Lara Lacombe - Her Lieutenant Protector

First things first, though. He pulled his walkie-talkie from his belt and called up Everest.

“Go ahead.”

“I’m in the guest room. No sign of anything unusual.”

“That’s what I figured,” Everest said with a sigh. “Thanks for checking.”

“No problem. Over and out.”

Wesley carefully shut the closet door, then turned and walked through the room. He paused by the desk, the open suitcases gaping up at him. With a shrug, he reached down and plucked a wad of bills free from a tangle of clothes and slipped it into his pocket. Jeff would have no need of money where he was going, and it would be a shame for it to wind up in a police evidence locker.

With that, Wesley stepped into the hall and set off for the maintenance supply room. He’d rig up a patch for the wall, and that would be the end of it. No one, especially not any member of the Organization, need ever know how close two spoiled addicts had come to wrecking everything.

Chapter 4

The night passed without incident. The sedatives kept Jeff and his friend quiet, and they slept off their high in the relative comfort of the sick bay. The two men woke, groggy and hungry, but no worse for wear.

Until the police showed up.

Everest nodded a greeting to Mallory as he led the officers into her clinic. “Dr. Watkins, these gentlemen are from Jacksonville PD. They’re here to escort our guests off the ship.”

She smiled at the uniformed men, but before she could say anything, Jeff started shouting.

“I’m not going with them! You can’t make me leave!”

The noise stirred his friend into action, and soon the two men were hollering their displeasure at a volume that made Mallory’s ears ache.

Everest tried to talk over the men, but they merely shouted louder. The two policemen exchanged a look and started forward, but Mallory held up a hand to stall them.

“That’s enough,” she said, glaring at Jeff. When he continued to yell, she raised her own voice. “I said, that’s enough!”

Jeff and his friend stared at her, apparently shocked into silence by the temper in her voice. “Calm down, both of you. I won’t tolerate this kind of behavior in my sick bay.”

“But Doc, you can’t let them take us! We didn’t do anything!”

She aimed a level stare at the men, and Jeff squirmed a bit under her regard. “You confessed to using ketamine last night. And when a security officer entered your room to investigate your claims of seeing a body in the walls, he found pills scattered around the room.”

“You can’t search our stuff without a warrant!”

“You gave the man probable cause,” she shot back. She cast a quick look at Everest to verify she was correct, and he nodded subtly. Warmth shone from his eyes and a small smile played at the corners of his mouth as he watched her. He’s enjoying this. The realization made her feel a little self-conscious, but she shook off the sensation and returned her focus to the job at hand.

“C’mon, we were just having a little fun,” Jeff whined. “There’s no need to involve the cops.”

Everest stepped forward. “You’ve both proved to be a danger to yourselves and possibly the other passengers on board. Your cruise ends here. If I were you, I’d go with these officers quietly. Wouldn’t want to add resisting arrest to your list of problems.”

The two policemen stepped forward, one walking to Jeff’s side and the other to his friend. Their voices were low but clear as they arrested the men and recited their rights.

Everest drifted closer, coming to stand near her. Mallory felt herself leaning toward him, pulled as if by some invisible force. “Almost done,” he murmured, nodding at the scene unfolding before them. “Hopefully this is the most exciting thing we’ll have to deal with on this cruise.”

Mallory nodded in agreement. She always had mixed feelings about her job. She loved helping people and taking care of them, but at the same time, she hoped no one would need her services. Her patients were people on their honeymoon or on vacation, enjoying a trip they had planned and anticipated for months, if not longer. No one ever wanted to be sick, but to fall ill or get injured while on a cruise seemed to make things even worse somehow.

“It’s strange,” Everest said conversationally. “I love what I do, but I wake up every morning and wish for a boring day.”

Was the man a mind reader? Or were her thoughts that transparent? “I know exactly what you mean,” she said.

“I have yet to make it through a cruise without some kind of incident. I was hoping this would be the one, but then these two showed up.” He tilted his head in the direction of the men, whom the officers were now helping to stand.

Mallory stepped back to give the procession space to walk to the door. Jeff shot her a nasty glare as he moved past. “This isn’t over,” he warned. “Do you have any idea who my father is?” He lurched forward, and her heart shot into her throat. Logically, she knew he couldn’t do anything with his wrists in cuffs—he was simply trying to intimidate her. Even though her mind refused to cower, her body reacted. She forced herself to stay put, but her legs began to tremble involuntarily.

The next thing she knew, Mallory was staring at a wall of blue. She blinked, taken aback by the sudden change to her vision. Then she realized what had happened—Everest had stepped in front of her, placing his body between her and Jeff. “No one cares about your daddy.” He spoke calmly, but there was a sharp edge to his voice that sent a shiver down Mallory’s spine. She didn’t know the head of security all that well, but it was clear he was not a man to mess with.

She peered around his body to see that apparently, Jeff realized it, too. His eyes widened and a stunned look crossed his face. Clearly, he hadn’t expected Everest’s reaction to his threat. Then he was gone, the officer urging him out the door.

Everest waited until both men had left the room. Once the door shut behind them, he turned and offered her an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry about that,” he said.

Mallory’s heart began to slow, and she shrugged off the young man’s actions. “Not your fault.”

Everest studied her a moment, his bright blue eyes seeming to see right through her. “I’m going to follow the officers, make sure they don’t need me for anything after they escort our guests off the ship. After that, would you like to grab a bite to eat?”

His invitation flustered her, and Mallory’s thoughts jumbled together as she searched for a response. “Um, that sounds nice. But I’m supposed to meet my friends for breakfast. They’re on board, and I’m trying to spend as much time with them as I can.” It was the truth, but it was also a convenient excuse.

Everest nodded, but she caught a glint of what might have been disappointment flash in his eyes. “Sure thing,” he said easily. “Another time, maybe.”

“You could join us,” she blurted. As soon as the words left her mouth, Mallory wondered what she was thinking. She didn’t know this man. And she didn’t strike up friendships with men. She had no business socializing with him.

But there was something about him that made her curious to know more. And really, what could it hurt? Olivia and Avery would be there, along with Logan and Grant. She’d have a table full of buffers to keep Everest from getting too close. Maybe it would be good to learn more about him. Hopefully, she wouldn’t need his help again, but anything was possible.

“Yeah? You don’t think they’d mind?” He sounded a little hopeful, and Mallory was surprised to find she actually wanted him to come. She was happy for her friends and their newfound loves, but having Everest at the table would keep her from feeling like a fifth wheel.