Hadley nibbled thoughtfully on a potato wedge. “I don’t know about that. I spent two hours interviewing the man in that interrogation room at Coffield before he tried to eat me. He’s not being compelled by anyone. He’s a cold-blooded psychopath who enjoys the idea of terrifying a person before he kills them. So, while I might buy the idea of the other inmates being forced into this situation somehow, I can’t believe the same of Strickland.”
Across from her, Karissa nodded. “Okay, say we go with Hadley’s theory that Strickland is the one behind all of this. If we do that, it poses a few questions. First, why did he bring those other two inmates to Dallas? If it was simply to kidnap those people, why not stick to the more rural area to the south to avoid attention? And if Strickland was using them as a distraction so he could slip through the dragnet down south, why come up here with them?”
“While I can come up with several reasons for the other two escapees being in Dallas, the only reason I think Strickland is here is so he can do exactly what he threatened at the prison,” Carter said, looking at Hadley. “He intends to come after you.”
A shiver ran down Hadley’s spine at the thought of Strickland making good on his promise. It was impossible to put into words how terrified she was of him. But she shook it off, forcing herself to be rational about all of this.
“Do you really think Strickland would risk being captured over a silly obsession with me?” she asked even though deep down, she already knew the answer to that question.
The muscle in Carter’s jaw flexed, betraying his anxiety. “Yeah, I think he would. Hopefully, Strickland and the other escapees will be back in custody long before he figures out where you are.”
Hale frowned down at his plate for a moment before looking at them. “There’s another issue we probably need to talk about.”
“What’s that?” Carter asked.
“Marshal Turner,” Hale said. “What’s the deal with that guy? The fact that he was lying about where he was today and about what he thinks Strickland might be doing next is a huge red flag.”
Carter had mentioned the strange conversation with the marshal after the episode in the woods to Hadley, and how Mike had known the man was lying. After having time to think about it, Hadley still wasn’t so sure what Turner’s agenda might be.
“Do you think Turner knows about the supernatural world?” she asked. “Could that be why he’s so interested in this particular prison break and why he’s keeping secrets from the local PD?”
Carter grimaced. “Hopefully not. Because that might mean he knows we’re all werewolves.”
“And with that terrifying thought, everyone ready for dessert?” Karissa asked. “We need to eat that cake you guys brought, so I won’t be tempted to do it all by myself.”
Hadley shouldn’t have any room for cake after that delicious dinner, but she never said no to chocolate cake. She was just about to help Karissa clear the table when a piercing scream ripped through the air.
What the…?
“Stay put,” Carter said to her as he jumped up and headed for the door, Hale and Karissa on his heels.
The hell with that, Hadley thought.
Pushing back her chair, she ran after them. Carter and Hale were already well ahead of her, and Karissa was almost as fast. It was everything Hadley could do to stay close enough to keep them in sight.
Two floors down, at the far end of the building, they found the source of the scream. Several people stood outside a smashed-in apartment door, looking rattled. Hadley had just reached the group when she heard Carter shout for somebody to call an ambulance. She pushed through the crowd as one of the gawkers pulled out a phone and started pushing buttons.
Hadley stepped into the apartment to find Carter, Karissa, and Hale kneeling beside a man bleeding heavily from the neck and shoulder. She raced over to them, pausing long enough to grab the fleece blanket draped across the back of the couch. Wadding it up, she used it to apply pressure to the wound. Crap, it looked like the poor man had been bitten by a shark.
Or a serial killer who liked to eat his victims.
Carter was clearly less than thrilled that she’d followed, but Hadley ignored him as she continued to work on the injured man. A sudden flash of movement and a loud noise in the bedroom to the right of her had her head snapping in that direction. She could barely make out a shadow in the darkened room before the sound of breaking glass echoed in the apartment. Karissa and Hale were immediately up and running in that direction, Carter a second behind them.
“Stay put this time!” he yelled back at her.
All Hadley could do was gasp as all three of them dived straight through the smashed-out window and into the pouring rain after the fleeing suspect. She couldn’t remember if they were currently on the second or third floor at the moment, but it didn’t matter. It was way too high up regardless. The fact that they were chasing after a cold-blooded psychopath who was completely fine with taking a bite out of another human being just made it worse.
Then she had no more time for those kinds of thoughts as she went back to giving the injured man first aid, praying she could keep him alive until help arrived.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The moment Carter saw the flash of movement in the bedroom, his inner omega had gone haywire, unsure what to do. Part of him wanted to stay and protect Hadley, but the other slightly out-of-control part wanted to hunt down the dangerous man who’d dare come within a half mile of the woman he cared about.
Refusing to overthink his inner wolf’s desires or the epiphany he’d just had, Carter took off running for the bedroom, yelling at Hadley to stay put. He wasn’t too worried she’d follow when there was an injured person who needed saving. He also wasn’t overly concerned about leaving her there. She’d be safe with all the people milling around in the hallway. Besides, the police and paramedics would be there soon.
Carter didn’t slow as he approached the bedroom window Karissa and Hale had jumped through a second earlier. Instead, he simply dived through the shattered glass, doing his best to twist his body as he fell so he’d land feet first. A two-story fall wouldn’t hurt him, but it’d slow him down for a while as he tried to chase the creature.
No way was that happening.
