Page 20 of Smoke and Mirrors

Chapter Six

LILY

My mind is still reeling the next day, my eyes heavy from lack of sleep.

I can’t be distracted right now, I’m in the middle of a surgical procedure with Steven. It’s pretty routine, but anytime an animal is in surgery, I need to be on my game. Strange things can happen when animals are put under any type of anesthetic, and at the moment, there’s a large German Shepherd lying on the operating table.

Steven cuts, and I move in, suctioning the blood away, so he has a clear view of what he’s doing.

Suddenly, I remember that I’ve forgotten to put my pajamas in the washing machine. When I’d finally dragged myself to bed last night, I realized there was a small smudge of blood on my top—Kace’s blood—from where I’d removed a fucking bullet from his arm.

I cringe as once again, in my mind, I hear the sound of the pliers meeting the small foreign object. It was like nothing I’d ever heard before or want to again.

“Lily! Suction… dammit!” Steven’s voice orders, shocking me back into reality.

I rush to remove the blood, making his view clear so he can work. “Sorry,” I mutter, not looking up, knowing he’s glaring at me across the operating table.

“Do I need to call in a more capable vet to assist?” he sneers.

Forcing myself to concentrate on the task at hand, I shake my head, despite wanting to slap him silly. I’m great at what I do, I’ve worked hard to get here. But Steven will take any small mistake and turn it into something massive in an attempt to make me look and feel incompetent.

I shrug off the memory of Kace and get back to work, forcing him into the recesses of my mind. Unfortunately, I know he won’t stay there for long, my brain and seemingly my body are completely obsessed with this man, my neighbor, this mystery.

When the surgery is finally over, Steven orders me to stitch up, disappearing without a thank you or a well done. I don’t mind. I’m used to his high-and-mighty bad attitude, and actually prefer to work without him looking over my shoulder, criticizing my every move.

The German Shepherd being our last patient for the day, I scrub up and head out the door with a quick wave to the receptionist.

It’s Friday night, and Molly and I have plans to go out, so I catch an Uber to her work to wait for her to be done.

***

“So how hurt are we talking here?” she asks as she stands to the side of her ballet class, interrogating me about last night, instead of teaching her students.

I don’t want to give her the full details, part of me feeling a sense of loyalty to Kace, and knowing he wouldn’t want whatever’s going on to be exposed.

“Not so bad. A little bit of blood… just needed cleaning up mainly,” I lie, hoping that she won’t call me out on it.

She rolls her eyes dramatically. “So he needed you to put a Band-Aid on his boo boo?” she snorts.

“Something like that,” I mutter, averting my eyes.

“Point your toes,” she suddenly yells, causing me to jump. I realize she’s directing her frustration at a child across the room who’s leaping not so gracefully across the floor. “Point your toes! Point them… point!” she huffs in frustration. “Lord, give me fucking strength,” she growls under her breath before stomping away toward the flailing child.

I chuckle softly as she tries to demonstrate what the little girl should be doing, but when she tries to copy Molly, it looks nothing like it. Throwing her arms in the air, she waves the girl off before turning and heading back toward me, a scowl on her face. It brightens a little when she reaches me, and she folds her arms and pops her hip out to the side, a sly smirk creeping onto her lips. “So… did you fuck him?” Her voice carries in the small ballet studio, and one of the parents who’s watching gasps. Molly turns to them and flashes them a stunning smile.

“No!” I whisper, wondering why I’m even surprised by the question. “I didn’t do anything. Fixed him up, and then he was gone.”

She sighs. “Disappointing.”

Her eyes move to the clock on the wall, her face brightening. “And… we’re done!” she calls out, clapping her hands. “See you next week. Buh-bye now.”

She stands with me by the door, the sight almost comical as she waves to her students as they file out, “Bye… see ya… bye… you’re welcome…” her voice lowers, “… fucking devil spawn.”

I laugh loudly, closing the doors as we head back inside to pack up her things. “You know, one day you’ll have your own, and you’ll feel completely different.”

She snorts, the sound echoing loudly in the now-empty space. “No thanks, I’ll pass. I like my vagina the size it is, thank you very much.” Her eyes harden slightly, and she swallows a lump in her throat.

I’m not sure what that reaction is about, but what she said makes me shake my head and giggle as we head out the back of the building to her car. We make a quick dash to her apartment where we dress and call a cab to take us into the city.

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