Page 6 of Second to None
Max swung around with his slashing eyebrows raised as Emily reached the limo.
“The South Harlem Veterinary Clinic,” she said before reeling off the address.
Diego had already ducked into the elegant car. Max held out his hand to help Emily in, his dark gaze giving away nothing. She braced herself before she touched him, but the warmth and strength of his grip still sent a thrill racing up her arm. As she settled onto the smooth leather seat beside Diego, Max released her hand and bent to enter the car, his sculpted face and broad shoulders briefly looming over her. When the heavy wool of his overcoat slid over the back of her hand as he brushed past her, she jerked at the contact.
She needed to get her reactions under control.
The door slammed shut, and in the next minute, the car glided forward.
Max had pivoted and dropped into a corner of the seat facing her, stretching out his long legs diagonally. Emily couldn’t stop her gaze from skimming down the entire length of fine wool laid over hard muscle.
“Thank you for letting us use your car, Mr. Varela,” Diego said, jerking her attention back.
“You know who I am?” Max sounded startled.
“Yes, sir. Ms. Emily told us you be ... were coming.”
Emily pulled herself together, thanking her lucky stars for Diego’s good manners. “I apologize for the unexpected detour, Max. I hope you will still have time to visit our facility.”
He glanced down at the wafer-thin gold watch on his wrist. “I’ll make time.”
Relief rushed through her. She hadn’t ruined the center’s chances ... yet.
A long, high-pitched whimper issued from the bundle Diego held so carefully. “That sounded bad,” the boy said. “Could you look at him, Ms. Emily?”
Although she didn’t know much about canine anatomy, she scooted closer to Diego. “You keep holding him,” she said. “I don’t want to move him any more than necessary, since he may have internal injuries.”
Easing Diego’s sweatshirt away from the dog’s head and body, she winced at the blood-matted hair around several gashes on his neck and back. There were raw patches on the little creature’s sides, and one of his back legs was bent at an unnatural angle. Something white and blotched with blood protruded through the skin. Emily sucked in a breath when she realized it was a bone. But the dog’s side continued to rise and fall.
She folded the soft fabric back around the animal. “Diego, I don’t want to give you false hope. He’s not in good shape. However, that doesn’t mean that Dr. Quillen can’t help him. We’ll just have to see what she says.”
“Those shi ... kids was treating him bad.” Diego curled his torso around the dog as though to protect him. “Why do people hurt animals who never did nothing to them?”
There was no good answer to that.
“It makes them feel powerful.” Max’s deep voice surprised her. She’d almost forgotten he was in the car. No, that wasn’t true. Strength and heat radiated from him, permeating the air of the enclosed space, so that she could feel his presence rippling over her skin. She just hadn’t expected him to involve himself with Diego.
The dark velvet of his voice wrapped itself around her as he continued. “Hurting something or someone weaker than they are is the way some people make themselves feel strong. Of course, it only proves how contemptible they are.”
Emily shook off his spell just enough to throw him a look of gratitude. He met her gaze but gave no indication of what he was thinking.
“Three guys against one little dog don’t ... doesn’t make them look strong,” Diego said.
“No,” Max said. “The truly strong protect those who are weaker.”
Emily wanted to cheer as hope began to unfurl in her chest. She couldn’t have asked for a better representative for the center or her project than Diego.
Max shifted his attention to her, and she felt it like a spotlight. “The veterinarian is someone you use for your own dog?”
“Yes, Dr. Quillen runs a clinic that provides low-cost medical services for all kinds of animals. She’s amazing. I’ve never seen her turn any creature away, even a rat someone brought in.”
“She’s highly skilled?”
“She was number one in her class at Iowa State University,” Emily said. She knew Max was questioning why a veterinarian who would be in demand anywhere would choose this locale. Which meant that he cared whether Diego’s stray lived or died. “But I only know that because I did a search on the Internet. She doesn’t boast about it.”
“Shouldn’t she be treating cows and pigs, then?” he asked, his tone wry.
“We don’t have a lot of those in Harlem.”
