The Nurse's Bodyguard

by Melanie Mitchell

  “Oh. And what’s that?”

  “Cowboys...” She shook her head and gave him a pained expression. “I don’t think I can ever be a Cowboys fan.”

  He laughed as she’d hoped he would. “I guess we’re going to have to have a mixed marriage then. It’ll probably work out all right until we have children...We’ll have to split the kids between us—half Packers half Cowboys.”

  She chuckled and hugged him again. “I guess we can work that out when the time comes!”

  A knock at the door had Claire scrambling to her feet. Luke’s glare was almost comical. “Come in,” he replied grumpily.

  Jessica entered followed by Detective Kang and Captain Choi. “Hey, guys. Great news! I just saw Tony. He’s awake and alert and mad as a hornet.” Her smile was brilliant. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

  Claire clasped Luke’s hand and had to blink back tears of relief. Luke’s jaw clenched as he, too, fought to contain his emotions. After a few seconds he managed to respond. “Whew! Okay, yes. That’s fantastic!” He turned to stare at the two policemen and said, “Would you all mind leaving for a minute. Claire, find the nurse and have her bring me my clothes. I’m not having a conversation with anyone about anything official until I’m dressed.”

  “Yes, Lieutenant.” Claire couldn’t contain her smile. “I’ll find your nurse right now.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  TEN MINUTES LATER, the group re-entered Luke’s room and found him dressed and minus the IV line, which he’d convinced the nurse to remove. He was sitting on the edge of the bed and pulled Claire down beside him, leaving the lone chair for Jessica. The policemen remained standing.

  Detective Kang took notes as the trio recounted the events of the afternoon. When they finished their narrative, Luke frowned at the captain and said, “You already knew about Lee Min-sik, didn’t you?”

  Captain Choi nodded. “Yes.” He glanced at the detective, who explained.

  “Yesterday, after kidnap attempt, we find man in emergency room—Mr. Jin-hee Ji—with broken hand.” Detective Kang’s smile was sly. “Hospital call us and I interview.”

  Captain Choi picked up the account. “The detective did a very thorough interrogation. After several hours of intense discussions, we learned the names of the accomplices. We sent officers to pick them up, also for interrogation. There were four men all together, and by the time we had them all in custody, they were ready to tell us everything.”

  He looked pleased with their efforts and continued to explain. “Two of the men—Jin-hee Ji and Ra-won Kim—were the original pair who attacked Miss Olsen at the Medical Center. Kim and a man named Min-a Shinn attacked you, Miss Tyson. A fourth man, Ja-ok Kim, drove the car when the pair from the hospital tried to kidnap Miss Olsen again. That driver, along with Ra-won Kim, tried to kill you today.” He gave a shrug. “Ja-ok Kim was badly injured when the car ran off the mountain road. He will likely not make it.”

  Detective Kang continued. “They were all hired by Lee Min-sik. Mr. Lee is human resource director for Taekung Industries—large Korean company.”

  Captain Choi nodded. “After all four assassins admitted they were hired by the same man, we sent police to the Taekung offices to arrest Mr. Lee.” He shook his head. “Mr. Lee knew the police were coming. Rather than be arrested, he took the elevator to the top of the building.” He held Luke’s eyes for a minute before turning to Claire. “He jumped.”

  Claire gasped. “Oh, no.” She stood and walked to the window. “When did this happen?”

  “Late this afternoon. About an hour ago. We were informed of his death right before Ms. Tyson called us. Mr. Lee knew his efforts to do away with you were not successful. He would be put in prison—probably for many years. He could not live with the dishonor.”

  Claire struggled to comprehend all that she’d been told. She struggled to understand her own feelings. Her uncle—her birth mother’s brother—had tried repeatedly to kill her. Despite being a victim of his evil intent, she felt no hate or animosity. Indeed, she had no feeling for or about him at all. She wasn’t glad he was dead, but neither was she sorry. She was simply ambivalent—and incredibly relieved. A thought occurred to her.

