The Tycoon's Proposition
Page 69
In a minute the message went out through the entire ship for Mrs. Herrick to get in touch with her husband. The only thing to do now was to go back to the condo and wait for her to either call or show up.
On his way to the elevator his cell phone rang. He clicked on. “Terri?”
“Sorry, Mr. Herrick. This is Les Cramer on the flight deck. I heard your all call. Your wife took a flight out of here at noon today.”
Ben’s heart almost stopped beating. “In this weather?”
“It wasn’t as bad earlier. I assumed you knew. The pilot wouldn’t have taken her up if there’d been any hint of risk. She said she was in a hurry to get back to Guayaquil, that it was an emergency.”
Lord. “What was his flight plan?”
“He flew to El Cerita. Depending on the weather, he’d either go all the way to Guayaquil, or stay put till it was safe to fly.”
“Has he checked in with you yet?”
“No, but I can still reach him.”
“Do it now while I’m on the line, then patch me through to him!”
“Yes, sir.”
Like his near-drowning experience where his life flashed before him, images of Terri flooded Ben’s mind and heart till he couldn’t breathe. If anything happened to her…
“Mr. Herrick? I’ve got Jim Nash on the line. Go ahead.”
“Jim?”
“Yes, Mr. Herrick.” The pilot sounded far away. There was a lot of static.
“Are you still in La Cerita?”
“Yes, sir. I’ve just made the decision to stay over until tomorrow. Your wife took a taxi to the Hotel Flores.”
“Thank God. Both of you stay put until further notice.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Les?”
“I’m here.”
“I need your best pilot to fly me to the nearest airport from the ship.”
“Just a minute. Let’s see… You could probably make it to San Cristobal.”
“That’s fine. I’ll drive from there to La Cerita. I’m on my way up. Tell the pilot to get ready.”
“Yes, sir.”
The pilot had told Terri La Cerita was a small town of thirty thousand people. He made arrangements for them to stay at the Hotel Flores, which catered to American tourists. They would both be comfortable there.
Jim Nash had been terrific to her, but when she’d begged him to fly her the rest of the way, he’d adamantly refused. After putting her in a taxi, he told her he’d check in at the hotel later. That was hours ago.
She ate dinner by herself in the restaurant, watching for him in case he felt like joining her. When he didn’t come, she went back to her room and got ready for bed, presuming she wouldn’t hear from him until morning.
Thank heaven there’d been a way to get off the ship. After that dreadful experience in the boardroom, she couldn’t have faced Ben again. The pain would have been too immobilizing.
As soon as she arrived in Lead, she would take steps to get their marriage annulled. When she thought about it, their relationship wasn’t that different from two ships passing in the night.