"Sheriff Sparrow was shot," Mrs. Creadly added as she stood there trembling. Her husband patted his wife's shoulder with a hand riddled with age spots. "I hope both men will be okay. That sheriff is a hero," she finished.

Clayton's heart lodged in his throat as his mind tried to grasp what the couple was saying. He didn't want to believe it. "The sheriff was shot?"

They both nodded. Clayton and Josh took off toward the diner just as Sparrow was being wheeled out. Blood coated the hand Sparrow had over his abdomen. His face was pale and set in a grimace, and Clayton feared the man wasn't going to make it. There was too much blood. Even though Clayton was standing outside, he found it hard to pull air into his lungs.

"Is he going to be okay?" he asked one of the paramedics.

Please let him be okay.

"We're here for you," Josh said as he approached the stretcher. Tears shimmered in his eyes as he brushed his hand over Sparrow's hair. "Clayton and I are going to the hospital. Hang in there."

Sparrow didn't answer them. It was like he was awake, but wasn't. Clayton's chest hurt, like a sharp knife was piercing his heart.

"Won't know until the doctors look at him," the paramedic said to Clayton. "Single shot to the stomach. It doesn't look good. Hopefully it didn't hit any vital organs."

Hopefully. Clayton didn't like that word.

He knew the paramedic. Bear County wasn't all that big and everyone knew everyone else. "Thanks, Martin."

The guy nodded as he and his partner loaded Sparrow into the ambulance. Clayton turned and spotted a cop car with two men in the backseat. He stormed over and slammed the side of his fist into the window.

His bear was close to the surface, urging him to pull both men out and tear them to shreds for what they had done to Sparrow. The anger was like a living, breathing entity as his eyes dropped to the door handle. All he had to do was open it and he would get his vengeance.

"Hey!" Deputy Dunham shouted. "What the hell are you doing?"

Clayton shoved a finger toward the window, curling his upper lip. "If he dies, I'm coming after both of you."

"Get away from the car," Dunham said. "Now."

Clayton spun on his heel and headed toward his truck, Josh right next to him. They both climbed in before Clayton took off toward Bear County Memorial.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Josh asked as he clutched his seat belt in a strangling grip. "That was a lot of blood."

"He'll be fine," Clayton answered.

Sparrow had to be fine.

He couldn't imagine losing the guy. Their relationship was just starting out and Clayton couldn't wait to explore their future together. After what they'd shared yesterday, he was damn sure things would work between the three of them.

Clayton had known the sheriff since he'd moved to Bear County from the shifter community he used to live in. He'd always thought the man ruggedly handsome, a force to be reckoned with. There was no way a bullet could take the man out. Clayton wasn't going to believe it.

"You know," Josh said as Clayton raced down Route 252. "I grew up with just one brother. My parents were always away on business. They had a firm together. Not a large one, but one that had them traveling a lot. When I turned twenty, my parents moved overseas. I used to go backpacking with my uncle a lot, until he passed away. When Greg joined the service, I felt a bit lost."

Clayton listened as he drove, wondering where Josh was going with this.

"But then Harland and my Aunt Renee told me about this wonderful town. I thought it would be a good place for me to start over, to find some kind of purpose in life. And then I met you and Sparrow."

"And?"

Josh glanced at Clayton, his eyes misty. "And now that I've met the both of you, spent time with you, I can't picture my life without either of you in it. My bear is attached to you and Sparrow."

"I called my mom," Clayton said. "To get some answers about three men being mates."

"What did she say?" Josh asked.

"She said her second cousin on her father's side mated two men."

"How did they know? Did two of them get pregnant?"

Clayton had talked to his mother well into the night, trying to understand how three men could be mates. It was hard enough figuring things out when only one mate was involved. The scent alone wasn't enough to go on. It wasn't one hundred percent accurate when determining who your mate was. Only pregnancy could provide complete confirmation. "She just said that you know. That, deep down, your bear tells you and you just have to listen."

Which contradicted the whole scent thing. But after talking with his mom, it kind of made sense. Even if the scent was there, his bear should know who he belonged to.

Clayton had never really talked to his parents about mating. He'd been so busy growing up with his friends, getting into trouble, and then joining the service that he hadn't paid attention when his mother tried to tell him in his teenage years. But he knew that his bear was telling him that both Josh and Sparrow were his.

"I kind of know what she's talking about," Josh said. "My bear wanted both of you as soon as I met you and Sparrow. It was confusing as hell."

Clayton nodded. "That it was. But now we know. All three of us are mates."

After parking in the hospital lot, both Clayton and Josh raced inside to find out any news on Sparrow.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Calabria. But the sheriff is in surgery," the nurse behind the desk said.

Clayton turned to see other cops slowly filtering in, their eyes pausing on him and Josh before they took a seat.

"Why do I feel like we're not wanted here?" Josh asked as he looked around.

"It's just Dunham who's giving off that vibe," Clayton said as he spotted the deputy walking through the door, cocky as ever. He had an urge to smack the guy. "Come on, Josh."

Clayton led his mate to the other side of the waiting room. They both sat before Clayton pulled out his cell phone and called home.

As he dialed, Angelina rushed through the double doors, her eyes wild as she glanced around. She was tall, slim, and had the same dark Native American looks her brother had. Her black hair was loose, flowing down her back. It fanned out when she spun and looked directly at Clayton.

She hurried over to him. "Tell me he's going to be okay."

Tears filled her eyes and spilled over as she stood there, twisting her hands together.

"He's in surgery," Clayton answered. "How did you find out?"

