Page 23 of Lion’s Den

Sedona glanced at him, a smile curving her lips. She rested her hand against her back, just above her right kidney. “You would only have to lift the hem a few inches.”

He relaxed. “That I can handle. If your back hurts worse after the field trip, we need to have someone with more expertise than I have to check you out.”

“Agreed, if you’ll get moving right now. I can’t be late.”

Cam chuckled. “Can’t have that.” He took the duffel bag from her, then guided Sedona toward the elevator. “Please tell me we have time for me to purchase a cup of coffee.”

“I have everything you need in my classroom. Let’s go.”

Minutes later, Cam escorted Sedona toward the elementary school. Twenty feet from the door, she gasped. “Oh, no.” She stared at her SUV, which listed to one side. While two flat tires were bad enough, someone had also bashed in every window and tagged the side of the vehicle with red paint. “Oh, man.” The bill was growing by the second in her mental tally of the cost of repairs.

When he saw the damage to her vehicle, he stiffened. “Look at what they wrote,” he muttered.

Sedona’s gaze shifted to the ghoulish red paint that ran in rivulets down the doors. Someone had written, “Send him away or he dies too.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

FURY BURNED IN Cam’s gut. Someone had not only bashed Sedona on the head and kidnapped her, they followed her back to Maple Valley, damaged her SUV, and threatened him. If the kidnappers thought he would turn tail and run, they underestimated him. He didn’t run from a fight. Ever. Especially a fight where the winner’s prize was Sedona Hart's life.

“I’m sorry, Cam.” Sedona stared at her damaged vehicle. “I never thought someone get back at me by threatening you. What would you like to do?”

No. Way. He wasn’t letting Sedona put their relationship back on the shelf. She was too special to wait now that he knew she was interested in him, too. “Will you go to dinner with me tonight?”

Her head whipped toward his, eyes wide. “You want to go on a date?”

“That’s usually what they call dinner and conversation, right? I haven’t been out of the game that long.” Well, to be truthful, it had been that long, but admitting as much to Sedona would make him sound pathetic. A man had to have some pride.

She gestured toward the SUV. “The obvious threat to you doesn’t scare you?”

Not much scared him anymore. After what he’d seen around the world, this was nothing new. “Nope. I don’t run from fights, Sedona. This man wants you. Unfortunately for him, I got to you first. I’m claiming you as mine. So no, I’m not running scared. I’m angry, though. This damage was mean-spirited and unnecessary, and the message was meant for me.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and settled her against his side. “That makes this my problem. I’ll take care of it.”

She frowned. “We need to go inside the school, but so we’re clear, you’re not paying for the repairs to my SUV.”

“We’ll see.” He wouldn’t let her foot the repair bill for her vehicle. Sedona might not like it, but he felt responsible because he hadn’t protected her and her vehicle better. She would learn that he took care of his own.

Sedona waved her card in front of the scanner and opened the door.

Cam followed her inside the building, his gaze constantly in motion. “When do your kids arrive?”

“In thirty minutes.” She blew out a breath.

Not good. Looked like she didn’t have enough time to do everything she usually did before the students arrived on campus. He hated that for her. Cam would help her do what she could in the time remaining. It would have to be enough for today. “How can I help?”

She glanced up and smiled.

Cam’s heart skipped a beat, then raced ahead. Sedona Hart had a knockout smile.

She handed him a stack of blank name tags and her list of students. “Each child needs a name tag filled out. First name only.”

“I can handle that.” He looked around, then turned back to Sedona. “Mind if I use your desk? If I sit at one of the student desks, I might get stuck in the chair.” Why did schools make kids sit in those one-piece-fits-no-one desk combos?

She laughed. “I know how you feel. Please use my desk.” Sedona grabbed a bottle of water and prepped the coffeemaker.

He hoped she remembered how he liked his coffee. On a morning like this, operating without sleep, Cam desperately needed his coffee at the usual potency, strong enough to walk by itself. Forget adding cream or sugar to his manly brew.

His lips curved. Sedona had tried his preferred coffee strength once. She swore she would never drink his magic elixir again. She’d complained about the coffee being bitter, and how it burned all the way down her throat. The woman did not know a perfect cup of coffee when she tasted it.

When the brewing cycle was complete, Sedona poured coffee into a to-go cup, snapped on the lid, and set the cup on her desk.