SEALs of Honor: Troy Read online

  “Right, so we arrived late—after you had four missing people and two killed in the blast—but we killed three of them somehow, finding them in the dark during this storm and killed them and stuck them into the refrigerator?” Troy stared at him in disbelief. “Get your head on straight, man. Somebody here on this damn rig has gone rogue. Or was rogue already and got the hell off before anybody found out what he’d done.”

  Almost pathetically grateful, Winslow grabbed at that straw. “That must have been what happened,” he said. “Maybe he found these people and then heard one more spot was left on the last flight out, and he grabbed it.”

  “And didn’t say anything to anybody?”

  “Hell, I wouldn’t,” Winslow said. “People would probably misconstrue everything. Look at you guys.”

  “What do you mean, ‘look at you guys?’” Troy snapped. “It’s not like you didn’t immediately turn and blame us.”

  “True,” he said. “Jesus, I wish Lionel was here though. It would make Daniel feel a lot better.”

  “His brother?”

  “Yeah, his brother.”

  “We haven’t seen Daniel in the last hour or so. Have you?”

  He looked at him in surprise, then frowned and shook his head. “He’s with the company men, isn’t he?”

  “I don’t think so,” Troy said, “but I’m not exactly sure.”

  “Well, he better be,” Winslow said. “Otherwise, that’s just even more that’s messed up.”

  “Apparently this whole place is a mess. Chucky needs you too,” Axel said quietly.

  Winslow pulled away from the morgue drawers and said, “Yes, he does. That’s what I’ll focus on.”

  “So, just because we don’t know what the hell’s going on here, don’t mention anything about the extra bodies.”

  He frowned at that. “I don’t keep secrets from my buddy.”

  “I hear you, but what if he had something to do with this?”

  “I doubt it,” he said. “I’ve known Chucky for fifty-odd years. He’s no murderer.”

  “Who knew about him coming down to the freezers?”

  Winslow shook his head. “I didn’t even know,” he said. “I didn’t know anything was up until he told me what happened.”

  “So what are the chances that somebody was checking up on the bodies, and Chucky disturbed him?”

  “No, he was at the freezers on the other side,” he said, “but I hear what you’re saying. You think he might have interrupted somebody doing something else?”

  “We’re looking for answers,” Axel said. “If you’ve got ideas, we could really use them.”

  “If I had any, I would,” Winslow said. “I just want off this rig and will never come back. This has been a piece of shit trip right from the beginning.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning, the women,” he said. “Not just one but three of them. Now we’ll be turned into an all-male rig because they can’t trust the guys with women around.”

  “Was an investigation ever done?”

  “Sure, but it got washed under the carpet, like everything else does around here. That was the problem with Lionel too. Like I said, I didn’t have a problem with his sexuality, but some of the other guys did in a big way.”

  “No surprise there,” Troy said. “What about the explosion two days ago?”

  “I have no idea,” Winslow said.

  “Any other stuff? Anything else going on?”

  “Just the usual bullying. This life is rough,” he said. “You know Chucky and I have lived it for a long time, but we’ve both been talking though, thinking this is our last trip. We want to retire. We’ve got houses close to each other, so we can pick up a six-pack of cold beer and sit out by the barbecue and cook some steaks. We’re done with this rig living. We’re done with this whole attitude.”

  “Did you have anything to do with those three women?”

  He shook his head. “Not us,” he said. “We both had wives. We’ve buried them both unfortunately. One died in a car accident and the other from cancer,” he said, “but we’ve got daughters. We’d never treat anybody like that. But the guys, the younger guys, really don’t give a shit. As far as they’re concerned, women don’t belong here, and, if they’re here, it’s because they want one thing. It was a bad deal, not just the first time but the third time too. Nothing ever got better.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Troy said. “That makes for a shitty atmosphere.”

  “It sure does,” he said. “We wanted to get out then, but we had contracts. They’re up in another ten days. At this point in time, it’ll be all we can do to make it to the end.”

