Chapter 6

The plan was simple. Walk into Gage’s office, get the fake ID out of the safe, drop a leave form on the boss’s desk, and be out before anyone came in for PT that morning.

That was why Becker and Cooper got to the compound at oh dark thirty. Luckily, Cooper was right about the combination to the safe being the date Gage had changed into a werewolf, so opening it wasn’t a problem. Even finding the high-quality forgeries the SWAT commander had made just in case the Pack ever had to go on the run was easy.

In addition to a license and passport, there were also credit cards. Becker had seen some good fakes when he was with the Secret Service, but this stuff was some of the best he’d ever laid eyes on. The name was even perfect—Eric Bauer. Definitely close enough to his own that he’d instinctively answer to it.

“That was almost too easy.” Becker grinned as he dropped his leave form on Gage’s desk and followed Cooper out of their boss’s office. “Maybe we’re in the wrong line of work.”

Then the door of the admin building opened and Gage walked in.

Shit.

Gage stared at them—not exactly with suspicion but definitely with curiosity. “What are you guys doing here so early?”

Becker’s mind went completely blank. He was going undercover with a group of werewolves who would tear him apart if they even sniffed something wasn’t legit. And right now, he couldn’t come up with a single excuse that explained why he and Cooper were at the compound so early.

“I, um, had to come in early and drop off a leave form,” he finally said, trying to sound casual.

His boss frowned. “You’re taking leave? Now?”

“Yeah.”

Becker glanced at Cooper to find his friend regarding him patiently. Clearly, there wouldn’t be any help coming from that direction. So what now? Gage was really good at sniffing out lies, and if he called Becker on this one, his undercover assignment would be over before it started.

“It’s my sister. They think they might have to induce labor.” He felt like crap for bringing her into this and lying about her being pregnant, but he didn’t have a choice. Jayna’s life might depend on it. “I know my timing is bad, especially with the other pack in town, but I really think I should be there. It’s her first child and all.”

Becker held his breath, waiting for Gage to call bullshit on the lie, but his boss didn’t. Maybe Becker wasn’t such a crappy liar after all. Or maybe Gage knew how close Becker was with his family and thought that any weird vibes he picked up were because Becker was worried about his sister.

“Take all the time you need,” Gage said. “And when she has the baby, make sure you take pictures. Mackenzie will want to see the kid. She’s crazy about stuff like that.”

Becker promised he would, then added, “I’ll check in as often as I can.”

“That went a hell of a lot better than I thought it would,” Cooper said as they walked across the parking lot.

“No thanks to you,” Becker muttered. “You could have helped me out when Gage started grilling me.”

Cooper snorted. “Trust me, that wasn’t grilling. When you walk into that loft, you’re going to be grilled. The questions will be coming at you fast and hard. You’d better be ready to talk a good game, or you’re toast.” When they got to Becker’s bike, Cooper stopped to face him. “I’m serious. You up for this?”

All Becker had to do was imagine Jayna in that loft full of killers. He was going in there whether he was up for it or not.

“I’m good,” Becker said as he climbed on his bike. “You just be ready when I call you with whatever I uncover. The faster we take down these guys, the faster we can get Jayna’s pack out of there.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Cooper said. “Watch your back in there.”

Becker reached to start his bike, then stopped. “Almost forgot. Can you stop by and feed my fish every few days? And talk to them too. They get lonely when I’m not home.”

Cooper made a face. “Who the hell talks to their fish?”

“Me. You’ll feed them, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll feed them. But I’m sure as hell not talking to them,” Cooper said. “Now get outta here before anyone else shows up and asks what you’re doing here so early.”

Becker chuckled as he cranked the engine, but his amusement disappeared the moment he rode out of the parking lot. Cooper’s warning echoed in his head. Damn straight he’d watch his back—because there’d be no one else around to do it for him.

* * *

The thought that Jayna might not show briefly entered Becker’s mind on the ride over to the coffee shop, but he quickly dismissed it. Jayna would be there. If not today, then tomorrow. All he had to do was keep going back to that Starbucks until she did.

He grabbed a cup of coffee and found a table in the corner where he could put his back to the wall and keep an eye on the door. In between, he surfed the net on his phone and skimmed his fake IDs so he’d be familiar with his alter ego. He was so busy trying to memorize the address on his driver’s license—some rural trailer park near Waco—that he didn’t notice Jayna had walked in and was coming his way until her intoxicating scent nearly knocked him out of his chair.

He looked up to see her backlit by the midmorning sun pouring through the open door, silhouetting her curvy figure and gorgeous mane of dark blond hair. When she caught sight of him looking at her, a smile tilted up the corners of her beautiful lips, and just like that, the tension he hadn’t even known was there left his body.

Jayna motioned that she was going to get a drink. A few minutes later, she slipped into the seat opposite him, a venti latte in her hand. She looked pleased to see him—or maybe that was just his imagination.

