“Do you guys know what to do for a dog?” Casey turned to the paramedics beside her.

“We’ll improvise,” one of them said. They kneeled beside Ace and gently moved Clare’s hands and the blanket away as they took over cleaning the wound. Casey left the apartment, seemingly in search of Rory.

“It’s really deep. We’re going to need to take him to a vet as soon as possible. Is there an emergency vet around here?” one paramedic asked.

“Yes, call Dr. Prentiss. Rory has the number,” Clare told him, pointing to the hallway where she had seen Rory last.

“Yes, ma’am.” The paramedic rushed out of the apartment, only to return a few seconds later with Rory.

“Where were you?” Clare rushed to him frantically.

“The police were questioning me. I’m so sorry—are you okay?” He kissed her forehead and gave her a quick hug, and she nodded. Rory saw Ace and immediately rushed to his side. “Is he going to be okay?”

“We’re not sure—we need to get him to a vet,” the paramedic said as they gently began lifting the dog onto a stretcher that they had brought in with them.

“Call Dr. Prentiss. Tell him to meet us at his office,” Clare told Rory, and he nodded, pulling out his phone and dialing the number after instructing the paramedics on where to go. No one argued with a Kavanagh.

“Are you okay?” Casey had followed Rory in and was now standing by Clare, an arm wrapped around her shoulders, comforting her.

“My arm hurts.” Clare frowned, suddenly realizing that she had forgotten about her own injury.

Casey turned to the paramedics, who were holding the stretcher with Ace on it. He wasn’t moving or making any sounds now. “She needs medical attention!”

Another paramedic team entered the apartment. “We’ve got it,” they told the first team before leading Clare over to the couch and having her sit down.

Clare just nodded, following instructions and pulling her sweater up over her head. She was wearing a tank top underneath, which made it a lot easier for the paramedics as they set up shop next to her and began working on bandaging her arm.

Casey frowned, wrapping her arm around Clare’s waist again in a small hug. “I was so worried.”

“I’ll be okay. I probably just need a few stitches.” Clare tried to shrug, but pain surged through her arm at the motion.

The remaining police officers had left by the time Rory finally walked back in. Casey got up to let him have a moment with Clare. He was at her side in seconds, watching the paramedics carefully cleaning her wound. She smiled at him gratefully and leaned in to him, letting him kiss her forehead. Several more people entered the apartment, and Clare glanced up to see the rest of the Kavanagh family filtering in. She gaped, surprised to see them there—especially Kane, who was still dressed in the clothes he’d been planning to fight in. “What are you guys doing here? What about the match?”

“Clare—oh my goodness! What happened?” Alarm colored Dee’s face as she rushed over and kneeled in front of Clare.

“Paper cut?” Clare smiled, attempting some lighthearted humor that was quickly rejected when both Dee and Casey rolled their eyes at her.

“Take good care of that arm,” Seamus said to the paramedics as he leaned over them to peer at her wound.

“Yes, Mr. Kavanagh,” one of the paramedics said shakily. It wasn’t unusual for people to be intimidated by Seamus, but Clare had seen his soft side, so it always amused her when she saw people act nervous around him.

“I can’t believe you guys are here, that you forfeited the fight.” Clare felt guilty. Rory squeezed an arm tighter around her waist.

“Your boyfriend went tearing out of the gym like a crazy person, shouting that you were in trouble,” Quinn told her from where he stood next to Kane.

Rory rolled his eyes at his brother. “I did not.”

“Seemed more important to come check on you than to knock out some idiot.” Kane folded his arms over his chest.

“Don’t worry about it, there will always be other fights—and the charity still got their donation,” Casey told her.

“I know, but you guys didn’t need to do that,” Clare protested.

“The hell they didn’t, Clare. You’re part of this family now, whether you like it or not.” Rory kissed her softly on the lips, and she felt a tear moving down her cheek at the sentiment.

“The ‘or not’ part is true—we don’t let go of people easily,” Quinn goaded before his dad smacked him lightly on the back of the head and gave him a warning glare. Clare wondered if Quinn realized how often he got smacked on the head for his barbs.

“Anyone who can make Rory so happy is family to us,” his mother told her, cupping her chin affectionately.

“We’ve finished bandaging, but we really need to get her to the hospital for stitches,” a paramedic spoke up, glancing nervously around at the sea of Kavanaghs that had overtaken the small apartment.

“We’ll follow and see you there.” Seamus nodded to Clare.

“What about Ace?” Clare said.

Dee motioned to Seamus. “We’ll go follow him to the vet, then bring him back to Rory’s place after.”

“What if he—” Clare choked out a sob, terrified that Ace wouldn’t make it through the night.

Dee interrupted her, waving away the concern. “He’s going to be fine. That dog is a survivor.”

“The rest of us will come with you to the hospital,” Casey volunteered.

“No, I’ll go with her,” Rory told his family firmly. “Filling the emergency room with all of you is going to be too overwhelming.”

“I don’t mind,” Clare said, but truthfully some peace and quiet did sound nice. While she loved being around the family, there were a lot of them and they did get loud.

“That’s fine. Is she coming back here afterward?” Casey asked.

“No, my place.” Rory decided for her, and Clare just smiled and leaned in to him. As worried as she was right now, she appreciated a moment of downtime.

The family began shuffling out, and the paramedics followed closely behind Clare as Rory stayed with her.

“Come by the station anytime tomorrow and I’ll take your statement, Clare,” Jimmy told her.

“Take care of her, Rory,” Casey said as she followed the rest of the family out.

With his arm still wrapped around Clare’s waist, Rory had helped her stand up, but she continued leaning in to his side, mostly because the proximity and warmth were comforting. His body was firm and stable against hers, supporting her and guarding her.

She relished the moment, realizing that a short time ago she wasn’t sure that she would ever have these arms around her again. They had been apart for only a few hours, but it felt like a lifetime had gone by.

Chapter 22

“Well, this is sexy.” Clare nodded to the sling supporting her arm.

“I don’t think bandages are supposed to be sexy,” Rory kidded, opening the taxi door for her as they left the hospital several hours later.

“Why not? I’ve got to wear it like this for weeks—is it too much to ask to have choices? Maybe pink?”

“You want a hot-pink sling?” He slid into the backseat after her and told the driver his address.

“I didn’t say hot pink, maybe a light pink. With rhinestones.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Haven’t you heard of trying to find the silver lining in a crap-tastic day?” Clare leaned in to him.

“My silver lining was when the doctor said you would be fine.”

Clare giggled. “Not as fine as a pink rhinestone sling would be.”

Rory pulled her closer against him for the rest of the taxi ride. They arrived at Rory’s apartment only a short drive later, and Rory helped her up the stairs and into his apartment, settling her into the bedroom right away.