The Russian's Tender Lover (The Sisterhood) (3 page)

She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t mean for that to be part of the act. I’ll have to come up with a different idea. The drinking is one thing. I’m not going to be doing drugs now as well.”

He tsked his disapproval. “You might want to reconsider. You could get lots of leverage out of the rehab side of things. And it gives you a good excuse to be gone for long periods of time.”

“My disappearances are the perfect foil. The lack of an explanation for my absences up my price when I show up somewhere unexpectedly.”

He considered that thoughtfully for a moment. “That’s true, I guess.” Tossing the newspaper aside, he sighed. “I’m making lasagna for dinner tonight so don’t eat a big breakfast, dear.”

Darcy’s eyes widened. “Lasagna?” Instantly her mouth started watering. “You’re too good to me,” she said, standing up and kissing him on the cheek. She also reached down and scratched behind the ears of Molly, a mixed pointer-cocker dog that was too shy to stick her nose where Fred and Ginger had already laid claim.

“You’re too good for us,” he countered. “And besides, you lost too much weight this time. You look a bit emaciated. The lasagna is my way of fattening you up.” He also knew she wouldn’t skip breakfast, but would easily become too distracted in a few hours and would forget to eat dinner.

“Whatever, I’m in,” she said and slipped into the bathroom to shower. “Where’s Dave?”

“He’s busy,” Matt replied. “I’m taking the dogs for a walk.”

Darcy pulled the robe back on and walked back out of the bathroom. “Stop!” she called out just as Matt was reaching for the kitchen door handle. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Honey, go take your shower and relax. Everything is fine,” he said, still trying to sneak away.

Darcy was having none of that. “Matt, tell me.”

Matt closed the door and sighed, turning around to face her once again. “Dave got a call last night.”

Darcy knew there was more to a simple phone call. People called the clinic all the time to ask for advice or to check up on their pet that might be housed in the kennel. “Who was this call from?”

Matt looked down at his mud covered boots. “We don’t know. But someone was asking about you.”

Her blood ran cold as her mind put the pieces together. “You think its Marco again?” she asked, knowing that her brother had been trying to contact her through her agent. Marco was her brother who Darcy suspected had followed in her father’s footsteps and joined the mafia. She wasn’t sure how he could have resisted the pressure, her father being a very dominating kind of personality. Marco had tried hard to stand up to their father when they were kids, but she’d been a little girl back then and had thought of her brother stepping between her father’s hand and her head made him into a hero. Now, however, she was terrified of his interest in her whereabouts. Calling the clinic like this was too close for comfort.

“Dave thinks it’s possible.”

“Possible?”

He sighed again. “Probable.”

She looked around, counting the animals surrounding her, happily wagging their tails or sniffing around. They gave her a sense of security, of rightness. “Did you tell him anything?”

“Of course not. Dave claimed he’d never heard of you. He played it exactly right so you don’t have to worry about the phone call.”

Darcy relaxed, her body almost sagging against the door to the bathroom. Then his words sunk in. “What do I have to worry about?” she asked carefully.

He was obviously choosing his words carefully. “We have a new guest,” he admitted.

Darcy’s whole body tensed. “And?”

Matt closed his eyes and shook his head. “And…the poor thing is in pretty bad shape. He’s obviously been put through the fights and has lost. A lot,” he clarified.

Darcy’s pulse was pounding wildly, her heart aching at the idea of another poor dog coming to them that had been through the dog fights. They were illegal, but that didn’t mean that the vicious fights didn’t happen. They were all over the country in both the rural areas and cities, in back alleys and old warehouses, anywhere a group of brutal, nasty people could gather and bet, make noise and jeer on the dogs that were beaten and starved prior to the fight night to make them more vicious.

Darcy forgot about her shower, knowing that the animal needed her help. She didn’t hesitate as she pulled off her robe and grabbed the jeans she’d been wearing the night before and a sweatshirt. She didn’t care if Matt saw her naked since he was so in love with Dave and barely acknowledged a female form.

“Show me,” she said, rushing out the door. Because of her worry, she didn’t even look down at the chubby rooster, despite his best attempts to trip her along her route to the clinic.

Dave was a veterinarian who took in severely hurt animals for free along with all of his paying customers. He had an amazing ability to heal animals that were on the brink of death and Darcy thought he was a miracle worker.

Matt knew better than to argue with her so he led her out of her apartment and through to the surgery area where Dave was just finishing up with the animal’s wounds. Darcy didn’t enter, but watched from the window as Dave applied a large bandage to one of the wounds and adjusted the dog’s IV which would hydrate and medicate.

“The poor little thing,” Darcy cried out as soon as she saw the shrunken, wounded animal. “I’ll never understand why people do this to the animals.”

Matt didn’t bother to respond but waited until Dave came out, tossing his surgical apron and latex gloves into the medical waste bins. “He’s going to have a tough time, Darcy,” Dave warned, already seeing the signs of determination forming on her stubborn features. “He’s probably the worst I’ve ever seen.

She ignored the caution and saw only the shallow breathing of an animal that only wanted to love and protect. “Can I go see him? Talk to him?”

Dave hesitated for only a moment before nodding. “Be careful though.”

“He won’t bite me,” she assured her friend.

Dave shook his head. “I’m concerned about germs, Darcy. He’s so torn up from his last fight, so don’t touch any of his bandages and make sure his IV continues. It has large doses of antibiotics going into his system, but he’s going to have to fight this one as much as he can.”

“Understand,” she confirmed without taking her eyes off of the tragically weak animal.

Darcy spent the rest of the afternoon in the surgery area, talking to the dog, petting his nose with a gentle touch, reassuring him that he was now safe. The dog never even opened his eyes but Darcy felt sure that she was being heard, even if the animal might not understand.