“I’m glad you could come,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to get away again so soon.”

“Me either. But there weren’t many people hanging around the loft this morning.” She sipped her latte. “Besides, you said you might have a plan on how to get my pack out of this mess. I’m willing to take any risk if it helps them.”

He gave her a hurt look. “And here I was thinking you were meeting me because of my scintillating conversational skills.”

She laughed, and Becker couldn’t get over the effect that sound had on him. It was like an extension cord plugged straight into his heart. Damn, he had it bad for this woman.

“Nope,” she said. “I’m just here for the latte and the plan.”

He grinned. “Well, if that’s the case, I guess I should probably tell you I’ve come up with one.”

Jayna leaned forward, bringing that delicious scent of hers even closer. “You did? What is it?”

While she might be eager to hear what he had to say, Becker got the feeling she was a little cautious too. He supposed he couldn’t blame her.

“The only way I can help you and your pack is if I’m on the inside—as an omega,” he said. “So I’m going back to the loft with you.”

She stared at him, speechless. “Are you serious? That’s your big plan? You’re just going to waltz in and say you heard through the grapevine that some Albanian mobsters are looking to hire werewolves off the street to be enforcers?”

Becker had to admit, the plan didn’t sound nearly as good when she put it that way. But it was the only one he had, so they were going to have to make it work. It was either that or go back to his raiding-the-loft idea, and Jayna had already made it clear that wasn’t an option.

“You said Liam has been recruiting every omega he can find,” Becker pointed out. “Why wouldn’t he take me in?”

“Because you don’t look like an omega.”

“What does an omega look like?”

Jayna frowned. “They’re big, strong, and aggressive. And more often than not, they’re cocky and arrogant too.”

“So far you’re describing my entire pack and me to a tee.”

She thought about that. “Maybe so, but it still won’t work.”

“Why not?”

“Because omegas aren’t so hot.”

Well, damn. Becker grinned as a blush colored her cheeks. “Are you saying I’m too hot to be an omega?”

“No!” she said quickly.

“No, I’m not too hot to be an omega? Or no, I’m not hot at all?”

He couldn’t help teasing her despite how serious the situation was. It was too much fun watching her get flustered.

She ignored his question. “Omegas have control issues—everybody knows that. But nobody is going to believe you’ve ever had a problem staying in control of yourself.”

Becker probably should have left that one alone, but he couldn’t. It was just too good to pass up. “I’ve never had a woman complain about my lack of self-control, but I really don’t see what that has to do with getting people to believe I’m an omega.”

Jayna looked confused for a moment; then she blushed even deeper than she had before. “Stop it, Eric! I’m serious. Why would you even consider walking into that place of your own free will? It’s insanity.”

His smile melted away. “Why would I go in there? Because it’s the only way I can think of to keep you safe. You’ve made it clear you won’t leave without your pack mates, and they aren’t ready to walk away from your so-called alpha. I don’t have a choice. If you won’t come out, I have to go in.”

Jayna regarded him thoughtfully. He hoped she wouldn’t ask him again why he was doing this. Because he really didn’t think it would be a good idea for him to tell her that he thought she was The One for him.

“Okay,” she finally said. “I appreciate what you’re doing, but I still think you’re insane. Just don’t expect Liam to welcome you with open arms. I don’t care if you do call yourself an omega—one look at you, and he’s going to view you as a threat to his leadership of the pack. You scream dominant male. He’s going to want you gone—fast.”

Okay, he’d concede that was definitely a flaw in the plan he and Cooper had come up with, but maybe not a fatal flaw. He frowned as something struck him.

“I thought you said Liam was paying off a debt to the Albanians,” Becker said. “Why would they listen to anything he had to say?”

She wrapped her hands around the cardboard cup as if warming them and didn’t answer right away. “I think Liam lied about that. I don’t know if he approached the Albanians or they found us, but I have a feeling he’s working for them of his own free will. And before you ask, no one else in my pack is aware of that, and I don’t want to turn them against Liam unless I’m absolutely sure I’m right. That’s why I didn’t say anything about it to you yesterday.”

Okay. That changed things a little bit.

“Regardless of whether Liam is there of his own free will or not, the Albanians are still calling the shots, right?” Becker asked.

She nodded. “Definitely. Kostandin makes nearly every important decision about the pack and how we’re used, and I’m pretty sure he isn’t all that impressed with Liam.”

Becker grinned. “I think you’ve just figured out how to get me into that loft.”

“I did?” Jayna asked with an absolutely adorable look of confusion.

Who was he kidding? All of her looks were adorable.

“You did.” His grin broadened. “We make sure that you introduce me to Kostandin first. If I impress him, I’m as good as in.”

