Executive Protection

by Jennifer Morey

  “Aha. It’s the nurse!”

  “I’m glad that’s working to get your mind off your ex.”

  Darcy chuckled and put the bowl aside. “How’s your mom doing?” Darcy asked.

  Thank God. He’d stopped talking about Lucy. “Much better. I need to make plans for when she comes home. She’s got a long recovery ahead of her.”

  “After being shot like that I’m not surprised.”

  Darcy had come to visit her a couple of times when she was in the ICU. He’d joined in on a lot of family functions over the years.

  “There was a man at the hospital today,” Thad said. “He left when the Secret Service agents saw him and tried to talk to him. I think he ran out of the hospital.”

  “Really?” Darcy looked concerned. “Did the agents chase him?”

  “Only to the front lobby. He was gone by then.”

  Darcy took a while to respond, thinking it all through. “Do you think he was trying to get close to your mother?”

  “That’s what it looked like.”

  “That’s strange. Why go out in the open like that?”

  Why, indeed.

  * * *

  Lucy had fun getting ready for her date. She showered and took her time making herself pretty, drinking a glass of wine with some upbeat music playing. She’d told Cam she’d meet him at the restaurant. Safety first. She didn’t know him and wouldn’t risk being trapped in his car. He’d tried to get her to change her mind, but she had steadfast rules on dating. She wasn’t ready to let him pick her up at her house. On their first date they’d met for coffee. On the second date, they’d met for lunch. Now it was dinner. The serious date.

  Her stomach was full of butterflies all the way to the restaurant, an upscale seafood place that had excellent reviews. She’d only been here once before with her family.

  Cam was waiting for her outside. She loved that he did that rather than get a table.

  He smiled when he saw her, appreciating her little black dress with his brown eyes. He was a little taller than her and had short blond hair. Handsome in a clean, businessman way. It made her feel funny. Thad’s face popped into her head at that moment.

  Why would she think of Thad now? He drove her insane. And he was a bad choice for her.

  “You look beautiful,” Cam said, stepping forward and offering his arm.

  She looped hers with his, her butterflies becoming listless. Why was she having this unexcited reaction to him?

  Inside the restaurant, they were led to a table that he already had waiting for them.

  “You plan ahead.” That normally would have thrilled her. Why didn’t it now?

  He smiled as he held the chair for her and scooted it in when she sat.

  Was she having some sort of bad-boy episode? The bad boy attracted her more than the sure, stable type? Did her heart crave a challenge?

  “Are you going to let me pick you up next time?” he asked.

  “Maybe,” she answered in a light, teasing tone.

  His eyes showed annoyance, just a little, before he caught her teasing and smiled.

  “I was thinking we could go to a movie tomorrow night,” he said after a bit.

  Tomorrow? So soon? She didn’t like how fast he was moving this. Calling every day showed his interest but so many dates in one week might be too much. Luckily, she had plans.

  “I’m going to my parents’ house for dinner tomorrow night.”

  He looked disappointed. “What about the next night?”

  “I work until nine.”

  “And the night after that?” He wasn’t going to give up.

  “I volunteer at the Westside Literacy Group. Sorry.”

  More disappointment intensified his expression. “Do you have to go to your parents’ tomorrow night?” He removed the silverware from the napkin on the table.

  “No, I don’t have to.” She tried to keep this light. “I want to.” She wasn’t kidding when she’d told Thad she was close to her father. She was close to everyone in her family.

  His hand curled around the knife as the waitress appeared and took their drink order.

  When the waitress left, he said, “Why don’t you meet your parents another time? Go out with me. Besides, if you’re tied up the next three nights, that means I won’t see you for almost a week.”

  “I can’t reschedule. If I reschedule that means I won’t see my family for almost a week.”

  He didn’t like that answer. She saw it in his eyes. They went hard and he didn’t say anything, just fidgeted with the knife, which gave her an uneasy feeling.

  She was beginning to change her mind about this one. Was he a control freak?

  “Your family is very important to you,” he finally said, the intensity softening from his eyes.

  “Very. I love them. We do things together all the time.”

  The waitress dropped off their drinks and took their food order.

  “Do you want kids?” Cam asked after she left.

  She didn’t hide her enthusiasm. “Do I ever. Three.”

  He smiled and the Cam she’d first met returned. “Me, too. I don’t care about the number, but I want a family.”

  “And one wife?” she joked.

  He laughed. “Yes. I’m a faithful man.”

  “Then you’re perfect.”

  He seemed to take that to heart. The way he looked at her, his brown eyes warming to almost a creepy degree, unnerved her.

  “What about work?” he asked.

  “I would still work.” Aside from liking her job, she needed to prove to herself and everyone else that she was capable without her father’s influence. She respected him and his well deserved reputation, but she’d work for her own, on her own.

  “Wouldn’t you rather stay at home with the kids?”

  “And be worthless if my husband ever left me for another woman?” She laughed at her own teasing, which he didn’t find funny. “I like my job,” she verbalized her thoughts.

  “I want my wife to stay at home. I want to provide for her and my kids.”

  His kids?

