Mila was sobbing, and Bandit was limp as he let her pull off the restraints. He continued his whimpering while his tail slapped the floor.
“Careful, Mila,” I warned her as she tenderly pulled the muzzle off him.
“I’m so sorry, Bandit.” She sat on the floor in front of him.
He was in a crouch position, inching toward her, crying and yelping with excitement as his tail went berserk. And then his head was in her lap and she was curling around him, sobbing as she held him.
“You poor, sweet darling,” she said through her tears. “You’re safe now, okay?”
Bandit responded by whimpering and reaching up to wildly lick the tears off her cheeks.
I looked back at Maksim, who roughly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
“Goddamn Disney movie.” He cleared his throat, then yelled, “Everyone get back to fucking work.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
MILA
I was sittingon the couch next to the gas fireplace, with Bandit’s head on my lap. I was reading my textbook with one hand and petting him with the other.
I had waited to heat dinner, just in case Axel came home. Ever since Bandit had shown up, Axel seemed to spend a lot more time here. I was hoping he might want to eat with me.
Bandit sat up beside me on the couch, alert and focused when he heard the keys in the front door.
“It’s okay, Bandit.” I gave him an extra snuggle, trying to ignore how my pulse kicked up.
Axel appeared in the doorway and stopped when he saw us sitting on the couch.
“You’re home,” he said simply.
Everything about him felt intense, from his stillness to his focused gaze. Axel had a way of charging a room just by walking into it. Even tired or grumpy, he carried his power with a confidence few men possessed.
“How’s Bandit?” He tossed his keys, wallet and phone on the island before walking over to us. I watched as Bandit’s tail went berserk when Axel sat on the couch on the other side of him.
“Jordan says he sleeps the entire time I’m at school, and the rest of the time he just wants to hang out with me.”
Axel reached out and gently scratched Bandit’s neck. Bandit’s tail pounded on the couch.
“He really likes you.”
Axel’s smile almost reached his beautiful eyes. “No growling or aggressive behaviour?”
I solemnly shook my head. “Nothing like that. He’s still tracking the guard dog through the windows on their rounds, but he doesn’t growl.”
“Good.”
I wokeup to the sound of Bandit whining at the door.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him. “Do you have to go outside?”
I wrapped a cardigan around my body and opened the door. He bolted down the hallway and disappeared into the dark.
By the time I got downstairs and turned on the kitchen light, Bandit was doing that weird body heave.
“Oh, no,” I cried, rushing to the door, but before I got there, he threw up on the tile.
I dropped to my knees and put my hand on his back. “It’s okay, boy.”
