Page 43 of Bound By Fire
“Me.” My voice sounds all breathy. “What do you mean?” It’s still breathy. I don’t talk like that, and yet I can’t get myself to stop.
“The Council has identified you as a potential high-value target should hostilities escalate with Mistveil or the Mainland. You’ve been marked as essential personnel. That means your security is part of my remit.”
“Why? I’m technically just a vet.”
“Hardly.” He looks at me through narrowed eyes. “You arethetop shifter surgeon on this island. You are Head of Shifter Medicine. You are the central signatory for every controlled pharmaceutical shipment into the three main hospitals on Draig, as well as all the clinics. You are considered to be essential personnel and a potential target. I need to scrutinize everything about you. I will need to shadow you as part of this assessment. I’ll need access to your home, your?—”
“My home? Shadow me?” I’m repeating words he says like an idiot, but I can’t help it.
“Don’t bring up the stalker thing again,” he says in a rough voice.
“I wasn’t going to. It’s just that I prefer to keep my personal life separate from my work life.”
“You may be targeted at home, Dr. Keller. Political threats do not happen in neat boxes. They could come after you at your place of residence. Quite frankly, your building would be easy to break into. Your home, too, unless you’ve upgraded your security since I…you know…was last there.”
How could I forget?
“You’re scaring me.”
“This is purely precautionary, Dr. Keller, but we can’t take any risks.”
I sit with it for a moment. Then I nod.
“I take it that you’ll need somewhere to work. I don’t have a spare office, I’m afraid.”
“Although I won’t be at my desk all the time, it would be great if I had a workstation. That table in the corner of your office would be great.” He glances at it. “It’s quiet in here, and I won’t be underfoot.”
“You might be more comfortable in our conference area. There’s plenty of space, and a coffee machine that?—”
“I saw it on my way here. Your office has the best privacy in the building. No glass walls and a solid door.”
I do not love the idea of sharing this room with him for a week. In fact, I hate it.
But I have to admit that he’s right. He would get the most privacy here. Although I have plenty of paperwork to attend to, my work isn’t always between these four walls. Still, I don’t like it at all.
Trapped in here with him for a whole week…maybe longer. Craaaap! For a moment, I’m tempted to have him remove himself from this assignment. He’d have to tell the Council that we had sex. My boss would find out.
No.
Just no.
“No problem. You can take the corner table.” I gesture over there.
“Thank you.”
He stands and moves to the table. He opens a slim leather case and starts laying things out. There’s a laptop, a couple of folders, a pen, and a small notebook.
Carla knocks and brings in the coffee. She puts my huge purple mug on my desk.
“Are you sure you don’t want anything…um…Mr. Ridge?” She giggles, her cheeks going pink.
“No thanks, Carla.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes…very.”
She chews on her bottom lip and then gives him a goofy smile. She’s staring. I hope I didn’t look at him like that.