Dinner that night was more of a distraction for Darcy as Matt and Dave conversed around her while the lasagna was served. Darcy was working through different ways to help the animal once it had recovered, a behavioral plan that would give him the confidence around humans that had been destroyed by the dog fights, making notes all over a large sheet of paper, scribbling out one thing, rearranging the possibilities with sticky notes. All the while, taking a bite of the lasagna whenever Dave or Matt nagged her. They both knew that she would forget to eat if they didn’t reminder every few minutes.

Dave and Matt both knew from experience that she would have tunnel vision until she’d perfected the plan, even applauded her efforts knowing that her success rate, combined with Dave’s medical skills and Matt’s business skills were what kept the practice thriving. She did this with any kind of animal that was hurt or in need of attention, giving her love wholeheartedly to the creatures and nursing them back to health. Dave fixed their wounds, got them healthy physically, Matt fed them treats and ensured that the clinic continued to thrive and Darcy healed their souls and obtained funding through her nightclub visits. The numerous animals running around the vet clinic was testament to how many animals they’d been able to save, and many more were in good homes.

Three days later, the wounded dog was awake, his soft brown eyes watching her warily as she worked around the clinic. She’d named the canine Moxie, since he’d have to have lots of that to get through his wounds, and wheeled him wherever she went except with the other animals. Shelving stock, checking records, whatever it was, she made sure that Moxie was right next to her. Now that he was awake, Darcy couldn’t touch him anymore without him cringing so she didn’t even try, just put her hand about a foot away from him, inching a bit closer each time in the hope that he would eventually learn to trust her.

She glanced up just in time to see the blond head bouncing outside the clinic windows. “Claire!” she whispered, careful not to yell it out since it would frighten Moxie. Turning to the dog, she smiled brightly. “You’re going to love Claire! She’s wonderful!”

Claire’s platinum blond head poked in through the stock room doors, a huge grin on her face.

“Is it safe to come in?” she asked.

Darcy noted the excited smile and looked at her hand. “He did it?”

She laughed. “Yes. He finally proposed,” she said excitedly, showing off the enormous diamond ring she’d gotten just the previous night.

Darcy pulled Claire’s hand closer. “Oh, it’s lovely!”

Claire was more than thrilled with the idea of marrying a man who was the most incredible person she’d ever met. “He’s such a wonderful guy. I can’t believe how things worked out. I really didn’t think things would, you know.”

Darcy knew all about the turbulent relationship Claire had had with her now-fiancé. Claire was a genius computer programmer who had broken into Mitch’s house in order to find her missing boyfriend. Instead of calling the police, Mitch hired her for his security firm, then proceeded to help her find her missing boyfriend, who Mitch assured Claire was gay. In the process, Claire fell madly in love with Mitch, who she thought only wanted a sexual relationship with her. Turns out, they were both fooling themselves but it appears that things had all worked out in the end.

“And have you re-decorated the rest of his house?” she asked, knowing that Mitch had a fabulous house, but before he’d met Claire, had only put in a desk and computer equipment. Claire went through the rooms, cutting out pictures in magazines, of which Mitch would then turn around and used to fill his house. It was just good karma that they both had similar taste in furniture and décor.

“The bedroom is finally finished,” she declared.

“Of course. It’s where you spend most of your time.” Darcy rolled her eyes at Claire’s blush. “You know, before you met Mitch, I didn’t think you could do that.”

Claire wasn’t backing down from the tossed down gauntlet. “And after last weekend’s escapades,” she said with a roll of her own eyes, “I’m surprised to find you vertical. According to the gossip columns, you’re either in rehab, having another tawdry affair, or are in the horribly dirty jail of some small country.”

“Good,” Darcy chuckled.

Claire wasn’t impressed. “Darcy, you’ve got to stop this craziness. You’re going to get hurt.”

“Everything is carefully spelled out in the contract. I’m not going to get hurt.”

“Who’s to say that the next guy who signs the contract is going to obey the letter and spirit of your rules?”

Darcy sighed. “I don’t have a choice, Darcy. Look at Moxie,” she said, turning to watch the sad animal as he labored to breath. “He needs the money for medicine and treatment. Dave’s labor and expertise are free of course, but the medicine, IV, bandages and medical equipment he needs right now are expensive.”

“Yes, and the clinic is doing extremely well. If you’d just advertise your own services, you might be able to get out of that crazy night club industry.”

“And what about my father?” Darcy asked, throwing down the trump card. “You know what he would do if I even hinted that I wanted to start my own business.”

Claire knew that Darcy’s father was a notorious mafia boss, although the Department of Justice hadn’t been able to pin anything on him despite numerous attempts over the years. “Maybe he’ll leave you alone this time. He’s been pretty quiet over the past few years.”

Darcy moved over to Moxie’s makeshift blanket bed. “Tigers don’t change their stripes. I think I need to be wary of my brother Marco as well. I’ve heard small rumblings from that area lately which is never a good thing.”

“I thought your brother protected you.”

“He tried, but I don’t know what happened to him after college. I can’t imagine my father letting him out of the family business. I would bet that he’s one of my father’s main lieutenants.”

Claire let the subject drop for the moment, but Darcy knew this wasn’t the end of the conversation. As they caught up with each other, Darcy moved around, handing items for Claire to stack, essentially putting her friend to work now that she’d shown up. They talked all afternoon and caught up on the latest happenings and potential wedding dates, all of which needed to be worked around their friend Emma’s schedule. Or more specifically, when Emma’s daughter might decide to enter the world. Emma was now married to Dharran, Sheik of Sundab and living a deliriously happy life in some far away exotic land and loving her husband completely.