* * *

Jayna poked her head in the front door of the lobby only long enough to confirm that both Frasheri and Kos were in there before motioning to Eric. This plan of his was crazy, but it was too late to turn back now. Even as she took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves, the big SWAT werewolf came bouncing up the steps like he owned the place, backpack slung casually over one shoulder. How could he be so calm when he was walking into a building full of criminals and omegas who would gladly kill him a hundred times over if they even got a hint he was a cop?

The Albanian guards at the door immediately reached behind their backs for the guns they kept holstered there.

“Don’t be stupid,” Eric said with a growl so deep Jayna felt it vibrate in her chest.

She glanced at him and was shocked to see him glaring at the two Albanians with eyes the deepest golden yellow she’d ever seen and fangs so long she wasn’t sure how they fit in his mouth. Even as she watched, his jawline broadened slightly, like it was trying to make room for more teeth.

Jayna blinked. Okay, that was freaking scary—but kind of cool too. Purely in a werewolf kind of way, of course.

The two guards took a step back, hearts hammering in their chests. Eric strode past them as if they didn’t even exist and swept into the lobby. She took a deep breath, doing her best to project the same calm attitude as she led him across the lobby. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Megan and Moe stop halfway down the steps, their mouths hanging open. The two omegas sprawled on the couch playing video games looked equally shocked. So did the Albanians playing pool. She’d made no secret of the fact that she didn’t like omegas, so everyone probably wondered what she was doing with one. Then again, maybe they were all staring because Eric was so damn big.

She ignored all of them, instead focusing on Frasheri and Kos, who were standing near the big planning table on the far side of the room. The two men eyed her and Eric suspiciously.

Luckily, Liam wasn’t around.

Kos gave her a cold look. “Who is your new friend, Jayna?”

“This is Eric Bauer,” she said, using the fake surname the SWAT werewolf had given her. “He approached me at the coffee shop, wanting to know if you’d be interested in hiring someone like him.”

“Someone like him?” Frasheri prompted.

She turned to the older man. Tall with salt-and-pepper hair and a perpetual tan, Frasheri looked younger than his sixty years. “Eric is an omega. Liam said you’ve been looking to hire more of them.”

“Yes, we are.” Frasheri studied her for a moment before turning his gaze on Eric. “I’m a distrustful man by nature, Mr. Bauer, but also curious. Tell me, how did you learn that some of your kind worked for us? Or where to find us, for that matter?”

Jayna darted Eric a quick look, hoping no one noticed the way her pulse spiked.

But Eric shrugged, acting as if he hadn’t picked up on the menace in Frasheri’s tone at all. “Word of what’s been going on in Dallas has been getting around. When I heard rumors you were using enforcers who have been tearing the local thugs and gangbangers to shreds, literally, it wasn’t difficult to put two and two together. Finding you once I got here wasn’t hard either. All I had to do was go to the one part of town everyone was telling me to stay away from.”

Kostandin’s eyes narrowed. “What makes you think we’d be interested in having you work for us?”

Eric’s mouth twitched, and Jayna was once again struck by how calm he was. She wished she could say the same about herself.

“I know the kind of stuff they do for you.” Eric motioned with his head toward the omegas on the other side of the room. “It’s nothing I have a problem with, and I can do it better than anyone you already have working for you.”

The corners of Frasheri’s wide mouth turned up, and it looked like he was about to say something, but just then Liam stormed into the lobby, Brandon at his side. They both looked like they’d smelled something rotten.

Crap.

“Who is this and what the hell is he doing here?”

Liam brushed past the Albanians and omegas to take a confrontational position in front of Eric, his eyes flashing and the tips of his canines showing. He was probably trying to be intimidating, but after seeing Eric’s version of scary, Liam didn’t carry it off as well. It didn’t help that he was a good five inches shorter than Eric and forty pounds lighter.

She was about to answer Liam, but Frasheri spoke first.

“This is Eric Bauer. Jayna met him and thought he would be a good fit for the pack.”

Jayna had just enough time to wince before Liam turned to glare at her. Oh yeah, he was pissed.

Liam frowned at Frasheri. “And you’re willing to hire him, just like that?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” Frasheri admitted. “Jayna obviously saw something she liked if she brought him back here. And I can always use more werewolves in my employ.”

Liam glanced at Eric, eyes narrowing as if trying to figure out exactly what it was Jayna saw in him. Eric regarded Liam without any outward expression.

“If we’re going up against those SWAT werewolves, we’re going to need omegas who know what the hell they’re doing in a fight,” Liam told Frasheri. “How do we know this guy can handle himself? Just because he’s big doesn’t mean anything—except that he’s probably slow and stupid.”

“Possibly,” Kostandin said. “But it’s easy enough to find that out.” He motioned with his hand. “Move the chairs and tables aside.”

