Chapter 5
“Can I please profane now, Finn?” Melanie asked.
“No, sweetness, you may not. Though I do understand your need.”
Hunter glared at Finn. “You can be such a prick, Finn. Give it a fucking rest for now, will you?”
Cooper, however, was not on board. “Can it, Hunter. Just let her give her statement and then she can rest. Are you guys blind? She’s exhausted.”
Melanie looked at Cooper. He had that hard look on again.
“Thank you, Cooper. I’m sorry for the ‘pretty’ slip before.”
“No problem, angel. Just never heard myself described in those terms before.”
She couldn’t believe it. Three people had died, actually died, doing their jobs. How unfair was that? She started to cry, just quiet sobs as Dane came back in with Dr. Smythe, the ER attending. She was a tall no-nonsense woman who glared at the three large men when she saw Melanie sobbing.
“Can I please ask you all to leave now?” she asked in a harsh tone.
Finn stood up, releasing Melanie’s hand, leaving her feeling strangely adrift. Dane stepped closer and took hold of it before it had even hit the bed. That was so strange. Why did having these men all touching her feel so normal, and the loss of contact feel so wrong?
Shit, head injury I guess.
Melanie noticed that Finn towered over Dr. Smythe. Working alongside Dr. Smythe always made Melanie feel like a dwarf. My God, how the hell tall was the man?
“Doctor, thank you for coming to see Melanie. As I am sure Dane has informed you, since awakening she has been able to describe her pain. It is my understanding that no investigations have been undertaken to eliminate rib injuries.”
Dr. Smythe was not going to be swayed. “Thank you. If you will all leave now, I will be able to assess Mel myself, and order any more tests, if I deem them necessary. Are you connected to the sheriff’s department Mr.…?”
Thanks, Tania. That was on my list of questions. Why were Cooper and Finn here with Hunter and Dane?
“Fredrick, ma’am. We are the sheriff and deputy’s brothers. We are intimately involved in the ongoing search for the perpetrator of tonight’s crime. We will also be involved in security for the only living witness to said crime, Miss Cook. In light of that we will not be leaving her unprotected. Please continue your examination. I am quite certain Miss Cook has no objections to our continued presence.” He then turned to look Melanie right in the eyes and just crooked an eyebrow.
Like hell she didn’t have objections to the four of them being in the room while Tania checked her over. She didn’t know them and they certainly weren’t healthcare professionals.
Melanie opened her mouth to contradict Finn’s very cocky assumption, only to feel said contradiction flow out of her like water down a drain. What the fuck? She wasn’t a damn flasher. But the thought of even one of them not being with her right now was just like a physical pain. Damn this head injury. So she opened her stupid mouth and said things that several hours ago she would never have even imagined possible.
“Please, Tania, it’s all good. I really do want them here. I am so scared about what I saw. The sheriff has just told me about the deaths. It was such a shock. Can they please stay with me?”
Tania looked at Melanie as though she were insane. But Melanie knew that, being the patient, she had the right to choose who stayed and who went. Having given her patient the opportunity to clear them all out, Tania just shrugged. As an ER attending, Melanie guessed she had surely seen stranger things.
“Please close the door, Mr. Fredrick, and I will look at our Mel.”
She proceeded to ask where the pain was and then checked again that Melanie was happy with her audience, before she started the physical examination. When she lifted the hospital gown to examine Melanie’s chest and abdomen, Melanie was certain she heard growling.
* * * *
Hunter looked at each of his brothers and they all growled low in their chests. The left side of Melanie’s rib cage was a vivid purple bruise. They had all had similar injuries over the years from fights and he knew firsthand that it must have hurt like a bitch to even breathe. When they had sustained similar injuries, they had been able to shift and hasten the speeding process. That was not going to happen for their tiny mate. Aside from the bruising he also got his first glimpse at their mate’s breasts.
