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Morrigan looked behind herself comically for a second before it clicked. “Are you ordering me to do your bidding?”
“I’m simply saying that most dogs are food orientated. It would be a good way to begin to build trust,” Claire lectured, checking the white kitten’s ears with a small light.
“And you expect me to do it?” Morrigan sounded scandalized.
“Unless you don’t care about traumatized animals,” Claire replied casually. She didn’t even look at the assassin.
“Oh, guilt. Not bad, Mouse. Not bad at all. I’ll get the steak,” she said, disappearing in the next instant.
Claire sighed, turning the kitten over and examining his belly. “I wish she wouldn’t call me Mouse.”
“You do kind of act like one,” Abel pointed out truthfully.
“I was in a nightmare of a relationship, stalked, had my home and my job taken from me. Then I was kidnapped after having a man almost beaten to death in front of me. My apologies if I’ve been a little upset,” Claire said with some fire.
Luca snickered from the dumbstruck look on Abel’s face. He leaned in close to Roman, whispering, “Another one bites the dust, huh?”
Roman withheld comment. Although it appeared Abel liked Claire, he knew his friend too well. Abel was the king of love ’em and leave ’em. If he were a betting man, he would bet on his friend nailing the pretty brunette and then losing her number. Mind you, that was difficult to do when she was living in the same building.
It took Claire four hours to be satisfied her four patients would make a full recovery. “Physically, that is,” she warned them all. “Mentally, I can’t say.”
Everyone was still there—Roman, Sal, Luca, Abel, and Morrigan. None of them wanted to leave until they knew the animals were going to be okay. The kittens were found to be in good health, suffering dehydration and fleas, but thankfully nothing else. They had been sleeping on Roman’s lap for the last hour.
“These boys need antibiotics, food, fluids, rest, and time. They are miraculously docile, but don’t be fooled. It’s likely shock holding them back. They could snap at any moment,” Claire warned.
“Or they might not,” Abel grumbled.
Instead of correcting him again, Claire acquiesced. “Or they might not.” She patted the dogs gently, crooning to them and giving them lots of praise and love. She looked at Roman. “I’ll write a list of supplies, if someone will go and grab it all?”
“Do that. I’ll see to it,” Roman assured her. “Thank you for your help.”
“Thank you for saving them,” she said quietly. She met the eyes of everyone in the room before returning her attention to the canines. “And for saving me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“I have a surprise for you.”
Angela glanced at Roman from the corner of her eye. “A surprise?” she asked cautiously, wondering if it was his dick.
She was just leaving after a visit with Claire. Angela really liked the younger woman and made a point of seeing her at least once a week. So far, Claire had said no to Angela’s offers to get her some professional emotional support. She claimed to be dealing fine after her ordeal. But Angela wasn’t convinced. She had barely left the Omertà building since arriving three and a half months prior. She did hang out with some of the others, but Angela was worried about her being so isolated.
But that could be changing, Angela thought happily. Because she had seen a noticeable difference in Claire’s demeanor ever since taking on the responsibility of the two fighting dogs. They had been there two weeks, and Angela had only just met them that day. They were sweet, with sad eyes and bodies that looked as if they had been in a war. Which they had been.
“Not that kind of surprise,” Roman promised, chuckling. “Though I could be persuaded.”
“No persuasion happening,” Angela replied. More’s the pity, she added. Keeping her hands to herself was becoming harder and harder. But if she couldn’t commit her mind—or her heart—she wasn’t going to commit her body. It was unfair to both of them. Plus, things were going so well between them now. She even maybe, possibly, kind of thought of Roman as a friend now. It was miraculous.
“Have it your way,” Roman said, shrugging one shoulder. “Follow me. The surprise is in my private office.”
Angela walked with him, discussing how her past couple of weeks had been at work. For some reason, the amount of overdoses decreased in the last few days. It was a welcome relief. She didn’t attend the ER often, so she didn’t need to deal with it as much as some of her fellow doctors and nurses, but it was still a burden.
Walking into his office, Angela gasped when two little balls of fluff came charging over. “Kittens!” she exclaimed, bending over to stroke them. They were extremely soft. “They’re adorable. Where did you get them?”
Roman explained how they were about to be used as bait when he and his men had arrived at the fighting ring, and Angela fumed. Tears pricked her eyes, and she scooped both babies up. “People really are the worst.”
“Not all people,” Roman told her softly. He reached, scratching first the white kitten, then the black kitten behind the ears. “A few months ago, you told me you were wanting someone to come home to, well...”
Angela’s eyes widened when she understood what he was saying. “You’re giving me kittens?”
