Page 11 of Nora
“Your first dog?” she asked, pulling her stethoscope from her bag. She knew he’d had one before Raum, but she wanted to get Collin talking.
“No, I had a female Malinois before Raum. She was tough as nails, too. But in a different way. He’ll be fine, you know. You don’t need to do this.” He nodded to her bag as he spoke.
Again, Nora found herself hiding a smile by ducking her head. “NATO says I do, so I will. You’re a soldier, you know how it goes.”
“You’re not, though. How long have you been a vet?”
“You’re right, I’m not a soldier. But I am on retainer with the organization, so have to abide by their rules. To answer your question, I’ve been in practice for twelve years. I do some work with farm animals, but the bulk of my work is dogs and cats.”
“Working dogs are different.”
Nora continued her exam, looking in Raum’s ears. “I’m aware. I’m the primary vet for the Boston Police K9 unit. I’ve also filled in more than once for a few of the military vets in the region.”
Collin grunted. “Don’t get me wrong, but you don’t look like a vet.”
Nora didn’t answer right away. Not only was the statement inappropriate, it was beyond rude. Finally, she countered, “I’m curious what you think the right way to take that is?”
Collin lifted a shoulder. “Just most vets I know don’t look like you.”
She wasn’t sure if that was a comment on the fact that she was a woman, Jordanian, or attractive. Either way, she was better off dropping the subject.
“I’m going to draw his blood, and then I’ll be done,” she said, reaching into her bag for her equipment. “How are you both liking the program so far?”
Again, Collin shrugged. “Raum doesn’t really need the extra training, but it was something my superiors wanted me to do. Something to do with camaraderie between the countries and all that.”
She prepped the vein on Raum’s front leg. “It wasn’t your choice?”
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good program. We just don’t need it,” he said. Nora wondered how many times she’d hear “don’t get me wrong” in the next few weeks.
“Do you at least have some fun? The group seemed pretty collegial at dinner.” She slid the needle in, then snapped the test tube in place. Not once did Raum so much as twitch.
“They’re fine,” Collin said, taking a seat on the edge of his bed. “There are some good handlers. Am I going to call any of them a best friend? I doubt it.” That didn’t surprise Nora in the least. She doubted Collin had any real friends at all, let alone a best friend. He was the sort who had people he hung out with. People who tolerated him. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, people he could wow with his self-proclaimed awesomeness.
“Do you get out much during the sessions? Seems like you’ve been in some interesting areas.” She popped the test tube out, then withdrew the needle and pressed a piece of gauze to the puncture site.
“A bit, but not as much as the others. Jonah and Jurgen are usually out every night. Sometimes Jean and Anne join them.”
“What about Angelo, no, I mean Cencio?” she asked. She intentionally confused the names, hoping he’d talk about both. He wasn’t short of opinions, and she was curious what he’d say about the Italians.
“Angelo’s too quiet for that group. He spends a lot of time on his own. Like Willa does. Cencio likes a late night as much as the next guy, but he prefers to have them on-site rather than out at a bar. I’m sure he showed you his wine already?” She nodded. “He brings a case every session. It’s not bad. As for Jonah and Jurgen, they like to troll for hookups. That’s why they go out so much. That’s not really Cencio’s thing. Or Gerhard’s, for that matter. Both are married.” He said that last sentence as if he couldn’t explain the stupidity of the two men.
“Well, sounds like an interesting group,” she said, rising and giving Raum one more rub. He was eye-catching, and she didn’t doubt he was a phenomenal working dog. But she preferred Miles’s mischief and joy.
Collin tilted his head in acknowledgement but didn’t say anything.
“I’ll have all the blood work back tomorrow before your session starts. As you said, it’s unlikely I’ll find anything, but I will let you know either way.”
“You’re going to run that tonight?” Collin asked, rising from the bed and pointing to her bag, where she’d just placed the blood sample.
She smiled and nodded. “Won’t take long, and I’m not jet-lagged. Just need to check Lena, and then I’ll head to the clinic and run all the samples.”
“You want company?” he asked. Nora refrained from rolling her eyes, barely, and shook her head.
“I’ll be accompanying her.”
Her gaze jerked up to see Lucian standing in the door. How long he’d been there, or nearby, she hadn’t a clue.
She narrowed her eyes at him. Unfortunately, like her, he was a trained spy. Ten years had passed since he’d been in the game, but he was still excellent at not revealing anything with his expression.
