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I’d deal with him. As long as he didn’t hurt the dog, I’d be okay with whatever shit he tossed at me.

Oh, God. I was nervous, which was ridiculous. I was meeting a goddamn animal. As I raked my hands through my hair, I groaned. I didn’t really think that at all. Shit. I couldn’t do this crap. I wasn’t good enough to try to show an abused animal love. How could I when I was so damaged myself?

I was about to head for the door, demanding I be taken back to my cell when the visitors’ door opened, Dr. Daniels walking in. I noticed she had a couple of packages in her hands and a smile on her face.

“I’m sorry I’m late. The traffic was horrific. Plus, I stopped and got a few things I thought you might like.” She placed the bags on one of the metal picnic-style tables.

I eyed them warily. “What’s that?”

“Why don’t you find out?” She backed away but not from fear of me. I could see real excitement in her eyes.

There was no doubt she was putting her reputation on the line for me. Ordinarily I wouldn’t give a shit, but she’d stuck with me, refusing to back down or give up. I had to give her some credit. I moved closer, peering inside. Then something magical or bizarre happened. I broke out into a smile as I pulled the dog toys and a bag of treats from the thick plastic. The items included a tennis ball. God, just holding it in my hand brought back too many memories.

At least they were good ones.

Where I would have shut down just seeing one before, this time was different. Almost as if this was a new beginning, but I wasn’t the kind of man to get my hopes up for any reason.

“You like them?” she asked.

“It’s not what I like. It’s what he or she likes.”

“You’re going to meet Max.”

I lifted my gaze. I wasn’t certain I wanted another boy. A twinge of pain tore through me, but I did my best to ignore it. Wouldn’t do me any good anyway. “Yeah, okay.”

“Aren’t you even a little bit excited?”

“I hate to burst your bubble, Doc, but don’t get your hopes up. Dogs can smell bad people a mile away. My guess is he’ll hate me.”

“Why do you sell yourself short, Kage? Huh? You can pretend all you want to behind these bars, but I know deep inside what you’re made of. If I believed even half the crap said about you, then I wouldn’t have gone to bat for you to get into this program. You deserve this and I have no doubt it’s going to change your life.”

“Who’s he going to if he graduates?”

“That’s yet to be determined but remember what I told you. One rule of the program is that if you’re offered parole, you cannot ever see the dog again. I know that sounds rough, but you will no longer be their master.”

“Don’t worry, Doc. I don’t want to be anyone’s master.” Just then the door was opened and a man walked in with a dog on a leash, a guard right behind him. The poor guy appeared sheepish, as if I was going to take a chomp out of his face.

“Ah, Jimmy. Come on over here.” Dr. Daniels motioned the guy forward.

The dog was staring at me with such sad, wary eyes. I stared back, still uncertain how I felt or if I felt anything at all.

“Jimmy,” she repeated. “This idea is for Mr. Bronson to meet Max.”

Jimmy was so nervous I thought the guy was going to piss his pants. If this had been any other situation, I’d bark like a dog to see if that happened but not today.

Max whined, pulling at the leash.

“The collar is way too tight,” I told good ole Jimmy.

The good doctor lifted her eyebrows and grinned. “Well, why don’t you fix it for him?”

“Are you sure this is okay?” Jimmy asked as if I wasn’t going to be able to overhear him.

She slapped her hands on her hips, turning toward him in a snap. “Why the fuck are you here? This man isn’t going to hurt you. Stop acting like a child. And you,” she snapped, pointing to the guard. “Leave us alone. I’ll come get you when and if I want you.”

I shoved the ball into my pocket, hoping the pup would enjoy playing with it later.

The guard threw me a hateful look then backed away, closing the thick metal door with a hard slam. I wasn’t liked on this side of the prison any more than the other. Too fucking bad. I reached into one of the bags, ripping open the treats, and putting a few into my hand.

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