Читать книгу The Nurse's Bodyguard - Melanie Mitchell - Страница 12

CHAPTER THREE

“I’M SURE THEY’RE nearly done.” Jessica’s tone was hopeful as she tried to encourage Claire. “I can’t imagine that he’ll have many other questions.” She glanced at her watch and grimaced.

Claire looked at her own watch for what seemed like the tenth time in the past hour and sighed. “What time is your date?”

“He’s supposed to pick me up at six. I can call him and change it to seven...”

Claire shook her head. “No, that’s not necessary, Jessica. You’ve been terrific through this whole thing. Why don’t you go ahead and head home. I can handle it from here, and I won’t have a problem finding my way back to the apartment.”

Even though they’d known each other for only a few weeks, Jessica had been a stalwart friend. In addition to sharing her home, she had instructed Claire on how to navigate Seoul and she’d taken her to dinner and church on several occasions. Jessica had immediately come to the hospital and supported Claire while she was being stitched up. Then she’d helped translate while Claire had given her statement to the police. Today Jessica had offered to accompany her to the embassy to apply for the replacement passport and report the incident. Claire had quickly accepted her offer because she was still trying to find her way around the huge city.

Initially, the process had been simple. The guards were respectful, allowing them to enter and showing them where to go. The Consular Assistant had filed the paperwork for the replacement passport before directing the women to Sergeant Mancini, who’d been sympathetic and helpful. He’d repeatedly tried to assure both women that Seoul was one of the safest places in the world for single women. He seemed genuinely baffled and angry—ready to beat the daylights out of the perpetrators. After he’d assisted with the intake forms, he described the remaining step in the process—a brief meeting with Security’s duty officer. That meeting, he’d assured them, was just perfunctory. They had both been stunned when the alarmingly big officer, with his disarmingly mild drawl, had bombarded Claire with questions and stared at her with distrust.

Claire had not completely recovered her composure following last night’s attack. Although trying to seem calm, she was nervous, hesitant and uncharacteristically fretful of strange men. The embassy was large and imposing, but at least she’d been spared the ordeal of being among a crowd of people.

The sergeant had been friendly, but when he returned with his superior officer, she was immediately overwhelmed into a state bordering on panic. Her reaction to the lieutenant was totally out of place—he bore absolutely no resemblance to her attackers, who’d been Korean..

But the lieutenant had alienated her from the outset when he mistook Jessica for her. Since she’d arrived in Seoul, there’d been too many occasions to count in which people assumed she was Korean, but Claire had never been annoyed before. Luke’s stereotypical attraction to the pretty, curvy blonde, along with his equally obvious choice to ignore her, bothered her in a way that was unexpected. When he was finally forced to acknowledge her, he was ruthless as he grilled her, and she immediately got the impression that he doubted her account of the attack. She couldn’t conceive why he thought she could—or would—make something like that up. Being particularly vulnerable, it bothered her to be questioned and to have someone stare at her as he had, practically accusing her of lying.

“This whole situation is just so weird.” Jessica took a sip of her soda. “In all my years here, I’ve never known anyone who was robbed. And I’ve certainly never known someone who was attacked—well at least not a woman. I’ve heard of quite a few bar fights and such...”

She was interrupted when the two uniformed men returned. Claire couldn’t tell anything from the sergeant, who was expressionless, but the lieutenant looked vaguely uncomfortable. The big man sat behind the desk while the sergeant remained standing at the door.

Luke leaned forward, placing his forearms on the desk and clasping his hands. Claire once again felt intimidated by his size, but she sensed that his response to her had softened. For the first time she really looked at the man, noting his strong features, high cheekbones and full lips. His close cropped hair was dark blond, contrasting somewhat with dark eyebrows shading hazel eyes. Laugh lines were prominent in their corners, hinting that he smiled a lot.

“Ms. Olsen,” he began, his gaze holding hers. She was briefly distracted when she noted the amber striations in his otherwise greenish-brown eyes. “Sergeant Mancini was able to obtain the surveillance footage from last night and we’ve reviewed it several times.” He paused for emphasis. “It confirmed your account of the attack.”

“Well, of course—”

Holding up his hand, he interrupted. “But I still have some questions...”

Claire suddenly felt very vulnerable. Her eyes burned and she blinked several times, trying to keep from falling apart.

Luke abandoned professionalism and reached across the desk to gently pat her hand, surprising them both. Quickly, he pulled back his hand and actually shuffled in his chair.

“I’m sorry, Miss Olsen. Please don’t be alarmed.” He sounded as if he wasn’t used to apologizing. “I need to explain. I’m an analyst. I spend pretty much all day every day trying to understand and interpret information. We’re trained to not take anything at face value, and I transferred my ingrained skepticism to your situation. At any rate, my initial mistrust was unwarranted. Please, I sincerely apologize for doubting your account.” He glanced at Tony, who responded with a tiny approving nod.

Returning his gaze to Claire he continued, “I needed to get the facts, but I still don’t think I have them all.” He held up his hand again. “No, not about you, but I’m still trying to put everything together...to get it straight. It simply doesn’t make sense.”

Claire frowned, but she was willing to accept his explanation and maybe his apology. She swallowed and asked, “What...What else can I tell you?”

He paused to stare at his hands for a moment, evidently contemplating his next question. Finally he met her eyes and asked, “Do you have any martial arts training?”

“Martial arts?” She shook her head. “No. None.”

“Are you sure?” His drawl was back.

She gave him a scathing look and huffed, “I thought you’d decided to believe me!”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” He sighed. “It’s just that the moves you made... On the video... It looked like some sort of kung fu or tae kwon do.”

She pressed her lips together and actually smiled for a tiny second. “Uh, no. That was—well—it was from ice skating.” Her voice was quiet, nearly a whisper.

“I’m sorry?” It was his turn to look confused. “What about ice skating?”

“The moves.”

He still seemed baffled.

“I am—well I used to be—a figure skater. I guess that last night during the—uh—encounter, the moves just kind of happened.” Her voice quieted even more when she said the word “encounter.” She paused a breath before continuing. “It wasn’t anything I thought about or planned, I just reacted.”

Luke sat back in his chair and looked at her with something approaching shock. “Ice skating?” He seemed to reflect on what she’d said, as if replaying the video in his mind. Understanding seemed to dawn. “So that’s why you kept going, even after you’d been cut?” It was both a comment and a question.

“Yes, I suppose.” She shrugged. “You get used to ignoring pain during training. You fall so frequently that bruises, sprains and even cuts are common, so if you quit every time something hurts, you’d never progress...”

“Well, okay...” He leaned forward in his chair again, staring at his clasped hands. Finally his eyes rose to hold hers. “Miss Olsen. In my experience, I’ve known a lot of football players and combat soldiers who were easily more than twice your size, who didn’t have the fortitude you showed last night.” He stood and held his hand as a peace offering. “One of my redeeming qualities is I can admit when I’ve been wrong. I truly apologize for my harsh questioning and for doubting your veracity. Please let me shake your hand.”

Claire was stunned. His eyes pinned hers and she blinked. Nodding slightly, she rose and allowed his huge hand to swallow hers a second time. Marveling at the size difference, she murmured, “It’s okay. I understand. You were just doing your job.”

* * *

LUKE CONTINUED TO STARE at her oddly colored eyes. And then she smiled. The smile was shy and incredibly sweet. The flush that Luke felt was concurrent with an odd tightening in his chest. He recognized the sensation immediately. He had just lost his heart.