Jayna’s heart thumped as she figured out why the Albanian would want a space cleared in the middle of the lobby. He wanted Eric to prove he could fight. Right here, right now.

That shouldn’t have worried her. Eric was trained for this kind of stuff. And even if he wasn’t, why should she care? It wasn’t like he was a member of her pack. But if that was the case, why was she so freaked at the thought of him getting so much as a scratch? She was practically on the verge of hyperventilating.

Her heart wasn’t the only one going into overdrive. Liam’s was beating pretty hard too. Was it in anticipation or something else? She couldn’t tell by the expression on his face, which seemed more annoyed than anything as he looked at Frasheri.

“You don’t expect me to fight this idiot do you?” Liam demanded. “I’m an alpha. He’s not. What good would it do to see me tear him apart?”

Kos regarded Liam for a long, drawn-out moment before lifting a brow. “Of course not. As you say, what would be gained by having you fight this mere omega?”

“Right,” Liam agreed.

Clearly, her pack leader hadn’t realized the significance of the question mark at the end of Kostandin’s statement. Jayna had the feeling Kos would enjoy seeing Liam fight Eric. To tell the truth, Jayna wouldn’t have minded seeing it herself.

“Perhaps you could select someone more appropriate for Eric to fight,” Frasheri suggested. “Someone who wouldn’t tear him apart, as you say.”

Liam seemed to miss the subtle undertone of Frasheri’s words, much as he’d done with Kostandin’s. He turned and looked at Brandon. “Would you mind showing this outsider how a pack werewolf handles himself?”

So now Brandon was part of their pack? The thought made Jayna ill. She wasn’t shocked by Liam’s selection though. If he had a pet among the omegas, it was Brandon. And the lead omega was definitely one of the few werewolves in the room who would be a physical match for Eric.

But then Liam did something that shocked her. He turned to another one of the big omegas who’d been playing pool when she and Eric walked in and motioned him forward. “You too, Caleb.” He glanced at Frasheri and Kos. “You want to see how the new omega handles himself, let’s see.”

Jayna was so focused on Eric tossing his backpack and leather jacket on the floor to face the omegas that she barely noticed Megan and Moe had come to stand beside her.

Brandon and Caleb snarled and launched themselves at Eric without warning, fangs extended and claws out. Jayna expected Eric to get out of the way or leap at one of the werewolves—something. But he only stood there with a slight smile on his face. He hadn’t even shifted to protect himself. It was like he was frozen.

Jayna didn’t realize she’d moved until Megan grabbed her arm. Not that she could have done much to help Eric anyway.

Smelling an easy victory, Brandon went in low at Eric’s right side, while Caleb attacked from his left.

She cringed. This is going to be bloody.

But at the last second, Eric darted to the side and punched Brandon in the chest. The blow stopped the omega’s forward momentum cold, knocking him ten feet back across the lobby.

In the same motion, Eric turned and snatched Caleb out of the air. The omega’s claws dug into Eric’s chest and shoulder before the SWAT cop tossed him across the room, crushing several chairs and a sofa in the process.

Eric spun around to focus on Brandon. Jayna was shocked see that the cop hadn’t shifted yet. If it wasn’t for the four tracks of blood marring his shirt, she would have thought he was just playing around.

Brandon growled but went at him more cautiously this time. Eric blocked most of the openhanded swipes Brandon threw but didn’t go on the offensive himself. Jayna frowned. Why wasn’t Eric attacking?

But just then, Brandon overextended himself with one of his swipes, leaving his ribs completely exposed for just a fraction of a second. Eric’s fist came up in an upper cut, connecting solidly with Brandon’s ribs. There was a thud and a crack, and when Eric tossed Brandon aside this time, the big omega didn’t get back up.

Jayna had a ridiculous urge to run over to Eric and hug him. But before she could follow through with that crazy idea, an insane roar echoed in the room. She whipped her head around just in time to see Caleb charging Eric. The omega’s claws and fangs were fully extended now, his eyes practically glowing. Oh crap. Caleb had completely lost it. A couple cracked ribs wouldn’t be enough to end this now.

Jayna wasn’t the only one who moved to help this time. Every other werewolf did too. Not that it would do much good. Caleb was already on Eric.

She might have shouted something. It was hard to tell over the snarls and the other people yelling. But Eric and Caleb ignored everyone around them, intent on the struggle that was likely to end with one of them dead.

Caleb didn’t even try to take a swing at Eric. The omega was so far gone, he just opened his jaws wide and went in for the kill. Eric’s hand shot out, catching Caleb by the throat and flipping the ravaging omega backward, slamming him down violently against the tile floor. Then Eric leaned forward and cut loose with a growl of his own that was so powerful Jayna and every other werewolf in the room stopped in their tracks.

