Hands wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee, Riley sat in her basement office the following morning. She’d worked for hours on the shifter who’d showed up at her hospital door. The extent of his injuries became apparent as soon as his clothing had been removed. The number of arteries nicked would’ve guaranteed a weaker shifter’s death. As it was, he’d barely survived the blood loss.
She blinked hard to bring the computer screen into focus. The notes she’d made on the shifter’s condition blurred the longer she stared at it. She was bone-tired, but the necessities of her job demanded she go through the motions she’d implemented at her clinic. Critical data might be missed if she didn’t capture her memories immediately following an incident.
After a couple of clicks to double-check his medication dosage, she was ready to call it a night. Or day. Or whatever. Sleep, that was what she needed. The couch behind her was calling her name. As much as she wished she could go home and crawl into her own bed, she could barely keep her eyes open. No way would she be able to drive. Besides, she didn’t have anyone to relieve her. Today was supposed to have been Jenna’s shift.
A thump from the hallway caught her attention. She froze. Her gaze darted to the closed door, and her heart rate kicked into high gear, wiping away the drowsiness and leaving her alert. Chris had left over three hours ago after helping her with the Tanner wolf. Nobody else should’ve been inside the hospital.
She studied the lights above the door. One green and one red, exactly as she expected. The first told her the door to her office was unlocked, the second informing her the ones leading into the basement were secure.
Her hands trembled, but she managed to put the cup down without sloshing the hot liquid over the side. She cocked her head and listened. No other sounds reached her ears. She might’ve imagined it but couldn’t take the chance.
The memory of Nic’s dad trying to get out of his bed yesterday came back to her. He’d been walking some, but never without the help of the rolling IV stand. He used it in place of a cane. According to him, a shifter shouldn’t need any assistance walking. The truth was, though, he was still incredibly weak. She suspected the loss of his shifting ability caused it. As the days dragged on, his metabolism had been decreasing too. She’d had to adjust not only the amount of food she made for him, but his medicine as well.
Worry gripped her. The few times she’d been in to check on him over the night, he’d been sleeping. If he decided to get up and fell? The thought took hold. She stood and made her way to the door. The corridor stood empty, but a squeak of a cart’s wheels echoed in the space. She rushed forward.
At the split in the hallways, she turned right. Four patient rooms lined one corridor. She scanned them. The three empty ones stood open. The one Nic’s dad occupied remained closed and secured. The sight gave her some comfort. She hurried to it anyway. Just because he didn’t leave the room didn’t mean he hadn’t fallen.
She punched in the entry code and opened the door. The soft sounds of snoring reached her. Nic’s dad was asleep. He hadn’t woken any of the times she’d entered the room. The knowledge bothered her. Without his wolf on alert, he was only a man, one with a fragmented soul. The lost connection to both his wolf and the spirit wolf had scarred him.
For the first time, regret gripped her. She’d fought to save his life, knowing they couldn’t lose their alpha. He’d thanked her for restarting his heart. Would he feel the same in a few months?
Another soft sound reached her—a low screech of metal on metal. Not loud, it carried from somewhere else in the basement. The only place she hadn’t checked was the hallway leading to the operating room and storage area.
Where she’d left the Tanner wolf, unconscious and doped up on pain medicine.
Oh no. There wasn’t a security lock on any of the doors in that section. There was no need for them. The area was for staff only.
Who could be there besides the Tanner wolf?
Not an intruder. The alarms would’ve sounded. And it couldn’t have been the injured shifter. He’d been unconscious. She had no doubt he’d stay that way too. She’d given him enough drugs to knock him out for a full day. She hadn’t wanted to move him until he had a chance to heal some of the worst injuries he’d obtained.
So who was here? She didn’t have an answer.
She quickly shut and locked the door, securing Nic’s dad in the safety of his room, and then rushed to the end of the hall. She turned toward her office to call for backup, just in case, but a muttered curse and a loud thump stopped her mid-step. The sound of pinging metal upon metal followed, and something large toppling to the floor. A pained groan followed.
Her need to protect kicked in. She spun on her heel and ran. A quick scan of the operating room showed an empty table. The blanket she’d covered the shifter with lay on the floor. IV lines hung next to the bed. Clear fluid dripped from the tubes and spots of blood marked the path her patient had taken…
Out of the room.
Her heart skipped a beat before pounding hard. More drops of blood led down the hall. Her situation hit her, chilling her blood.
She reached inside the room and hit the emergency button on the keypad. A silent call would go out to all the dominants’ phones. She’d never used the extreme measure before, but she’d never once been in a situation where she feared for her life. At the moment, she did. More than that, she feared for Nic’s dad. He couldn’t die.
Okay, Nic. You said to call if I ever needed you. Well, I do. I need you more than anything.