Page 3 of Honey Heat
Lucio turned to Raphael and Chopper. “I’m going head to Martinez’s. You two finish checking the warehouse, see if you can find anything that explains what our bear friend was doing here.”
The ride to town gave Lucio time to think, his mind racing through possibilities. Why would a bear shifter be in an abandoned warehouse on wolf territory? What had happened to him? Most importantly, was this an isolated incident or the beginning of something worse?
After taking care of a few things, Lucio pulled into the paved lot of Dr. Martinez’s clinic, noticing Santiago’s truck was still parked outside. He cut the engine and dismounted, moving swiftly toward the entrance.
Inside the clinic, Dr. Martinez’s office smelled of antiseptic and coffee. Lucio wrinkled his nose at the combination as he pushed through the door, his hangover still lurking behind his eyes like an unwelcome houseguest.
The receptionist barely glanced up from her computer. “He’s in exam room three.”
Lucio nodded his thanks and headed down the hallway, past framed medical degrees and anatomical charts, which always seemed out of place in a clinic catering to shifters. Through the door, he found Santiago sitting in a plastic chair while Dr. Martinez bent over the unconscious bear shifter.
“How is he?” Lucio asked, dropping into the chair beside him.
Santiago shrugged. “Martinez is still working on him. Said it looked like someone used him as a punching bag for days. Multiple broken bones, internal bleeding.”
“Shit.” Lucio leaned back, staring at the ceiling. “Any ID on him?”
“Nothing. No wallet, no phone,” Santiago said. “Whoever did this stripped him clean.”
Dr. Martinez wiped his hands on a towel. His dark hair looked as if he’d run his fingers through the strands more than once, his face lined with fatigue. He nodded at them both before speaking.
Lucio stood. “Torture?”
“Most likely. There are burn marks consistent with electroshock. Some of his fingers were broken methodically.” Martinez’s expression remained clinical, but his eyes betrayed his disgust. “I heavily sedated him. He won’t be conscious for several hours, maybe longer.”
“When he wakes up, we need to know who he is and why he was in our territory,” Santiago said.
Martinez nodded. “I’ll call when he starts coming around. For now, he needs rest.”
Past the doctor, Lucio caught a glimpse of the bear shifter. Cleaned up and bandaged, he looked even younger and more vulnerable than before. Various machines monitored his vitals, tubes and wires connecting him to bags of fluid.
“Any chance he was injected with something?” Lucio asked, remembering the serum that had trapped Diablo’s beasts inside him. “Maybe something to suppress his shift?”
“I’ve taken blood samples. We’ll know more soon,” Martinez replied. “But there are needle marks that suggest injections of some kind.”
Lucio watched as Martinez adjusted an IV drip. Something about this situation nagged at him. Why this particular bear? Why their warehouse? Why now?
“Can I sit with him?” Lucio asked. “In case he wakes up sooner than expected?”
Martinez looked surprised but nodded. “Just don’t touch any of the equipment.”
Lucio settled into a chair beside the bed. The steady beep of the heart monitor provided a rhythmic backdrop as he studied the bear shifter’s face.
An hour passed with no change. Just as Lucio was considering leaving, the bear shifter’s breathing changed. His eyelids fluttered then slowly opened, revealing dazed hazel eyes.
“Hey,” Lucio said softly, leaning forward. “You’re safe, osito. You’re at a doctor’s office.”
The man’s gaze darted around the room in panic before settling on Lucio. His lips moved, trying to form words.
“Wolf,” he finally managed, voice barely audible.
“Yes, I’m a wolf,” he confirmed. “My name is Lucio. We found you in a warehouse. Can you tell me your name?”
The bear shifter swallowed painfully. “Ethan,” he whispered. “My name is Ethan.”
“Good, Ethan. That’s good. Do you remember what happened to you, cariño?”
Fear clouded his hazel eyes. “Wanted information... about Boone. Wouldn’t stop… Wolves first. Now bears.” His voice trailed off as exhaustion overtook him.
