Her Lieutenant Protector

by Lara Lacombe

  “Depends,” Everest said lightly. “What do you think you saw?”

  Scott rocked back and forth on his heels, clearly uncomfortable. “I know this is none of my business,” he began, “but did you two just break up?”

  “How’d you guess?”

  Scott’s face fell. “Oh, man. I’m so sorry.” He walked to the bed and perched on the side of the mattress. “Do you, uh, want to talk about it? I can get a psychologist or something if you don’t want to talk to me.”

  Everest shook his head, touched at the other man’s concern. “I’m okay. But thanks.”

  Scott looked at him dubiously, clearly doubting his words. “Really. It’s fine,” Everest assured him. “It’s for the best. She wasn’t happy. I wasn’t happy. It was time to end things.”

  Scott snorted. “No one is happy to be here.”

  “Except you,” Everest said slyly. He appreciated Scott’s efforts to help, but he didn’t want to wallow in the aftermath of Leah’s departure. He’d thought now that he was back in the States the war couldn’t take any more from him. But he was wrong. It was time to move forward, to reclaim some control over his life.

  The physical therapist grinned. “Well, yeah. But that’s because I get to give you a hard time.” He stood and placed his hands on his hips. “Do you want to push your session back a bit, in light of what just happened?”

  Everest shook his head. “Nope. Let’s get to it.” The pain would be a welcome distraction and would keep him from dwelling on Leah.

  “I’ll get your chair,” Scott said. “We can have a light day.”

  “No,” Everest said. “Taking a break isn’t going to help me walk again. I can’t stay in this bed forever.”

  Scott nodded at him, a glint of respect in his eyes. “That’s the spirit, man. We’ll have you back on your feet in no time.”

  “You mean foot.”

  Scott arched a brow. “They don’t pay me enough to laugh at your bad jokes.”

  “I thought that one was pretty good,” Everest said.

  Scott shook his head. “You’ve got a long way to go before you’re funny.”

  Everest smiled at the memory of Scott’s words. The image of Leah faded back into the recesses of his mind as he focused fully on the present. It was funny he’d thought of her now, when his mind was so preoccupied by Mallory. The two women were nothing alike, physically speaking. Leah was petite and blonde, her hair always styled, her makeup always perfect. Mallory was tall and had a no-nonsense quality to her appearance he found appealing. Both were beautiful women, but he found himself drawn to Mallory.

  She was a study in contrasts, he mused as he headed back into the depths of the ship. Mallory’s looks made her seem very approachable, but she had a do-not-disturb manner about her that he was certain she used to keep people at arm’s length.

  “Why is that?” he murmured to himself. What had happened to the good doctor to leave her so skittish around people? She had a story, he was sure of it.

  And he wanted to hear it.

  Chapter 5

  Breakfast was going surprisingly well, all things considered.

  Mallory hadn’t known how her friends would react to Everest’s presence. She hadn’t had more than a minute to announce he would be joining them before he walked over to the table, which meant she hadn’t been able to explain her invitation to Olivia and Avery. The women had taken his presence in stride, though, and Logan and Grant had welcomed Everest with enthusiasm. They sat at one end of the table now, talking about football. Or maybe it was basketball. Some kind of sport or team, she thought, smiling a little as the men laughed in unison.

  Whatever the topic, it was clear the guys were getting along well. Which created a small degree of privacy for the conversation at Mallory’s end of the table.

  And Olivia and Avery weren’t wasting any time.

  “Spill,” Avery ordered, her voice low so as not to break the conversational spell the men were under.

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Mallory tried, but Olivia shook her head.

  “Nice try, but you know what she’s asking. Is there something going on between you and him?” Olivia nodded ever so slightly at Everest, who was currently telling Logan and Grant some kind of story that had the other two men listening quietly. Mallory wondered what he was saying, but she didn’t want to appear to be paying too much attention to the man. It would undermine what she was about to say to her friends.

  “We work together,” she said. “That’s all.”

  Avery leaned back in her chair. “Sure.” Her voice was heavy with doubt. “If you say so.”

  Olivia offered her a small smile. “This is the first time you’ve ever invited a man to join us,” she said. “You can see why we’re curious.”

  Her friend made a good point. Avery and Olivia both knew about the assault she’d suffered as a college senior, and in all the time they’d known each other, the two women had never pushed her when it came to men. They had respected her boundaries and supported her as she’d struggled to overcome the aftereffects of the trauma. She felt like she’d made good progress, but there was still work to be done, as evidenced by her recent nightmare.

  Given her past history, Mallory had known inviting Everest to breakfast would send a signal to her friends. But she had hoped to have a little more time to figure out how to explain her interest in him.

  The problem was, she couldn’t explain it to herself.

  She was definitely attracted to him. But it wasn’t just his looks that appealed to her, though they were nice enough to study. No, it was the glimmers of personality she’d seen that made her want to stay close, to get to know him better. She liked the way he carried himself and the way he responded when tensions were running high. He seemed like a dependable man, someone who would be good both in a crisis and in calm times. Exactly the kind of man she would want by her side, if she could handle being so close to him.

