Lost and Found (Masters & Mercenaries: The Forgotten #2)(34)

She backed away.

“You having trouble, Dr. Walsh?”

Carter stood in the doorway, his bag over his shoulder. He was dressed for the office. “Not at all. I was just saying good-bye to my new friends. You heading in?”

He nodded, though his eyes were still on Owen and Robert. “Yes. Dr. Klein has me doing a bunch of paperwork this morning. He’s got a conference next week. And I have to reshuffle the intern schedule. Ally’s father is ill and she’s going back to Ottawa for a few days. I’m hoping the new guy can take her shifts.”

She glanced back and Owen had a cup of coffee in his hand, his eyes steady on her. He tipped his cup her way and smiled that incredibly inviting smile before turning back to his friend. Her breath had caught in her chest because that smile promised that he would be there if she needed him…for anything.

He was a dangerous man. She turned her attention back to her safety net—work. “How do you feel about the new interns? Are they going to work out?”

“Well, Annie is a moron and I have no idea how she got into medical school,” he began complaining. “Hannah thinks more about her boyfriend than she does her work. She’ll be spitting out kids the minute they get married.”

“That’s kind of sexist.” She strode toward the subway station.

“Well, it’s also true, and to show you I’m fair, I also hate Dillon. He’s an overprivileged moron who only got the job because his family is country club friends with the Huismans, so I’m sure he’ll be my boss soon. Tucker is cool,” he allowed. “He’s smart and hard working. He seems solid, if you know what I mean. I’m hoping he’ll take Ally’s place. The cancer team’s double-blind finishes on Wednesday, and we’ll need all hands on deck to get that data together.”

Carter was a logistical genius. Despite his youth, he was excellent at dealing with the various teams he needed to juggle.

“Well, you’ll do a fabulous job with it. Let me know if you need anyone else to help out,” she offered. “Cathy can input data like a pro. Because she actually is a pro.”

Carter slowed his gait to allow her to keep up. “I think we can handle it, but thank you. Speaking of data, how is yours coming along?”

A deep sense of satisfaction came over her. “It’s good on both fronts. Elaine’s aphasia has almost completely disappeared.”

Elaine was one of her patients. She hated thinking of the people she worked with as subjects. It dehumanized them, and she couldn’t do that. They were people in trouble. People like her mom. People who suddenly found the very power of speech taken from them by a greedy disease.

“That’s amazing,” Carter said with a smile. “She could barely speak when she came in.”

“The therapy is helping rewire her brain.” It was slow, but once she had the drugs that would speed up the healing process ready, it would be much faster. What could take a year to repair could be done in a matter of weeks or maybe days. “If everything goes well, I’ll be ready to go to human trials next year.”

And then she would start the real fight. It bubbled up inside her. She was getting there. She was going to take the fucker down, and then no one would have to go through what her mother had.

“I like it when you get that look in your eyes,” he said with a shake of his head, as though he was surprised the words had come out of his mouth. “Sorry. The work you do is important and when you get that look on your face, I know you’re in the zone, so to speak.”

She kind of was in the zone. She felt more settled than she had the day before, and that probably had a whole lot to do with the man she’d left behind at the café. “I’m feeling good about a lot of things today.”

“I’m surprised you turned that man down.” He opened the door to the Spadina Street Station, allowing her to enter. “He was the one stuck in the elevator with you, right? I thought I recognized him. You must have made an impression if he wanted to see you again. I guess getting stuck together is one way to have a date. I should try it sometime.”

The one thing she’d noticed beyond the fact that Carter seemed to have a problem with many of the interns under his charge was that he also complained about being single. A lot. “As guys to get locked in with for hours go, Owen’s a pretty good one.”

“So you’re going to see him again?” Carter asked.

“I don’t think so.” Had she wavered? “I mean, no. I’m sure I’ll see him around, but we don’t have anything in common.”

Except for raging sexual chemistry.

He didn’t know any of the shows she liked. She didn’t work out a lot and he’d admitted it was one of his main hobbies. That and stepping in front of people if a bullet was flying. She didn’t like the thought of him getting hurt.

Was that why she was hesitating? Because he had a dangerous job and she couldn’t stand the thought of losing anyone else?

No. She was being logical, and she wasn’t ready for a relationship. She might never be ready for one. She was married to her work.

And he made her feel. Not merely physical things. He’d made her want to reach out and hold his hand, to let him take control. For a moment she hadn’t had to be anything but Owen’s lover.

Booty calls were about all she could handle right now. Lover meant something, something serious.