Page 145 of Dominion
But beyond his intense physical need for her, there was more. He’d begun to understand her better. His initial assessment of her as a diva may have been off. She worked weekends as a bartender to get by—she was no stranger to hard work. She’d put up with a loser boyfriend out of a fierce sense of loyalty. He may think it was totally misplaced, but he admired the hell out of the sentiment. She bonded like a shifter.
She was sweet as honey when he wasn’t being an asshat and despite her frequent displays of defiance, had an innate response to dominance. Every time he’d won her surrender had been spectacular. Tender. Beautiful. He’d never felt so connected to another being—shifter or human—in his life.
So yeah, she deserved coffee this morning. And if he could wrap his mind around how to make it work mating her, a house.
He got out of his car to stand in line, staring at the board with the huge array of choices. Damn. He should’ve asked what kind of coffee drink she liked instead of trying to surprise her with it when she woke.
For the first time, ever, he really cared about making a female—his female—happy.
His phone rang and he frowned, glancing at a number he didn’t recognize.
“This is Steele.”
“I need your help.” He recognized the tight, desperate voice immediately. The new female shifter in town.
“What is it?” he asked sharply.
“Jayden—my son—he was hit by a car. The humans took him to a hospital in an ambulance.”
“And now you’ll be found by whomever you’re running from,” he finished. Unless the car had crushed his skull, the boy would recover from the car accident in no time. Far too quickly for doctors to understand. What’s more, his mother would have to show identification and give his name or risk alerting Child Protective Services.
“Yes.”
“Where are you now?”
“St. Francis.”
“I’ll be right there.”
He abandoned the coffee shop and climbed in his truck. For a brief moment, he considered picking up Melissa, because she might be better at soothing the distraught mother, but then realized how dangerous it would be for her to get in the middle of a shifter war.
He texted her as he drove off, letting her know the situation and telling her to sit tight and contact him if she had an emergency.
As he drove to the hospital, he remembered the boy. Jayden had had the look of a beaten street dog. Signs of past abuse were in his wary eyes and gaunt face, but the way he watched Cody, responded to his offer of money showed he was smart and eager to please. He needed to help these three. He’d be damned if he let whoever had them scared pick them up out of his territory.
He dialed the number Colleen—or whatever her real name was—had called him from when he arrived at St. Francis and found the terrified family in a small exam room in the children’s ward. No doctors or nurses were around to see them, so he wasted no time and asked no questions. He simply scooped the boy up, craned his neck to make sure the corridor was clear, and carried the boy out. The boy’s mom and sister followed tight on his heels, on board with his silent departure.
“What happened, kid?” he asked as he jogged down the stairs, having decided the elevator was too public for their escape.
He scented fear on the boy, who must be around ten or eleven years old. “I got hit by a car,” he mumbled.
“What hurts?”
“My head. And my leg was broken.” He used the past tense because the leg would already be mostly healed, although the family seemed malnourished, which would affect his ability to regenerate. It explained why his mother’s missing teeth had only partially regrown.
“You’ll feel better in a few hours.” He opened the passenger side door to his pickup truck and tilted the seat forward to let the mother and girl climb in the back. “What’s your name?”
“Jayden.”
“How about you?” he asked the girl.
“Angie.”
He dropped the boy on the front seat and shut the door. It didn’t appear anyone had noticed their hasty departure.
“How far would they be coming from?” he asked Colleen as he pulled out of the hospital parking lot.
“Kentucky.” Her voice cracked.