They had all moved closer to the bed. They were all crowding Melanie and Dr. Smythe now, and Hunter didn’t care. Hunter was floored to see the bruising, but he also felt like a total asshole for getting an instant hard-on at the sight of their mate’s breasts. They were large for her size, maybe a D cup, with the palest pink nipples he had ever seen. They looked like little pale pink marshmallows atop creamy beautiful breasts. His mouth started to water, wanting to taste them. His cock was pulsing in his uniform pants, leaking pre-cum already. He looked at Finn, Cooper, and then Dane. All wore similar pained expressions. Yep, they were all total assholes. But fuck it all, their mate was just delicious.
Finn managed to make words come out of his mouth. Go Finn! Hunter knew he couldn’t have managed it.
“Well, Dr. Smythe? How is Miss Cook?”
Hunter could have told him, and by the looks Cooper and Dane were giving him, and the bulges noticeable in their pants, too, it would all have been words of appreciation for the beauty of their mate.
Dr. Smythe turned to address Finn, having completed her examination. With Melanie covered, Hunter tried to rein in his inappropriate physical reaction. Melanie was hurt, fuck. Hurt hurt hurt. He found that helped, a bit.
“Mel is going to need those ribs X-rayed. That will determine how long they need to be bandaged to support her breathing. No abdominal tenderness, which is good news. If you will excuse me, Mel, I will go and arrange the X-ray now.”
“Thanks so much, Tania. Sorry to be a bother,” Melanie quietly murmured.
That got more growls from the surrounding Frederick brothers. Tania just looked at them all sternly and left the room.
“You are not a bother, angel. It is very important that we know what we are dealing with. You have some significant injuries that could be life threatening if missed,” Cooper stated as he arranged the blanket back over their mate.
“Will one of you please come to radiology with me? I know you are probably very busy, but, well, I’d like you there,” Melanie said hesitantly.
“Of course. I’ll come and keep you company. I have the prettiest face, so that will cheer you up a little.” Cooper smiled at Melanie and her tears started again.
“Thank you, Cooper. You are all being very patient with me.”
The orderly came to collect Melanie, and Cooper went to stand guard outside the X-ray suite and look threateningly at anyone who walked too close.
“We can’t leave her here, Finn,” stated Dane, cutting to the heart of the problem. “She has to be with us now. Plus, with Curtis out there, as an ‘Alpha mate’ it’s just too much of a risk to leave Melanie unprotected.”
“Have either of you considered the consequences of Curtis getting a taste of our mate?” Finn looked at their faces and continued. “I see you haven’t. I have had no trouble in our pride since I took over as Alpha, so I have no firsthand experience. I am going to have to speak to our fathers, and our oldest pride female, Shana, on our return. Hopefully they will be able to tell us if this rogue would have scented her ‘Alpha mate’ blood, and also if it would be something he would be particularly attracted to. We need to know if Melanie is in any added danger from him apart from being a witness to his crimes.”
“Well that just adds more reason to why she has to come home with us,” spat out Dane. “Hunter, we can call it protective custody and get her away from here.”
“It wouldn’t be a lie, Dane,” Hunter said.
“As enforcers of my pride, as well as her being our mate, make it happen, guys. As soon as Dr. Smythe gives us the go-ahead, we are heading home to our pride lands, where we have mo
re support and we know the terrain.” With that, Finn strode out in search of said doctor.
“I know what you are thinking, Hunter. But this is not an abuse of office, nor is it tricking our mate. She does need protection until we know all the facts. Plus, being ours, she will always be in protective custody.”
“I know you are right, Dane. She has also started the bonding process. She is drawn to us, she just doesn’t know what it is. She feels better when we all touch her. She was dying to tell us to get out when the doc told us to. Her face was priceless when she realized she couldn’t ask us to go. She is just fucking gorgeous, Dane. Am I a total freak for getting wood when I first saw her luscious body?”
“Yes, you are, brother of mine. But you come from a family of freaks as we were all sporting hard-ons over that sight. We have to wait until she is healed, though, Hunter. How are we going to wait? I want her so badly. You weren’t the only one wiping drool off your chin.”
