Revenant(34)

Too bad Soduchi was an arrogant ass. But then, most surgeons were. No werewolf blood needed for that. Just a medical degree.

Gem slung her arm around Blaspheme and guided her toward the operating room’s viewing area. “Let’s get you settled.”

Blas, exhausted and worried, allowed the other female to take her into “the box,” where she watched Soduchi and the rest of his team work on her mother.

“Can I bring you anything?” Gem asked as she sank down in the seat next to Blaspheme. “Coffee? Something to eat?”

“Thank you,” Blas said, “but no. Go ahead and get back to work. I’ll be fine.”

Gem’s eyes narrowed with concern. “You sure? Because I can stay.”

Blaspheme liked Gem, but right now she just needed some space. So much had happened in the last few hours, and she felt like she was going to break down at any minute.

No witnesses, her mother always told her. False Angels’ tears are an aphrodisiac to some, toxic to many. You don’t want to accidentally poison someone.

Now that the False Angel enchantment was fading, Blaspheme’s tears were probably not liquid sex or toxic anymore, but she didn’t want to test that theory. Not that she planned on crying, but as tired as she was, she couldn’t take any chances.

Gem made promises to check in soon and left Blaspheme to observe the surgery in peace. Thankfully, everything was going well, so well that at some point, she dozed off. She woke four hours later to the sound of the door swinging open, and a boar-like Guai nurse named Chu-hua entered, her hooved feet clacking on the floor.

“Gem asked me to bring you these lab results,” she said in her squealing, piggy voice. “She brought you a sandwich and coffee earlier.” She gestured to the tray of food with one hand and handed her a folder with the other.

Blaspheme gazed out at the surgery, which appeared to be winding down. “Thank you, Chu-hua. And please thank Gem for me.”

Chu-hua smiled, her top lip catching on her tusks, and then she ducked out of there in another clack of hooved feet.

Blas looked down at the folder. Patient name: Gethel.

She scanned the contents quickly, but the intercom buzzing interrupted her. She looked out the window at the operating theater to see Soduchi giving her a thumbs-up through the glass.

Relieved, Blas shot out of the viewing area, her stiff legs protesting as she stepped into the hall and paced while she waited for Soduchi to come out of the OR.

Thirty seconds into her pace-fest, a tingle in her spine alerted her to a presence, and she knew exactly who she’d see when she turned around. Sure enough, Revenant was sauntering down the hall, his long legs eating up the distance, his black leather coat flapping around his boots, his predatory gaze fixed on her.

Geez, he was punctual. Yesterday she’d told him to come back tomorrow, and here he was, six o’clock in the morning, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. She, on the other hand, must look like she’d slept on a bed of nails.

Groaning softly, she watched him approach. He might be the sexiest evil bastard in existence, but dealing with him was the last thing she needed right now.

“Revenant,” she said. “Can I meet up with you in fifteen minutes? You can wait in the UG lobby or in my office at UGC —”

Naturally, Soduchi came out of the OR at the same time Revenant stopped in front of her.

“Dr. Soduchi,” she said quickly, heading him off before he could start off his report with the words Your mother. Gods, this masquerade was turning complicated, messy, and stressful as hell. “How is the patient?”

“I couldn’t do anything about the previous damage, but she’s out of immediate danger. Bane is finishing up with her.” Soduchi tore the green surgical cap off his head, revealing his severe blond high-and-tight that suited his hard-core personality. “I assumed she threw a clot as a result of a surgical complication, but it turns out there was a foreign blockage in the inferior vena cava that resulted in her heart attack.”

“A foreign blockage? What kind?”

He opened his palm. In it was a tiny, shiny object that looked like a crystal sesame seed. “I have no idea what this is. I’ve never seen one before.” It must have killed him to admit he didn’t know something.

Revenant held out his hand. “May I?”

Soduchi looked to Blaspheme, and when she nodded, he dropped the thing into Revenant’s palm. “I doubt you’ll be able to determine its source —”

“It’s a tracking device,” Revenant said, and Blas would have been amused to see Soduchi’s arrogance swatted down if she hadn’t been so busy wrapping her mind around what Rev had said. “Angelic in origin.”