“Fuck,” Carter groaned, rolling onto his side and sitting up. “What about Darrell?”
“Gone,” I answered, standing and helping Carter to his feet.
Chloe moved ahead of us, checking the open room that held the officer’s desks and the reception area. It was empty.
“We need to leave,” she said. “Before they come back.”
Carter coughed. “No. We have to get to the safe. This might be our only chance.”
Though Chloe gave him a measuring look, she didn’t argue. “Where?”
I supported Carter’s weight as he led us to Darrell’s office. He pulled away from me, staggering behind the massive desk in the center of the room. Falling to his knees, he shoved the office chair aside. The floor beneath the desk appeared to be the same tile that appeared in the front part of the building, until he pressed on one of the squares. There was a quiet click and the tile popped up. Moving it aside, he began pulling out stacks of CD’s, flash drives, and printed photographs.
“Take these,” he commanded me.
“Where am I supposed to put them? In my pockets?” Chloe was still naked and all I wore were my jeans. There was no way everything in his hands would fit in my pockets. I was itching to get out of this place. There was no telling how many wolves would come with Darrell when he returned.
Chloe appeared at my side, a plastic shopping bag in her hand. Without a word she took the stack of evidence from Carter and shoved it inside. Tying the handles together, she moved to Carter, helping him to his feet.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” she declared.
“I have a car hidden a few blocks away. Go out the back,” Carter mumbled, leaning heavily on her.
The night was utterly still when we exited the building, the first, faint streaks of dawn appearing in the east. I watched Chloe carefully, looking for any signs that she might still be suffering from the effects of the tranquilizer that Darrell had given us, but she was alert, moving swiftly and silently through the shadows despite her burden.
A few minutes later, we were inside Carter’s car, driving away from town. His voice was thick and pained as he gave me directions. The fact that he’d managed to take on an alpha wolf in his weakened condition said more about his commitment to helping us than any vow he could have made.
We arrived at an old farmhouse a half hour from Prater just as the sun rose over the horizon. Chloe and I helped Carter from the car.
“Are you sure this place is safe?” I asked him.
He stumbled, nearly falling to his knees. “Yes. No one knows about the house. Not even my father.”
Chloe and I exchanged a look over his head. That’s what we’d believed as well. We needed to figure out how Darrell had found us in the first place, but now wasn’t the time.
I leaned down and scooped Carter in my arms. He groaned in pain but didn’t argue as I carried him up the steps to the door.
“Key?” Chloe asked, coming around to open the door.
“My right pocket.”
She gingerly fished it out his pocket and unlocked the knob, pushing the door open for us.
As I entered the house, Carter asked, “You gonna give me a kiss while you carry me across the threshold?”
I heard Chloe chuckle behind me. Considering the ordeal she’d just been through, the fact that he made her laugh meant I owed him a debt I could never repay.
“Where’s your bedroom?” I asked.
“Whoa, now I am not that kind of girl,” he slurred.
“Maybe I should just drop you if you’re feeling well enough to joke,” I muttered.
“Up the stairs, second door on the left,” he replied.
Chloe was still smirking when she followed us into Carter’s bedroom, but the smile faded when she got a clear look at his injuries.
“Get me some towels and hot water,” I commanded, leaning over Carter’s prone body on the bed. “I’m going to get him cleaned up and see what I can do for him.”
