Page 4 of No Strings Attached

“Did you find anything?” Dominic asked.

“I have an injured human in an upstairs closet. He’s not producing any sweat, which you know is a sign of dehydration. He has wounds on his lower back, and his head is bleeding. The gashes on his back look like claw marks.”

“I’m assuming you secured the scene and called an ambulance.”

“Yeah.” Morgan swept his gaze over the guy’s face, taking in his delicate features. “He’s my mate, Dominic.”

His boss cursed. “I’ll meet you at the hospital. We’ll figure out what’s going on, Morgan.”

“I’m gonna let you go. The ambulance just pulled up.” Morgan hung up, slid his phone into his pocket, and rushed outside. “In here.”

The medics hurried his way. “What’re we looking at?” one of them asked.

“Upstairs room at the end of the hall. Unconscious male, wounds to his head and back, though he could have more injuries. I checked as best I could but was afraid of moving him. He’s also not sweating even though the room is hot as hell.”

Morgan was drowning in perspiration as he headed back inside and jogged up the stairs, desperate to get back to his mate.

The medics entered the room, and Morgan kept out of their way, watching as they assessed the guy. Moments later, the human had a cervical collar on his neck and was being loaded on a backboard.

Morgan hated feeling helpless as his mate was carried downstairs and loaded into the back of the ambulance. Knowing the sheriff would send someone for his cruiser, Morgan killed the motor then climbed into the back of the ambulance.

Neither medic said a word about him being there. At six-five and built like a linebacker, most were intimidated by him. Normally, Morgan tried to put people at ease about his sheer size, but it was either working in his favor or the medics didn’t argue about a cop riding along with them.

Even though Midnight Falls was a small town, and a lot of people knew each other, Morgan wasn’t well acquainted with the medical personnel. He’d had to call ambulances from time to time as a part of his job, and the two looked familiar, but he didn’t know them by name.

The medic inserted an IV as they drove to Falls General. Morgan couldn’t stop staring at his mate who appeared so damn fragile. What happened to cause those injuries? If they were claw marks, who attacked the human and why?

When they pulled into the emergency bay, Morgan got out first and walked inside, spotting the sheriff waiting for him.

“You’ll have to remain at the nurses’ station or go to the waiting area,” one of the medics said, stopping Morgan from going any farther.

Even though his mate’s medical care was more important than Morgan’s need to stay with him, he still had to clench his jaw to stop the snarl from ripping free.

“I know that feeling,” Dominic said, “but you have to let the doctors do their job. Let me buy you a soda.” He turned and looked at one of the nurses behind the counter. “Can you let us know when we can see the guy that was just brought in?”

The nurse smiled. “The John Doe? Sure, I’ll tell his doctor you two want to see him.”

The placeholder name didn’t help Morgan’s mood. His polar bear snarled at not knowing their mate’s real one.

Dominic walked away from the nurses’ station. Morgan didn’t want a fucking soda. He wanted to know what had happened to his mate and if he was going to make a full recovery. Scowling, he followed Dominic to the vending area.

“I sent Cannon to the farmhouse to scour the scene.” Dominic swiped his credit card and made a selection. A bottle of Sprite dropped down. He grabbed it and handed it to Morgan before he bought Coke for himself.

“Drinking soda in this heat isn’t the wisest choice, but I needed the sugar fix.” Dominic drank half the contents before he screwed the cap back onto the bottle.

“I appreciate you being here,” Morgan said, “but I’m not really in the mood for idle conversation.”

“Then we’ll talk shop.”

Since people were in the waiting area, they stayed in the vending machine alcove.

“Are you sure those were claw marks on his back?” his boss asked.

“Not entirely, but they looked like it. What else would make four gashes perfectly spaced apart? He left his car running and took off on foot, like he was trying to escape someone or something. He was hiding in an upstairs closet, Dominic.”

Neither spoke as a woman entered the alcove and bought a snack and soda. Although she was very pretty, Morgan ignored her subtle flirting. He was not only gay but no one else would ever again hold his interest since he’d found his mate.

“Too much shit has been happening lately,” Dominic said when she walked away. “We’ve been spread too thin. Hell, we couldn’t even keep an eye out for the guy who was after Cormac Lovato’s mate because we were constantly on calls.”

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