“Yeah,” she murmured.
“Are you okay?”
Grip tightening around the cell phone still in her hands, she looked at him. “Strickland attacked me, then told me that he was going to get out of prison and come after me. That he was going to enjoy making me scream.”
Carter dropped to one knee in front of her and cupped her hands in his. “That sicko isn’t going to get near you. I promise.”
Because Carter would kill Strickland first. But he didn’t tell her that.
He didn’t get a chance to say anything, though, because his cell phone rang. Cursing again, he went back into the bedroom to answer it. He might be on the bench while he got in touch with his inner omega, but if he was getting a call at this time in the morning, it was almost certainly about work.
“Mike, what’s up?” he asked when he saw his squad leader’s name on the phone.
“Some inmates escaped from Coffield Unit last night and we’re about to have a bunch of brass showing up here soon. Since you’re officially on duty, Gage wants you here along with everybody else.”
Carter felt a momentary twinge of disappointment. He’d hoped Gage was finally putting him back into the rotation in light of the recent jailbreak. Apparently not.
“I’ll be there,” he said, heading back into the living room.
Hadley was still sitting on the couch, her face pale.
“I’ve been called into that meeting with the FBI, too,” he said as she absently twisted the hem of her T-shirt, looking as if she was a million miles away. “I can drive if you want since I already know where the SWAT compound is.”
She looked at him in confusion for a moment, still clearly a little out of it, then nodded. “Okay. Do you think we could stop by my place on the way so I can change clothes? I can’t meet with the FBI looking like this.”
“No problem,” he said, even though he had to admit she looked pretty damn good to him as she was.
He kept those thoughts to himself, though. A sick, twisted serial killer was on the loose. Now wasn’t the time to flirt with his psychiatrist.
CHAPTER TEN
The sun was starting to come up when he and Hadley got to the SWAT compound. Carter wasn’t surprised to see a dozen dark-colored sedans and SUVs in the parking lot. Some were obviously from the Dallas PD, but there were a few Fed vehicles in there too.
“I guess I should go in first,” Hadley said, more composed than she’d been when they’d left his apartment. She’d changed into a pair of slacks and a silk blouse at her place, as well as put her hair up in a messy bun that made him want to take out the pins holding it in place and run his fingers through it. “We don’t want anyone asking questions about why I showed up with you.”
“I’m fine with that, but I should probably tell you that my pack mates are going to figure it out soon enough,” Carter said, pulling into a space and turning off the engine. “Most of them are going to know you were with me tonight since my scent is all over you.”
“I’m not worried about your pack mates,” Hadley said as she reached for the door handle. “But I’d rather the FBI not find out. If that happens, it’s bound to get back to the wrong people at some point and then my career would be over.”
“You don’t have to explain. I completely understand. I’ll hang out here for a few minutes,” Carter said. If he were in her position, he’d do the same thing. “And remember, we’ll meet up in the kitchenette in the admin building after the meeting.”
They’d already decided on the way over that she’d stay at his place until they had Strickland back in custody. Carter would have preferred she didn’t go to work during that time, but she’d refused, saying she had patients who depended on her. While she could meet with some of them over Zoom, there were a few who needed to see her in person. Considering how much he was depending on her for his sanity right now, he supposed he couldn’t deny someone else the same. That said, he was sticking to Hadley like glue.
Carter stood out by his Hummer for an extra few minutes before wandering into the back of the training building as if he’d just arrived. As he’d expected, his entire pack was present, with most of them tucked in the back of the crowded conference room along with a group of high-ranking officers from DPD headquarters.
Gage, Mike, and chief of police, Shanette Leclair, were up in the front row with three people in suits that were almost certainly FBI, along with four US Marshals, and two men in the crisp white shirts and khaki slacks of the Texas Rangers. Crap, this was going to be a frigging zoo.
He was a little surprised at the sight of Hadley sitting beside one of the FBI agents, but it was clear she was in her element. And yet, the urge to protect her from everything including the feds was so strong that he didn’t even realize he was moving until Trey reached out to grab his arm. His pack mate frowned at him, obviously trying to figure out what was going on.
Acting like everything was cool, Carter took a seat in the chair between Trey and Hale.
“You okay?” Hale asked softly, which was probably still loud enough for every werewolf in the room to hear.
“All good,” Carter said, his gaze still on Hadley. “Did I miss anything?”
“Nothing much,” Trey answered. “It’s mostly been a polite pissing contest between the FBI and the Marshals over who gets to run the show.”
Before Carter could say anything, one of the Marshals stood and moved to the small podium near the projector screen. Tall with dark hair, the guy looked like he could play defensive end in the NFL.
