The rest of Sunday was tense, and when Monday morning came around and John headed to work he was almost relieved to get out of the apartment.
He was in the station locker room when Carter called.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“I have to go into work today. There’s a crisis and it needs my personal attention. Would you be okay with checking on Elijah during your lunch break? He says he’ll be fine, but I don’t think he realizes how stressful it’s going to be without any pack members around him.”
“Will me being with him help?” John wasn’t so sure it would. Carter might think of him as some sort of pack, but Elijah sure as hell didn’t.
“If not you can at least call me or Luke to come over. I just don’t trust him to call when he needs help. He has a tendency to suffer in silence, and he shouldn’t have to.”
“Okay, I can do that. I’ll call you with an update after I see him.”
“Thank you.”
Carter sounded relieved, and John was touched by how much he obviously cared for Elijah’s well being.
John said goodbye, putting his phone away as he changed into his uniform.
“Was that Carter?” Mike asked, sounding curious. He was on the bench next to John, pulling on his boots.
“Yes, why?”
Mike shrugged. “No reason. You just look all dopey when you talk to him.”
“I do not,” John objected, punching Mike in the arm. Mike laughed.
“Oh, you do—like a teenager talking to his crush. It’s adorable.”
“Fuck you, I’m not adorable,” John mumbled. Still, he had no doubt that Mike’s assessment was entirely accurate. Carter did make him feel like a teenager with a crush at times. It was overwhelming.
That’s why he wanted a year to make sure that it was real.
Finishing up in the locker room, John and Mike headed into the briefing room for their daily assignments. They were both on highway duty, which thrilled them to no end since the governor was coming into town and there had been a real risk of being stuck on escort duty all day.
“Meet up for lunch?” Mike asked while they were getting on their bikes. He pulled on his helmet, turning to John and waiting for an answer.
“Sure. I just have to drop by Carter’s apartment first. How about that diner on Fifth Street, say around noon?”
“See you there,” Mike said, kicking his bike into gear and taking off. John finished strapping on his own helmet and pulled on his gloves, following him out of the parking lot.
***
It was a beautiful day, and John’s morning was about as stress free and perfect as it could get. No one argued with him or was rude when he pulled them over, and there hadn’t been a single accident reported all day.
When eleven thirty rolled around John steered his bike toward Carter’s building, parking on the curb and sending a quick text to Carter that he was heading up to see Elijah.
Walking into the lobby of Carter’s fancy building, John was stopped by the concierge who asked if he could help John with anything. John was almost offended that the man didn’t recognize him, but people often looked past him when he was wearing his uniform.
“I’m just visiting my friend for a second,” John said. The concierge blinked, and then recognition struck.
“John, I’m so sorry I didn’t recognize you in your uniform. Mr. Peterson has added you to our resident list so you may of course come and go as you please. If there’s anything I can do to help don’t hesitate to let me know.”
“Thank you, I will,” John said, nodding at the flustered man and heading to the elevator. He hadn’t known that Carter had added him to the residents list. The tidbit made him grin.
Walking to the elevator, he was waiting for the doors to open when he heard the concierge ask someone else if they needed help. There was no reply, and a second later John’s head whipped around at the sound of a punch. He froze at the sight that greeted him.
The concierge was on the floor, slumped in a heap, and there was a giant of a man standing over him looking right at John.