Eric had shifted completely, farther than she’d ever seen a werewolf go before. Besides the long fangs and claws, Eric’s shoulders and arms had bunched and spasmed, like they were trying to twist into a completely different shape. Jayna could have sworn his nose and jaw had actually pushed out some. But that was obviously impossible.

As stunned as he was, Caleb struggled to free himself until Eric leaned even closer and put his face right into the omega’s, then growled so loudly people two blocks down must have heard it.

Caleb immediately stopped struggling. His fangs and claws disappeared, his hands coming up in surrender. Jayna had never seen anything like it. Eric had forced Caleb into submission with nothing more than a growl—although those impressive canines of his might have had something to do with it. Eric could have easily torn out Caleb’s throat if he’d wanted to.

But Eric didn’t lunge forward. Instead, he shifted back to his normal appearance and reached down to pull Caleb to his feet. Then he thumped the dazed omega on the shoulder as if saying, “Good fight, dude.”

On the far side of the room, Brandon was only now climbing to his feet. He threw Eric a venomous glare as he curled one arm protectively in front of his broken ribs. Eric would have to watch his back around that jerk.

A few of the omegas and some of the Albanians gathered around Eric, smacking him on the back and laughing, but they moved aside as Kostandin approached. The Albanian underboss regarded Eric with his sharklike eyes, then slowly reached behind his back. Jayna immediately tensed, sure he was going to pull out a gun, but instead, he came out with a big, long knife. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or not. She’d seen Kos use that knife on a few of his victims. He especially liked cutting off fingers with it.

Kos tapped the tip of the knife against Eric’s chest. The SWAT werewolf didn’t react to the threatening gesture other than to lift his chin a little higher.

“For all your werewolf strength and speed, a knife through the heart will kill you as quickly as it would any man,” Kos said.

Eric smiled, showing the tips of his fangs. “Maybe. But for you to get that knife in my heart, you’d have to be really close. Makes it tougher to knife a man knowing that if you miss, he’s going to rip out your throat.”

Kostandin stared at Eric for a moment, his eyes betraying zero emotion. He didn’t seem to be any more intimidated by Eric than the werewolf was of him. Considering what Eric had just done, that only confirmed the Albanian was a psychopath.

“I like you,” Kos said with a laugh. He slipped the knife into the sheath behind his back, glancing at a fellow Albanian as he walked away. “Find him a room.”

Jayna let out the breath she’d been holding. Eric had done it. He’d gotten into the pack.

The need to make sure he really was okay after that fight was suddenly overwhelming, but before she could take a step, Liam caught her arm.

“Stay away from the new omega,” he warned, then glanced at Megan and Moe. “All of you. I don’t trust him.”

Jayna opened her mouth to tell him she didn’t need his permission to hang out with Eric or anyone else, but Liam was already heading upstairs to check on Brandon. She turned to Megan and Moe.

“Come on. I’ll introduce you to Eric.”

Megan exchanged looks with Moe, but they both followed her over to where Eric was talking with Frasheri. The Albanian was studying Eric’s fake driver’s license.

“If I find anything in your background I don’t like, you know I’ll kill you, right?” Frasheri said.

Eric seemed unconcerned as he picked up his jacket and slung his pack on his shoulder, but Jayna’s stomach clenched as Frasheri strode out of the lobby. Even though Eric had assured her his fake identity would check out, she couldn’t help being worried anyway. Suddenly remembering Megan and Moe, she introduced them to Eric. Neither of her pack mates were interested in a meet and greet and clearly couldn’t wait to get out of there.

“We’re going to grab something to eat,” Megan said. “You coming, Jayna?”

“In a little while,” she said. “I’m going to show Eric to his room first.”

Moe frowned at that while Megan gave Eric a wary look. “Do you want us to come with you?”

Jayna shook her head. “Go get something to eat.”

“Are you sure?” Megan asked, and Jayna could see that her best friend was on the verge of panicking.

“I’m sure.” She smiled. “I’ll be fine.”

Megan looked like she wanted to argue, but instead she caught Jayna’s hand and pulled her close. “Be careful around him,” she whispered in her ear. “He’s freaky crazy.”

Jayna wanted to assure her pack mates they had nothing to fear from Eric, that he was there to help them out of this mess, but she couldn’t. So she simply nodded and gave Megan’s hand a squeeze, then told her and Moe that she’d see them later.

One of the Albanians tossed her a set of keys and gave her an apartment number a few doors down from the guys on the fourth floor.

Jayna tried to look casual as she led Eric upstairs. His apartment was almost a mirror image of hers and Megan’s.

“Sorry about Megan and Moe,” she said as he closed the door behind them. “They think you’re just another crazy omega who can’t be trusted.”

“I figured that.” His mouth curved. “Don’t worry about it.”

Jayna nodded, then frowned, her gaze going to his torn T-shirt. “Let me take a look at those claw marks.”