  “I would stay home after delivery. Maybe for about six months or a year, but after that I would be itching to get back to work. I like to stay busy.”

  “You don’t think kids would keep you busy?”

  “Oh, I’m sure they would. But I need adult busy. Brain challenge. Catch my meaning?”

  His smile faded and his eyes got that offended look again.

  “Why do you want your wife to stay at home?” To control her and everything in the household?

  “It’s just my idea of an ideal family. I make a lot of money. My wife shouldn’t have to work. And I don’t want my kids being raised by strangers.”

  “That’s understandable. My nursing job could be flexible. I wouldn’t have to work full-time.” And maybe she wouldn’t want to. She didn’t know yet.

  When she realized it felt as though she were arguing with Cam and that he’d push the issue if he were ever in a position to have a say on the matter, all-out dread brewed in her.

  This was not going to work.

  Their food arrived, and Lucy was no longer hungry or excited about this evening.

  “Part-time would be all right with me,” he made it worse by saying.

  “It wouldn’t be up to you,” she said.

  This time he covered his dislike. And he did dislike her response. She could feel it in the energy between them, in the way his eyes shifted from his food to her.

  “You wouldn’t take your husband’s wishes into consideration?” he finally asked.

  “Would you take your wife’s into yours?” She was not putting up with this.

  He surprised her by smiling and then laughing
it all off. “You sure are a spitfire.”

  “An independent one.” He better believe it, too.

  “I like a little fight in my women.”

  He still smiled, but what he said could be construed as a taste for violence. What kind of fight did he like in his women? The kind that “made” him start swinging punches if his woman didn’t act according to his warped script? Or was she reading too much into this, into him? Maybe he was only trying to get a feel for her boundaries. His ego would love to have a woman he kept at home, but that wasn’t as much of a priority as love and family. That would be the normal way of thinking in a secure man. Abnormal would be he’d resort to domestic abuse to have it his way.

  Eating their dinner was awkward and she was glad when it was over and she had her own car there.

  Cam tried to lighten up the conversation by talking about other things like barbecues and sporting events. He liked going to festivals, too. She didn’t reveal anything else about herself. She wasn’t sure if she was going to see him again.

  He walked her to her Subaru and when he leaned in for a kiss, she allowed a brief one.

  “Thank you for dinner,” she said. “It was delicious.” And it had been.

  “You’re welcome.” He smiled, liking that she’d thanked him. “I’ll call you.”

  She faced her car.

  “I’d like to take you to a movie when you’re free. How about next Wednesday night?”

  “Maybe. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  “‘Maybe’? Did something upset you tonight?”

  She sat in her car, shut the door and started the engine before rolling the window down a few inches.

  He looked concerned. “All that talk about working and having a family didn’t upset you, did it? I’m sorry if it was too soon to start talking about something so serious.”

  “It’s okay. I do like to take things slow.” She meant to keep things neutral for now.

  “I can see that. Otherwise you’d let me pick you up at your house for these dates.”

  “Thanks again.” She pulled out of the parking space and drove away, seeing in her rearview mirror that he stood there watching her. It gave her an uncomfortable feeling. There was something about him that didn’t ring true. In fact, it rang like a warning bell, one of those outdoor warning sirens cities used to signal evacuation during dangerous storms.

  * * *

  Just before noon the next day, Lucy walked into Kate’s room to find her sitting up on the bed. Her eyes were much clearer today and her brown hair neatly combed.

  “Feeling better today?” Lucy deposited a tray of food on the bedside table and moved it over to her so she could reach it easily.

  “Much better. The doctor thinks I should be able to go home in a day or two.”

  “That’s wonderful.” She checked the IV fluids and found their levels right where they needed to be.

  Kate picked up a spoon and investigated the bowl of chicken noodle soup. “But he says I have a long recovery ahead of me. I’ll need some home care and physical therapy.”

  “That’s to be expected after being shot and nearly killed.” Had she imagined the leading tone in Kate’s voice? She went about her usual routine.

  “Yes, I do suppose that’s true.”

  There were more flowers and a bag of cards that the Secret Service had filtered before bringing into the room.

  “It smells like a flower shop in here,” Lucy commented, adjusting a few of the vases that were too close to the edge of the deep window frame.

  “That’s not even the half of it. I’ve had to donate a good portion of the deliveries.” Kate sampled a spoonful of soup. All of her meals were specially made due to tightened security.

  “It’s good to know you’re loved.”

  “Beats being shot.”

  Lucy laughed a little. “At least your sense of humor is returning.” Kate had been shot in the abdomen. She’d undergone major surgery to repair her intestines. The bullet had narrowly missed her right kidney and a major artery. She was incredibly lucky. “Have they caught the man who shot you?”

  Kate put the spoon back in the bowl, her hand a little unsteady but managing the job. The topic appeared to bring down her mood and ruin her appetite. “Not yet. How is Daniel Henderson doing?”

  Lucy had checked on him before coming to the room, predicting that Kate would ask about the Secret Service agent who’d taken a bullet that would likely have finished her off. The gunman had fired four times from a building across the street from her fund-raiser. One had injured her, another had nearly killed Daniel Henderson, and the last two had hit a wall.

