Page 38 of Unruly Protector
I check my watch.“Fine,” I grunt and end the call.
“Do you still have men on him keeping an eye out?”Arturo bobs his head.“Make sure they give you a full rundown before Fredo walks into our meeting.He’s going to be here at three.You guys need to be here too.That’s almost four hours from now so I’m going to take my wife to the animal shelter.Either of you two also want to volunteer?”I shoot each of them a look but I’m met with faces painted with a huge grin while shaking their heads.“Assholes.Keep grinning and I’ll order you both to chip in.For the sake of animals in need.Cuddle time.A few wiener dogs for you, eh, Leandro?”
Leandro shoots from his chair.“No way.Unless there are sexy women involved.Tell me all about it when you get back.”
The asshole doesn’t know how fast he needs to leave the damn house.
“Back at three,” Arturo bellows after him before he turns back to me.“I’ll be here.Have fun spending the time with Caterina.I’m sure she’s going to love it.Next time me and Donya will join you.”
I give him a nod and he leaves my office.He’s right.Even if I hate the whole animal thing, Rina is going to love every damn second.We get to share this moment together.And for fuck’s sake, I’ve tortured people, washed my hands in blood.So, what’s a little fur, right?
Rina has been bouncing for almost three hours.And with bouncing I really mean her face is lit up with the biggest of smiles and it’s all directed at me.Okay, most of the times the dogs we walked had all the attention but the glances she shot me were lit with the same adoration.And to me, that’s all worth it.
We took three dogs for a walk and while I was having problems with handling just one, Rina flawlessly handled two large—way past the knee—monsters.And the tiny as shit terrier I was handling was all over the place.And when he wasn’t barking at the other dogs, he was humping my damn leg.
“I can’t thank both of you enough.”The woman behind the desk beams at Rina.“When Flora called to say I was going to get a little help I thought it was only to walk a few of the dogs.I’m so thankful you helped with some cleaning as well.”
“I’ll be back tomorrow and I’ll bring my friend Donya along with me,” Rina promises.
The way she clearly enjoys spending her time with animals, I’ve made it clear she can spend all the time she wants here.And I didn’t think her smile could get any bigger, but when I told her that, I swear it did.
“Like my wife said, we will be back and bring more help along with us,” I promise the woman, knowing Arturo wanted to come along as well.
The door behind us swings open and a girl—holding a little brown bundle of wrinkles—stumbles through.“They just threw him over the fence,” she gasps in horror.
Rina takes the bundle the girl holds out and I swear something with wrinkles crawls so close against her body, it almost disappears.
Rina starts to coo the little bundle to comfort it as the woman and the girl rant about the incident.I step closer and now see that the dog is completely without fur and it makes me wonder if that’s the reason they dumped the poor thing.
The heartbreaking look Rina is wearing right now is making my chest squeeze painfully.In the spur of the moment I tell the woman and girl, “We’re going to get him to a vet, make sure he’s okay.Are there any cameras around here?Track who threw him over?”
The woman shakes her head.“No, not at the spot Deb mentioned.”
The girl named Deb nods her head, tears in her eyes while she keeps staring at the bundle in Rina’s arms.
“We’ll be back tomorrow, let us know if you have any information or if someone comes to claim him.”I place my hand on Rina’s lower back.
Rina glances over her shoulder at the two women.“If he’s chipped we’ll let you know.See you tomorrow.”
We say our goodbyes and head straight to the vet.The dog turns out to be five months old—not chipped—but healthy and perfect.Except, the little shit doesn’t have any hair.The vet told us it’s because the dog is an American Hairless Terrier.
The vet also made sure to tell us all about the little shit’s personality that might have gotten him into trouble.They are little dynamites and people aren’t always aware they can be more than a handful.
The vet even warned us to read up on the breed if we were keeping him.And we are keeping him because I told her to chip and register the little dude and put him in my wife’s name.
So, one damn day at the shelter and we already have a dog.A dog.Me.A person who never owned a pet or cared for one in his whole damn life.At least this one doesn’t have hair to mess up my suits, right?He might chew off my head, so there’s that.Hey, maybe I can take him along to torture people.See?He’s going to fit right in.