She knew from experience that ragged claw marks could hurt like hell and take a long time to heal.

“You don’t have to,” he said, but didn’t stop her as she pulled his shirt up over his head.

After the fight she’d just seen, Jayna expected to see a bloody mess, but the dozen or so ragged scratches took a backseat to the overall view she got of his truly spectacular upper body. It was hard trying not to stare—Eric was seriously buff. Broad shoulders, thick chest and arm muscles, and abs so ripped she had a crazy desire to nip at them with her fangs.

In addition to all those captivating muscles, there were a couple other things about Eric’s body that drew her attention. One was the big wolf head tattoo with the letters SWAT under it that dominated the left side of his chest. Clearly he wouldn’t be taking his shirt off anywhere near the Albanians or the omegas—their loss.

The other thing that stood out were the scars. All werewolves had a scar or two, including her pack mates. But Eric had more than a few. There was a big one with what appeared to be stitch marks on either side of it on the right side of his chest. There were two more just above his belly button, both bearing tiny marks on either side, like he’d been cut into, then stitched up again.

Beyond those three big scars, he had half a dozen smaller ones—at least compared to the others—and some of them looked relatively fresh. Compared to all the other damage Eric had obviously sustained in his life, the scratches Caleb and Brandon had given him looked like paper cuts. Still, she wanted to clean them a little.

“Stay put,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”

Taking his shirt, she went into the small kitchen and got it wet in the sink, then went back over to where Eric was waiting.

“You know you don’t have to do that, right?” he said as she carefully cleaned the blood out of each and every scratch.

She glanced up at him. “I haven’t seen Caleb or Brandon wash their hands the entire time they’ve been here. They could be carrying some kind of nasty biological crud under their nails for all you know.”

Eric’s mouth twitched, but he didn’t make a fuss as she continued tending to his wounds. He simply stood there patiently and let her work. She quickly lost herself in the simple task of cleaning the scratches, enjoying the feeling of his warm skin under her fingers. The fact that he smelled so damn good this close up may have had something to do with that. His scent was rather hypnotizing.

She knew she was taking longer to tend his wounds than absolutely necessary. But hey, it had been a long time since she’d enjoyed touching a man’s body. It seemed like another life the last time she’d done something like this, and she’d been nothing but a hormonal teenager back then. After what happened the night she’d left home for good, she’d feared she’d lost the ability to enjoy something like this.

Jayna was so caught up in the moment, she almost didn’t realize Eric was talking to her. “What?”

Maybe it was the midday sun coming through the window, but for a moment, it seemed like his eyes were glowing a beautiful, golden yellow. Then the color disappeared and he smiled at her.

“I asked if your alpha is always such an ass,” he said. “I think he was really hoping Brandon and Caleb would kill me.”

Jayna had to actually shake her head a little to clear it and get herself to focus on anything other than the broad expanse of muscles in front of her.

“Liam wasn’t always like that,” she said. “When I first joined the pack, I thought he was amazing. He seemed to go out of his way to find betas who needed his help, and he did whatever it took to get them to a better place. But lately, he’s changed. Suddenly, it all seems to be about power and money and respect. I don’t know where the old Liam went, but the werewolf who took his place is an ass. And yes, I’m guessing he hoped Caleb would go nuts and kill you. It’s almost certainly why he picked Caleb in the first place. The guy has major control issues.”

Eric didn’t say anything for a while. And when he did, it wasn’t the disparaging comment about Liam that she expected.

“It must be rough,” he said quietly, “seeing the alpha you used to respect disappear like that.”

Jayna felt her throat tighten up, surprised at how accurately Eric had pegged exactly how she was feeling. Just thinking about it made tears gather in her eyes. She lowered her head so he couldn’t see, busying herself with some of the scratches that trailed down toward his stomach.

“So what’s your alpha like?” she asked suddenly, feeling his eyes on her and wanting more than anything to change the subject. She didn’t like the idea of Eric seeing her cry or feeling sorry for her. “He must be pretty tough to keep a whole pack full of other alphas in line.”

Eric chuckled, and Jayna had the pleasure of watching his abs flex.

“Sergeant Dixon? Yeah, I suppose at first he might come off as tough if you didn’t really know him. He’s stronger than just about anyone else in the Pack and absolutely fearless under fire. But more than that, he’s the man who brought us all together, and he’s risked his life for us more times than any of us can count. He’s not that much older than the rest of us, but in all the ways that matter, he’s more of a father than an alpha. There isn’t anything we wouldn’t do for him.”

Jayna almost felt jealous. At his best, Liam had inspired that kind of devotion in his pack, but that had been a long time ago. Then again, she had to wonder if she and the other betas in her pack would have responded as well to a leader who was so obviously alpha. Maybe Sergeant Dixon was a perfect fit for Eric’s pack, but would he have been for hers?