  “He’s still in critical condition in ICU,” Lucy reluctantly said. Kate seemed to be attached to the agent.

  Her worried blue eyes met Lucy’s. “Is he going to be all right?”

  “I don’t know. He isn’t improving yet.” She kept her tone neutral.

  Kate turned away with a weak sigh. She may have the outward appearance of healing but she still had a long way to go.

  “He’s in good hands,” Lucy reassured her. “The best doctors at Duke are taking care of him.”

  “Your father?”

  Lucy adored her father and he deserved all of the attention he received. Someday she hoped to earn the same level of respect. “He’s one of them.”

  “You’re a very good nurse, Lucy.” Kate grimaced as she moved too quickly to pick up the spoon again.

  Lucy helped her, handing her the spoon. Why had she said that?

  “Thank you.” She stirred the soup. “I can see you enjoy what you do. And you take the time to do everything right. You don’t miss a thing. You care for your patients.”

  She did care for them. That was what she loved about the literacy program where she volunteered. Helping others gave her a sense of achievement and self-worth. And she met a lot of people. Lucy loved talking to people, the social side of it. She wasn’t one who liked being alone. She lived alone now, and frequently talked to herself. Maybe a dog or a cat was in order so she could at least talk to something with a beating heart instead of her empty home.

  “If it wasn’t your father who inspired you to become a nurse, what did?”

  Realizing she hadn’t responded to Kate’s compliments, and that she had strategically done so, Lucy felt as though she should explain. “It was my father who inspired me. I loved listening to the stories he’d tell. The lives he thought he couldn’t save but did, who the people were. He believes in what he does. He believes he’s making a difference and he appreciates having the talent and the brains to help others.” Lucy smiled fondly. “My father is doing what he was meant to do. He doesn’t do it for the status. He does it because he loves it. And that’s why he’s so good at it.”

  Kate smiled with her. “And you’re the same way.”

  Appreciating that Kate recognized that about her, she said, “You’re being awfully kind.”

  “Kindness has nothing to do with it. My son could learn a thing or two from you.” Kate grimaced again as she tried to sit up straighter.

  “Thad?” Lucy went to help her, adjusting the pillows behind her and the angle of the bed. What could Thad possibly learn from her?

  Kate breathed contentedly, more comfortable now. “Thad is a very good crime scene investigator. Smart. Tenacious. But he’s also bullheaded when it comes to his personal life.”

  Lucy wasn’t sure she wanted to continue this conversation. “I doubt I can help him with that.” Not his personal life.

  “You love and respect your father. Enough to want to be like him.”

  Lucy didn’t reply, not quite knowing what to say to this or why Kate had broached the subject.

  “It’s not the same for Thad,” Kate continued. “And I feel that I’m partly to blame.”

&n
bsp; Lucy opened the blinds a bit more, letting more cheery light into the sterile room. The busywork didn’t keep her curiosity at bay. She turned from the window. “Why do you say that?”

  Kate sipped some iced tea. “I was home with the boys when they were young, but then I started working more in politics. Buck had always aspired to go into politics, ever since he was a teenager. He was a senator when he died.”

  “I don’t see how Thad’s bullheadedness relates to that.” So his parents had both been busy. That didn’t mean they didn’t love their kids or could be blamed for how they’d turned out.

  “I wasn’t around much. I was vice president and then U.S. ambassador to France. And Buck...”

  Her voice trailed off as she fell into memory.

  “What happened?” Lucy had to ask. She was drawn in now. She’d read some news reports, but to have it come right from Kate’s mouth was sensational.

  When she turned sad eyes to her, Lucy felt contrite. This was a living, breathing person. As famous as she might be, her relationship with Buck and his infidelity had hurt her.

  “Buck was a fantastic senator who unfortunately had a taste for extramarital affairs,” Kate said.

  “I’ve heard a little about that,” she said gently. “I’m sorry.”

  Kate waved her hand, letting it fall to the hospital bed, a testament to how weak she still was. “I’m over it.”

  “Why are you telling me all of this?” Lucy had to ask. There had to be a point. Kate seemed to be delivering it quite deliberately.

  “If Thad seems bullheaded about marriage, it’s because he endured the fallout from his father’s bad behavior,” Kate answered. “The press had a field day when Buck’s body was found in his mistress’s bed. It wasn’t his first affair. He had many and I knew about them. I didn’t do anything because I did love him and I was having a hard time working through the fact that he didn’t love me the same way. The boys were aware of his infidelity, too. Thad saw what it did to our marriage. To me. I gave Buck my heart, unfettered. It was difficult to overcome his betrayal. It broke me for a while. The press was merciless. They found out about all of the other affairs and that I had done nothing about them. I stayed with him. It was awful that his body was found where it was, but it was worse with the string of other affairs splashed everywhere in the media. I was humiliated. Thad resented his father for that. And after Buck died, he couldn’t mourn the way he should have. He lost his father, but he was robbed of mourning the loss of a father. He lost his cheating father, not the man he grew up idolizing.”