Page 32 of The Doctor

Another breath huffed out. Because the look on his face told me he knew more than he was letting on.

“Can I assume it’s Clara that’s causing you sleepless nights?”

“How’d you guess?” I asked in a droll voice.

A knowing smile tugged at his lips, and he tilted his head. “Maso tells me I almost lost a Maybach the other day.”

My exhaustion won. My head dropped against the back of the sofa and my body went slack.

I knew the property was watched. Knew there were cameras both inside and out.

I hadn’t counted on Maso giving me away.

My breath caught in my chest. What else had he seen?

“I startled her, that’s all.”

He let out a little hum but didn’t say another word. His silence was louder than the damn birds outside.

“She needs to learn to drive.” I shoved myself upright, then rubbed at the tightness in my throat as if I could wipe it away. “What’s she supposed to do if she’s called to an emergency? Call around to find someone to take her there? She should have been taught how to drive years ago. Her parents should have made sure she knew how. She has no way to get around town short of hitching rides and taking public transportation. It isn’t safe, not for a girl like Clara.”

I couldn’t bring myself to look at Paulo. Instead, I closed my eyes, shoved a hand through my hair, then fisted it when it caught on a tangle. I dropped back into the sofa and looked up at the ceiling.

“I don’t know why you thought I could do this, Paulo. Clara is… She’s…”

Beautiful.

Perfect.

So goddamn sexy she makes me lose my mind.

“Are you telling me you aren’t up to the task?” He lifted a finger to his lips, tapping without making a sound. “Perhaps there’s someone else she can—”

“No!” A grimace nearly ripped my face in two. I sat up in my seat and turned my full attention to him. I cleared my throat. “What I meant is, Clara is a handful. She tests my last nerves sometimes, but she’s nothing I can’t handle.”

Paulo lifted his chin, and there I was, feeling like a child again. “Perhaps what she needs is something to challenge her.”

“What do you mean?”

He examined his nails, wiping his thumb along the tips of his fingers. “She’s exceptionally smart, yes? She excels in her studies when she wants to. Perhaps she needs more of a challenge than what she’s getting out of her classes.”

“So you want me to… what?”

“She wants to become a doctor. So, teach her what she needs to know. Specifically, the kinds of things a Syndicate doctor needs to know. The sooner she learns this, the sooner she can help you so you’re not running yourself ragged in your practice. You deserve a good night’s sleep.”

Teach her?

Spend more time with her?

That’s not going to bring me more sleep.

Already, I could feel the tension building in my shoulders. Doing what Paulo suggested meant spending even more time with the girl. There’d be no more shooing her up to her room while I took care of my patients. There’d be no more telling her I needed space so I could concentrate on my patient’s files. Not if she was to learn everything she needed to know about fixing up the kinds of wounds our soldiers came to me with.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I asked in a feeble attempt to make him change his mind.

But it did nothing of the sort. The man smiled like he’d won the damn lottery. Then he sobered, and I felt the rug being pulled out from underneath my seat.

“For many years, I’ve been concerned about you, Zeno. You are nothing if not loyal to me and the Syndicate. But you’re not living your life for you. You’re past forty now, and you’ve never once brought anyone around that you’re interested in. You’ve never once indicated you’d want to settle down.”