  “At this point in time,” Axel said, “it may well take all you’ve got to make it to the end. There’s a damn good chance that somebody didn’t expect Chucky to survive being frozen.”

  Winslow stared at him in horror and then bolted.

  “Too much?” Axel asked, his hands on his hips as he stared at the empty doorway.

  “It doesn’t matter if it was or not,” Troy said. “It had to be said. He needs to keep an eye out for him and his buddy.”

  Chapter 7

  Berkley looked up, relief crossing her face when she saw Troy, Winslow, and Axel all walking toward her in the dining area. As soon as Troy and Axel sat down beside her, she watched Winslow at the coffeepot, pour himself a cup, and walk back out again. “At least you found him,” she said, in a low voice.

  Troy nodded, leaning over slightly. “But we still didn’t see Daniel.”

  “Did you look for him though?”

  “Not seriously, no,” he said. “Have you seen him?”

  She shook her head. “No, I haven’t. But he could be in his room. He could be anywhere, really.”

  “Exactly. Winslow knew two of our dead had died from the explosion but didn’t know about the extra bodies,” he said. “He was shocked and angry. Now he’s wondering what the hell happened.”

  “Interesting,” she murmured.

  With him leaning even closer, he whispered in a lower voice yet again. “But he did mention the rapes and said that the atmosphere on board sucked and that he and Chucky were leaving. They have ten days left on their contract, and they will go home, put the steaks on the barbie, and chill some beer. They’re done with this lifestyle. This trip was the final straw.”

  “Interesting,” she murmured again.

  Just something was so intimate about having him beside her. And what an idiot she was for even thinking that. It’s not that she felt she was in any personal danger now, particularly not with Mason and his crew here, but Troy was different. She knew so many in Mason’s group, but something about this guy sparked a connection somehow that she didn’t have with Axel or the others.

  He slowly rotated the mug of coffee on the table with his hands. Long lean muscled fingers, capable hands, a man who exuded power. That’s what put off the others. Something was just so self-confident about these men. It wasn’t so much even a can-do attitude, as having already done it. And knowing they could do it again.

  She leaned over slightly, so that their shoulders touched. “So, you don’t think Winslow had anything to do with it?”

  Troy shook his head. “No, I don’t.”

  Just then Idiot got up from a nearby table, walked toward them, and said, “Didn’t take you long to jump him.” He sneered at Berkley.

  She raised her eyebrows. “I don’t know what in the hell you’re talking about,” she said, “but it seems to me that we’re just sitting here, having coffee.”

  “Yeah, but you won’t be sleeping alone tonight. You could have had all kinds of opportunities for all the time you’ve been here,” he said. “And you turned us all down. This guy walks in, and you’re just like a slut, lying down and spreading your legs.”

  Very slowly, almost in slow motion, Troy stood, towering over Idiot. She reached out to grab his hand. He looked down at her, and she could see the tic from the muscle of his jaw twitching.
She shook her head. “He’s not worth it.”

  He didn’t shake her hand off his arm but turned to look at Idiot. Immediately silence took over the rest of the dining area.

  Idiot sneered. “Big guy, you think you’re something?” he said. “You think I haven’t gone rounds with a bunch of these guys here?”

  “I don’t care if you have or not,” Troy said, his voice low and hard. “But nobody talks to a woman like that when I’m around.”

  He sneered again. “Or what?”

  Troy’s hand shot out lightning fast, grabbing Idiot around the neck. Troy squeezed.

  Idiot struggled to get away, gasping and choking. Troy just kept squeezing, with a single hand.

  She could see the bicep bulging on the arm that was squeezing, growing incredibly huge. “Stop,” she said, reaching out. “Don’t let him get you in this mood.”

  He looked at her casually and said, “Hey, I’m in total control.” Then he lifted—absolutely lifted—Idiot off his feet, just by the one-handed hold he had on his neck. A spluttering noise came from Idiot as his feet kicked free and as he tried to kick Troy. But he didn’t seem to have that much control, and ever-so-slowly Troy lowered him to the ground. Then he removed his hand from around his neck.

