Page 14 of Chaos & Carnage

“Yes. But she’s very weak.”

“And the kittens?”

“Some did.” My voice lowered to a whisper, too tired to conceal the bubble of emotions that I’d momentarily been distracted from.

“Shit. That’s a lot of blood for a cat.” Cade continued to stare at the puddle on the floor.

“Come on. Kinobi’s through here,” I moved through the operating theatre and then stopped. “Abbie, you can get away. I’ll finish up.”

Her eyes flicked from the tall blond man in leather, to me, and then back to him again. Uncertainty and curiosity.

“No. It’s ok. I’ll tidy up. You show…you see to Kinobi,” she answered, waving her hand flimsily, distracted.

“How’s Kinobi doing today?” Cade asked as we moved into the little room of cages next door to the operating room.

Kinobi whined, recognising his voice as he bobbed down onto his haunches, sticking a finger through the bars and gently scratching behind her ear.

“Mostly the same. It’s still too early to see much improvement. But her obs and sats are good. Where they should be, so that’s a good sign. And we’ve moved her into the ward, as you can see, she’s not as critical as she was.”

He was silent for a while, concentrating on the animal in front of him. I could hear him whispering to her, but I couldn’t fully make out the words. I stepped backwards, allowing them some privacy, and instead I watched him from behind. His hands moved slowly and gently, a head of thick blond hair bobbing now and then as he spoke or dropped his head towards the cage.

Even crouched on the ground in front of me, the man was tall. His shoulders filling the black leather bike jacket. And now I could study the words on the back. The Northern Kings MC. The embroidered writing surrounding three crowned, laughing skulls. Sadistic and frightening and I wondered if that was the point. To make him look formidable despite that boy-next-door look he had. The leather contradicting it all.

Cade turned, his eyes catching mine, catching me watching him. I couldn’t tell if he smiled, but his face seemed to light up for a second. Maybe I’d seen a tiny smirk. Then he was on his feet and in front of me. I’d barely realised he was moving, my reflexes so slow under the heaviness of sleep deprivation.

“Thank you for looking after Kinobi,” his voice had returned to that rich velvet. “She looks better. I thought she was a gonna.”

“It’s still early days.”

“I know. But it doesn’t take a vet to see the spark returning to her eyes. I really appreciate it. How often are you here looking after her?”

“Every couple of hours.”

“Are you the only one here?”

“You’ve seen Abbie when you came through the back.” I answered tiredly.

“She’s not here all the time, though, is she? And I’ve seen no other vet here other than you.”

“Stuart. He owns the place.” I didn’t think he could get any closer to me, but he had. So close I could almost feel the cool touch of the leather jacket. “But I do most of the emergency cover.”

“Then I’m pleased that’s the case. Not sure Kinobi would have survived without you.”

“She’s not out of the woods, Cade.” I paused, watching him squeeze his eyes closed, hanging onto an emotion I couldn’t decipher. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t upset me, babe.”

“What?”

Fuck, I was tired. I wasn’t hearing this man properly. The one stood right in front of me, barely an inch away, staring down at me with intense hazel-green eyes, a lock of blond hair falling out of place over his forehead. His arm moved, brushing up between us, ruffling the fabric of my scrubs, and I inhaled, half in fright, half at his touch. Tired. I was tired. But I wasn’t imagining it now as the pads of his gloved fingers smoothed the hair back behind my ear, the gentlest of touches over my face, or the tickle of his breath. A hint of mint and clean leather.

“You’ve got blood on your face, Al.” He swiped his thumb over my cheekbone, and then again, rubbing at something there.

I’d meant to pull his hand away, meant to bat him back, but as my fingers closed over the top of his, and we stood there not moving, all I could do was gaze into his eyes, his breath dusting over my lips.

“I’ll help you feed the kittens and then I think we both should get home for a…. oh.”

Both our heads snapped towards the door and the blonde woman standing there staring at us. The shock on her face melted, giving way, her lips drifting up into a grin.