But I damn well better keep my wolf on leash, or else I would expose our kind to the entire Denver Police Department.
21
BROOKE
* * *
“You’re going to be able to get him out, right?” I asked Mark. I’d called him as soon as I climbed in Roy’s van and met him in the police station parking lot. I was so freaked out I barely remembered the ride there.
I’d never wanted to break someone out of jail before. I was antsy. Anxious. Freaking out.
I’d known Roy for less than forty-eight hours. At some point during that time, I’d really started to care about him. Not just because he’d saved my life twice and I owed him. But I felt that same connection he described when he met me. He felt right.
Familiar.
Like we belonged.
Or was that a shared trauma response? Could I trust my instincts with this guy when they’d failed me in the past?
I wanted to believe I could. Roy had given me no reason not to.
Mark nodded, a little too calmly. “Yes. It will be okay. It’s just that…”
I frowned when he paused. “What?”
Mark hesitated then shook his head. “Nothing.”
Nothing?
“What do you mean, nothing?” I snapped because I couldn’t keep doing polite. “That’s worse than saying calm down to a woman. What is it? Tell me.” I grabbed onto his arm then realized what I’d done and let go. “Is he going to be in trouble?”
I started to pace. The station’s lot had so many lights it was like daytime, except the sky was pitch black and the streets were quiet. “This is ridiculous. I should’ve come out from beneath the desk and identified myself. Roy was being paranoid and made me stay hidden. He protected me, but now he’s in jail! This wasn’t how this was supposed to go.”
I’d already told Mark this on the phone, but hysteria was making me repeat it.
Roy had been arrested! For no good reason. If I’d been given a chance to show the officers my ID badge and that I worked in the office and was allowed to be there and that Roy was my guest, then he wouldn’t have been arrested.
I wanted to kick Roy and also Mark too for not acting quickly enough.
“I should be able to get him out,” he replied. Why was he so dang calm? “Especially if you got me the evidence I need?”
I blinked, not remembering what he was talking about.
“Oh. Yeah.” I pulled the thumb drive out of my pocket and started to give it to him, then stopped. Stared at it. Roy hadn’t trusted the cops who arrested him. He’d hidden me from them for exactly that reason. How did we know Mark could be trusted? I pulled my hand back as he reached for the drive.
I shook my head. “After you get Roy out,” I said stubbornly. I wasn’t below bargaining or even blackmail.
I thought it might piss him off, but instead, the corners of his lips quirked. “You’re protective, too, eh? That’s good. Roy will probably need you to be strong when he gets out.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, panicking again. Had he been hurt? Did they know he’d been recently shot? Although that wound had healed, which was crazy. Maybe Mark had been right about arm wounds bleeding a lot.
Mark shook his head. “Nevermind.” He led me up the steps and into the building, holding the door open for me.
An eerie howl–like a wolf howl–sounded from somewhere in the back of the police station. The hairs on my arms raised.
“What was that?” If it was a police dog, he sounded trapped. Or in trouble.
“Shit,” Mark muttered and took a deep breath. “Wait here.” He pointed at one of the plastic chairs that lined the wall. “I’ll get things straightened out.”