Page 25 of Crocodile Tears
Chapter 7
Becci
Margoarrivesatthelab the next morning carrying two coffee cups and wearing an expression of barely contained curiosity that suggests she’s been planning this interrogation since I texted her last night.
“Spill everything.”She sets the larger coffee cup in front of me with the ceremonial gravity of someone presenting evidence.“And I mean everything.How was the date with Mr.Security Consultant?”
I gratefully accept the coffee that’s become essential to my morning functioning.“It was… complicated.”
“Complicated how?”Margo perches on the edge of my desk, clearly prepared to extract every detail.“Good complicated or bad complicated?”
I find myself echoing Calvin.“Definitely both.”I take a sip of coffee and try to organize the evening’s events into something resembling coherent narrative.“He’s intelligent, funny, genuinely interested in my work, and completely paranoid.”
Margo’s eyebrows rise with obvious delight.“Paranoid how?”
“He spent twenty minutes giving me a lecture about Canadian goose migration patterns that made absolutely no scientific sense and then randomly kissed me against a wall because he thought we were being followed by a suspicious SUV.”
“Wait, back up.”Margo holds up her hands like she’s stopping traffic.“He kissed you?How was it?”
Heat rises in my cheeks as I remember the unexpected electricity of that kiss.“Actually fantastic, despite the circumstances and the fact I accidentally bit him.”
“You bit him?”
“Partial shift.Surprise trigger.”I touch my mouth reflexively, remembering the taste of his blood on my lips.“He was very understanding about it, which was either incredibly sweet or evidence he’s dealt with shifter biology before.”
Margo grins with obvious satisfaction.“So, we have good conversation, shared interests, fantastic kissing, and he’s not fazed by your crocodile nature.What’s the problem?”
“The problem is he’s convinced someone was conducting professional surveillance on us during our romantic dinner.”I gesture emphatically with my coffee cup.“He gave me security advice that sounded like it came from a spy thriller and suggested I vary my routes home to avoid being followed.”
“Maybe he’s actually a spy.”
The suggestion is so ridiculous that I nearly choke on my coffee.“Margo, he’s a security consultant, not James Bond.”
“But what if he is?”Her eyes light up with the kind of enthusiasm she usually reserves for particularly juicy scientific theory.“Think about it—mysterious background, international travel, tactical training, and enhanced threat awareness.That’s classic spy behavior.”
“That’s classic paranoid behavior.”
“Or,” Margo continues, clearly warming to her theme, “he’s part of some secret reptile shifter government agency that monitors threats to valuable research scientists.”
I stare at her.“That’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever said.”
“Is it?Dr.L, your research could revolutionize medicine.”She jumps off my desk and starts pacing with the kind of manic energy that usually precedes her most creative projects.“What if government agencies are specifically tasked with protecting shifter scientists whose work has national security implications?”
“Now you’re just making things up.”
Margo gestures dramatically, clearly enjoying herself.“Picture this.Calvin works for some ultra-secret organization, maybe called something like the Department of Reptilian Affairs or the Bureau of Shifter Sciences.His mission is to protect brilliant researchers like you from foreign agents trying to steal genetic secrets.”
“The Department of Reptilian Affairs?”
“It could be a real thing.Maybe they recruited him specifically because his Gila monster background makes him perfect for covert operations in desert environments.”Her imagination is clearly running wild.“He’s probably got a code name like Lizard Man or Agent Scales.”
Despite myself, I laugh at the absurd mental image.“Agent Scales?”
“Who would suspect a reptile shifter of being a government operative?It’s the perfect cover.”She crosses her arms with obvious satisfaction.“Plus, his military background gives him all the necessary skills for protecting valuable assets like you.”
“You’ve been watching too many action movies.”
“Have I?Or have I identified the obvious explanation for why a highly trained security consultant with enhanced senses just happened to detect professional surveillance during your first date?”She raises an eyebrow in challenge.“Coincidences like that don’t exist in real life.”
