Damien (Slater Brothers #5)(47)

I left my apartment and made my way to the lobby of the building, waving at Joseph, the night guard as I passed by. When I retrieved my phone from my car and locked it, I heard a soft cry. A cry that was dangerously close to that of a baby. With my heart pounding, and all my senses on high alert, I spun around, and squinted my eyes, hoping it’d help me see better.

It didn’t.

I jumped when I heard the cry again, and walked briskly in the direction it came from. All sorts of scenarios were flooding through my mind. I had seen on the news plenty of times about people abandoning newborn babies and leaving them out in the open with no protection. I prayed to God that wasn’t the case, but when I came across a cardboard box in-between two parked cars, my entire body tensed, and I just about died on the spot. I crept forward, and when I found the courage to peek inside the box, I nearly deflated with relief when I saw it wasn’t a baby … but then sympathy flooded me when I realised what I’d stumbled upon.

Someone had abandoned a helpless, tiny kitten.

“Oh, baby,” I uttered, my hands clutched to my chest.

When the kitten cried again, I was horrified to discover how much it sounded like an infant. The poor thing looked terrified, so I carefully reached into the box and picked it up. I held it against my chest, wincing when its nails dug into my skin as it held on for dear life. I hurried back into my apartment building, walking at an angle towards the elevator so Joseph couldn’t see the kitten. There was a strict no animal policy in the building, but I couldn’t leave the kitten out in the cold to fend for itself.

I simply couldn’t.

When I made it up to my apartment, I grabbed a smaller throwover blanket from my settee and wrapped the kitten inside it. I set it down on the settee and stepped away. I was relieved to see the kitten didn’t try to escape; it simply stayed snuggled inside the safety and warmth of the blanket. I got out my phone and phoned Alec. He worked in an animal shelter and was the only person I could think of to call.

“Alannah,” he answered on the fifth ring. “Is everything okay?”

I rarely called him, and it was closing in on eight p.m., so he probably figured something was up.

“Kind of,” I answered. “I found a kitten.”

“You found a kitten?”

“Yeah,” I answered. “Some bastard left it in a cardboard box in the car park of me buildin’.”

“Is it alive?”

“Yeah.” I nodded, though he couldn’t see the action.

“Do you want me to come and get it?” he questioned. “I can keep it and bring it to the shelter tomorrow.”

I paused. When I rang Alec, it was for help for the kitten, but at that moment, I realised I had only called him for advice. I didn’t want him to take the kitten. I wasn’t sure when I made the decision, but I wanted to keep the kitten myself.

“No,” I answered. “I’m keepin’ it.”

Alec was silent.

“What?” I pressed. “What’re you all quiet for?”

Alec was never quiet, so his silence spoke volumes.

“You … you aren’t very good at taking care of animals.”

My lips parted in outrage. “I am too!”

“You step on Storm a lot when you come over to our house, and he is bigger than you. I still don’t understand how you don’t see him.”

I would never admit it to my friends, but my eyesight wasn’t the best, and with each passing year, it was obvious to me that I was going to have to bite the bullet and make an eye test appointment to get the glasses I knew I needed. It didn’t help that I didn’t exactly watch where I was walking when I was distracted either.

“I don’t watch where I place me feet, so feckin’ sue me.”

“Tyson growls at you whenever he sees you because you stepped on him one too many times. He just watches you whenever you’re around him now.”

That bloody dog couldn’t forgive and forget like Storm could.

“Listen,” I stated, “every time it happened was a total accident.”

Alec laughed.

“I’m keepin’ the kitten, and that’s that,” I said with a huff. “Can you just tell me what I need to buy? I’m clueless.”

“I can do you one better,” he chirped. “I can go to Maxi Zoo before it closes and bring what you need to you since you shouldn’t leave the kitten alone.”

My heart warmed, and my shoulders sagged with relief.

“Thank you, Alec.” I gushed. “I don’t know how old it is until I bring it to a vet tomorrow, but it looks really young, so get kitten food. Bring the receipt when you come over, and I’ll pay you back when you get ’ere.”

After we hung up, I went and sat next to my new roommate, peeking into the blanket. The cat’s fur was completely white, and from what I could see, it had one green eye and one blue eye.

“You’re so gorgeous,” I cooed.

The cat didn’t move a muscle, so I carefully picked up the blanket and cuddled it against my chest. When the kitten eventually wriggled around, I reached in and picked it up. Quickly, I checked between its legs and discovered the kitten was a girl. I put her back inside the blanket and let her get used to whatever it was that she was sniffing and scratching.

“What, baby?” I asked when she began meowing and didn’t stop.