Sempre: Redemption (Forever Series #2)(94)

The man looked at her with dark bloodshot eyes, no flicker of acknowledgment on his face. He turned away and grabbed another rock, striking the kitten again. It stumbled from the blow.

Haven’s eyes burned with tears. “Don’t do that anymore!”

“Mind your own business, sweetheart,” the man grumbled. “Go on back to wherever you came from. You don’t belong here.”

He grabbed another rock, but Haven wasn’t having it. She lunged for the cat, grabbing it as he threw the rock, smacking her with it instead. It stung as it struck her ankle, but she barely winced as she shielded the cat in her arms.

“What the hell are you doing?” the man spat, pushing away from the trailer. He took two steps toward her, his big stride closing the distance between them. Haven instinctively took a step away from the man.

Before she could say anything—or rather, run—the door of the trailer opened and laughter cut through the air. Two guys stepped out, one an old bald man in a black suit with a walking cane. He tipped his head in greeting to the other before heading to a waiting town car. The second man Haven recognized immediately, wearing freshly pressed khakis and a blue button-down shirt: Gavin.

He turned to them after the older man was gone, the smirk on his lips disappearing when he spotted Haven. His brow creased, his eyes darting between her and the worker. “What’s going on here?”

“I’m wondering the same thing!” the man exclaimed. “I’m over here taking my afternoon break, you know, just hanging out, and this broad walks up and starts telling me what to do! Can you believe it?”

Gavin’s expression darkened, his blue eyes clouding to a furious gray. Haven’s heartbeat quickened, the cat meowing as she instinctively gripped it tighter.

The Gavin she knew was friendly, playful. She had never seen him angry before.

“Get back to work,” he barked at the man.

“But—”

“But nothing. Go. Now.”

The man hesitated for a fraction of a second before storming away. Gavin took a few brusque steps toward Haven, eliciting a small retreat from her, but he wasn’t deterred in his approach. “What happened?”

“I, uh . . . the kitten was hurt, and he was throwing rocks at it, and I told him not to but he wouldn’t stop, and the kitten yelped, so I couldn’t just stand there. I had to help! He got mad, then you came out, and he told you what happened, and uh . . .”

“And here we are?” he guessed.

Haven nodded, avoiding his eyes. He reached toward her and she flinched, but he seemed not to notice as he grabbed the cat, taking it from her.

“It looks pretty messed up,” he said, checking it out. “There’s a shelter a few blocks over. I can drop it off there.”

“And they’ll fix her?” she asked.

“Maybe,” he replied. “And it’s a him.”

“Oh.” Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean maybe?”

“I mean they’ll either fix it up or put it to sleep.”

Haven recoiled as if he had struck her. “Why would they do that?”

“The city’s overrun with stray animals, so I’m sure the shelter gets more than it can keep. Might not be worth saving.”

Horrified, Haven ripped the kitten from his hands, taking it back. “They can’t just kill it! That’s not fair! It did nothing wrong!”

Gavin let out a sudden laugh of surprise as he held up his hands defensively. “Geez, all right, relax. There are other options.”

“Like?”

“Like you can let it go and hope it can fend for itself.”

Out of the question. “Or?”

“Or you can take it to the vet.”

She glanced at the cat before looking back at him. “Do you know a good vet?”

“I might know of a place,” he replied, eyeing her curiously. “Why are you here, anyway? I mean, don’t get me wrong—it’s a pleasant surprise, but still a surprise. I was actually about to head your way.”

“My class got cancelled,” she replied. “I was going to the library and kind of just ended up here instead.”

Gavin stared at her with disbelief. “You just ended up here?”

“Yes. And since I was here I thought I would say hey, so . . . hey.”

A smug smile formed on his lips. “You must’ve missed me.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Because you didn’t see me yesterday and you wouldn’t see me today if you didn’t have class. It’s the weekend, so that means you’d have to wait until Monday to see me again. That’s a long time.”

She rolled her eyes at his cocky tone. “It was nothing like that.”

“Admit it,” he said. “You missed me.”

“No.”

“You like me.”

“No.”

“Not at all?”

“Well, maybe just a little,” she admitted.

“I’ll take it,” he said. “It’s better than nothing.”

“But just as a friend,” she clarified. “Not more.”

Gavin shook his head as he took a step away. “Stay here and I’ll get the address for the vet.”