WANTON
For the Billionaire’s Pleasure
Luke & Claire ~ 2
ONE
CLAIRE ENGLISH HELD ONTO THE door handle and prayed hard as Luke Masters maneuvered the car as fast as he could safely go on a freeway full of rush hour traffic. Sparks, the construction manager on Luke’s job, hadn’t said who’d fallen or how bad it was, only that Luke needed to get back to the jobsite and bring Claire along.
Which meant it was someone from her crew who was hurt. Nothing else made sense, but thinking about it made Claire’s chest tight with fear. The guys on her crew were more like family than employees. Even the newest had been with her for years and some of the older guys like Pete signed on with English Electrical Contracting back when her father started the company decades ago. She couldn’t stand it if anything happened to any of them, especially not on one her jobs. Just earlier that day Mike had been talking about the new baby he and his wife were expecting.
How was she supposed to tell Cecelia, Mike’s wife, or any of the wives for that matter, if something had happened to their husbands? Gripping the handle hard enough to turn her knuckles white, she prayed silently, promising God anything she could think of to keep her crew safe.
“We’ll handle it, sweetheart,” said Luke in the seat beside her. His eyes were locked on the road as he wove in between the other cars. “Whatever it is, we’ll handle it together.”
Nodding, she leaned forward in her seat, willing the car to go faster. Less than an hour earlier she’d been furious with Luke and willing to walk away or let him walk away because of the way he handled things on the house she was flipping. Now none of that seemed important anymore. The only thing that mattered was getting to the jobsite, figuring out what happened and helping whoever needed it.
She tried Pete’s cell phone, hanging up when she got his voice mail again. She hadn’t been able to get any of her guys on the phone.
“Still no answer?”
“No,” she said, holding the phone on her lap like a talisman.
“We’re almost there.” He took the exit ramp fast enough to make the tires squeal.
As bad as the traffic was, Claire could at least be grateful that it seemed like they were the only ones trying to get back into the city. The Ashton Court project was just outside the major metropolitan area on the opposite side of the city from the house Claire was flipping. Two turns and a half dozen lights and they were finally pulling into the gravel lot at the construction site. Luke pulled his car up to the trailer, parking it beside the cruiser already sitting there. There no sign of an ambulance and Claire’s chest relaxed a fraction of an inch. Whoever had fallen must still be alive.
A group of men stood together in front of the trailer, not talking. She saw some of her crew huddled together and she let out a shaky breath when she saw Mike’s back amongst the other men. That is until he turned around and she caught a glimpse of his face. His expression was one of gut wrenching pain, and it looked like he’d been crying.
Claire was out of the Veyron and moving toward her crew before the car came to a complete stop.
“What is it?” she asked, pushing past the framers. “What happened?”
“Dios mio,” said Mike, his face crumpling. “It’s Pete. He fell from six.”
Claire staggered like she’d been punched in the stomach. Before she could stumble, Luke was there with his arms around her, a solid steady presence at her back.
She saw Mike’s eyes widen a bit and remembered the conversation she’d had with Pete about Luke. Could it have just been a couple of hours ago? She sucked in a breath, blinking hard against the tears filling her eyes.
“Is he…” She started the question but couldn’t bring herself to finish it.
“He was alive when the paramedics came,” said Mike, his voice cracking. “But so broken. He was so broken, Claire.”
Silent tears streamed down the young electrician’s face and seeing him break finished Claire. Letting out a sob, she pulled out of Luke’s arms and went to Mike, wrapping her arms around his strong shoulders. She hugged him for a moment as he cried and when he pulled himself back together, she swiped at her own tears before looking at each member of her crew.
“We’ll take care of Pete and his family. I’ll make sure of it,” she said, squeezing hands and meeting their eyes with her tear filled ones. The men nodded silently more than a few of them with tears flooding their own eyes. “Can you tell me what happened?” she asked, pulling Mike to the side.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out, Ms. English.”
Claire turned to see a man in street clothes but wearing a badge, coming out of the construction trailer. A slumped over Sparks stood in the doorway behind him.
“Mr. Masters,” said the detective, nodding to Luke. “Could you and Ms. English step inside for a moment? I’ve got a few questions for you.”
“Of course,” said Luke, wrapping a protective arm around her waist and shepherding her toward the trailer.
“Andrews and Bishop are going to need talk to each of you, and OSHA will have their own questions.” The detective motioned from the gathered men to the two uniformed officers climbing out of the newly arrived patrol car. “After they take your statements, you may go. The jobsite will be closed until at least tomorrow.”
“I will call you all as soon as I know something,” said Claire, pulling out of Luke’s arm to face her crew. She missed his warmth and strength the instant she stepped away from his touch, but this was her crew, her man down. It was her responsibility.
