Page 67 of The Mafia Heir's Obsession

Seamus appears and I shove the body down to the floor just as the men from the kitchen start charging in. Bullets whizz through the air. I grab my brother and throw him through the glass front window.

Then the world shatters and shakes, the deafening explosion casting flames and debris everywhere around me.

TWENTY

lucie

I still planto get free of this life, of being surrounded by criminals and being forced to live in a pretty cage. Today, though… today is a good day.

Most dogs scare me.

But Arnold is sweet, and even though he shivers and shakes and presses into me at the vet’s office, he only snarls once, listening when Declan tells him, “No, Arnie, no.”

Smart dog. Anger coils deep inside of me at the thought of someone dumping him off on the street, the thought that someone might have hurt him. Maybe it was the same people. But this little unchipped dog’s managed to stay ahead in the game—a puppy, actually—and he needs somewhere to call home, somewhere safe.

I’m on the same page as Callahan. I want it to be with us.

And my stupid heart surges at how gentle and sweet he was with Arnold. How much work, I suspect, he’s put in winning him over.

The sliver of glass is out of Arnold’s paw now. It’s cleaned and wrapped, and the nasty scrape on his side has been cleaned and bandaged, too.

He got dewormed and took all his shots like a champ. Now he’s got a flea bath to look forward to, as well as a list of foods we can try him on.

The vet put a cone around his neck, but Arnold got it off in seconds once we were out the door. Declan carries it while we head to the pet store to pick up the food.

“You wanna go in here, don’t you, boy? See, Cal’s a good choice for your savior. And you get us in the deal, too. Now, what kind of treats do you like, Mr. Arnold?”

I smile at his speech.

“Surely,” I say, “you don’t think he should really be called Arnold?”

Declan gives me the world’s most outrageous look, and my heart squeezes because right then he looks exactly like Callahan. A younger, softer, more carefree Callahan. We haven’t talked about his life, and while I don’t get the impression he led an easy life, I suspect my husband made it so his little brother could be this way.

And it makes my heart do all kinds of dances in my chest.

Callahan is… complex. Layered.

“Of course I do. The dog’s real name is clearly Arnold Schwarzenegger. I used to be crazy about all those movies when I was a kid. I drove Cal insane with streaming them nonstop. The big strong man who was the killer cyborg.Terminatorwas my favorite, and I’m Cal’s favorite. And he wants to build this little runt’s confidence. It’s working, too.” He nods at the dog. “Look at him strutting.”

At the pet store, while Declan calls his brothers and picks out the pet food, I head to the bedding and the toys. But Arnold stops, staring at the kittens, cats, puppies, and dogs on display from a local shelter.

“Maybe we’ll work there one day,” I say to Arnold, dropping my voice. “When I get my inheritance and I can disappear,I’ll work somewhere meaningful like at an animal shelter.”

All of a sudden, Arnold starts to growl, and I look down.

A black kitten that’s nothing more than a scrap of fur is clinging to his good leg.

I go to pick the kitten off because I don’t want him to eat it. But Arnold barks at me and I jump back, heart hammering.

The kitten claws up his body until it’s on his back and then meows.

A girl from the shelter hurries over and Arnold barks again. Pandemonium breaks out and I can’t move, fear rooting me to the spot.

“What is it?” Declan runs up, brandishing a can of food like a weapon. He takes one look and then plucks the kitten off Arnold, cuddling it. “Don’t you dare say a word to Cal about this.”

“I’m sorry,” the girl says, a little breathless as she looks at Arnold, “that kitten is trouble. He keeps escaping. I’ll take him back.”

Arnold growls again and I shush him. I look at the dog, then the kitten, and finally the girl. “Can we… How much?”

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