“I’d like to get started on the dog’s surgery as soon as possible.”
“Do you need an assist?” Dr. Kramer asked.
“No, thank you.” Cami answered. “You should all go home, except for Darla. And of course, Darla, you should leave as soon as you’ve given Kyle the information he needs.”
“If you need a second tech in the surgery...” Mike offered.
“No, thank you, Mike.” Cami’s tone was polite but firm.
Dr Kramer furrowed his brow. “If it turns out to be a complicated case, an extra pair of hands might help.”
She shook her head, turning down the advice of her mentor on this issue.
As the staff dispersed to close down the practice for the night, I turned to Darla. “I’ll be with you in a minute. I’d like to check on Bella before she goes into surgery.”
Cami raised her eyebrows. “Bella?”
I shrugged. “I think it suits her. You don’t like it?”
Cami smiled as we walked toward the exam room. Her dimples were adorable. I made a note to myself to make her smile as often as possible. Her shoulders had dropped a few inches, further proof that she was recovering from her run-in with Scott. I would have to tread lightly when it came time to ask questions about him.
“I like the name Bella,” she said. “I think it suits her much better than Spike.”
“All right, first of all, there’s no reason a girl can’t be named Spike. And second, I didn’t want to be rude and look under her tail.”
When Cami laughed, her eyes crinkled and her dimples deepened. Her beauty, brains, devotion to animals had all drawn me in, but that laugh—loud and unapologetic and hypnotically musical—sent me over the edge. It was a damngood thing this wasn’t a honey-trap situation, because all the money the government had spent on my resistance training was useless against her.
“That’s adorable,” she said.
Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you. Out loud, I said, “I was going for macho. Or at least hunky.”
She bit her pink lower lip. I stared at her mouth. My conscious thoughts were temporarily suspended as the blood required for peak brain function flowed to other parts of my body.
“How about hero?” she asked in a near whisper.
It took me a few beats to process that. By the time I did, I couldn’t protest. I couldn’t explain that I was the guy behind the scenes, not the one kicking ass, taking names, and saving the day, because she’d turned to open the exam room door. I rested my hand on hers. I was in no hurry to stop touching her soft skin.
“Cami,” I said quietly, “one more thing.” I dropped my hand and leaned against the wall, playing it cool, hoping to keep her at ease so she’d feel safe to open up to me. “Why were you so insistent that no one else help you with Bella’s surgery?”
The quick downturn of her lips proved I’d hit home. Something was up.
“I just want to keep everyone safe,” she replied, matching my muted tone. “The fewer people involved, the better.”
“They’re already involved and there’s more to this than you’re telling me.” I said it as gently as possible. Her guard was slowly coming back up, and I needed her to trust me. “Cami, I want to keep all of you safe, and I can’t do that unless you tell me what you’re hiding.”
She stared at the door handle. “I haven’t even hired you.”
“And you’re not going to.” For one thing, she couldn’t do that if she wanted to. That’s not how our covert operation worked. But even if we’d been a run-of-the-mill, non-governmental security company, I wouldn’t let her do it. “I’m using my own free time, here. And I’m not leaving until I know you and that sweet girl”—I nodded my head toward the exam room to indicate Bella—“are okay.”
“I think I’d better show you.” She led me into the exam room.
Bella was stretched out on the metal table. At first, I thought she was already under anesthesia, but when I stepped closer, she wagged her tail ever so slightly.
“Hi, girl,” I said.
Cami touched Gina’s shoulder and the vet tech stepped back. She’d shaved Bella’s abdomen for the surgery. The dog’s pink belly looked even more distended than it had when covered with hair. And there was something else.
“Here,” Cami said, pointing to two small bulges above the swollen area.