  Normally, just the idea of being in close physical proximity to a man was enough to make her break out into a sweat. But the thought of being around Everest didn’t bother her. In fact, she found it rather appealing.

  Which made her wonder—was she truly attracted to Everest, or did she just like the way he made her feel almost normal again?

  “It’s complicated,” she admitted to her friends. “I’m not quite sure what’s going on.”

  Avery leaned forward and laid her hand over Mallory’s. “That’s okay. Just take your time. We’re here if you need to talk things out.”

  Mallory smiled, tears pricking her eyes. “Thanks, guys. I appreciate it.”

  A sudden silence descended over the other end of the table, and Mallory, Avery and Olivia looked down to find the men watching them, the three of them wearing identical expressions of concern.

  “Everything all right?” Grant asked.

  Olivia nodded while Mallory dabbed at her eyes. “We’re fine,” she said.

  “Girl talk,” Avery said.

  Grant and Logan nodded and returned to their conversation, but Everest wasn’t so quick to look away. His gaze lingered on Mallory, concern shining in his bright blue eyes. Only after she gave him a nod of reassurance did he rejoin the men’s conversation.

  “Oh, my,” Olivia murmured. “Did you see that?”

  “I sure did,” Avery said quietly. “Mal, you might be confused, but I’d say your friend knows exactly how he feels.”

  “You might be right,” Mallory admitted. Everest’s obvious concern made her stomach flutter pleasantly, and for a second, she wished she was alone with Everest.

  She watched him talking with Grant and Logan, admiring the easy way he interacted with her friends’ partners. He seemed very relaxed, with a quick smile and a ready laugh that only heightened his appeal.

 
Would it be so bad to indulge in her attraction for Everest? This was the first time since her rape she had been drawn to a man. Why shouldn’t she explore these feelings more and find out where they led? The timing really couldn’t be better—with Avery and Olivia on board, she’d have her friends close if she needed them. But she didn’t think Everest would give her a reason to cry on their shoulders. From everything she’d seen, Everest was a calm and patient man. He didn’t seem like the type to try to pressure her into moving too fast or doing anything that made her feel uncomfortable.

  And if the worst should happen? If she put herself out there and Everest rejected her? They would simply part ways once the cruise was over. Even if they were assigned to the same ship in the future, it would be easy to limit their interactions to professional concerns.

  Everest glanced over, apparently feeling the weight of her gaze on him. Mallory met his eyes and held them, then smiled. Her flirting skills had atrophied from years of disuse, but Everest’s answering smile told her that her message had been received.

  She turned back to her friends in time to see Avery and Olivia exchange a knowing glance. “She doesn’t look so confused anymore,” Avery said, amusement lacing her words.

  “No,” Olivia agreed, smiling as she took a sip of her mimosa. “I’d say she’s made up her mind.”

  * * *

  Mallory was paged just as she popped the last bite of pancakes into her mouth. She glanced at the number, not surprised to see it was the clinic calling. But rather than the emergency number the nurse had used yesterday to notify her of the situation with Jeff and his friend, this time it was the routine code that flashed on the screen.

  “Time for me to go,” she said, taking one final swig of juice. She dabbed at her mouth with the napkin and shot her friends an apologetic smile. “Sorry to run like this. Again.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Avery said. “We all know what it’s like to be on call.”

  Olivia and Grant nodded, and Logan shot her a sympathetic smile. “Hopefully we can meet up with you again soon.”

  “I hope so,” she said. She placed her napkin on her plate and stood.

  Everest’s chair scraped back a second after her own. “I’ll walk you back,” he said easily. He nodded at her friends. “It was nice to meet you all. Thank you for letting me join you.”

  “Our pleasure,” Olivia said.

  “Come back anytime,” Grant added.

  Mallory smiled, happy to see her friends had enjoyed Everest’s company. She knew it had been a risk inviting him to breakfast, but fortunately, the meal hadn’t been awkward at all.

  With a final wave at the table, she and Everest set off. He fell into step beside her, as if they had been walking together like this for ages.

  “Thanks for the escort,” she said. It was nice to have his company, if only for a few minutes.

  “My pleasure,” he said. “You know, we didn’t really get a chance to talk at breakfast. At the risk of making a pest out of myself, would you like to meet for lunch?”

  “That would be nice,” Mallory said. “Provided I don’t have any patients at the time.”

  “I’ll keep my fingers crossed,” Everest said. “Hopefully the rest of your cases will be easy compared to last night.”

  “No kidding,” she replied. They arrived at the clinic and stepped inside. The curtains were drawn around three of the gurneys, giving a modicum of privacy to their occupants.

  A nurse approached, holding several charts. She nodded at Everest, then looked at Mallory. “Dr. Watkins, we have three cases of acute GI upset.”

  Mallory’s stomach sank at the news. Everest took a step back. “Sounds like you have your hands full here,” he said. “I’ll get out of your way.”

  “Thanks,” Mallory said. “I’ll page you later.”

  He nodded and turned to leave, and Mallory returned her focus to the nurse. “What are their symptoms?”

