“Can you see it, Jonas?” she murmured aloud. “Metal. An unusual bullet with a very small cavity embedded in it, pushed up against his spine. You can see the original position, but it shifted recently. Looks like whatever was placed in that cavity is leaking out. I see traces of the poison. Can you see those drops? They’re moving through his entire body.”
“The tiny orange dots?”
She nodded. “Very, very small. We have to clear those drops first. It’s imperative to get all of them. They’re in his bloodstream—think blood poisoning—but even with intravenous antibiotics, you aren’t going to stop that attack. This is some kind of chemical warfare.”
“How do you clear the drops, Camellia?” Jonas asked.
She didn’t reply but showed him, using starlike neurons as transports to send an army into battle. She was fast, the captain of so many ships, directing each of them as if they were at war, spinning and fighting, blasting away inside the veins and coming at the drops from every direction.
“Baby, I’ve never seen anything like this. You’re a fucking miracle,” Jonas whispered, sounding in awe.
Camellia barely registered his voice. “You can learn this too.” She wasn’t thinking when she said it, no longer aware they weren’t alone in the room, but concentrating on making certain she ferreted out every last drop of poison in Kaden’s system. “Nothing can be left behind,” she murmured aloud. “My vision is getting blurry. Jonas, go back through the veins, study every organ, especially his heart and lungs, and then look at his brain. I need to look at the positioning of the bullet.”
Someone wiped her eyes and she could see again. She blinked rapidly and went back to the bullet. “This is at a bad angle. It can’t be left like this.” She bit down on her lip. “This isn’t in a good place, Jonas. Unless it’s removed, he’s not going to be walking for much longer, six months at the most. But trying to take it out could paralyze him just as easily.”
“Can you do anything about it?” Jonas asked.
Camellia studied the position of the bullet from every angle. “It’s tight. I can try to insert a few drops of liquid to see if that will float it out where I can get at it, but I’m only going to try if Kaden wants me to. It’s your decision, Kaden, but you have to make up your mind fast. I’m tiring.”
She was. She had no idea how long it had taken her to battle the chemicals that had been released into Kaden’s system, but she could already feel her body wanting to shut down. “As it is, I’ll need a bit of rest before I make an attempt.” She had to sit down soon or she was going to fall on her face.
“I’m talking to Tansy about it. I’d like you to try. I can’t believe you got the poison out of my system. I can feel that it’s gone. She’s on her way and would like to be with me if that’s all right with you.”
Camellia shrugged. She didn’t know who was in the room once she began working on someone. The healer in her blocked everyone else out for the most part.
“You’re certain, Kaden?” Ryland asked. “If something goes wrong, there’s no taking this back.”
“I’m certain. Her touch feels delicate, but when she’s working inside me, she’s a powerhouse, Rye. I know there isn’t any of the chemical left. Doctors said I’d be dead in a few days, a couple of weeks at the most, from the poison. If that didn’t get me, the bullet was going to. It still will, unless a psychic surgeon gets here in time. With a war going on, I doubt that’s going to happen.”
“Jonas, I’m going to sit down for a while. Are you finished searching?”
“Yeah, babe. I’m with you.”
It was Ryland who wrapped his arm around her waist and helped Camellia to a chair just as the door opened and Tansy came in, followed by a woman of average height with sable-colored hair and deep blue eyes.
Tansy went straight to the cot to take Kaden’s hand. The woman looked around the room with a slight frown, and then her gaze came back to land on Ryland and Camellia.
“Ryland? What’s going on in here?”
12
Jonas turned at the sound of that feminine voice. Before he could ask how many more were going to be joining them, Ryland glanced up with a slight scowl on his face.
“Lily, what are doing in here? Tansy? Didn’t Kaden make it clear this was a closed meeting?”
Jonas had never heard Ryland speak to his wife in that particular voice before. Never. Cold as ice. He didn’t sound like a husband. He sounded like a commanding officer, and a very pissed-off one at that.
“Rye.” Lily not only looked but sounded hurt. “I followed Tansy. It isn’t her fault. Clearly, something was happening with Kaden and I was afraid for her. He is my patient. Who is this woman? What is she doing in here?”
“You’ll be briefed when I see fit to brief you,” Ryland said. “Right now, you need to leave.”
“When you see fit to brief me? On my own patient?” Lily poured outrage into her voice.
Jonas could see she was genuinely shocked at Ryland’s response. She looked around the room, taking in everyone, her gaze resting on Camellia, who looked pale and worn. Ryland stood, looking menacing, filling the room with anger.
“Yes, Lily, this is a military matter. Just like the soldiers coming up the mountain to kidnap you and Daniel and wipe the rest of our team and Team Two out. Do you want to know why they’re coming? Why they would come?”
Jonas winced. Ryland’s voice was very low, never a good sign with him. He could infuse more fury into his tone than anyone could by raising their voice. He stalked her across the room, looking so menacing Lily actually backed away from him.
“Because you decided you didn’t have to listen to your husband and could do whatever the hell you wanted to do with our son. So now I’ve got a prisoner I’ve got to interrogate. Do you have any idea what that means? When one interrogates a prisoner quickly? One that refuses to give up information we need fast? Perhaps I should have you observe.”
Jonas’s heart nearly stopped beating. He’d never seen Ryland like this. Never. They’d lost men. They’d been hunted. They’d been trapped in cages with men drugging them, taking them to hospitals and murdering members of their team, and still, Jonas had never seen Ryland like this. He didn’t know whether or not to intervene. He could feel the absolute shock of the other men in the room as well.
He feels absolutely betrayed by her. He can’t conceive of what she’s done and the consequences to all of you, Camellia observed. Or the consequences to their relationship.
Jonas felt her understanding of what Ryland was feeling. She knew betrayal intimately. Once trust was broken, how did one get it back? Jonas looked at his commanding officer. He’d known him for years. He followed him because he believed in him. There were few men better than Ryland Miller.