Finn strode in, and with his shifter’s sensitive hearing he had obviously heard a good chunk of the conversation on his approach to the room. “We will pay a visit to Shana,” he said, “or get her to come to us. I believe she may be able to help us in that particular dilemma. On a happier note, Melanie is nearly back. They are at the end of the corridor. Dr. Smythe has reviewed the X-rays and she has bandaged her three broken ribs.”
“Shit, Finn, she must have been in so much pain,” Hunter stated.
“Indeed. We are able to complete her interview with local law enforcement presently, and Dr. Smythe is allowing us to transfer her care to Doc Jason in Eminence. They are liaising as we speak. Doc has assured her of our ability to transfer her safely into his care. So we should be on the road within the hour.”
“Damn, Finn, you really can go all Alpha when necessary, can’t you?” Hunter was never so glad of Finn’s ability to be such a dominant force.
Once Melanie was back in the room, they all arranged themselves so they could touch her. Finn allowed the local Officers to finish the interview. Hunter would have liked a heads-up on what exactly Melanie had seen, but for the sake of expediency he knew this would work better. Now they would be home by midmorning, with their mate.
Chapter 6
She was not looking forward to reliving the ordeal of the night, but with the Fredrick brothers present, she felt as though she could do it. Cooper had seemed reluctant to leave her side in the X-ray room. The technician stating he would risk infertility if he stayed had gotten him to wait outside though. Melanie had had to smile at that.
He had then held her gently while Tania bandaged her ribs. He was incredibly wide across his chest. She had felt contented with his rock-hard pecs under her hands, inhaling his vanilla-musk scent. She had thought that he wore great cologne. Remembering how he had made the painful bandaging bearable, she knew that with all of them here now this interview would be bearable, too.
She also knew that with this last thing done, they would be gone, and somehow that thought made her feel more devastated than the news of the night’s deaths. She was aware of what a terrible person that must make her. But she was determined to enjoy this small piece of comfort while she had it.
She hadn’t had a lot of comfort since she was eighteen years old, so after the night she’d just had, she’d be a terrible person for a while longer and cling to the feelings these men had awoken in her.
Two detectives from the Buena Vista PD were escorted into the room by Dr. Smythe. They were both looking tired, but were obviously very eager to finally get her statement. They introduced themselves as Detectives Hanson and Wilmont.
“I will be staying to assure myself that this causes no distress to Nurse Cook and I will not hesitate to terminate proceedings if I feel at any time that she can no longer continue. Proceed carefully, gentlemen,” Tania warned.
“I am sorry to say that I really saw very little, detectives. But I will tell you what I saw as thoroughly as I can recall.”
Detective Hanson motioned for Melanie to continue. She looked at the Frederick men. Hunter and Dane were at the foot of the bed, their arms crossed over their chests, looking very business-like. Cooper stood up by the head of the bed, Finn on the opposite side. Both had their hands on the bed next to her, just their fingertips touching her skin. She didn’t feel it was as comforting as when they were all touching and stroking her, but their warmth was still there, and she felt their support somehow, even through that small contact.
“I was waiting for the ambulance in emergency bay one with Dr. Jelowitz. The paramedics had called ten minutes out with reports that the victim was suffering blood loss and multiple lacerations from a witnessed attack by a mountain lion. As the ambulance pulled to a stop, Dr. Jelowitz and I approached the back to open the doors.”
Melanie closed her eyes and tried to get the events she witnessed to coalesce into something that made sense.
“Just before we got to the doors they burst right off the hinges. It seemed as though they had exploded outward. I was thrown to the ground, and hit my head quite hard on the cement driveway. I was dazed, but I don’t think I experienced any loss of consciousness at this point. When I managed to look back, a heavily bandaged and blood-soaked man was holding aloft the paramedic. He then threw him at Dr. Jelowitz.” Melanie opened her eyes and looked at Hunter. He nodded at her and she took that as encouragement to continue.