  “Did he have a family?”

  “Yes. He has wife, two children. Boy and girl—younger than you,” answered Detective Kang.

  “What will happen to them?”

  “They have money from grandparents, but will have to make reparations to the company for loss of face. Very sad.”

  “Then I’m sorry for them,” Claire said.

  They talked a few more minutes and finally the policemen were ready to leave. They shook hands with Luke and Jessica and turned to Claire. Detective Kang shook her hand and then Captain Choi offered his, saying, “Miss Olsen, I regret all that’s happened to you while you were in Seoul. I would assure you that our country is safe, but I don’t know if you will believe me.” He looked forlorn. “I have removed the hold on your passport and you may leave anytime. I hope you will come back some day, so you can see that our country—your country—is a lovely one.”

  “Thank you, Captain, for all your help and for coming in person to explain what happened. I will be leaving soon—” she glanced at Luke “—but who knows, we may be back some day.” She smiled and bid the men goodbye.

  * * *

  AFTER THE POLICEMEN departed, Jessica, Luke and Claire sat for a few minutes to let the information sink in. Then they looked in on Tony and were vastly relieved when they found him sitting up in bed, wearing a hospital gown and looking annoyed. A white bandage circled his head, holding a bulky dressing in place over his right eyebrow and much of his forehead. His right eye was almost swollen shut.

  Jessica took his hand. “Matching black eyes!” she murmured. Her smile was wry. “We’re quite a pair, aren’t we?”

  His scowl turned into a half grin. “Hey, I win. I have function of both my arms.”

  “Yeah, so? I don’t have a concussion.”

  “Your eye?” Claire asked. “Was there any damage?”

  Tony shrugged and shook his head. “The jury’s still out on that one. I have a little blurring right now, but there’s hope it’ll be fine.” He sighed and looked comically forlorn. “The CT scan indicated there might be a small brain bleed.” He glanced at Claire and Luke. “I have to stay a day or so for another scan... I hate hospitals.”

  They all laughed with relief knowing just how bad it might have been.

  * * *

  IN THE END, Luke was able to convince the head E.D. doctor that since he had a private nurse, he didn’t need to stay in the hospital. With that development, Jessica went home with Bridgette, while Claire accompanied Luke to his apartment.

  It was after eight when they finally arrived. Both were exhausted after the long and eventful day.

  “Okay, Luke, I promised the major I would give you a pain pill and make sure you went straight to bed,” Claire informed her patient as she closed and locked the front door.

  Luke caught her in his arms—carefully. He gave her a quick kiss and started to let go, but he couldn’t quite make himself do it. In a breath, he was holding her tightly, unable to let go. Finally, he pulled back.

  She kissed him sweetly. “I wanted to ask you something... Were you serious about Hawaii? Next week? I mean, about getting married next week?”

  “Yes, I’m serious.” He stroked her cheek and gave a slight frown, but he quickly replaced it with a half smile. “If you would rather wait—if you want to have a big wedding at your home...that would be fine, too.”

  She knew that he meant it—he would do whatever she wanted. A big wedding in Minnesota sometime in the future or a small wedding next week in Hawaii—he would let her choose. His willingness to defer to her wishes meant the world to her, and she knew without question what she wanted.
>
  “Luke, I want to marry you as soon as we can work it out. A Hawaiian wedding—and honeymoon—sounds like a fairy tale.” She felt her smile fade. “There may be a problem, though. My parents really don’t have the money—to travel to Hawaii, I mean. I don’t know if they could come... I suppose we could get married next week and then have another ceremony for them in Minnesota later on...”

  He smoothed the crease from between her eyes. “Don’t worry, Mary Claire. I’ll take care of their expenses.”

  “No, Luke. I can’t ask you to do that. That would be expensive and it’s not fair to you. I mean, the bride is supposed to pay for the wedding.” She shrugged and felt her cheeks flush. “I don’t have a lot of savings because I’ve been paying for all my tuition without taking loans. That’s pretty much eaten into my savings.”

