“I guess you’ll stay to watch Marcella?” I guessed, not bothering to hide my annoyance. Marcella was nineteen, not nine, a fact that Luca obviously preferred to ignore.
“Growl will keep an eye on her. I can trust my men. I’m only here to tell you that you’ll do a few missions with my men once your injuries have healed.”
“Thanks for your concern. I’m fit enough.”
Luca ignored my comment and got up. He was on his way down the driveway when another car arrived. This time Marcella got out of it.
Like last time I’d seen her at the shelter, she was in jeans and a simple tee, looking like an ordinary girl. If a girl like Marcella could ever really be called ordinary. She always stood out no matter what she did.
Luca and Marcella exchanged a few words before he finally, thankfully, took his leave. I headed out of the house and toward her, eager to meet her. Her face lit up when she spotted me, but a hint of tension remained.
Steps sounded behind me and I didn’t have to turn around to know that Growl was following me to keep watch.
I didn’t give a fuck. I was tired of keeping my distance to the woman that haunted my dreams.
I wrapped my arms around Marcella, lifted her off the ground and kissed her passionately. She made a sound of surprise against my lips but didn’t pull away. When we finally pulled apart, Growl was only a few steps away.
Growl glowered at me before he sent Marcella a questioning look. “Is he allowed to be so close to you?”
I really liked him most of the time but in moments like this I wanted to kick his tattooed ass.
“I want him close,” Marcella said, her expression taking on a stubborn gleam. As if to get her point across, she pressed up to my side, daring Growl to argue with her. He didn’t, but I could tell he didn’t like it. For him, only her father’s ruling mattered.
“Relax, Growl. Marcella and I have been alone before, and I can protect her. Nobody will hurt her as long as she’s with me.” I wrapped my arm around Marcella’s narrow waist and winked at her.
“Maddox and I want to talk alone. We’ll be over at the kennels, you won’t have to follow us,” Marcella said.
“You know Luca gave me clear orders,” Growl muttered, not necessarily hostile.
“Dad trusts me.”
“I come in peace, Growl. How about you show us where the dogs that I saved are? I’d like to say hi to them.”
Growl’s suspicion was replaced by interest immediately. “They’re doing better, but the one with the infected gash on its side is still struggling, and both are malnourished but are slowly gaining weight.”
Marcella gave me a knowing look. She was clever enough to realize I’d mentioned the dogs to get on Growl’s good side. He was too big of an animal lover to pass up on the chance to talk about the two saved beasts.
“Follow me. I’m keeping them away from the other dogs for now. They got riled up when they saw the others,” Growl said.
Growl obviously was willing to give me the benefit of the doubt, but I wasn’t sure if the rest of Luca’s men and especially Marcella’s family would do the same. Still, I saw today as a step in the right direction.
I linked hands with Marcella, and for once she allowed the public display of affection, though it wasn’t really all that public.
The bigger Rottweiler rested on a huge dog cushion, its side bandaged. The other dog trotted over to us and regarded us curiously. Neither of them looked aggressive in the slightest. I patted it through the bars before Marcella and I moved to another cage where Growl kept Santana. She jumped up against the cage when she spotted Marcella.
“She missed you.”
Marcella smiled and opened the cage, allowing Santana out. The dog briefly sniffed at me but then danced around Marcella’s legs again. Marcella grabbed a leash and put Santana on it. “How about we take a short walk with her? She needs to get used to the leash,” Marcella said.
Santana shook her head and bit into the leash, obviously not too keen on it.
“In the past, being put on the leash always meant that she was taken to the dog fights. I guess that’s why she hates it so much,” I said.
Marcella’s face softened with pity. “I never thought about it but I’m sure you’re right.”
We followed a narrow trail into the woods behind the shelter. To my relief, Growl didn’t follow us.
“Finally,” I said.
Marcella glanced behind us then up at me. “I know it’s annoying that my father always has people watch us, but eventually he’ll see that you can be trusted.”
We eventually came to a clearing where Marcella released the dog from the leash so it could run around a bit.