Read Online Blackmailed by the Billionaire Brewer by Rachel Lyndhurst - Free Book Online Page A

book her in for you?”
    She nodded and a tear slipped from under her closed eyelids and ran down her cheek.
     Matt felt a sick lurch in the pit of his stomach. The silent, raw emotion emanating
     from her was almost tangible and his throat ached as he reached out, took her cold
     hand in his, and squeezed. She squeezed his hand back and sniffed quietly.
    “I’ll put a dressing on the site for now so she doesn’t worry it and make things worse.”
     Dr. Uvi clicked away at his keyboard. “She’ll be fine with that for a couple of days.
     Just make sure she doesn’t rip it off, and I’ll give you some pain meds to take with
     you today. I would book you in first thing in the morning, but looking at the weather
     forecast, there’s no guarantee that any of us will make it out here too easily.”
    “Okay.” Piper frowned as she watched him fill a syringe. “What’s that?”
    “Antibiotics.” The cat snarled and hissed as he approached with the needle, suddenly
     very much awake and feeling the need to vent her displeasure at all this indignity.
     “And I’ll need to shave some more fur from the tail. The surgical site needs to be
     clean near that wound and, well, you might not want to know the details of the operation,
     but it is necessary, so we might as well do it now. Perhaps you’d like to wait outside
     while I get the nurse to help me?”
    Matt sensed from the look Dr. Uvi shot him that things were about to get more stressful
     and Piper was already clearly upset.
    “Come on, we can fill out all those forms outside and grab a coffee from the vending
     machine,” Matt said. She just nodded and turned her back before she could see the
     vet nod at him. “I could certainly do with a hot drink.”
    Fifteen minutes of listening to chilling howls from the lobby later, and a harassed
     looking veterinary nurse emerged carrying the beige pet carrier. “She’s a feisty madam,
     that’s for sure!” She put the box on the floor and handed Piper a box of medication.
     “Instructions are printed on the box. Keep her as quiet, warm, and inactive as you
     can. She’s booked in for the op the day after tomorrow and we’ve put a cone on her.
     She went for the tail a couple of times so the doctor’s not sure she can be trusted
     with that bandage. Try to keep it on her if you can.”
    “Oh poor baby,” Piper crooned through the slats of the carrier and a claw shot out.
     “I’d be angry, too, sweetheart.”
    Matt settled the bill, thanked the nurse, and picked up the box. “I’ll carry her to
     the car. We’ll need to be quick if we want to make it back into town. It’s getting
     bad out there.”
    Piper grabbed the sleeve of his jacket.
    “Are you a humane and understanding person behind all the CEO stuff?”
    “What?”
    “I need another favor.”
    “Go on.”
    “Could you keep the cat at your place for the night?”
    “Why? You scared of her now? If you don’t want to keep her after all, nobody will
     judge you.”
    “Can you or not? I think my furnace is broken again and I won’t be able to get a guy
     out until tomorrow or even later with this storm. It’s going to be really cold and
     I don’t think she’s going to take kindly to crawling under a blanket with me tonight.”
    “Piper, are you crazy? It’s supposed to be the coldest night in years. What makes
     you think you’re going to have a great night with or without the cat?”
    The strip light in the lobby flickered. “I’ll be fine, but I’m worried about her.
     I’d never forgive myself if—”
    “Neither would I, and we have no way of knowing how long this storm is going to last.”
     He put the carrier down and stared through the glass double doors for a moment. Somebody
     needed to keep an eye on Piper whether she liked it or not. Independent and sassy
     she may well be, but he needed her in the next few weeks and he wasn’t about to let
     his best-laid plans fall apart. His concern was purely practical, and had