  Idiot grabbed a chair to keep him upright, still gasping for breath.

  “Listen to me, Idiot. I stopped this time,” he said, “but, if you ever speak to her like that again, next time I won’t. Now get your shitty ass away from us. You’re spoiling my view.”

  Idiot was bent over double, coughing and choking, his hands around his neck. “I’ll have you charged for that,” he roared, when he could. The trouble was that his voice came out like a squeaky little mouse.

  “Good,” Troy said. “Let’s have a full investigation into things on this rig, and we’ll see if you had anything to do with the three women who were raped.”

  Idiot took a step back. “Just because she won’t sleep with anybody doesn’t mean the others didn’t,” he sneered. “All three of them spread their legs for anybody and everybody, and I think one of them was even taking money for it.” His expression held more anger than fear.

  As Troy took a step forward, Idiot backed up hurriedly and then took one last look at her, hating her with his gaze, before he turned and bolted away.

  Jonesy walked over. “I get that you probably felt you needed to do that, but there is something wrong with Phil. You know that, right?”

  “That’s obvious,” Axel said. “Not too many people are stupid enough to cross us.”

  “No,” Jonesy said. “They have the smarts not to. But that’s what I mean. Phil’s not quite right in the head.”

  “So you tolerate that behavior, using his mental state as an excuse?” Troy asked, a curious tone in his voice.

  “We tolerate all kinds of shit around here. For peace,” Jonesy said.

  “We shouldn’t have to though,” she said. “This place has gone to hell.”

  “Well, I won’t argue with you there,” Jonesy said. “Just watch your back. Phil is not somebody you can trust.”

  “I know that already,” she said. “It just really sucks that I can’t be safe at my workplace.”

  “It’s not just your workplace though,” Troy said. “It’s also where you sleep and have almost no time on your own, because you can’t trust—”

  “I know,” she said. “He’s been crossing the line further and further all the time.”

  Jonesy looked at her in surprise. “You haven’t said anything?”

  “You’ve seen him,” she said. “You’ve stuck up for me a couple times.”

  “Well, I did,” he said, “but obviously I’m not needed anymore. I sure hope you know who this guy really is,” he said with a motion to Troy. “Because all of us noticed how quickly you fell into his lap.”

  She glared at him. “You don’t know anything about us,” she said, her tone biting. “For all you know, he’s an ex-boyfriend and an old friend,” she said.

  “No,” Jonesy said. “He isn’t. But we can all see the attraction. The two of you were zinging right off the bat. I get it. We’ll back away, but watch out for Phil. His attitude obviously is a little off-center.” With that, he turned and walked off.

  “Shit, shit, shit,” she whispered under her breath. Axel looked at her with interest, and she shrugged. “I don’t need this.”

  “Do you want me to leave?” Troy asked.

  She shook her head. “No, you’ve appointed yourself my guardian,” she said. “And, as much as I would prefer not to need anybody in that role, now it’ll be worse if we change it.”

  “Well, hopefully none of us will be here long enough for it to be an issue,” he said.

  She nodded. “Speaking of which, where the hell is the pilot who brought you in?”

  “Hopefully with Mason,” Axel said.

  “I left the three of them in the office,” she said. “I didn’t see any pilot with Mason. I haven’t seen a pilot at all.”

  “Well, it’s not his first trip onto the rig, so maybe he’s holed up somewhere,” Troy said.

  “Most of the time they’re holed up here in the dining area,” she said, motioning toward Denny, still muttering to himself as he banged around large pots.

  “Good point.” Troy got up and walked over to talk to Denny.

  She couldn’t hear the conversation, but she studied Axel. “Is Troy a good guy?”

  “The best,” Axel said. He turned to look at her, his lips quirked as he added, “And your buddy there was correct. It’s obvious something is zinging between the two of you.”

  She shrugged self-consciously. “Not so you’d notice on my part,” she said.

