervously pulled her dress in place while Gavin chewed on his lower lip to keep from laughing. “Gavin, you should be resting,” Joan remarked, eyeing Alexa until she climbed out of his bed.

“I’m fine, Mom.”

“I’m sure you may think you’re fine. But after what you just went through, it’s better to play it safe. No…unnecessary excitement for a while perhaps?” she again gave Alexa a pointed look and Gavin followed her gaze.

“Mom, Hannah was just expressing her delight that I came out of this thing mostly unscathed. I was just eager to accept it,” he said and smirked at the shocked look Alexa gave him.

“Hannah, there are two police detectives out in the hallway who would like to speak with you,” Joan replied, ignoring her son’s last comment.

“What about?” Gavin asked, sitting up and wincing as he felt the throbbing in his head renew.

“Your accident.”

“What?” he laughed, glancing in Alexa’s direction again. “They don’t think she had anything to do with that?”

“I’m sure I don’t know what they think. My best guess is they would just like to question her. And since Hannah was the closest to you when it happened, they’d like to know if she might have heard or seen something that would assist them with their investigation.”

“It’s ok, Gavin, I’ll speak to them,” she smiled at him and started to leave.

“Babe,” Gavin dangled her purse from his index finger and as she reached for it, he jerked it away, grabbed the back of her head and planted a deep kiss on her lips. “Hurry back,” he smirked at the blush that crept into her cheeks.

Alexa did her best to avoid his mother’s scowl and excused herself from the room. Joan watched as she made her exit and closed the door behind her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Joan asked, placing her hands on her hips as she stared at her son.

“What?”

“Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Gavin, you were just in a terrible accident! You shouldn’t be messing around like that in your condition.”

“Mom, I’m fine, ok? Trust me. It wasn’t that serious,” Gavin tried to laugh it off with a light-hearted tone.

“Wasn’t that serious? Gavin, someone blew up our yacht with you onboard. They could have killed you! And I walk in here to find you…necking with Hannah? You need to be more careful.” 

“First of all, no one says ‘necking’ anymore, Mom. Secondly, Hannah was just making sure I was ok. Remember, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. She risked her life to find me in that water,” he sighed and folded his hands in his lap. “And third, I’m going to marry her.”

“Excuse me? You’re gonna what?”

Grabbing his personal effects from the bedside table, he showed his mother the large, heart-shaped diamond engagement ring he’d bought for Alexa three days ago and smiled. “I’ve been thinking about it for a few weeks now. And after today I realized how important she is to me. I want to propose to her.”

“How did you get that? A week ago, you told me you were barely scraping by on your current salary but all of a sudden you can afford a ring like that? Did you ask your father for a loan?”

“No, Ma. I used some of the money I’d saved up to get it.”

“The money you plan on opening a garage with? Gavin, what has gotten into you? You’ve been going on about your big business plans for years and now you’re dipping into your savings to buy her jewelry? You barely know this girl. You two haven’t been seeing each other long enough for you to make the type of decision that have these kind of lifelong consequences!”

“And how long were you and Dad dating before he popped the question?”

“That was different. Times have changed since then. Marriage doesn’t mean the same as it used to.”

“Things are always different. But that doesn’t change my decision. Mom, I love Hannah. It’s times like these when you think about the people who matter most; people you can’t live without. She risked her life to save mine. That’s proof enough about how she feels for me. I’m going to ask her to marry me. I just hope that whatever issues you seem to have with her will be worked out before then.”

“I don’t trust her. I don’t know what it is but something about her is off. I love you and I just want to make sure you’re making a wise decision, sweetheart.” Joan sighed, throwing her hands up in defeat as Gavin made a face. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll keep my mouth shut, Gavin. I just hope you know what you are doing.”

Alexa stepped toward the nurses’ station and glanced over the counter. The hall was empty save a patient in a wheelchair rolling himself toward the vending machines. She walked a little further toward the lobby looking for the detectives Joan mentioned were waiting on her and paused. Her phone vibrated in her handbag and she reached down to answer it. “Hello?”

“Alexa?” Kasper’s voice sounded oddly surprised as he answered and he cleared his throat to cover it up. “Are you ok? I—I just saw on the news…”

“Really? Wow I guess bad news travels fast.”

“Yeah…well I also heard over the scanner; the call went out for Stark’s private bay. Man, I got so worried.”

“Well, I’m fine. Sorry I didn’t call. Things have been a little hectic here.”

“I can imagine. Do you know what happened?”

“No, not exactly. I know one thing is certain though, this was sabotage. I smelled gas and saw fuel pumping into the water shortly before the boat blew. Someone was trying to take out all of the Starks in one blow. And that someone I suspect was our client.”