“At this point the pain in my head was such that I really was struggling to remain awake. When I next could focus through the pain, it was to see a mountain lion attached to Dr. Jelowitz’s throat. I don’t know where the injured man had gone, or where the mountain lion came from. That was just what I saw. The mountain lion then leapt at me and grabbed my left leg in its jaws. I remember flying across the emergency bay, then waking up in this room. That’s everything, detectives.”
Hunter squeezed her leg gently. “That was very good, sweetness, very thorough. Are you feeling all right?”
“My head is really hurting, and my leg. Can I get some more pain relief please? I can’t believe how hard that was. I really don’t want to talk about it again.”
Dr. Smythe stepped forward. “We can give you some paracetamol, Mel, but nothing stronger for the next twenty four hours due to your head injury I’m afraid.”
“Can’t I have some of what I had before?” Even though it had made her blurt out crazy things to sexy men, Melanie really wanted to stop feeling pain, physically anyway. The men would be gone soon, and that thought was hurting her in a way she knew painkillers would not help.
“We haven’t given you anything, Mel. We couldn’t because of your concussion. The local in your leg must be wearing off is all. Sorry,” Tania explained as she removed the IV from Melanie’s hand and left the room.
Well shit. Why did she seem unable to lie to these men then? Narcotics obviously weren’t to blame. So she was going to miss the Frederick brothers, and be in pain.
Finn walked over to the detectives and shook their hands. He gave them a business card from his pocket and led them out of the room.
“You ready to roll, little one? We have to get you out of here and back to Eminence as soon as we can.” She stared at Dane in confusion, as Finn came back into the room with a clean pair of pink scrubs.
“Dane, what are you talking about? Hunter?”
“We are placing you in protective custody, princess. The best place for you right now is with us. Being away from here will aid in that protection. The local PD knows where you will be. Dr. Smythe has transferred your care to our local MD, Dr. Reed. Let’s go.”
Cooper was undoing her gown and Finn was handing him the scrubs. Part of her was objecting to this, but it was a small, no, a tiny part. For the last four years she had been so lonely. Then she had met the Fredrick brothers and she found she really wanted to spend a little while longer with these nice warm men—men that, if she wasn’t careful, would worm their way into her lonely heart and leave it full of holes when eventually they all got back to their live
s. So she decided to blame it all on her head injury and to go along with their plans.
Chapter 7
Melanie was quiet, giving no outbursts or questions. They had to be coming. Hunter knew that they were all bracing themselves for some form of protest.
Cooper had taken over the job of stripping their mate out of her hospital gown. He had helped with her bandaging, and had already held her close, so they went with the familiar brother. No need to add any further stress to her now. Once the scrubs were on, Finn bent to pick their tiny mate up off the bed.
“If we are going on a road trip, guys, I need to use the bathroom first. Please,” Melanie said quietly.
Cooper helped her stand by the bedside. “Oh my God, Melanie, how short are you?”
Cooper blurted it out, but they were all thinking the same thing. Lying in bed she had looked small, but seeing her vertical, and next to six-foot-six-inch Cooper, was a real shock. He was the shortest of the four of them, too.
“No wonder you thought we were giants,” added Dane.
Melanie looked up, and up, at Cooper, and stated, with a scowl, “The question is usually, ‘How tall are you?’ Cooper. And I will have you know I am four foot eleven and a half inches tall.”
There was nothing remotely funny about this whole night, but all of a sudden they were all laughing quietly. There was no denying it. Their mate was a tiny thing.
“Come on, Melanie.” Finn led her across the room to the en suite. “Cooper may be big on height, but he is short on tact.”
“It’s really fine. I can’t pretend I’m tall like a model. I have gotten over my dreams of ever reaching five feet tall. I need steps to reach most things. I just learned to deal with it.”
Finn closed the door and turned to Cooper. “You better make it up to her for making her think less of herself just then. I wouldn’t care if she was three feet tall. She is ours, and she is perfect.”
Melanie [Eminence Shifters] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 3