Jayna had cleaned off as much blood as she was going to and set aside Eric’s messy shirt, letting her fingers explore his stomach and trail across his muscular chest to his equally well-muscled shoulder. She told herself that she was simply checking to make sure there wasn’t any foreign debris in the deeper slashes near the top of his deltoids, but that was bogus. She liked touching him. It made her fingers tingle.

That’s when she realized it wasn’t just her fingers that were tingling. Crap. What the heck was going on? It was like she was sixteen again, getting a chance to make out with the hot guy at school. She licked her lips and surreptitiously glanced at Eric, hoping he hadn’t noticed her less-than-casual interest in his muscles.

But apparently he had noticed. That gold flare was back in his eyes, and for a second, they stood there face-to-face, so close that Jayna could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek.

She licked her lips again, and she saw Eric’s sharp eyes follow the path her tongue made with the intensity of a predator. For a moment, she half expected him to lean forward and kiss her. She wasn’t sure she would have stopped him. Her lips were tingling now along with the rest of her body. The urge to lean into the kiss she thought was coming was so powerful, it was hard to ignore—and more than a little scary.

Jayna mentally shook herself and took a step back. She’d never liked feeling out of control or scared, even if those feelings were the result of a sexual response stronger than she’d felt in a really long time.

The golden glow immediately dimmed in Eric’s eyes. Giving her a small smile, he unzipped his backpack and took out a shirt and dragged it on. Even if she knew it was for the best, it was still hard watching him hide those muscles from sight. She could have gazed at them all day.

“I couldn’t help but notice how close you and Megan are,” Eric said, casually leaning back against the kitchen counter. “If you didn’t look so completely different from each other, I would have guessed you were sisters.”

Jayna was surprised by the change in topic, but grateful. It was like Eric had somehow realized she was having a momentary emotional crisis and was trying to help—another point in the big guy’s favor.

“In a lot of ways, she is my sister,” Jayna admitted. “When we first took Megan into our pack two years ago, she was in pretty bad shape.”

“What happened to her? Before she joined your pack, I mean,” Eric said, then added, “If you don’t mind me asking.”

Jayna didn’t answer right away. “Megan’s house caught on fire a few days after she turned eighteen. She woke up when she smelled smoke, but by then the whole place was already burning. She tried to get the rest of her family out, but they’d already succumbed to smoke inhalation and she wasn’t strong enough to carry them.”

“Shit,” Eric whispered. “Did any of them make it?”

Jayna shook her head. “No. A firefighter found Megan on the stairs beside her little brother. The guy got them out, but it was too late for her brother. Her parents and her older sister died in the fire too.”

“That had to be hard to deal with.”

“Yeah,” Jayna agreed. “When she woke up in the hospital a few days later and they told her, she didn’t handle it well. She blamed herself for being too weak to save them. She threw a chair through her hospital window and jumped out—from six floors up, onto the parking lot pavement.”

“Damn,” Eric hissed.

“Yeah. Damn.” Tears filled Jayna’s eyes like they did every time she thought about what had happened to Megan. “Megan should have died immediately, but the fire had brought on her change and the werewolf inside wouldn’t let her die. She was hobbling her way onto the freeway when Liam picked up her scent. I don’t know how he used to do it, but he could tell there was a werewolf in trouble. Somehow he realized that he couldn’t save her though—that I was the only one who could.”

Eric frowned. “What do you mean?”

Jayna shrugged. “Megan wanted to die, and she would have kept trying until she found something that worked. So Liam had me stay with her 24-7 for weeks. That was when our bond formed, and with it, she somehow found the will to live again.”

Jayna wiped away the tears, remembering those long, dark days, when suddenly Eric was there at her side and his arms were going around her. She didn’t stiffen or feel the sense of panic that usually came when a guy got in her space. She just felt warmth.

She relaxed against him, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his chest. A few more tears slipped out, but she decided to ignore those in the comfort of the moment.

But on the heels of that warm, comfortable feeling, another sensation crept in, and Jayna’s heart started beating faster as her jaws and fingers started tingling—like she was on the verge of shifting. She wasn’t stupid. She knew what was happening. She was aroused—so aroused it was almost bringing on an involuntary shift. The intensity of it scared her.

She tried to breathe through it and get herself under control. She’d had sex in the years following Darren’s attempted rape—more to convince herself that she was normal than because she wanted it. The sex had been mechanical and meaningless, a way of assuring herself that Darren hadn’t broken her.

But she wasn’t feeling anything mechanical or meaningless now. Right then, she wanted to have sex with Eric. She wanted it with a hunger that literally had her shaking.

She shouldn’t have even been thinking about something like that after telling him Megan’s story.

Jayna took a step back. Then another. Eric didn’t follow. He simply walked back over to the counter he’d been leaning against before, giving her space to collect herself. Her mind raced to find words that would fill the silence dominating the large, open space around them and the sudden cool gulf that separated her from Eric.

