SEAL Protected (3 page)

Chapter 4

My father was furious. He was justified of course, but that didn’t excuse his shouting and banging around like a child.

“You snuck out,” he roared. “You snuck out and you nearly died. And why? Why did you sneak out? Because you decided to rebel against my wishes.” He rounded on me, his face red with fury. “You are not a child, Michelle.”

I twitched, fists clenching at my sides. “No, I’m not. So why do you treat me like one?” I said, my voice rising into a high-pitched shriek.

“Because you act like one,” he shouted back. He sighed and his shoulders slumped forward. “I’m just trying to protect you. You have no idea what I have to go through to do that.”

“I don’t want to be protected,” I replied, but the heat was gone out of my voice as well. “Daddy, I can take care of myself as long as you tell me what’s going on. If I had known people were after me I would have never gone out like that.” I sighed. “But you can’t expect me to go along with everything you do without knowing why you’re doing it. That’s not how I work, and I won’t do it.”

“Not even if it’s for your own good?” he asked. I shook my head. “Yeah, just like your mother.” Neither one of us spoke for a minute after that. I remembered my mother. A fiery woman from Korea who had never let prejudice get in the way of standing next to my father. I also remembered how she’d died. An armed man who’d attacked my father when he first became a senator. She’d taken a bullet meant for him and died on the stage in his arms.

I blinked a few times at the memory and jumped a bit when tears slid down my cheeks. I missed my mother, but I hadn’t cried about her in years. Embarrassed, I wiped my eyes and looked back at my father. He coughed, just as embarrassed as I was.

“So, how are they?” I asked. I hadn’t been allowed to ride along to the hospital. Now, Taryn, Cindy, and Tom were all at the hospital and I was here, standing in the main hall with my father.

“Stable, for the most part. Cindy has suffered a nasty head injury and will have to stay a few days. The doctors are waiting for her to wake up to see how it affects her, if at all. Taryn has a minor concussion and a cracked rib, plus extensive bruising on her upper body.” I nodded. I’d figured the first two – I’d been a vet long enough to spot most injuries on humans and animals. “As for Tom, he was wearing a bullet proof vest, that’s why you couldn’t find a bullet hole. He passed out from shock.” I almost smiled at that. It was funny in it's own terrifying sort of way. Shock instead of a wound. I wonder how embarrassed he was over that.

“You can go see them in the morning,” said my father. “But not before, they need their rest. Taryn and Cindy have the same room, so you don’t have to worry about them being alone. As for Tom, I’m sure he’ll survive.” I nodded. “As for the attackers….” He sighed. “I’m sorry for not telling you, and as long as you’re here, I want to explain it all to you. You see, I’m running for senator again, as you know, and there are those who don’t want me to regain my position. My adviser warned me that there were people after me, but I didn’t understand the extent of the danger until tonight. Do you see now why I hired Tom?” I nodded, and, without waiting for more explanation wished him good night and headed up to my room.

It was another hard night of sleeping. My dreams were filled with ‘what ifs’ and worst case scenarios. What if one of my friends had died? That would have been on my head. To never see Cindy or Taryn again would be torture. They were my best friends and I couldn’t stand the thought of losing them. I didn’t know Tom as well, but he seemed decent enough, and he’d saved us at just the right time too. That meant he’d been following us, and while I usually would be angry at that, I couldn’t help but be grateful he’d done so. What would have happened if he hadn’t? The images for the answer filled my dreams as I tossed and turned in my too-large too-cold bed.

When morning came I couldn’t get to the hospital fast enough. First, I’d check on Taryn and Cindy and make sure they were okay. Then, if I had time before work, I’d go see Tom as well. It only seemed right, seeing as he’d saved my life. My lips twitched. A life for a visit – yes, that was completely fair. I almost laughed at the absurdness of it all.

Taryn and Cindy were awake when I walked into their room. They sat together on one bed playing cards and it took me a second to realize they were playing a trading card game. Something with elemental attacks and multicolored hamsters. At least, I thought they looked like hamsters.

“Are you two all right?” I asked, leaning against the door frame. Taryn looked up and flashed me a grin. She tossed another card into the pile.

“Flame thrower,” she said. Cindy groaned and threw down her cards, flopping back. As she did, I caught sight of where they’d shaved her head in order to stitch her up. The short cut hair around the new stitches made me wince. I was the one they’d been after and I’d been the one with the least amount of damage. There weren’t words for how unjust that felt. “We’re pretty good,” said Taryn. “Recovering nicely.”

Cindy nodded; a wide grin on her face. “Yeah. I mean, I’m still a little bit sore and my vision keeps going out of focus. But I’m alive, so that’s good.” At my expression her own faltered. “I’m really okay with it, Michelle.”

“It was shitty luck, plain and simple,” said Taryn, stopping either of us from continuing our current train of thought. “But we’re fine. I’ve got some nasty ribs and Cindy has a head wound. So she gets a cool haircut out of this.”

“And you?”

Taryn shrugged. “I went through worse overseas. This? This is nothing.” The silence that hung after her statement made Taryn wince. “Not what I meant,” she said. With a sigh, I scrubbed my hands through my hair and shook my head. This was too much. “So, how’s Tom?” asked Taryn, changing the subject. I smiled, grateful for the subject change.

“He’s fine. No extensive injury, just shock.”

“Yeah, I’ve passed out from shock,” said Taryn. “Embarrassing, but relieving when you wake up. You’re not hurt, anyway.”

I nodded and looked over my shoulder to the hallway. “I was thinking of maybe going to go visit him,” I said. My hands twitched in an aborted shrug and I stuffed them into my pockets. My hoodie was soft on the inside and it soothed the half-healed cuts on my hands that came from everything that had happened in the last few days.

