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“All scheduling changes go through me. Your alterations all showed a similar pattern—a desire to avoid contact with two particular healers.”
She could have sworn the AI actually smirked for a millisecond or two. “And he’s on his way here? Now?”
“Yes. As I mentioned, I have no way of observing anything outside these walls, so I cannot inform you of their exact arrival. Not until they enter… Oh. They’re here,” Rae announced before her hologram faded from sight.
“Thanks for the information,” Jody drawled and then turned back the way she’d come while leaning into a lifetime of experience to smooth her features into a calm, confident mask. If the doctor looked calm, the patients tended to relax. No one wanted to be treated by someone who didn’t at least look like they knew what they were doing.
“Jody!” Tariq called out as he hurried toward her. “You shouldn’t have entered the clinic on your own.”
“It’s my clinic. Rae confirmed no one was inside.” She didn’t mention that she hadn’t asked for that information before rushing in.
Tariq stopped a few steps away from her, his expression one of frantic concern. For her? The realization made her heart beat faster as heat rose in her cheeks.
Because things weren’t awkward enough already.
That was the moment the something niggling at the back of her head screamed and waved its nonexistent arms, demanding her attention. The symbol meant something—something dangerous. That’s why Tariq was so concerned.
Sulat rushed in, looking as worried as Tariq. Veth. Maybe she should have listened to the little voice earlier.
“Are you alright, zurya? Why are no guards with you?”
“What guards? As Rae reminded me, Haven doesn’t have anything like that. Who should I have called to report what I thought was just an act of vandalism?”
Both males gaped at her, opened mouthed and speechless for several seconds. It should have made them look foolish, but somehow they still looked unthinkably handsome. How was that possible? It had to be all in her head, and that meant her head wasn’t where it needed to be.
“Vandalism?” Tariq shook his head. “If only that was the case.”
“That symbol.” Jody twirled one hand in the air as she drew a series of diminishing spirals. “What does it mean?”
“It’s a warning. A serious one. The Liq’za have targeted you.”
Of course. The Liq’za were all about the purity of the Vardarian race and culture. They had threatened Phaedra and her baby, forcing the princess into hiding. Now, the same zealots were after her.
For a moment a chill of fear wrapped icy fingers around her soul and squeezed. Her breath caught, her hands clenched, and every muscle in her body screamed at her to get away from here.
The hell with that.
Anger burned white hot, melting the chill of fear in seconds. “So, they think I’ll turn tail and run because they etched a few glyphs on my clinic? Is this their first time going after humans? It must be because that’s not going to work.”
Tariq actually smiled at her and then at Sulat. “Your zurya has petals of steel.”
Wait. What? Had Tariq just called her Sulat’s blossom, complimented her, and managed to smile, too?
“She is not mine,” Sulat said, “since neither of us has had a chance to speak to her on the subject. This is not the time or place for it, either.”
“Definitely not,” Jody agreed. “Let’s focus on getting the clinic up and running. Later, we can talk.”
Later, when she’d had a chance to sort out her feelings—about the vandalism, the implied threat, and Tariq’s unexpected change of heart. She’d expected them to still be working through the issues she’d caused. For fraxx sake, by all reports, they’d beaten each other senseless only a few days ago.
Only one thing could help her make sense of everything at a time like this—a glass of chocolate milk and a batch of homemade cookies. Pity neither was available right now.
“But later, cookies,” she muttered to herself.
“What was that?” Sulat asked.
“Cookies are my coping mechanism, and right now, I could use a dozen or so. Too bad I don’t have any.”
“Ha! Tariq has a stash of them in his office. In fact, I believe they’re programmed into the food replicator under his name.”
