Chapter 91
Richard's POV
"My alma mater. Couldn't miss the chance to see all these eager young faces ready to change the world." His sarcasm was thick. "I heard you got back this morning. Claire will be so thrilled."
The way he said it made it clear he thought the opposite. "How is she? Really?"
Nathan's smirk faded. "You'd know if you'd been here."
I felt my jaw tighten. "I had obligations that couldn't be postponed. Congressional hearings don't reschedule for personal matters."
"Personal matters." Nathan laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Is that what you call your fiancée nearly dying?"
My heart stopped. "What are you talking about? I was told it was minor injuries."
Nathan's eyes widened in mock surprise. "Oh? Claire didn't tell you? The car flipped three times before hitting a tree. Total wreck. She's lucky to be alive."
I dropped my cigarette, no longer caring about it. "She told me it was just cuts and bruises."
"Well, the cuts are mostly healed now. She just limps a bit sometimes. Needs someone to help her walk occasionally."
The information hit me like a punch. Claire had downplayed it, and I had accepted her version without question because it was convenient. Because it meant I didn't have to feel bad about staying in D.C.
"I'm seeing her tomorrow," I said, my voice tight.
"Good for you. Better late than never, I guess." Nathan pushed off from the column and moved closer. "By the way, did she tell you about her new bodyguard?"
"Bodyguard?"
"Yeah, some ex-military guy. Daniel Brown. Follows her around like a shadow now. Very dedicated." There was something in Nathan's voice that made me uneasy. "I think you might want to watch out for that one."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Nathan's smile was cold. "Just looking out for my future brother-in-law. Claire values loyalty above all else. And you weren't here when she needed someone."
Before I could respond, he glanced at his watch. "Oh, looks like the ceremony's about to restart. Don't want to miss your moment in the spotlight, Richard."
As he walked away, I felt a mixture of guilt and anger bubbling inside me. Claire had been seriously injured, and I hadn't been there. And now there was some bodyguard in the picture? Someone who had been there when I wasn't?
"Nathan," I called after him. He paused and looked back. "What kind of things does Claire like these days? I want to bring her something tomorrow."
The question seemed to amuse him. "She drinks a lot of coffee. American style, not that fancy European stuff."
That was it? After being engaged for a long time, all I knew about Claire's preferences was that she liked American coffee? And all Nathan would tell me was the same basic fact?
I watched him disappear into the building, my mind racing. Claire and I had been playing a game since our engagement—a chess match of perfectly appropriate gestures that revealed nothing real about either of us. I'd thought we were evenly matched. Now I wasn't so sure.
And then there was this bodyguard, Daniel Brown. The last time I'd seen Claire at her apartment, there had been a man watching from a distance. Tall, military bearing, intense eyes. I'd noticed him but hadn't thought much of it at the time. Was that him? Had he already been in Claire's orbit then?
I smashed out my cigarette under my heel. Nathan clearly had an agenda in warning me about Brown. Did he actually want to help me, or did he have his own interest in Claire? The Stanton family dynamics were more twisted than a political campaign, and Nathan's position as the legitimized illegitimate son made him particularly hard to read.
One thing was clear: tomorrow's lunch with Claire just got a lot more complicated. And I needed to find out exactly who Daniel Brown was and why he was suddenly so important in my fiancée's life.