Lara Lacombe - Her Lieutenant Protector

“Thanks for your help,” she said softly.

His stomach did a little flip, and he shook his head. “I didn’t do much. It was all you.”

She smiled, and his heart thumped hard against his breastbone. When was the last time he’d noticed a woman’s smile?

“I’m glad you were here, though. Just in case.” A shadow crossed her eyes, there and gone in a blink. That’s interesting, he thought. Maybe she wasn’t as calm as she’d appeared to be. But was it just the stress of the situation bothering her, or was something else going on?

“Hey, man,” Jeff called out.

Everest glanced over and met his eyes. “Are you talking to me?”

Jeff nodded. “Yeah. Are you the police or something?”

“Or something,” Everest said easily. “Why?”

Jeff sat up as much as the restraints would allow, trying to get closer to him. “There’s a problem with my room. You’ve gotta fix it.”

“Oh?” This ought to be good, Everest thought. What kind of issue had Jeff’s drug-addled brain concocted? “What’s wrong?”

Jeff met his gaze, his eyes serious even as he struggled to focus. “The body,” he whispered, real fear in his voice. “There’s a body in my room.”

Chapter 3

The exam room fell silent in the wake of Jeff’s announcement. After a second, every head in the room swiveled to face Mallory, each person looking to her for guidance. The two nurses wore identical quizzical expressions, clearly wanting to know how they should respond to the patient’s latest delusion. Jeff and his friend looked at her imploringly, wanting her to acknowledge the legitimacy of their claim. And Everest? He looked astounded, confusion and disbelief warring for dominance over his features.

Under any other circumstances, his expression would make her laugh. Even though she had just met him his morning, Mallory got the impression Everest was a sober, composed man. To see him so flabbergasted now struck her as funny, and she bit her lip to keep from smiling.

“A body?” she said, keeping her tone neutral. “What kind of body?”

Jeff frowned at her, apparently taken aback by her question. “A dead body. Is there any other kind?”

Mallory sighed. “Okay, fair enough. But what type of animal was it?”

The young man shook his head vigorously, his eyes wide. “Not an animal. A person.” He nearly whispered the last word, as if he was afraid of summoning a ghost.

Everest shot her a questioning look, and Mallory subtly shook her head. Jeff and his buddy must have gotten their hands on some pretty potent stuff to be experiencing such vivid hallucinations. She might need to up the dose of sedative to get them through the next several hours...

“Okay,” she said soothingly. “Everest will take care of it.”

“That’s good,” Jeff said. He rested his head against the pillow, his voice growing dull as the drugs took effect. “Have him patch the walls, too.” He kept talking, but it was the jumbled nonsense of intoxication, a last-ditch effort before he succumbed to sleep.

Mallory waited until both men were unconscious before she turned to Everest. He regarded her with a bemused expression. “So...” he began. “Is this something I need to take seriously?”

She shrugged. “I doubt it. I think it’s just another effect of the ketamine—the drug is known for triggering hallucinations, and some of them can be quite disturbing.”

“That’s true,” he said. “Still, I should probably have one of my men check it out. Just to be on the safe side.”

It was the responsible thing to do, and Mallory couldn’t help but approve. Most people would have been content to dismiss Jeff’s words as the unhinged ramblings of a man under the influence, but she liked that Everest was going to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s. It was the kind of thing she herself would do, and she appreciated the fact he seemed to share her sense of duty.

The sick bay door opened and two men stepped inside. Both wore the dark slacks and pale blue polo shirts sported by ship security officers, and Everest nodded approvingly. “Dr. Watkins, allow me to introduce two members of my team. This is Wesley Tatum, my right-hand man.” He gestured to the stocky, dark-haired man on the right, who acknowledged her with a nod. “If you ever need anything and you can’t get me, Wesley is your man.” Everest then turned to the second man, a tall redhead with kind brown eyes. “And this is Taylor Higgins, one of the newest members of my team.”

Taylor smiled and offered his hand. Mallory’s stomach turned over, and she hesitated. He was only being polite, but she couldn’t bring herself to touch him.

“Ah, I’d better not,” she said, shaking her head. “I haven’t washed my hands yet. Don’t want to spread anything around.” It was a weak excuse, but it was the best she could do. She glanced over to find Everest watching her, the look in his eyes far too knowing. Did the man miss anything?

If he was curious about her refusal to shake Taylor’s hand, he didn’t mention it. Instead, Everest turned back to his men and briefed them on the situation. “Wesley, I need you to go check out the room. I’m sure it’s probably nothing, but I want to be able to assure the captain we’ve followed up on everything.”

Wesley nodded, apparently unfazed by the order to search a guest’s cabin for a dead body trapped in the wall. Maybe it wasn’t the strangest thing he’d ever done in his line of work. Mallory certainly understood there were some odd things that happened on cruise ships. Or maybe Wesley’s immediate acceptance of Everest’s order came more from his respect for his boss. She studied Everest as he spoke to his team, noting the way he laid out a clear, concise plan and made it sound like he had every confidence his employees would succeed. It was no wonder he was the head of security for the ship—his manner seemed to inspire loyalty and trust, and even though he wasn’t asking these men to do anything terribly difficult or dangerous, Mallory had no doubt their reaction would have been the same if he’d proposed they storm a bunker carrying only water pistols for protection.

“Taylor, I’d like you to stay here and keep an eye on these two. Make sure they don’t cause any more trouble for the medical staff.”

The young man nodded eagerly, clearly excited for his first assignment on the ship. He reminded Mallory of a puppy, and she glanced discreetly at the seat of his pants, half expecting to find a wagging tail protruding from his slacks.

“And you, sir?” asked Wesley.

“I’m going to brief the captain. Any questions or issues, you can reach me on channel three.”

The men nodded, and Wesley walked over to Jeff’s side, where he proceeded to search the man’s pockets, presumably for his room key. Taylor took up a post between the two beds and assumed a parade rest stance. Mallory wondered if he planned to stand all night, or if he’d relax enough to sit down.

Everest’s voice cut into her musings. “You have my pager number?”

“I think so—we have a form by the phone with contact information listed for various people.” Mallory waved a hand in the direction of the wall-mounted unit where she’d seen the information sheet posted. She hadn’t checked lately, but she was willing to bet Everest’s number was on it.

Everest frowned. “Let me give you my personal cell number, as well.” He pulled a business card from his pocket and snagged a pen off the table. “If anything comes up, don’t hesitate to call me.” He passed her the card, and Mallory tucked it away. The paper was still warm from his body, and she felt the heat of it through the cotton of her pants. It was an odd sensation, this almost-contact between them.