Page 35 of No Strings Attached

“He’s mine,” Morgan said. “No one ends him but me.”

“They’re not going to take the kill away from you,” he said. “In the meantime, I need to get Cannon to my cruiser. I don’t know how long his healing process is going to take and I don’t want him out in the open.”

Morgan knew Dominic could carry the hefty lion. His boss was a grizzly bear with great strength. But Morgan still felt guilty for Cannon getting injured.

Ten minutes later, Morgan was on his way back to Sam. Now that Daryl knew the police were after him, there was no telling what he would do. Morgan wasn’t completely sure that Daryl was after Sam. Not when his truck had been ransacked. It was more like the hyena was looking for something.

Sam needed to give Morgan more answers.

After he arrived and took the elevator to his mate’s floor, Morgan saw Dr. Baldwin leaning against the wall outside of Sam’s room, going over something on his tablet.

Morgan owed the doctor a great debt for not only taking care of Sam but for protecting him.

Dr. Baldwin looked up at Morgan’s approach. “I assume by the deep scowl on your face that you weren’t successful.”

“We lost him when he used a stream. Deputies Davis and Birch are still searching for him.”

The doctor pushed away from the wall. “Sam has slept the entire time, so he won’t even know you were gone.”

Morgan didn’t plan on keeping this from Sam. They were back on steady ground, and he wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize that. “Thanks for everything, Dr. Baldwin.” There was no way he could repay the doctor.

“Call me Hendrix,” he said. “As far as Sam’s wounds go, that’s my job. Protecting him was my pleasure.”

Morgan clapped him on the shoulder. “When this is over and Sam is better, we’re taking you out for a nice steak dinner.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Hendrix said. “I’m handing over the bodyguard duty to you and getting back to being a doctor. I have other patients who need me.”

Morgan grinned before he pushed opened the door and entered his mate’s room. The moment he sat at Sam’s bedside, the man stirred and his eyes fluttered open. “You smell like outside,” he groaned. “Is Daryl dead?”

“Unfortunately, no.” Morgan moved his chair closer and took Sam’s hand, telling his mate what happened.

“Is Deputy Lowery okay?” Sam struggled to sit up.

Morgan stood, cupped his mate under his arms, and eased him into a sitting position, tucking his pillows behind him.

“Shifters heal in their animal form as long as their injury isn’t fatal.”

“Are you saying he’ll heal from a bullet wound?”

Morgan nodded. “The healing time depends on what wounded us. No one can live if they’re shot in the head or their head is removed, or their heart is ripped out. And as long as it’s not silver poisoning, everything else is survivable.”

Sam grimaced. “Thanks for those gruesome images, Mr. Morbid.”

“Hey, you said not to hide anything from you,” Morgan reminded him. “I need to know something, Sam.”

“I can’t survive a beheading either,” his mate said.

Morgan grinned. “And you say I’m morbid…”

As he smoothed the thin blanket over his legs, Sam looked at him. Those piercing blue eyes would always be Morgan’s Achilles’ heel. “What do you want to know?”

“When Daryl broke into my garage, it looked like he was searching for something. Do you know what it is?”

“My car,” Sam gasped as his eyes widened. “With everything going on, I completely forgot.”

“He was searching for your car?” That didn’t make any sense.

“No, he wants what’s in my trunk,” Sam said. “When I escaped out his bedroom window, I was in a panic and wasn’t thinking. I grabbed a duffel bag from his room. I think the only reason it was in there and not with him was because there was a party going on.”

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