Executive Protection. Jennifer Morey

have your own private room with a bathroom and a balcony,” his mother continued. “You can come and go as you please, as long as you take care of me.”

      How could anyone refuse that plea? Thad had to hand it to his mother. When she wanted her way, she could be very persuasive. But she did have two valid points. She did need someone she could trust until she was well enough to take care of herself, and Lucy would be serving her country by helping her.

      Lucy slid her gaze to Thad. “Are you sure about this?”

      Not in the least, but he kept that to himself. “If twice your salary isn’t enough, just tell me what you require and I’ll see that you get it.”

      “No...” Lucy hesitated again. “That sum is...quite adequate.”

      “Good.” Kate let go of Lucy’s hand. “Then it’s settled. All we need now is the doctor to tell us when I can go home.”

      Lucy stammered without saying anything. Shell-shocked, she stared at Kate, whose exuberance was clear. She wanted Lucy as her nurse, and not just to set her up with Thad. She recognized Lucy’s skill, and Lucy could see that.

      She didn’t refuse. She hadn’t agreed, either, but Thad would make sure that she did.

      Her cell phone vibrated. Thad heard it going off in her pocket. She took it out and read the message. Her brow lowered and her mouth pressed subtly tighter. She also stared at the message longer than normal and then didn’t respond to it.

      At last, Lucy looked at Kate. “We’ll talk about the home care work later.”

      “I’m so happy it will be you taking care of me.” Kate ignored what she’d said. “I feel like I’ll be in such capable hands.”

      Lucy smiled awkwardly, but Kate’s genuine praise softened her. Kate did want Lucy, not only for Thad, but because she did truly believe she was the best choice.

      Without further comment, Lucy finished up in the room and said goodbye to them both. Thad heard her cell vibrate again. She stopped in the hall and read it, another frown clouding her profile. Who had just tried to contact her? Was it the same man who’d text messaged her before? She didn’t appear to welcome it.

      He followed her out into the hallway. She saw him but barely acknowledged him, her attention returning to the phone and her brow creasing deeper.

      “Someone you’d rather not hear from?” he asked.

      She merely looked up at him.

      “Who is it?” he asked, holding out his hand.

      “Cam. The man I went out with.”

      “Do you mind if I take a look?” When she didn’t move to hand him the phone, he said, “It’s the cop in me. I can tell when something isn’t right.”

      Breathing a sigh he had to call relief, she handed him the phone. He read the first text message asking how she was. And then the second, and then the third. The fifth asked why she was ignoring him.

      “How many of these does he send you?” He memorized the cell number.

      “I lost count.”

      “Have you told him you aren’t interested?”

      “Yes, but he talked to me about it and I agreed to give it more time...sort of. I need to tell him in no uncertain terms that I don’t want him to contact me again.”

      “Why haven’t you?”

      She looked off into the distance, down the hall. A doctor walked by and then a nurse pushing a wheelchair. Someone was paged over the intercom. Lucy was oblivious to all of it. She was concerned over this Cam person.

      “Are you afraid of his reaction?” he asked.

      She turned back to him. “No. Well...I...”

      “Would you like me to tell him?”

      Now she laughed. “No.”

      “Not used to anyone doing things for you, are you?” She had a fierce independent streak, something he found attractive.

      “It’s not that.” She waved a hand up and then let it slap against her thigh, a very slender, long thigh. “Not to the point where it feels suffocating. I’m a capable woman.”

      “What did Cam do to make you feel suffocated?”

      “Some things he said over dinner, but then he backed off. It made me feel funny. Like he’s a control freak.”

      And then he’d text messaged her excessively. “I don’t like control freaks, either.” Women who wanted to control him into marriage.

      “I’ll tell him tonight that I don’t want to see or hear from him again.”

      Thad didn’t get a good feeling from this. “Let me know how that goes, okay?”

      She nodded. “I’ll be fine. If he doesn’t stop calling and texting, I’ll change my number.”

      “You shouldn’t have to do that. If he doesn’t stop after you tell him to, let me know. I won’t say I’ll take care of it, but I can arrange to make him stop contacting you.”

      “I don’t want it to get to that point. I’ll tell him to get lost.” Although she smiled, he sensed her dread. She’d rather never talk to the man again.

      “You could just ignore him. Eventually he’ll get the idea.”

      The flattening of her smile and another distant look said she wasn’t convinced. The cop in him urged to protect, even if she wasn’t the type to like being protected.

      * * *

      Lucy left work a little after nine and headed for her Subaru. It was dark and chilly outside, having rained all afternoon. The temperature had sunk below fifty once the sun had set. She dug into her purse for her keys. Reaching her car, she unlocked it just as she heard a car door open behind her.

      Someone had parked in the space beside hers. She turned and saw Cam get out of a black Honda Accord.

      Alarm snapped her heart into a frantic shudder.

      He held up his hand. “Before you go ballistic, let me say that I just came to talk to you.”

      “I was going to call you,” she said, not really sure if she would have. She wasn’t the type of woman who blew people off to avoid confrontation, but she may have become one temporarily because there seemed to be something peculiar about him.

      “I couldn’t wait. You still going to volunteer at your literacy program tomorrow night?” He took a step toward her.

      Lucy moved back against her car. “Yes.”

      He controlled his disappointment but it flashed across his eyes for a second. “Are you free the following night?”

      She was, but she wasn’t going to see him again. “Cam...”

      Brushing the lapels of his suit jacket aside, he put his hands on his hips, looking belligerent and on the verge of losing his temper. “What did I do to make you change your mind about me?”

      “It’s not something I can itemize.” Not without offending him. “It’s just a feeling.” That you’re a jerk—a Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde jerk. She’d stay far away from a man like that. “Sometimes it just doesn’t work out between two people.”

      “Why isn’t it working with me anymore? We hit it off when we first met.”

      “Yes, we did.” But then I got to know you a little. “But then something changed. I’m not interested in you anymore.” Even more so now.

      “Why won’t you tell me why?”

      Plain English wasn’t working on him. “Look, I don’t have to tell you a damn thing. All you need to know is I’m not interested.