“Damn. This is getting serious, A. What are you going to do?”

“The same thing we’ve been doing; stick close to the family and see if I can flush out the rat.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Nothing. Just sit tight. I’ll coordinate with you when I can.”

“Oh, so then…you’ll have your hands full for a while?”

“That’s a strong possibility. Why?”

“I received a message on the admin account. Someone purchased the Hershey’s Kiss. I was thinking maybe we should check it out.”

“What? No. K, we’re in the middle of a job right now; no side missions, remember?”

“I know but things aren’t going exactly as planned right now and we could use the money if things get crazy.” Alexa sighed. She knew there was no talking him down. He seemed ever determined to look into the new prospect and she had no choice but to go along.

“Ok. But it’ll have to be later this afternoon. I’m at the hospital with Gavin and the police want to question me about his accident.”

“Alright. I’ll be waiting for you at my hotel.”

“Ms. Taylor?” Alexa turned as two detectives, one dressed in a dark coat, the other in a pant suit, approached her from behind. “I’m Detective Benning, this is my partner Detective Clarke,” the female introduced themselves. “We would like to speak with you regarding the incident at the pier.”

“Yes. Of course.”

The detective led her toward a sitting area near the vending machines and waited for her to get settled before opening up her notebook and preparing to jot down her statement. “As we understand it, just before the boat explosion, you and Gavin Stark along with his family were about to take the yacht out for a ride.”

“That’s correct.”

“According to witness statements, Gavin Stark had been the first to board and he was ‘unhitching the port ropes’ when you made your ascent up the stairs?”

“Yes. He was near the front of the yacht pulling the ropes onto the deck and tying them to the rail things. And I was carrying the picnic basket and blanket from my car. His dad was checking the captain’s day book near the parking lot and his mom and younger siblings were heading down the dock toward us.”

“And at the time, did you have any reason to believe something was wrong with the yacht?”

“No. I didn’t.”

Detective Benning glanced at her partner and back to Alexa before flipping a page in her pad and reading a note. “Ms. Taylor, we’ve had several witnesses state that they heard you yell ‘Gavin, wait’ just before the yacht exploded. Why was that, Ma’am?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember yelling anything to him.”

“Are you aware of what caused the explosion?”

“No. Your guess is as good as mine.”

“The engine was flooded,” Detective Clarke responded, speaking for the first time since he was introduced. “Someone had jammed up the motor and replaced the new oil with old, corrosive sludge. And did you know there was fuel found inside the crank case? Apparently, a back draft ran down the PVC system causing the explosion. The initial spark happened once Mr. Stark started the ignition.”

“No, I didn’t know that,” Alexa replied glancing between the two detectives. “How would I know that? Through my extensive knowledge of yachts?”

“You tell us, Ma’am.”

“Wait, what are we talking about here? This doesn’t feel routine. It seems as if you’re looking at me like I’m a suspect.” The detectives exchanged a glance but neither spoke and Alexa scoffed and leaned back. “If I did this, why would I, as you say, shout to Gavin to get off the boat?”

“Guilty conscience,” Detective Clarke shrugged. “But you claim you don’t recall shouting anything to Mr. Stark. So, which is it? Did you, or didn’t you?”

“It’s a little harder to commit murder when it’s staring you in the face,” Detective Benning added.

“Oh. I see. Ok. This is where I tell you this interview is over.” Alexa sighed and shook her head as she stood. “For the record, it was the first yacht I’d ever been on…correction, ever attempted to board. I don’t know anything about boat mechanics or why the gas was in the crank. I don’t know why the boat exploded and I’m just lucky to have been thrown back to the dock instead of going up in flames with it. Now, if you’ll excuse me. Someone I care about is lying in a hospital bed after having survived a near fatal accident and I’d like to get back to him.”

“Of course. If we have any further questions, we know where to reach you.”

Alexa checked in on Gavin one last time. Joan had left and he was being treated by a new nurse who was redressing his wounds. She sat with him an hour longer before Joan asked that she allow the family time to spend with him alone. Despite Gavin’s many objections, Alexa agreed, deciding to use the free time to head to Kasper’s hotel room and check out the potentially new client with him; suddenly feeling the need to shoot something.

“K?” Alexa knocked and waited on him to answer. She stood on the stoop outside his door, peeking in through the window. Not hearing a sound, she knocked once more before picking the lock and letting herself inside. “K, you here?”

The room appeared empty. Outside of his duffel bag next to the dresser and his computer sitting on the small desk beside the window, there were no signs of him. A dreaded feeling wrenched her gut as she looked at the last search he’d completed on his laptop. It was directions to a rail yard not far from his hotel. “Oh no.” Kasper was heading to see the client without her and there was no telling what awaited him when he arrived!

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