Cramer cleared his throat. “Actually, Dr. Martin,” he said to Gem in an officious tone, “it’s really not possible for Dr. Germaine to make that kind of assessment. We’re here because Global Oil—”

“Dr. Germaine,” Gem said as if the attorney hadn’t spoken, “your opinion is?”

“I think we’ll have oil headed toward shore along with the storm surge,” Austin said, ignoring the annoyed sigh from Cramer, “which is why we plan on deploying booms this morning to buffer the coastline and prevent that from happening. We’ll also be instituting all the usual protocols in advance of the leak surfacing.”

“I’ll want details,” Gem said.

“Of course.”

Alex Martin spoke up. “What about the four ships at anchor off the rig? You need to get your people off the sea before the storm hits.”

“We’ll commence transporting all nonessential personnel out of the area within the next twelve hours,” Austin said. “The ships will remain deployed as long as possible to assist in the containment procedures.”

“How many people on the rig now?” Alex asked.

“Just six members of the drill team, three pilots, the incident commander, the OTL, and me. Dr. Spencer will remain he—”

“I’ll be returning to the rig,” Claudia said, “for the time being. It’s the best way to judge the stability of the platform. The on-site readings are far more accurate than anything—”

“Once the storm tracks as far as the rig,” Alex said, “we may not be able to fly. Evacuation will be nearly impossible.”

“We’ll see that the rig is evacuated before that,” Austin said.

“I’ll make sure you do,” Alex said.

“So what now?” Gem said. “It will still be hours before the FEMA teams arrive.”

Austin focused on Gem, happy that Gem held her gaze even if her eyes were shuttered and unreadable. “I’ll coordinate with Commander Martin regarding the containment procedures at sea. It makes the most sense for you to take charge of the landside of things. You know the sanctuary, the critical areas that will need protection, and the location of wildlife at risk if the spill gets past the booms.”

“How much oil are we talking about?”

Cramer interrupted hastily. “There is no oil at this point, I’d like to remind everyone. Under other circumstances, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. GOP has instituted the appropriate and required procedures to control the slow escape from the drill site, but unfortunately, with the weather—”

“I think we all understand the situation,” Gem said abruptly, never looking away from Austin. “How much oil, Dr. Germaine?”

“I don’t know,” Austin said. “We’ve got nothing on the surface yet but there’s a potential for major contamination if the rig founders in the storm. Then the integrity of the drill shaft is at risk.”

“Then we need to prepare for the worst.”

“That would be my advice,” Austin said.

“I think we all know what we have to do, then.” Gem rose and walked out.

“I need to brief my CO,” Alex said. “Then I’d like to sit down with you, Dr. Germaine—”

“Austin, please,” Austin said, straining to follow the sound of Gem’s footsteps down the hall.

“Austin,” Alex said, “and get a precise accounting of the ships, manpower, and their allocation. Then we’ll talk about evacuation procedures.”

Cramer stood and closed his briefcase. “I am staying in town tonight, but I plan on leaving first thing tomorrow morning. You can reach me after that by phone or through the company offices.”

“Fine.” Austin pushed back from the table. “If you’ll excuse me.”

Cramer shook his head. “Lousy time for a hurricane.”

Claudia smiled faintly at Alex as he shrugged into his Armani raincoat, lifted his briefcase, and strode out. “Is there ever a good time for a hurricane?”

Alex shook her head, a quick grin softening the sharp angles of her face, before turning to her aide. “Get the car, Seaman. I’ll be right there.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the coastguardsman said and nodded to Claudia on his way out. “Ma’am.”

Claudia laughed softly. “I think I might be starting to get used to that, and I’m not certain that’s an altogether good thing.”

Alex smiled. She hadn’t expected to see Dr. Claudia Spencer again, but she was glad that she had. She’d worked with all kinds of teams when disasters struck: federal, state, private, and environmental. She’d been deployed to northern New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy. She liked to think she didn’t have any preconceived biases. She especially didn’t want an adversarial relationship with Claudia Spencer. “How long you been out at the rig?”

Claudia considered her answer carefully. She knew the laws requiring a corporation to reveal a potential contamination situation, and she agreed with Austin and Eloise that they hadn’t quite reached that point. All the same, as a representative of the company, she had to be careful. “Not long before you came aboard.”

“I understand chain of command. I respect it. We’re on the same side in this.”

“I’m glad.” Claudia relaxed, realizing just how much she hadn’t wanted a conflict with the very handsome Coast Guard officer. “I don’t think your—sister, is it?—feels the same way.”

Alex’s expression darkened. “Gem is worried about the sanctuary. This place…these birds and animals and every blade of grass…is precious to her. She’s been through this kind of thing before. She knows what to do, and there’s no one better at it than her.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Alex was loyal, that was to be expected, but she also seemed to be aware, as was Claudia, more was happening here than either understood. Austin had alluded to complications, and after Claudia had met Gem Martin, she’d gotten a clue as to just what those issues might be. Gem was the woman in the sketches Austin had drawn. Their studious avoidance of each other was another clue something had gone wrong. She sighed. “The next few days are going to be hard for everyone, and not just because of the storm and the oil.”

Alex moved down to a seat next to Claudia. “You really should reconsider going back out to the rig.”

“I was hired to do a job,” Claudia said, momentarily distracted by the subtle scent of spice and sandalwood. Alex’s eyes were as dark as her sister’s were blue, and right now they focused on Claudia with laser-like intensity. “But I appreciate your concern.”

“I don’t have to tell you how quickly things can change out there if the storm picks up speed or the front expands. We might be looking at hours instead of days.”