  He caught her by the hand and pulled her toward to sofa. “Claire, sit down.” His voice had grown serious. “There’s another discussion we need to have.” Carefully he sat beside her and clasped her hand again.

  Her heart rate climbed and she looked at him worriedly. “Luke, you’re starting to make me nervous. Is something wrong?”

  He sighed and looked toward the computers as if for inspiration. “This is oddly harder than I thought it would be. Okay, here goes.” He captured her eyes with his. “About fifty years ago, they discovered oil on my grandfather Carter’s cotton farm. There was a lot of it.”

  Claire sat back and blinked her eyes in confusion. “So what are you telling me?” She scooted a little away from him.

  “Well, my grandparents got pretty rich... Okay, really rich...” He gave a funny little half smile and then continued. “Eventually, those wells mostly played out. The family was still rich, but the income had dwindled. Then about fifteen years ago my dad started re-engineering all of the wells on the Carter land. My brother Matt joined him about ten years ago and then Mark. Long story short, they’ve moved way beyond just developing on the Carter land and now are one of the larger engineering companies involved with hydraulic fracturing in the Permian Basin.” He played nervously with her fingers. “John, my younger brother, just graduated with his MBA and is expanding the business operation in Houston. I’m joining the company with the intent of using my computer skills in both the engineering and business sides. In my spare time, I’ve been developing a computer program to be used in the fracking process. It’s designed to identify the best prospective areas for production to lessen any potential environmental impact. Anyway, we’ve talked about it—my dad and brothers... They can use me—well, us—either in Houston or in Midland—it doesn’t really matter where. It’s kind of up to you...”

  She stared at him. “Fracking. You said something about fracking before. I didn’t follow you then. And you said something about your fiancée wanting your money. I didn’t get it then, either.” Her lips turned down a bit and her forehead creased. “So your family has a successful oil company, and you’re rich.”

  He gave her a funny frown. “Well, yes... I guess that’s pretty much it.”

  “Oh.” She looked down and then away from him. “Well, okay. I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to say now... I guess—um—wow, that’s wonderful.”

  “Claire, honey, is something wrong?”

  “No, of course not... I don’t think... You just took me by surprise, that’s all.” She stood and walked toward the window. “I never thought a lot about money. I mean, I’ve always had enough. I’ve helped my parents when I could and worked my way through school so they wouldn’t be burdened. It never occurred to me, I guess, to want to be—um, rich.”

  She studied him then and something belatedly occurred to her. “It doesn’t matter to you, either, does it?” She smiled in wonder. “You did this—” she swept her hand around the room in an inclusive gesture “—even though you were wealthy. You became a naval officer, living in sometimes dire conditions and putting your life on the line for probably a fraction of your normal monthly income.”

  It was his turn to look uncomfortable. “Don’t give me too much credit. I told you, I did it initially because I had this wild idea that I wanted to fly fighter jets and land on aircraft carriers, and that was the only way to do it. It just didn’t work out like I’d intended.”

  “No, but you stayed because it was important.”

  “Yes, I guess I did. But now, I want to go home and I want you to come with me.”

  “You want me to pick Midland or Houston? It truly doesn’t matter. Wherever makes the most sense and where we can spend the most time together is what I want.” She threw her arms around him again. “You’re stuck with me now.”

  * * *

  A COUPLE OF hours later, Claire was at the computer. She had completed a long note to her parents trying to explain all that had happened in the past two weeks. Earlier she and Luke had called them via Skype to invite them on a vacation in Hawaii. The only catch was the short notice and the fact that they’d be marrying off their only daughter. After their initial surprise—and once they’d seen Claire’s joy—they happily agreed.

  After the phone call, Luke finally prepared for bed. Claire gave him his pain medication, hoping it would eliminate much of his discomfort, allowing him to sleep. She smiled as she tucked him in. As she was about to leave, he pulled her back to sit next to him. “One more kiss,” he murmured, already starting to get drowsy.

