Chapter 7 Cami
CAMI
“No, absolutely not.” I crossed my arms over my chest and stared him down.
Kyle didn’t seem to notice the act of defiance.
He watched the security feeds on the laptop in the exam room.
Bella, lying on a dog bed inside a recovery crate, stirred, but didn’t wake.
She would be in the post-anesthesia, in-between state for a few more hours.
Then she would need periodic monitoring throughout the night.
“I’m not leaving her,” I said. That he would surely understand.
He looked over his shoulder, then swiveled on his stool to face me. “Is that why you’re being so stubborn?” He ran a hand through his short hair, making it spiky on top, then rubbed his jaw, where his scruff was thicker than it had been this afternoon.
I focused my attention back on Bella. I shouldn’t be noticing how yummy he looked. But since we’d all had a long day and he’d been here for the duration, I should probably be less confrontational. “She needs to be watched overnight.”
“I know,” he said. “That’s why we’re taking her with us.”
“If you want me to leave the clinic, I’ll take her home with me.”
He shook his head. “Not until I’ve assessed your home security.”
“You already have.” I glanced at him. “My apartment is upstairs in this building.”
He blinked a few times.
“I know what you’re thinking,” I said defensively, because I’d heard it from my parents and a couple of boyfriends, and even Gina, but just once.
“It’s a commercial building. Cold, impersonal, lots of metal and glass.
But it’s zoned appropriately, it’s convenient, and the price is right for someone paying off a business loan for buying a vet practice. ”
“Actually, I was thinking this might be the best news I’ve heard all night. I’d expected you to be living somewhere much less safe.”
“Oh, good. And on that note, you can go home after your friend picks up the evidence.”
Gina knocked on the door and peeked into the room. “Tell me you’re not arguing with this man about keeping you and Bella safe.”
“Et tu, Gina?”
“He’s right,” she said. “You could use a bodyguard in case Scott comes back here looking for the dog. Or in case...”
She didn’t need to finish her thought. We were all sagging under the weight of it. In case someone on our staff was working with Scott, stealing medical supplies, tipping him off that Bella was here.
Only a handful of the staff knew about Bella.
That limited the list of Scott’s possible accomplices, if there was one.
I hoped like hell there wasn’t. Gina, Doc, and I were a tight unit who’d been working together since I’d interned here during college, and besides our long history, I trusted my bestie with my life.
That left Darla, our main receptionist, and Mike, one of our best vet techs.
The Sunday A team that worked together twice a month, sometimes with Ally joining us as well.
My favorite crew. My colleagues but also my friends.
“Hey,” Kyle crossed the room and crouched down in front of my chair. “We have no proof that Scott has an inside person. We’ll run a background check on everyone just to be sure. But in the meantime, we need to keep Bella’s where-abouts under wraps, and I need to look out for both of you.”
“Kyle, I think your friend is here,” Gina said.
One of the security feeds showed a dark sedan pulling into the parking lot. The lights blinked in a pattern.
“That’s Lang.” He picked up the medical-grade plastic bag that contained the two liquid-filled condoms I’d removed from Bella’s abdomen. “I’ll hand these over to him and be right back.” He glanced at Gina. “Don’t let her go upstairs without me.”
“I’ll watch her,” my traitorous best friend said.
With Kyle gone, she lowered her voice. “Tell me you’ve done your laundry this week.”
“My laundry? Of course I’ve done my laundry.” Every Saturday before my afternoon shift. She knew that about me.
“Good. Since you have off tomorrow and your closet is full of clean clothes, you have no reason to walk around in baggy scrubs. And don’t tell me you don’t wear them on your days off because I’ve seen you do it.”
I glared at her. “I’ve done it a few times. They’re comfortable.”
“So are cute sundresses.”
I hardened my stare. “You want me to dress for him?”
“I’m pretty sure Bella won’t care how you look, so yes, for him.”
I watched Bella, sleeping so peacefully. Kyle might be the means to protecting her, but I didn’t have to like it, and I didn’t plan to entertain him by wearing sundresses. “I don’t need to look cute for him. He’s basically a stranger.”
“He’s Kat’s employee,” Gina countered. “She vouched for him. And we’ve spent the past six hours with the guy. In case you need the best-friend seal of approval, I’m hereby giving it. If I didn’t have a husband waiting for me, I’d take Kyle home.”
“You do realize this isn’t a date, right?”
She shrugged. “Not yet.”
I stood and stretched my back, then started packing a medical bag with supplies Bella might need overnight.
“This was supposed to be so easy. Take the abused dog away from her owner and hand her over to the rescue organization. Then I find out she needs immediate medical attention, and this guy isn’t who I thought he was, and then on top of everything else, Scott slithers his way back into my life. ”
“I’m not sure what part of stealing a dog out from under that asshole’s nose was supposed to be easy, but you handing her over to the wrong man was her lucky break.”
“You think so?”
Gina cocked her head. “He named her. You should ask him if he wants to be listed as her owner when we register her ID chip.”
“I think you’re right. I will ask him. Maybe tomorrow, after he’s had another day to fall in love with her.”
“I’m not sure he needs another day,” Gina said.
“It doesn’t hurt to be sure,” I said. “Providing a forever home for a dog, especially a previously abused one, is a big responsibility.”
“I think Kyle’s up to the task.” She nudged my shoulder. “And who said I was talking about the dog?”