“I’m aware,” Claudia said, “just as I’m aware that you and your team will be out on the seas through all of it.”

“We’re trained for it.”

“The crews on the rigs are trained for emergencies too. And I promise, I’m no swashbuckler.” Claudia lightly touched Alex’s hand to relay her appreciation. “I’ll get to land in plenty of time.”

“I’ll take you at your word,” Alex said.

“Good. Now I need to get back to work.” Claudia stood. “I hope I see you again under less hectic conditions.”

“I hope so too.”

❖

Gem walked out through the front door into a dank gray morning, with no trace of sun and a cold wet wind blowing in from the sea. A morning not unlike many others this time of year, but today the ominous atmosphere settled heavily in her heart. She strode a few steps into the parking lot and stopped, taking a deep breath to settle her nerves and regroup. Of all the scenarios she’d fabricated between Austin’s late-night call and this early-morning meeting, the truth had been nowhere on her radar. Austin Germaine wasn’t Ace Gardner, the graphic artist who had sketched a superhero with bold unerring strokes on the back of a place mat in some small coastal restaurant while a storm lashed the windows and they shared intimacies of their lives. She wasn’t the woman who’d knelt in the rain changing a tire, or poured a glass of wine while listening to Gem talk about some of her most private experiences. Austin was a troubleshooter for an oil company, a fixer of some kind, undoubtedly very intelligent, and a spinner of webs.

“Gem,” Austin said from behind her.

“I don’t think this is a good time to talk,” Gem said without turning around.

“There isn’t going to be a better time,” Austin said. “I couldn’t tell you earlier.”

“I kept thinking we weren’t strangers, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I knew I was not myself, but I somehow talked myself into believing I was acting so out of character because something unique had happened between us.” She shook her head and laughed brutally. “I thought I had gotten over telling myself lies a long time ago.”

“Gem,” Austin said wearily. She wanted to touch her, wanted to reach out and stroke the stiff anger from her back, ease the disillusionment from her jaw. “It wasn’t a lie. It was real.”

Gem turned, her eyes glacially cold. “No, it wasn’t real. It was a fantasy. I didn’t know you. I still don’t know you. And you know what? I don’t want to.”

Austin couldn’t argue that Gem’s feelings weren’t valid. She had every right to be hurt and angry. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know the situation here, and I couldn’t—”

Gem shook her head. “We have nothing to discuss except what needs to be done to prevent the destruction of this sanctuary. If the oil reaches the shore, I can’t even begin to calculate the enormity of the loss. I don’t care what it takes, we can’t let that happen.”

“We won’t. I promise.”

Gem smiled bitterly. “I don’t want your promises. Or your assurances. But you must be good, very good, at what you do, or you wouldn’t be here. So the only thing I want from you, Dr. Germaine, is your expertise. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

“We have work to do.” Austin reached for her arm to keep her near and drew back at the last instant. Her touch would not be welcome and knowing that was a knife in her depths. “I want to go over the site maps with you before we deploy the booms. You can tell me where we need to concentrate them.”

“Fine. How soon?”

“An hour ago.”

Gem’s smile was brittle. “Don’t you really mean three days ago?”

Austin sighed. “I didn’t—”

“Never mind. I understand you can’t implicate GOP in any way. That’s your real job, isn’t it? To protect GOP at any cost?”

Austin reined in her temper. She’d heard these accusations before too. Coming from Gem it hurt, but attempting to explain there were limits to the lengths she would go for the company would only make the situation worse now. She’d have to prove she cared what happened to the environment. “Where would you like to meet to review the topos?”

“I have an office next to the lab I showed you yesterday. I’ll meet you there in thirty minutes. Right now I’m going for a walk.”

Austin stuffed her hands in her pockets and watched her walk away. She’d known this was coming, known she would lose, but she hadn’t imagined how much it would hurt. Not even close.

Chapter Twenty

Gem took the first trail she came to behind the visitors’ center and strode rapidly away from the building, the parking lot, the people, civilization. If she could, she’d keep walking until the wild grasses swallowed her, absorbing her inconsequential existence into the natural ebb and flow of life as it had persisted for eons, governed by nothing beyond the laws of nature. Not passion, not desire, not fantasy. No illusion, no delusions, only the beauty and violence of unadorned life. After ten mindless minutes, she slowed enough to look at the darkening sky, register the impact of the rising wind on her neck, and note the heavy weight of moisture in the air. The storm—no, the hurricane—was reality too, and she had choices to make.

She could tell her team to evacuate, get into her rental car, and be off the island and back to the safety of the mainland before it hit, leaving the fate of the sanctuary to the whims of nature as she had just imagined she preferred for herself. But she wouldn’t leave, couldn’t leave, and believed without doubt she was as much a part of the natural cycle as the coming storm. If she could save the habitat and creatures of the sanctuary, she must. And to do that, she needed to work with Austin Germaine.

Austin. Still so hard to absorb that the woman she’d spent days with, dreamed of, slept with, was so much a part of this and she hadn’t known. Gem tried to step back, to imagine what her impression would have been if today had been the first moment she’d met Austin. Would she work with her? Of course. She’d have to. Would she trust her? Unknown. Austin seemed forthright, concerned, and knowledgeable. But there was no mistaking her allegiance, either. She worked for GOP, and while Gem didn’t doubt the company and, by extension, Austin, cared what happened to the coastal environment, they undoubtedly cared a great deal more about the image and financial status of the company. Would she like her? In all likelihood, she wouldn’t have given Austin more than professional attention, and that did not require liking or disliking.