  She complied with a soft kiss and then slid down to lovingly touch her lips to the bandage on his sore ribs. “I was recently told that will make it better.” She smiled sweetly. “I know it worked for me.”

  He groaned and pulled her back into his arms. “Okay, soon, really soon, you’re going to be staying with me. I love you...”

  “Yes, I know.” She smiled shyly. “I love you, too.”

  She turned to go, but he stopped her at the door. “Claire.” His voice had lost its playfulness. “I just took that pain pill so I’ll probably sleep hard. Promise me—I need you to promise me—that under no circumstance will you come in here if you hear me having a nightmare.”

  She considered his request for a moment and then shook her head. Walking back to the bed, she took his hand. “No, Luke. I’m not going to promise that.”

  He sat up in bed, looking alarmed at first and then angry. Before he could comment she said, “I love you. I don’t think I could ever not respond if I heard you cry out—whether you were asleep or not.”

  “Claire, we’ve had this discussion before. I could hurt you.” He emphasized each word.

  “No, I don’t think so. I know what to expect now, and so do you. Even subconsciously, even asleep, I think you would know me.” She gripped his hand and stared into his eyes, willing him to understand. “Luke, I won’t stay away. You’re just going to have to trust me like I trust you.”

  It dawned on him then. With her declaration, Luke realized that while he’d lost the battle, nonetheless, he had won. A slender, brave, generous, half-Korean half-American young woman with beautiful eyes had earned his absolute trust.

  “I love you, very much,” he answered. Feeling the effects of the drug, he kissed her hand then lay back down and went to sleep.

  AFTER SENDING THE NOTE to her parents, Claire spent a while looking at wedding dresses online. She was about to sign off from the computer, eager to get ready for bed, when she heard the sound of someone at the apartment’s front door. Her head jerked up when the knob turned and the door opened. A man with dark auburn hair stood there.

  With mounting concern, she watched as he reached down to pick up a bag. He straightened then stopped short when he saw her staring at him with a frightened expression. Surprised, the man took a step back and glanced at the apartment number, as if making sure he was at the correct place. Reassured on that account, he turned back to her.

  The intruder was quite tall and appeared to be athletic. He was dressed in
dark blue coveralls that identified him as a military man.

  “Uh, hello,” he said. “Um, I live here... I’m Brad Littlejohn.” He peered into the room. His expressive green eyes looked worried. “Is Luke around?”

  Claire responded with a choking laugh that turned into a giggle. “Hi, Brad. I’m Claire. It’s nice to finally meet you.” She stepped forward and held out her hand. “You missed a lot while you were away. Let me get us both some coffee, and I’ll fill you in.”

  EPILOGUE

  Six years later

  “SEOUL HASN’T CHANGED MUCH,” Claire remarked as she watched the city through the window of the taxi.

  “Yeah, traffic is still bad and the air is still hazy,” Luke grumbled.

  Claire grinned at him. She understood that Luke’s grouchiness was due to lack of sleep. The flight from Houston was more than fifteen hours, and it had been nearly impossible for him to rest, even in business class.

  “You can take a nap when we get to the hotel,” she said cheerily.

  “Maybe just a short one—I know you’re anxious to meet her.” He pulled his lovely wife into the circle of his arms and buried his face in her hair. “What time did you tell Mrs. Lee that we’d be there?”

  “Not until two this afternoon.” She glanced at her watch. “About four hours from now.” She sighed, snuggled closer to Luke and gave him a warm kiss. Hopefully the taxi driver wasn’t too shocked by their behavior. “Thank you for doing this for me. I know you were—well, are—hesitant. But I know in my heart it’s the right thing.”

  He held her tightly. “We’ve talked this through many times. I’m not doing it for you. It’s for us. And it’s for the boys, too.”

  “But you’re less certain than I am...”

  “I don’t see how I could possibly love anyone as much as I love the boys. You know that. We’ve talked about it.”

  She just smiled and kissed him on the corner of his mouth. “Luke, I know you. I’m not worried.”