"Dispatch called me." She took a seat, curling her legs up to her chest before wrapping her arms around them. "What happened?"

"Someone tried to rob the diner," Josh supplied.

She glanced at him. "Have we met?"

Josh introduced himself.

"I didn't know Harland had a cousin," she said.

"I seem to be getting that a lot," Josh answered.

Angelina assessed them both with interest, her eyes bouncing from Clayton to Josh. Clayton felt like he was under a microscope. He knew Ang was a smart gal. Would she guess that her brother was in a menage relationship?

"I'm sorry," she said. "I get why Clayton is here, sort of. But I don't understand why you're here." She looked directly at Josh.

Josh's cheeks heated as he glanced up at Clayton.

Her eyes widened slightly. "You're dating my brother, aren't you?"

Clayton cleared his throat. She was now part of the family and sooner or later she'd find out. He just wasn't sure how she was going to react. Clayton wasn't embarrassed about his relationship with Sparrow and Josh. "We both are dating him."

She sat there for the longest time staring at the two and then a slow smile spread across her face. "And here I thought my brother was an uptight guy who didn't know how to have fun."

"You're not mad?" Josh asked.

"Is he happy?" she asked.

Clayton nodded.

"Then why would I be mad." Her smile widened. "Now he can't say a word about who I date."

"You're sneaky," Josh said.

She shook her head. "Nope, just cunning." Ang turned her head and stared at the double doors before turning back to them. "How bad was his wound?"

Clayton didn't want to tell her. As strong-willed as Ang was, hearing her brother had been shot in the stomach would more than likely tear her apart.

"We'll know after surgery," he answered.

The three of them sat there, waiting.

Chapter Seven.

As they walked away from the nurses' station, Josh slapped Clayton in the stomach with the back of his hand. "I don't care if you were doing it to get us in to see Sparrow. If I ever see you flirting with someone else besides me and Zack, I'm going to slice your balls off and hang them on my rearview mirror."

"Graphic." Clayton rubbed his stomach. "I had to, Josh. You could see that she wasn't about to let us back here."

"Yeah, but it's kind of odd that I'm Sparrow's fiance while you're pretending to be his brother. That's just weird on so many levels." Josh understood why Clayton had had to flirt with the nurse, but his bear was ready to do some damage. If he'd had to stand there one more second, he just might have gouged her eyes out.

Clayton looked warily at Josh. The man better be wary. That hadn't been an idle threat.

Cheating was a deal breaker.

It was also a neck breaker.

Josh pushed the door open to the sounds of machines beeping and the smell of antiseptics. He hated hospitals. When his eyes landed on Sparrow, Josh felt tears stinging at his eyes and his throat constricted. He moved over to the bed, his hands fluttering over Sparrow's body before landing on his mate's arm. "Sparrow?"

Clayton walked up behind Josh, placing his hands on Josh's shoulders. "He'll be fine, hon. The nurse said the bullet went through his left side and out the back. That was a good thing. It didn't hit any vital organs."

It didn't matter to Josh if it was a good thing or not. He hated seeing Sparrow lying here in this bed. He wanted to take the man home and nurse him back to health.

Sparrow's eyes began to flutter open. Josh held his breath. Soon he could see the man's dark-blue irises. "Who the hell shot me?"

"You don't remember?" Josh asked.

"I remember," Sparrow said. "Tell me those two bastards are in jail." When Sparrow tried to scoot further up his bed and failed miserably, Clayton moved in and helped.

"They are," Josh said. "And from what I hear, some guy name Barry Sliman helped you capture them."

Sparrow grunted. "Great, now I have to thank a drug dealer."

"It could be worse," Josh pointed out. "We could be attending your damn funeral. Stop being so sour and be thankful you're alive."

Josh's emotions were a wreck. He'd been out in the waiting area for hours, fretting over Sparrow's condition, ready to rip someone's head off. He'd gone from glad his sheriff was alive, to angry, to weeping. He wasn't sure what was wrong with him, but seeing Sparrow gazing up at him was the best thing he could have asked for.

"What's the damage?" Sparrow asked as he fiddled with the tubes and wires connected to him. He took the finger monitor off, tossing it aside.

"Clean shot," Clayton said. "You'll make a full recovery."

"Then get me the hell out of here." Sparrow tossed the sheet aside, but Josh grabbed it and forced it back over the sheriff's lap.

"Stop it," Josh said. "You'll need to be in here until the doctor clears you."

"Just don't get too excited with your sponge bath," Clayton said. "Some of those nurses are damn good looking."

Sparrow lifted his hand and flipped Clayton off. "Trust me, keeping up with you two is enough. I'm getting too old to chase tail."

"Not the right answer, but good enough for now," Josh said as he sat on the edge of the bed, running his hand over Sparrow's disheveled hair. It was normally pulled back into a long ponytail, but today it was loose and damn if it didn't look good as it cascaded over the man's shoulders. Josh couldn't help but play with the strands as he sat there.

"Got a thing for hair?" Sparrow asked as he leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling.

"I got a thing for your hair," Josh replied.

"I'm finding out that he has a lot of strange kinks," Clayton said as he took a seat next to the bed. "Guy likes to put ketchup on his damn scrambled eggs."

"That's not a kink. That's a habit I've had since I was little," Josh defended. He turned to Sparrow. "Clayton and I have decided that you're coming home with us. You need someone to take care of you while you recover."

"Whoa," Sparrow said. "I have my sister."

"Can she be there all the time?" Josh asked. "Do you really want her to give you sponge baths?"