Shaking his head, he walked off to talk to a DPD officer who was setting up crime scene tape around the perimeter. Khaki couldn’t believe the deputy chief hadn’t wanted a complete report right then and there, but she was glad he didn’t because she wouldn’t have been able to explain half the stuff that had happened, at least not to someone who wasn’t a werewolf.
But Mason’s departure had left them completely alone with Sergeant Dixon. Well, except for the rest of the Pack standing a few feet away. Unlike the deputy chief, Dixon looked pissed.
Xander took her hand, holding on protectively as Dixon frowned at them.
“It was bad enough that you two decided to get involved with each other, but since then your mistakes have gotten even worse,” he said.
“Getting involved with Khaki wasn’t a mistake,” Xander growled, his eyes flaring.
Khaki tensed, ready to get between Xander and their commander. The rest of the team was standing off at a distance, ready to help her if things got out of hand. But they knew this was something that she, Xander, and their pack alpha were going to have to work through on their own.
“But I’ll concede that I haven’t made a lot of good decisions besides that one,” Xander finished quietly.
Dixon glowered at Xander for a moment, then pinned Khaki with a look. “Xander told me that your psycho ex was in town since earlier this week. You never thought to mention that to me?”
Beside her, Xander flushed beneath his tan. Khaki knew he felt just as stupid as she did about ignoring the threat that Jeremy had represented. But Xander’s pride wasn’t going to let him admit that, and neither would hers.
“We thought we could handle it,” Xander grated out, his jaw flexing. “It wasn’t something we wanted to involve the Pack in.”
Khaki expected Dixon to tear into Xander for even trying to justify what they’d done—or rather, failed to do—but instead he snorted.
“That didn’t work out too well for any of us, did it?” Dixon asked. “Now there’s a psychotic killer on his way to prison who knows we exist.”
Khaki felt her legs weaken as all the air whooshed out of her lungs, and she tightened her grip on Xander’s hand. She opened her mouth to tell Dixon that she never wanted Jeremy to learn about the Pack, but her boss cut her off.
“Were you planning to kill Jeremy when you came out here, Khaki?”
“Whether she did or not doesn’t matter,” Xander said before she could answer. “She didn’t kill him, and that’s what’s important.”
Dixon gave him a hard look. “I was asking Khaki.”
Khaki squeezed Xander’s hand. “It’s okay,” she said, then looked at Dixon. “I did come here to kill Jeremy. When I realized that he was the one who’d shot Xander, all I could think about was tearing him apart. I knew in my heart that if I didn’t stop him, he’d come after Xander again, and I couldn’t let him do that.”
Dixon sighed. “I get that you had an overwhelming urge to protect Xander. Believe me, I get that. A few months ago when Mackenzie got kidnapped, I lost my mind. But when I went after the man who’d taken her, I went to get her back, not to kill him. In the end, the man ended up dead, but that was never my intent. Do you understand why that’s an important distinction?”
“I do now. I realize I let my rage and fear control me.” She gave him an embarrassed look. “I guess there’s still a lot I need to learn about being a werewolf.”
“But don’t worry, Gage,” Xander said. “You and the Pack won’t have to be responsible for teaching her. We’ll have our transfer requests on your desk in the morning.”
Khaki braced herself, expecting Dixon to tell them he wanted them that night. But after staring off into the darkness for a long time, he shook his head.
“Don’t waste your time. I’d only tear them up.”
Khaki did a double take. Beside her, Xander looked as baffled as she did.
“Back at the hospital you were more than ready to let Khaki and me walk away,” Xander said. “What changed?”
“I never said I wanted you out of the Pack.” Dixon’s mouth tightened. “I’m pissed at both of you, that’s for sure. Not for falling for each other though. I know more than anyone you had no control over that. I’m mad because you two forgot that at the end of the day, no matter how bad things get, the Pack will always have your back—that I’ll always have your back. If you had, maybe this situation with Jeremy wouldn’t have gotten so out of hand. You’ll be a member of the Pack forever, even when you screw up. What kind of hypocrite would I be if I booted you out after everything I put the Pack through with Mackenzie? Besides, she’d kill me if I even tried it. But no more secrets. Understood?”
Khaki let out the breath she’d been holding. She turned to smile at Xander, but then realized he was still staring at Dixon intently.
“What about Khaki?” he asked. “Is she still on my squad? Because that’s nonnegotiable.”
Khaki tensed again. Standing twenty feet away, the other guys on the team stiffened as well.
“That depends,” Dixon said, leveling his gaze at Xander. “Can you be her squad leader and her mate at the same time? Because that’s nonnegotiable, too.”
Crap. Just as it looked like everything was going to be perfect, reality intruded.
