The Loner. Lindsay McKenna

      Shelby moved next to the hunter. His face looked like chalk beneath his dark stubble. She sensed danger around this man for no specific reason. Quickly patting down his camo pants, she felt something in the right pocket on his thigh. She slid her fingers down into the deep pocket.

      “God, he has everything in here but the kitchen sink,” she muttered, pulling articles out and laying them beside him. Finally, she discovered a wallet and stepped back as the nurses covered him with a blanket and started an IV.

      She opened up the wallet. “His name is Dakota Carson.” Shelby looked over at Jordana. “Ring any bells, Doc?”

      “Yes,” Jordana said, pulling the entire duct tape assembly away from his arm. Wrinkling her nose, she said, “I thought I recognized him. He’s an ex-SEAL, just got a medical discharge from the U.S. Navy. I saw him once, a month ago. He was supposed to come here for follow-up physical therapy on his left shoulder.”

      Nodding, Shelby placed the wallet on a tray where the nurse had placed all the other items. “Never seen him before.”

      “Mr. Carson is a loner.” Jordana’s mouth tightened as she surveyed his chewed-up lower arm. “This bear has done some major damage to him....” Jordana looked to her red-haired nurse. “Alanna, get me an O.R. ready. And call in the ortho surgeon, Dr. Jamison. Get me his blood type.” Taking out her stethoscope, she pulled back the camo jacket and placed it over his heart.

      Shelby felt the urgency and saw it in Jordana’s face. She’d come to like the E.R. doctor who was good at what she did. “How bad?”

      “Bad,” she muttered, throwing the stethoscope around her neck. “He’s right, he’s lost a lot of blood.”

      Just then, Dakota’s eyes slowly opened. “He’s coming around,” Shelby warned the E.R. doc.

      “Amazing.”

      Shelby placed her hand gently on his right shoulder. “Mr. Carson? You’re here in the E.R. at the hospital. You’re in good hands.” She looked into his murky-looking brown eyes, which were full of confusion. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a groan issued forth. Shelby tightened her hand on his shoulder. The man was in incredible shape. A former Navy SEAL. She knew enough about SEALs to understand he was a warrior, the toughest of the tough. His eyes wandered for a moment, but then they stopped and focused on Shelby.

      Sucking in a breath, Shelby felt the full measure of his intense gaze. Those eyes were hunter’s eyes. Huge black pupils on a field of golden-brown color. Surprise flared in his expression, and then, something else she couldn’t interpret.

      She gave him a slight smile. “You’re in good hands. Dr. McPherson is here. You’re going to be all right.”

      Jordana came around and Shelby released him and stood aside.

      “Mr. Carson, I’m Dr. McPherson. Can you hear me?”

      Dakota managed a sloppy grin, only half his mouth working because of the surging pain. “Yeah, Doc. I remember you. I missed a bunch of appointments. I’m blood type A. I’m gonna need transfusions. Bear cut an artery in my left arm....”

      “That’s what I needed to hear,” Jordana said quietly, patting his shoulder in a motherly way. “I’m leaving the tourniquet in place until we can get you into surgery and stabilized.” She lifted her head, called to the second nurse, “Joy, get me two pints of type A ready in the O.R.”

      “Right away, Doctor.”

      “You’re gonna need one and a half pints to put in what I’ve lost,” he grunted. His gaze moved from the worried-looking doctor to the woman standing behind her. Barbie Doll. Damn, but she was beautiful with her sandy-blond hair falling around her shoulders. Her blue eyes were wide and curious. What didn’t make any sense was her sheriff’s uniform, all dark brown slacks that hid her long legs and a nylon jacket showing her name and badge on it. Shelby Kincaid. Funny, for a moment, he thought he recognized her. But from where? His mind wouldn’t work. He memorized her name.

      “We’ll see,” Jordana said. “You’re going to need more than stitches on that bear bite, Dakota.”

      He smiled a little as the nurse came and stuck a syringe of morphine into the IV tube to drip into his vein. “I figured as much. Just wanted to make it here so you could work your magic, Doc.”

      Patting his arm, Jordana said, “I’ll see you in a few minutes, Dakota. I’ve got to go scrub up.”

      Dakota felt the pressure of the nurse putting a clean dressing on his wound. At first, it hurt like hell, but then, as the morphine began to flow through his veins, the pain eased considerably. All the time, he held the gaze of the beautiful deputy sheriff standing nearby. Who was she? Looking at her oval face, those blue eyes that reminded him of the turquoise beaches of Costa Rica, that set of full lips, he just didn’t think she fit the image of a deputy sheriff. There was concern in her eyes—for him.

      “Mr. Carson,” Shelby said, keeping her voice low as she approached him, “who do you want me to notify? Your wife? Parents? Someone needs to be contacted. I can let them know.” Automatically, Shelby reached out, her fingers resting gently on his broad shoulder. This time, the muscles beneath her fingertips responded. An unexpected heat surged through her. Shocked, Shelby tried to ignore her reaction. This man was half dead from loss of blood, yet the warrior energy around him beckoned to some primal part of herself.

      Dakota tried to focus. The Barbie doll sheriff’s deputy had a nice, husky voice. It felt like warm honey drizzled across him, easing his pain even more. Her face was inches from his. Her blond hair had darker strands mingled with lighter ones. Some reminded him of gold sunlight, others, of dark honey. His gaze drifted back to her eyes. God, what beautiful eyes she had. He could dive into them and feel her heart beating. Wildly aware of her long fingers against his shoulder, he muttered, “I’ve got a wolf out in my truck. Her name is Storm. She’s bonded to me. Don’t take her to a dog pound. Keep her...keep her with you... I’ll get out of surgery and take her home with me, please....”

      He wasn’t making sense, but Shelby knew the nurse had given him a dose of morphine to stop the pain. People said funny things when drifting in a morphine cloud. His focus began to fade. “Mr. Carson, who can I call? I need to tell your family where you are.”

      The husky urgency in her voice felt like a warm, sensual blanket. Dakota was feeling no pain now, thank God. Instead, he could focus on this incredibly arresting woman, her face so close he could rise, capture that sinner’s mouth of hers and make it his own. She looked familiar. But from where? A broken laugh rumbled out of his chest. “I have no one, Barbie. Just me and my wolf. And she doesn’t answer my cell phone.”

      “Where do you live? I can take your wolf back to your home,” Shelby asked, trying to remain cool and professional. Again, she saw that devil-may-care grin cut across his tense, chiseled face. He was darkly tanned for this time of year, which told her this ex-SEAL was outside a helluva lot. She didn’t want to admit how much she liked touching this man. And she saw something else in his lion-gold eyes—desire. It was the morphine, she was sure.

      “You’ll never find it. No address. Just a shack in the woods. Just keep my wolf with you.” He struggled to sit up. “This repair on my arm isn’t gonna take long. If you can take care of her until I get released, I’ll appreciate it.”

      Hearing the sudden, emotional urgency in his gruff tone, Shelby straightened. She gently pushed him back down on the gurney. The pleading expression on his face startled her. In that moment, Dakota Carson looked like a scared little boy watching his world self-destruct. There was something magical, a heated connection, burning between them. “Yes, I’ll take care of her for you, Mr. Carson.”

      Instantly, the man seemed to relax, a ragged sigh escaping from his tightened lips. He closed his eyes. What she didn’t expect was his right hand to reach out and grab hers. She felt the strength of his fingers as they wrapped around her wrist.

      “Th-thank you....” he rasped.

      His