  “Oh, you’re interested,” he said. “And you can bet that Troy will never be the kind of guy who will let somebody abuse or even disrespect a woman in his presence.”

  “And that is much appreciated,” she said, “but I wish he hadn’t pulled that macho tactic here. It won’t go down so well with the crew.”

  “He’s worked on oil rigs before,” Axel said, surprising her. “He knows perfectly well that dominance needs to be slammed home before it becomes a bigger problem.”

  “Right,” she said with a sigh. “Top dog and all that. What am I? The spoils of war?”

  “Tell me,” Axel said, leaning forward across the table, his gaze intent. “Have you gone out with or hooked up with anybody here?”

  She shook her head. “No, that would be suicide.”

  “Exactly,” he said. “And so, if somebody is pushing the line, what will you do about it?”

  “Push back,” she said with a shrug. “I’m not completely helpless.”

  “Except three women were raped by multiple men. And now you’re the only woman around. That will sit in the back of their minds.”

  She stared at him, feeling the color bleach from her face. “So you’re saying that Troy really had no choice but to do this?”

  “To keep you safe, yes,” he said. “Unless you want to sit here and fight them all off.” And he added, “I can tell you that your idiot buddy there is mentally unstable and will go off half-cocked on you. At some point in time that’s coming up. So keep Troy or me close, just for your own protection. At all times.”

  “If he’s got a weapon,” she said, “you or Troy could do nothing about it.”

  “We’re hardly unarmed,” he said with a half smile.

  She looked at him in shock. “You brought weapons here?”

  He shrugged and gave her a wink.

  She took that to mean yes, and somehow that made her feel better. “Make sure you keep them well secured, because, if any of these guys find them, I don’t know what they’ll do at this point.”

  “We’d like to find out who had something to do with all those bodies,” he said. “I’d like to keep everybody in tight and up close, so I don’t have to worry about where people have disappeared to.”

  “If that’s even possible,” she said. “Unless we c
an call a meeting and get everybody to stay in one area. As far as I’m concerned, everybody should be off this rig now.”

  “That won’t happen,” he said. “Too much money has been invested in these rigs. They have to keep a skeleton crew to keep it floating, solid, and safe.”

  “There should be a repair crew,” she said.

  “We understood this was the repair crew,” he said.

  “No, Daniel said they weren’t coming until after the storm.”

  “You know what? This company really needs to work on its communication.” Axel looked where Troy was still talking with Denny. “This company seems to have some basic problems.”

  “Every big company is the same,” she said, “and the bosses never want to tell the workers what the hell is going on.”

  “And yet it’s the workers who need to be in the know,” he said.

  Just then Troy walked back over. He sat down with a hard thump and said, “Denny hasn’t seen the pilot.”

  “Shit. Let me up,” she said. “I’ll go back to the company men and see if they’ve seen him.”

  “We’ll come with you.” The three of them got up and headed toward the door.

  Denny called out. “Grub is in fifteen minutes. If you’re late, you don’t get any.”

  They looked at each other. She nodded and said, “He means it.”

  “We’ll be back,” Axel said, and the three walked out.

  She knew the rest of the guys were sitting there, watching her. She didn’t care. She knew where she was safe, whether she liked it or not, and this had nothing to do with defending herself. This had everything to do with having an inkling how to survive. It would just be ugly from top to bottom.

  *

  Troy hadn’t meant to go all ballistic on the guy, but something was so off in the man’s gaze, and just thinking about those three other women and how helpless they’d been on a rig like this, well, that just made his blood boil. Sure, he’d worked rigs before, and there’d been women. But not with this same nonchalance or casual disregard for their wishes, their health, their sanity. One had a full-time partner, and maybe that guy had been enough of a strong-arm influence to keep everybody else in line. But the other two women he’d known at the other camps, and a couple others as well, they’d all been fine. Treated with respect. Nobody had gotten in their face about it. And certainly not like what he’d just seen this guy do with Berkley.