“But it’s not enough. It’s never enough.”
We sat in silence for a moment, watching the sun creep higher. Above us, I heard movement on the roof—Logan shifting position, probably getting a better vantage point. Always watching. Always ready for threats that might never materialize.
“What do you think of our security team?” Sophia asked, following my gaze upward.
“Professional. Competent.” I kept my voice neutral. “They’ll get us out safely.”
“That’s not what I meant.” A hint of amusement colored her words. “Logan Kane is quite…impressive.”
“If you like the strong, silent, emotionally unavailable type.”
She chuckled. “So you have noticed.”
“Hard not to notice someone who looks like he could bench-press a car.” I stood abruptly. “I’m going to start inventorying meds. Full day ahead.”
Sophia’s knowing look followed me as I headed inside, but she didn’t push. She’d been here long enough to recognize defensive walls when she saw them.
By lunch,I’d compiled lists of our thirty-seven regular patients, their conditions, and medication needs. The numbers were stark—we could leave maybe a month’s worth of supplies, two at most for some conditions. After that…
I pushed the rice around my plate, appetite gone. Across the makeshift dining area, Logan sat with his team, their conversation too low to hear. He’d acknowledged me with a brief nod when I’d entered, then gone back to whatever tactical discussion they were having.
Professional. Distant. Exactly what I should have expected.
“I’ll be leaving for afternoon rounds in a few minutes,” I announced to the room in general, standing to clear my plate. “Anyone who needs supplies delivered, get them to me in the next twenty minutes.”
“I’ll come with you,” Logan said, the first words he’d directed at me since yesterday morning.
“That’s not necessary.”
“It is.” His tone held no room for argument. “Part of our assessment includes understanding movement patterns and village layout. Plus, no one should be going out by themselves for the foreseeable future.”
Of course. Not desire for my company. Just another box to check on his mission parameters.
“Fine.” I turned away before he could see my expression. “Twenty minutes.”
I wasn’t surprised when he was ready at the door exactly twenty minutes later. The afternoon heat pressed against our skin like a damp blanket as we walked the narrow dirt path toward the village. I’d grabbed my medical bag and a smallcooler of vaccines, falling into the familiar rhythm of house calls that had become an important part of my life over the past six months.
What wasn’t familiar was the way my pulse kicked up every time Logan moved—or how my awareness of him seemed to fill all the space between us.
Or why the hell I was having such a reaction to a man who obviously didn’t have the same response to me.
“First stop will be Mrs. Rivera,” I said, adjusting the strap of my medical bag. “Diabetic, needs her insulin levels checked. She can’t make it to the clinic anymore since her leg infection got worse.”
“How far is the village center?” He positioned himself slightly behind me and to the right, creating some kind of tactical formation that both irritated and oddly reassured me.
“About half a mile from the clinic. Most of my regular patients live within walking distance.” I ducked under a low-hanging branch, acutely aware of how he matched the movement. “These people have been taking care of each other for generations. They don’t trust outsiders easily.”
“But they trust you.”
“Took time.” I glanced back at him, catching the way his gaze swept our surroundings before settling on me with that same assessing look. Like I was a problem to solve. “They had to see I wasn’t here for a few weeks of feeling good about myself.”
“Is that what your parents expected?”
I should’ve known. “My parents are behind this extraction, aren’t they? Did they hire you?”
“No. Technically, we answer to Compass Medical Outreach.”
I let out a sigh. “We both know Dr. Merrick doesn’t have the funds to cover a private security team like this. My parents are footing the bill, aren’t they?”
