Page 30 of Lion’s Den

The sheriff turned his head to stare at Cam. “Don’t let it go to your head, Sims.”

“Hey, I’m making headway with Roman, too. You’re losing ground, buddy.”

“Dream on.” He sobered and said to Elliot, “Tell them to go on.”

“David,” Cam murmured. “I’ll get what you want, but Sedona needs to go with Julio. He’s just a kid, and he’s scared.”

The other lawman scowled. “Fine. You get one chance at this. If you screw up, you will be toast, my friend.”

“Understood. I won’t let you down.”

“Get that description and other information to me as soon as possible.”

“Copy that, sir.” Cam and Sedona waited for the ambulance crew to pass them with Julio immobilized on a stretcher, then followed them through the keeper’s access corridor and outside the enclosure.

“Sedona, what’s happening? Is Julio all right?” her fellow teachers asked.

“I know nothing. We’re going to the hospital with him. His mother is on the way there.”

“We’ll take care of your class,” Mrs. Washburn said. “Don’t worry about a thing. We’ve got this.”

“We appreciate that.” Cam signaled Caleb, who gave a thumbs-up. He relaxed. Excellent. Caleb was great with kids. He wouldn’t have any trouble corralling the students. Now all Cam needed to do was protect Sedona and Julio.

Man, what he wouldn’t give to have Delta teammates at his back. He would never admit that protecting both of them was hard because his attention was split between them, and he wanted to focus wholly on Sedona’s security.

Cam thought through the incident several times on the way to Maple Valley’s hospital and came to the same conclusion each time. This attack on Julio wasn’t about him. It was about Sedona.

That was the moment he realized the truth. For a reason he had yet to discover, Sedona was a High Value Target, and he would need help keeping her safe because he had a feeling that the attacks would only grow more frequent and more dangerous until Cam arrested the perpetrator.

When the ambulance parked at their entrance to the ER, Cam opened the ambulance doors, hopped down, and helped Sedona to the concrete before moving her out of the way. They rushed after the ambulance and into the ER, trailing the entourage into an exam room.

A nurse hurried into the room and glanced at Sedona. “You can’t be in here, ma’am.”

Cam held up his hand to stop Anne Marie’s speech. He’d been in the ER several times with perps and a few for himself. Each time, she’d hinted at wanting a date with him. Not going to happen, and Sedona was the reason he’d turned down Anne Marie. “It’s okay. Sedona is Julio’s teacher. She’s staying until the boy’s mother arrives. Maria’s on the way here.”

“Just until the mother arrives, then,” she conceded. “How are you, Deputy Sims?”

“Excellent since I started dating Sedona. What about you?”

Anne Marie froze, her face blank.

Maybe it was petty of him, but Cam enjoyed the fact that Sedona’s name and position in his life shut down this pushy nurse. He’d apologize to Sedona later for dropping their relationship in front of a woman who also was one of the biggest gossips in town.

“I’m all right,” she said after a moment. “Thanks for asking.”

Frannie Harper hurried into the ER bay, then breathed an enormous sigh of relief when she got a good look at Julio. “Thank God, buddy. I thought I would face a totally different situation here.” She smiled at Julio. “Hi, my name is Dr. Fran. What’s yours?”

“Julio.”

“Well, Julio, do you mind if I look at you while we wait for your mom to arrive? She’ll want to know what injuries you have.” She glanced back at Cam. “What about you, my friend? Do you have any injuries?”

“Not this time, Doc.”

“Who’s your friend?” She inclined her head toward Sedona.

“My girlfriend, Sedona Hart. She’s also Julio’s teacher. They were on a field trip to the zoo when Julio was injured.”

“We were told a lion attacked my little friend here.”