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Morrigan and Luca were waiting for them as the three men got out of the elevator on the fiftieth floor. None of them had ever had any pets in the building, so the medical suite was set up for humans only. But Roman figured it was better than nothing.
“Oh my god,” Luca gasped, hands flying to his mouth when he got an eyeful of the dirty, undernourished Pitbull mixes. “Poor babies. Roman...”
“I dealt with it,” he promised his kindhearted brother. “Is Claire inside?”
“She is,” Morrigan confirmed. Her jaw was clenched tight, and her eyes were like flint as they took in the dogs.
“Good.” He was eager to get them seen to, and the kittens as well, which were wrapped in his jacket. He was unsure how the dogs would react to the babies, but so far, they had shown no interest. They hadn’t shown any interest in anything at all. They certainly weren’t acting aggressively towards the humans.
Claire was pacing when Roman and the others pushed their way inside the medical clinic. She jumped when the door banged against the wall, but quickly got over her automatic fear. “What happened?” she demanded, striding over to them.
“Dog fight,” Abel clipped.
“You had them in a fight? How could you?!” Claire shot Abel a horrified look. “You asshole!”
It was the first time Roman had ever heard her swear. He was gratified to see she had some spine beneath her soft demeanor. Especially if his best friend was interested in her for more than a quick lay.
“It wasn’t me!” Abel protested vehemently. “We rescued them.”
Claire glowered at Abel for a moment longer, clearly suspicious. “Let them go,” she instructed Abel, who released his hold on the leads. The dogs didn’t move. Claire made some kissy noises, holding her hand out. It was steady as a rock.
“Here, boys. Come here. Good boys, such good boys,” she praised them when they tentatively sniffed her hand. Claire let them sniff her until they chose to wander off on their own. She watched them carefully from where she stood, but made no move to initiate contact.
“Are you going to do something?” Roman asked when all she did was stand there.
Claire narrowed her eyes at him. “I am doing something. I’m giving them time. Both are limping and clearly malnourished. There are a few cuts I can see from here. But you have to understand, I’m an animal nurse. Not a vet.”
“But you can still help them, right?” Abel asked anxiously.
“I’ll do my best.” Her eyes shot to Roman’s jacket when the two kittens began to squeak. “Who else do you have?”
“Kittens. They were using them as bait,” Roman explained.
Claire’s face flushed, and she cursed low again. When she reached for the kittens, her hands were gentle. She cupped them close to her chest and walked to one of the private rooms. “I’ll keep them in here. No use waving a red flag at a bull,” she said, lifting her chin in the direction of the two roaming dogs.
“They’ve been super calm,” Abel said. “They haven’t so much as growled—at us or each other.”
“Yet,” Claire corrected him, focusing on the white kitten. “They haven’t growled or attacked yet. Chances are they will at some point, depending on what they’ve gone through and what kind of life they lived before the dog fights.”
“You’re giving up on them already?” Roman wasn’t impressed with her attitude at all.
Her gray eyes flashed to his. “That’s not what I said. I’m giving you realistic information—not dreams and rainbows. If they can be saved, I’ll work night and day to rehabilitate them. I give you my word. I’m no quitter.”
Roman grunted, mollified by her promise. “What do you need?”
“Let’s start with the kittens. Let the dogs calm down a bit longer and see if we can get them to understand we mean them no harm. They’re disassociating in the corner right now,” Claire pointed out.
Everyone turned to where she was staring with a sympathetic gaze. The two dogs were curled up in a ball together, quite literally on top of each other, and visibly trembling. They were staring at the wall, not even blinking, and Roman wished he had done more to Louis than just shoot him in the foot.
“They were fine before,” Abel said, looking mad.
“They were not fine before,” Claire corrected him firmly. “That’s what I’m trying to get you to understand. Trauma manifests in many ways. Right now, the contrast in their environment is likely hitting them. They were there, on the verge of death. Now they’re here, warm and safe. It’s too much to take in. Too much to trust.”
Abel drew in a deep breath, holding it for a second. His expression lost some of its malice, and he nodded at Claire. “We give them time.”
“We give them time,” Claire confirmed, then turned to Morrigan.
“A few T-bones wouldn’t go astray, either.”