She ran her hand through her long hair. “So, um, what’s your plan now that you’ve gotten yourself into the building?”

It was a lame segue out of the uncomfortable situation, but her mind wasn’t working at full efficiency just then.

“It’s simple really,” Eric said, as if the elephant in the room didn’t even exist. “Every time we figure out where the Albanians are planning to strike, we get a tip to my pack mate, Cooper. He’ll make sure the info gets to my alpha, who will make life damn hard on Frasheri, Kos, and their pet omegas.”

She frowned. “That might work once or twice, but don’t you think they’ll figure out someone in this building is ratting them out at some point?”

“The fact that there’s a gang of mobsters trying to take over control of organized crime in Dallas is about the worst-kept secret in town,” Eric said. “Frasheri and Kos have to know every rival gang and thug in the city is watching this place, waiting for them to make another move. We just have to make sure it looks like one of their rivals is tipping off the cops. It shouldn’t be too hard since we were waiting for you at the warehouse the other day.”

Jayna wondered how SWAT had known they’d hit the warehouse, but she didn’t ask.

“How do we make sure that none of my pack gets caught in the crossfire between the cops and the Albanians?”

“I’m going to personally make sure that none of your pack is there when the shooting starts,” Eric promised. “You have my word on that.”

Coming from anyone else, those words would have been hollow, but Jayna believed them from Eric.

* * *

After working out a few more details of their plan to bring the Albanians down, which included Eric giving her Cooper’s contact info, Jayna headed back to her room with her head spinning. What a freaking day.

Megan yanked open the door the minute she knocked. “Finally! You’ve been up there showing the new omega his room for an hour. Since when do you hang around with omegas?”

Jayna felt terrible for worrying Megan, but she couldn’t tell her who Eric really was. Not yet.

“I don’t hang around with them.” Jayna locked the door and wedged the chair underneath the knob. “I was just being polite and making sure he got comfortably settled in.”

She didn’t look at Megan as she walked into the tiny kitchen and grabbed the bag of Doritos sitting on the table. She opened it and reached in for a handful of chips.

“You were just being polite,” Megan said. “And I suppose being polite required you to clean his scratches for him?”

Jayna almost choked on a chip. She turned to look at Megan “What?”

Megan pointed at her hand. “There’s blood on the back of your hand. Don’t even bother denying it belongs to him. His scent is very unique.”

Jayna twisted her hand around until she saw the tiny smear. She scrubbed it off with a paper towel. “Um, yeah, I helped him clean up. I thought it’d be a good idea to be friendly to him. We might have to go out on a job together, and it would be nice to have an omega covering our backs and not stabbing us in them.”

That line sounded suitably dramatic to her, but Megan didn’t look like she was buying it. “Uh-huh. Whatever you say. Will you be helping Brandon and Caleb clean up next?”

Jayna shoved a handful of pointy Doritos in her mouth and crunched loudly.

Megan laughed and waved her hand. “Okay. Go ahead and keep your secrets for now. But if you come up here with Eric’s scent all over your clothes again, I’m going to think you’ve been getting busy with the new guy.”

Jayna watched in disbelief as Megan wandered over to her bed and thumbed through an old issue of Cosmo. She hadn’t even thought about anyone smelling Eric’s scent on her. Now that he was going to be living at the loft, it wouldn’t be as much of an issue, but she still had to be careful.

But while Megan might be smiling, Jayna knew there were some hurt feelings there too. There had never been secrets between the two of them. Jayna felt crappy about keeping her friend in the dark, but there was simply too much at risk.

There was something Jayna needed to tell Megan though. She walked over to her own bed and sat down, facing her friend.

“Megan, I have to tell you something, and I need you to promise that you won’t breathe a word of what I say to anyone else, not even the guys.”

That got Megan’s attention. She lowered the magazine and looked at Jayna with alarm. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Jayna assured her. “I just need to tell you something.”

“Okay,” Megan said hesitantly.

Jayna took a deep breath, hoping Megan wouldn’t ask a lot of questions she wasn’t ready to answer. “If something goes wrong, find Eric. He’ll get you and the guys out of here.”

Confusion flitted across Megan’s face, quickly followed by fear. “What do you mean, ‘go wrong’? What do you think is going to happen? And why would Eric help us? He’s an omega.”

Jayna shook her head, refusing to give in to the instinct begging her to tell Megan everything. “Please don’t ask me for details because I can’t give them to you right now. But Eric is different. If there’s trouble, promise that you’ll go to him for help, okay?”

“Okay.” Megan bit her lip. “But nothing is going to happen. Right?”

Jayna forced herself to smile. “Of course not. Everything is going to be fine. I just wanted to tell you. In case.”

She hoped.