He brought his car to a halt, then shot out and raced to the blue compact car whose tires were still spinning in the air. The front and rear windows had been broken. Glass lay everywhere. He looked inside. The driver was the only occupant. A woman. She was moaning.
Gracias a Dios, she was alive! The seat belt had kept her from being thrown.
Remi tried to the open the door, but couldn’t. He reached in to undo the lock. “You’re going to be all right, Senora,” he assured her in his native tongue.
“Help me …” came her anguished cry. “My eye—I can’t see—” Though she spoke passable Spanish, she was definitely an American.
“Be as still as you can,” he responded firmly in accented English. “Don’t touch your eye or you’ll make it worse. I’m going to lift you out. Let me do all the work.”
As he reached around to undo her seat belt, he saw blood oozing down the right side of her face. Her shoulder-length blond hair was spattered with it.
He gathered her slight weight in his arms, aware of her flowery fragrance as he carried her to safety and laid her on the ground with as much care as possible. “I’ll have you to a hospital shortly. Don’t move.”
“I won’t,” she whispered shakily in English through lips made bluish-white from shock. The pallor of her face and the fists her hands made let him know her pain was excruciating, but instead of screaming hysterically she showed a rare courage he could only admire.
No doubt a piece of flying metal or glass had caused the injury. He pulled the cell phone from his trouser pocket and phoned the police. After a quick explanation from him, they promised to send a medical helicopter immediately.
After the call was made, he rang his foreman, Paco, and explained what had happened. He told him to get one of the staff and come for his car. Paco could wait for the police and give them the details. Remi planned to accompany the woman to the hospital. Once he’d seen to her care, he’d talk to the police himself.
In his gut he felt responsible for the crash. It might have been avoided if his mind hadn’t been somewhere else.
As he clicked off, he noticed several cars stopping to offer help. The injured woman reached for his free hand. “No people. Please—” she implored. Her ringless fingers clutched his so hard that her nails dug into his palms, but he didn’t mind. Her control was nothing short of amazing.
He told the other drivers the police were coming and waved them on. In another minute they were alone again.
“What’s your name?”
“J-Jillian Gray.”
An unusual first name. He liked the sound of it on her tongue.
“Do you have a husband or a boyfriend I can call?”
“No.”
“Are you here with a friend or family member?”
“No.” Every word had to be an effort.
“Hold on a few more minutes, Jillian. I can hear the helicopter coming. You’ll be out of your pain soon.”
“Is my eye still there?”
Madre de Dios. The fear in her voice killed him. “Of course. Everything’s going to be fine.” It had to be. “The bleeding has stopped. Don’t cry. You wouldn’t want the salt from your tears to irritate it.”
“No.” Her softly rounded chin wobbled. The sight of it reminded him how brave she was being. His insides quivered in response.
There were a dozen questions he wanted answers to, but he knew the hospital staff would get the pertinent information from her. Right now she was in too much pain to be interrogated.
“The helicopter’s here.”
“My purse—”
“Don’t worry about that now.” He’d leave it for the police, who would need to see her passport. When they were through with the investigation, he’d get it back from them. “The important thing is to take care of you. I’ll make certain all your belongings are returned to you.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Three medical personnel jumped down and hurried over to them. The next few minutes passed in a blur as she was examined and lifted on to a gurney. Remi followed as they transported her to the helicopter.
No sooner had he climbed inside and they’d taken off than he heard sirens. Out of the window he saw one of the estate cars with the logo approaching the accident scene from the opposite direction. Paco was now there to sort everything out with the police.
To his relief they were giving the woman antibiotics and painkillers through an IV. Already she was calmer. They’d braced her neck so she couldn’t move her head. He was glad they hadn’t tried to question her.
The paramedic closest to him grabbed a clipboard and started taking information, which he wrote down and would no doubt give to the police. “What’s your name?”
“Remigio Goyo.”
His eyes widened. “Don Remigio Goyo?”
“Sí.”
“I know your address. Soleado Goyo Estate, Castile-La Mancha. Are you acquainted with this woman?”
“No.”
“Did you see the accident?”
“Sí,” Remi said through gritted teeth. “We both tried to avoid an animal crossing the road at the same time. To her credit, her expertise at the wheel prevented a head-on collision.”
“Did she tell you her name?”
“Jillian Gray. I’m not sure about the spelling of either name.”
“Next of kin?”
“I don’t know. The police will find out.”
“She’s very beautiful. Such hair … like spun gold.”
Remi had been trying hard not to think about that, or the exquisite mold of her lovely body wearing a simple blouse and skirt. Drops of blood stood out against the pastel green material, staining what looked so perfect. That was the problem with great beauty. It hid the greatest flaws. Never again would he allow it to blind him.
“She’s American. No doubt a tourist,” Remi muttered, “but that’s all I know. Did you find any other injuries besides the one to her eye?”
The paramedic shook his head. “No, but she’s going to need surgery to remove whatever’s lodged in there.”
Remi’s mind raced ahead. “Who’s the best ophthamologist around?”
“Dr. Ernesto Filartigua from Madrid. He operates at the Hospital of the Holy Cross.”
“Then tell the pilot to fly us there. I’ll get the doctor on the phone. I want an expert on her case.”
“Our company doesn’t normally fly north of Toledo, but for you we will.” Madrid was only a half hour farther than Toledo by car—not a great distance—and it meant getting her the best care.
Remi exhaled a deep breath. For once he was glad his title could make a difference. This time his judgment wasn’t impaired. A life was in jeopardy, possibly because of him. He had no desire to take on another demon.
“Sign here, and I’ll tell him to inform dispatch.”
Remi put his signature to the dotted line. While the other man spoke to the cockpit, he pulled out his phone once more and asked for information. If it was at all possible, he wanted to speak to the doctor before they landed.
When