Page 2 of No Strings Attached

Out of all the situations Sam had been in since becoming homeless at sixteen, this was by far the worst. He couldn’t overpower Daryl and escape. Not when the guy was lean with muscle and Sam was rail thin.

“You’re going to do whatever the fuck I tell you,” Daryl snarled. “They’ve already paid me for a night with you, and you’re not going to make me look bad.”

This was a complete nightmare. The only way Sam was going to get out of this was if he jumped out the bedroom window. But Daryl was too close and would easily stop him.

“I’m not doing it!” Sam balled his hands into fists. “I’m not a fucking whore!”

With lightning speed, Daryl was over the bed. He grabbed Sam and threw him against the wall, gripping his throat tightly. “You’ll be whatever I tell you to be.”

When Sam drove his knee into Daryl’s groin, he was flung onto the bed and something sharp sliced across his lower back, causing him to let out a gut-wrenching scream.

Daryl circled the bed and grabbed Sam’s chin, forcing him to meet his gaze. Sam let out a shocked gasp when he saw two long, sharp teeth protruding from Daryl’s mouth. When the guy raised his hand, now covered in Sam’s blood, instead of fingernails, there were sharp claws.

“I own you, human,” Daryl growled. “Don’t fool yourself into thinking otherwise. I don’t care how much pain you’re in right now, you’re going to do exactly what I tell you.”

Paralyzed with fear, Sam tried to make sense of the guy’s appearance. This couldn’t be a bad dream because it was all too real. The man standing before him was a monster.

Daryl shoved Sam’s chin away and headed for the door. “Fuck this up and you’ll be in even worse pain.”

As Sam’s thoughts spiraled, Daryl walked out, slamming the door behind him, more than likely confident that he’d scared Sam too badly for him to leave the room. The guy didn’t know just how stubborn and determined Sam could be.

Despite the excruciating pain shooting through his back, Sam forced himself to get up from the bed. Any minute Daryl would return with his associates.

No matter how hard he tried to focus, everything felt detached, as if the world he thought he’d known had shattered.

Get your ass moving!

Nausea choked Sam as he grabbed the duffel bag from the corner and stumbled toward the window. After he shoved it open, he crawled out and hit the ground. He nearly passed out as the pain in his back exploded.

You have to keep moving.

With a clenched jaw to stop himself from screaming, Sam staggered to his feet. He had no idea how he withstood the agony as he moved unsteadily toward his car.

When he reached it, Sam threw the duffel bag into the trunk and fell into the driver’s seat. In a matter of seconds, he weaved around parked cars, uncaring if he hit any of them before he sped down the road, desperate to get as far away as he could.

Chapter Two

Deputy Morgan Savani spotted a car parked on the side of the road and wondered if the motorist needed any help. Already today he’d checked on six elderly residents, taking three to a cooling center set up for those who didn’t have a way to escape the heatwave.

This was not a day to be outside.

The vet clinic had filled a large, plastic pool outside their building with water for any strays that wanted to cool down or needed a drink. The local businesses were handing out free bottled water, and the fire department had put out two fires caused by overheated window units.

Morgan pulled in behind the white sedan, noticing that the car was running, which meant the temperature inside might not be dangerously high if the AC was working.

After radioing dispatch that he was making the stop, Morgan got out of his cruiser and walked toward the driver’s side door, sweat already covering him. There wasn’t even a stray breeze to cool him off.

The weather report he’d watched before heading into work this morning said the heatwave should break by tomorrow, but they’d said that yesterday, so he wasn’t holding his breath.

With temperatures like this, Falls General was elbow-deep in people suffering from heat stroke. His coworker, Deputy Cannon Lowery, had to break a window on an SUV to rescue a toddler when the dad had gotten out and the locks had mistakenly engaged. From what Cannon had told him, the dad had been in a full-blown panic, trying desperately to break the glass himself but had been unsuccessful.

As Morgan walked closer, he noticed a long crack along the rear window and saw clothes and other things in the back seat.

When he reached the driver’s door and looked inside, no one was sitting there. Who would leave their car running on the side of the road? He checked the door and found it unlocked. As soon as he opened it, intense heat rushed out.

This couldn’t be good. Morgan reached inside and looked through the papers on the passenger seat, sweat already soaking him. Unfortunately the papers didn’t have anyone’s name on them. Morgan pulled back, taking a deep breath as he wiped his face with his arm, and then went around to the passenger side to check the glove box, hoping to find a registration. The only things in there were the owner’s manual, tons of napkins, and…was that a bloody rag?

Morgan pulled a latex glove from the pocket of his uniform shirt and picked the rag up. He didn’t have to put the cloth close to his nose to know it was blood. His shifter senses picked up on the scent right away.

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