  The nurse rattled off the usual symptoms of a gastrointestinal illness, and Mallory nodded grimly. “Any fever?” she asked. The nurse shook her head, confirming her suspicions.

  Mallory sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “Sounds like norovirus,” she said, naming a common scourge of cruise ships. The highly contagious virus could sweep through the passengers in a matter of days. It didn’t discriminate between staff and vacationers, so if it got out of hand it could affect the crew’s ability to safely operate the ship. She’d heard of ships that had been forced to cut voyages short because of the overwhelming number of patients on board, and the possibility of the Abigail Adams being affected to such an extent was one of the things that kept her up late at night.

  She performed a quick exam of the patients, to confirm for herself what the nurse had told her. All three passengers reported identical symptoms, which wasn’t surprising since they shared a cabin. There wasn’t anything she could give them to treat the virus, but she prescribed some medication that would make them feel better while the sickness ran its course.

  “And don’t forget the sunscreen,” she said, gesturing to one woman’s sunburned neck.

  “I know,” she replied. “The thing is, I haven’t been in the sun that much. I’ve mostly stayed inside, shopping and watching the shows.”

  Mallory nodded. “I understand. But it doesn’t take long to get burned, especially if you’re not used to being outside.”

  She drew the curtain around the woman’s bed and stepped into her small office, where she reached for the phone. She dialed the bridge and asked to speak to the captain. It took only a second for him to come on the line.

  “What can I do for you, Dr. Watkins?”

  “I’ve got three patients in the clinic presenting with signs of norovirus.”

  The man swore softly, recognizing the seriousness of her words. “Do you need me to start decontamination procedures?”

  “I think that’s best,” she said. “If we move fast enough, we might be able to get on top of this before it becomes a shipwide outbreak.”

  “Roger that,” the captain said. “I’ll alert the crew and get the ball rolling.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Keep me posted,” he said. “Let’s hope you don’t see any more cases.”

  Mallory hung up and reached for her cell phone. She hesitated only a moment before texting Avery and Olivia.

  Possible noro on board. Be careful.

  Technically, she shouldn’t talk about her concerns with any of the passengers. But Avery and Olivia were both doctors, and she knew they wouldn’t panic unnecessarily. She just wanted her friends to stay healthy so they could enjoy their vacation—she knew they didn’t get much time off, and she would feel terrible if they spent the cruise sick in their cabins.

  Oh no, Olivia texted back. Sorry to hear that!

  Yuck, Avery replied. Thanks for heads-up.

  Mallory tucked the phone back into her pocket and logged into her computer to update her records. With a mental sigh, she realized she was probably going to miss lunch with Everest. Now that she had possible cases of norovirus on board the ship, her schedule had gotten a lot more crowded. Maybe he’d let her take a rain check on lunch. If the virus didn’t spread, she’d have time to eat with him later.

  That’s a big if, she thought. But it was important to stay positive. She’d dealt with this illness before; anyone who worked in the cruising industry had experience with it. None of the ships she’d sailed on in the past had suffered from large outbreaks, and she was determined the Abigail Adams wasn’t going to be the first. She would keep this bug at bay, no matter how hard she had to work to do it.

  Chapter 6

  The pager on Danny’s belt buzzed to life. He propped his mop against the wall and glanced down at the display.

  Code Red. Initiate protocol.


  He clipped the pager back into place and reached for the mop handle, anxiety spiking through him. Code Red meant there was a health concern on the ship. It wasn’t an unusual page, but he hadn’t expected to receive it so early in the voyage. Normally, this kind of thing didn’t happen until several days into a trip.

  A Code Red page was a signal that the housekeeping staff should initiate a deep-clean protocol, in an effort to prevent the spread of whatever contagious disease had appeared on board. Almost always, it had to do with norovirus, but he’d once worked a voyage where there had been an outbreak of flu among the passengers. Whatever this was, he’d find out at the next staff briefing.

  A quick glance at his cart showed he had everything he needed, saving him a trip to the supply room. Might as well get started now, then. He’d already wiped down the bathroom sinks and toilets, and he was almost done mopping the floor. All that remained was to disinfect the walls.

  He sprayed cleanser on the tiled walls, wrinkling his nose as the acrid scent of bleach burned his sinuses and made his eyes sting. Working quickly but competently, he affixed a clean mop head and began to scrub the wall, reaching up to stroke from ceiling to floor.

  It was on his third pass that he hit the black box affixed high on the wall in the corner. The cover of the box fell to the floor with a clatter, and a second later there was a splat as something else hit the tile.

  Danny’s heart leaped into his throat, and he winced. The boxes were mounted all over the ship, and he knew they had something to do with the shipwide communications network. He wasn’t sure how it all worked, and he hoped he hadn’t inadvertently knocked out the system.

  He picked up the cover and examined it closely, checking for cracks or any other signs of damage. It looked fine; maybe he hadn’t really broken anything after all...

  At his feet sat a lump of gray material. He knelt and poked at it with a finger, trying to figure out what it was. It didn’t look like anything he’d seen before, but it had definitely come out of the box. He glanced up to find the innards of the box exposed, a tangle of wires and some blinking lights. Everything was green, though, so that was a good sign. Right?