Hard Line - Pamela Clare Page 0,22
not with you. The other guys say you never hook up with anyone. If a woman can’t get laid in Antarctica—”
Thor shot to his feet, glared down at the kid, enraged, Samantha’s words about being bullied still with him. “Apologize—now.”
A hush came over the galley, heads turning their way.
Jones stood, too. “You need to watch your mouth, son.”
Segal got to his feet, as well, a piece of buttered bread in his hand, his mouth full, his gaze fixed on the kid.
Jason looked from Thor to the others, took a couple of steps backward. “Sorry.”
Then he hurried away with his apple.
Thor sat once more, taken aback at his reaction. He met Samantha’s gaze. “You shouldn’t have to put up with that.”
She looked away, her cheeks flushed. “Jason’s just an idiot.”
Had Thor embarrassed her by making a scene?
“He’s pouring water out of his ears.”
“He’s … what?” She looked completely confused.
“You don’t say that in English?”
“Not unless someone has literal water in their ears.”
“It means that what he’s saying isn’t true. It’s nonsense.”
“Ah.”
But Jones watched Thor, a grin on his face. “Did you see that, Segal? Damn! The Viking finally lost his cool.”
It was then Thor realized he needed a fork and a beverage.
Samantha waited outside the coatroom by the main entrance for Thor, who insisted that he or one of the other Cobra guys accompany her to and from the Dark Sector Lab. She needed to catch up on work and check the telescope. But what she really wanted to do was hide.
If a woman can’t get laid in Antarctica—
Samantha cringed to think that Thor had heard those words. True, he’d confronted Jason and had seemed genuinely angry on her behalf. She was grateful for that. But he had witnessed it, as had everyone else in the galley.
It had been mortifying.
Sometimes, Samantha didn’t understand the world. Only about fifty people in any given year got to spend austral winter here. It was an honor, and it came with a lot of work and responsibility. Who had time to think about getting laid?
You only say that because men don’t pay attention to you.
She ignored that inner voice—or tried to.
She’d had two boyfriends—one in college and one in graduate school. The college boyfriend, Scott, had broken up with her a few weeks into their relationship by telling her he’d never really found her attractive. Nathan, her boyfriend in grad school, had turned everything into a competition—grades, research, relationships with professors. He’d broken up with her when she’d gotten a prestigious post-doc position at the University of Chicago, insisting that she’d only gotten the job because she was a woman and not because she’d earned it.
After that, Samantha decided she had better things to do than date.
She’d come here to work, to do ground-breaking research about relic light in the universe, not to meet men. She shouldn’t care what that idiot Jason said or what anyone else thought about her. Even so, Jason’s words had hurt.
She spotted Thor down the hallway. It wasn’t hard with his white parka. He was also a lot taller than most men, and he walked with the kind of grace that came from being physically active.
He saw her, drew his hat over his head, his mask in his gloved hands. “I just heard that the pilot made it back to McMurdo.”
“I’m so relieved to hear that. Ready?”
They put on their masks, pulled up their hoods, and walked out into the cold, making their way down the stairs to the ice. A faint aurora danced around the edge of the sky, a small breeze fluttering the flags that marked the path to the Dark Sector.
“I brought something I’d like you to carry with you until we leave.” He drew a small two-way radio out of his pocket. “This way, you can reach me, Jones, and Segal, no matter where you are, day or night.”
She took the device from him. “But I already have a radio.”
“Yes, I know, but we’re not on that frequency. I want you to be able to reach us in case of an emergency.”
She slipped the radio into her pocket. “You truly believe I’m in danger?”
“I can’t say for certain, but I want to be prepared. That’s the most important part of any security operation—identifying potential risks and finding ways to mitigate them before anything happens.”
That seemed logical.
“I feel very protected, so thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
For a short time, they walked without speaking, their boots squeaking on the ice, Thor’s long stride making her work to keep up.
“What is