“You should,” said Cindy. “For him, anyway. I mean, he’s your bodyguard Michelle. It’s his job to protect you. Let him know you’re all right, right?” Her fingers went to grab hair that was no longer there and I winced. Cindy’s hands fell back to her lap and she fiddled with her cards. “Ice wave.” She tossed another card onto the pile between them.

Taryn stared. “Oh come on!” I laughed and stepped back out of the room. That was a cue to leave if I’d never seen one.

It was two hallways and a short elevator ride to Tom’s room. I knew that from the receptionist who’d let me through to see everyone. Every step was a challenge. I didn’t know what to say to Tom when I say him. What did you say to someone who’d saved your life? Thanks? Good job? Neither seemed enough for what he’d done last night. Neither seemed worthy to be spoken in his presence. I grimaced, wondering if I should have been there at all. He probably wanted nothing to do with the woman who’d put him in the hospital.

My footsteps seemed to echo in the hallways as I walked. The white walls stared almost accusingly at me. Should I have gone to the gift shop? And bought what – flowers or chocolate? Nothing seemed adequate. I sighed. The man who I had scorned and shouted at had saved my life without a thought. He could have died if not for the bullet proof vest. I’d been serious about the touching thing, but the rest might have been overboard. The snark, the anger, and the sneaking away. All of it seemed rash and immature now.

His room was number 501 and I stood outside for a minute, leaning against the blue painted door frame. He was lying in his bed, eyes closed. I took a few hesitant steps into the room. Flowers from my father rested on the table next to the window, right next to the chair on which Tom’s bulletproof vest hung. I couldn’t help but stare at it. I’d never seen one up close. I was almost certain Taryn had put hers through a wood chipper when she’d gotten back from being deployed. It was heavier than I expected and the weight was solid in my hands.

“I owe it my life.” I jumped and dropped the vest back onto the chair. It landed with a dull thud that shook the chair. Behind me, Tom was sitting up in his bed, his back against the stacked pillows. I bit my lip and shuffled awkwardly away from the bed. “Are you all right, Michelle?” I managed a nod and stared out the window. What was wrong with me? This man had saved my life – I should thank him. A small bubble of anger bubbled in my stomach, pointing out that fact that I have never asked for this man to be part of my life. I shoved it down and smiled at Tom.

“I came to thank you,” I said, keeping my voice was calm as I could.

Tom’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?” The incredulous tone in his voice made me frown. “I’m sorry if I’ve offended you, but really?” He laughed, shaking his head. “I thought you hated me.”

“I did. Actually, I might still if you don’t stop.” He nodded and zipped his lips. I was reminded, for a moment, of elementary school. Tom struck me as the kind of guy to survey the playground from the monkey bars and shoot bullies with rocks from them. I giggled.

“What?”

“I’m picturing you in coverall shorts with a slingshot,” I said. Tom’s eyes went wide, his cheeks flushing for a second. The image made me laugh even harder.

“I don’t look that good in shorts,” he said.

My gaze flicked across his splayed form and a teasing smile played across my lips. “I don’t know,” I said. “I think you’d look good in just about anything.” Tom smirked at me, his eyes teasing. It took me a second, but then I realized what I’d just said and bit my lip. “Sorry, that might have been a bit too Taryn.”

He chuckled. It was a low, throaty sound that sent shivers up my spine. I twitched to keep myself from rubbing my shoulders. “I don’t mind.” There was something in his expression as he said it that super-heated my insides. I shook my head, a smile on my face as I fought down the sudden wave of arousal.

“You’re something, you know that.” Outside the room, there was a crash as a nurse’s food tray banged into the wall. The spell broken, I looked away from Tom and coughed in discomfort. “Do you know when you’ll be allowed out of the hospital?” I asked. The tiles of the floor suddenly seemed much more interesting than Tom. A flush rose to my cheeks. He was a handsome man, so the reaction wasn’t completely unexpected – no more than that earlier burst of arousal – but I couldn’t help but curse this permanent embarrassment. He had saved my life and I had thanked him, hadn’t I? What more was there to it?

“A few days at most, they said. Hopefully two.” I swore I could hear him smiling. “Then I’ll be back to chasing after you.” I choked back a cough at his tone. Chasing me? Is that what he thought it was? The heat rushed back to my face and I clenched on fist in my lap. I couldn’t place this emotion, though it was somewhere between anger and annoyance.

Turning to the window, I stared out at the frost covered grass, untouched by most in the hospital court yard. I took a deep breath to calm myself before I spoke again. “You don’t have to chase, you know,” I said. “I get it, I was immature. I mean, I’m still not going to let you into my apartment when I’m sleeping, but I think it’s time I stopped running.”

“Oh?” Tom’s voice was so soft I almost missed it completely.

I replied, “Yeah. You’re doing your best, so it’s the least I can do.” I laughed, nervous, and scrubbed at my hair. It was a mess from sleeping, but I hadn’t bothered to do anything but pull it back into a loose ponytail. The animals didn’t care what I looked like, so I never bothered in the morning. “So I think next time we’re together I won’t run screaming in the other direction.”

“I’d appreciate it. Might make my job a lot easier.”

“A lot less interesting though.” I grinned. He laughed and grinned in return.

“True enough,” I replied. For a little while, neither of us spoke. I watched the last of the leaves fall from their branches and drift down to the frozen grass. Clouds gathered above and sent deep shadows across the few paths where people walked. The room was likewise cast in shadow, despite the overhead light, and my eyes drifted across it. I fidgeted, unsure of what to say in this small, white room with its mysterious occupant.

“You’re ex-navy, right?” I asked after a while. “My Dad told me that when he introduced you.”