Her Lieutenant Protector. Lara Lacombe
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Название: Her Lieutenant Protector
Автор: Lara Lacombe
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Исторические любовные романы
Серия: Mills & Boon Romantic Suspense
isbn: 9781474063111
isbn:
His reticence must have shown on his face because she let out a small sigh. “This is the best place for them. They’re restrained, and they’re about to be sedated.”
“I suppose,” Everest said, conceding the point. “But I want you to page me if they so much as look at you funny.”
She nodded. “Will do. Where are you going?”
He felt the barest hint of flattery at her interest in his plans but brushed it aside. She probably just wants to know if I’ll be nearby in case there’s any trouble, he told himself. “I’m going up to the bridge to inform the captain of this development,” he said. “And to call the police in Jacksonville so they can take custody of these two when we make port in the morning.”
Mallory nodded thoughtfully. Jeff chose that moment to let out a yelp, and Everest glanced over in time to see one of the nurses taping the IV in place on his hand. “If it’s all the same to you,” Mallory said, her voice drawing his attention back to her, “I’m not going to tell them what’s in store when we dock in Jacksonville.”
“Good thinking,” Everest said. He didn’t imagine these two would take kindly to the news their vacation was about to be cut short, and in such dramatic fashion.
“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.”
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 СКАЧАТЬ