In the Company of Wolves (SWAT, #3)(23)

That thought scared the hell out of Becker so much his hands shook. “There’s no way I can go in there. They’ll know I’m a cop the moment they check me out. And I’m pretty sure I can’t just make up a name. These Albanians seem a little sharper than that.”

Cooper thought about that for a second before he grinned. “Then you need to go in with a new identity, a really good one established a long time ago by professionals.”

At first Becker didn’t know what Cooper was talking about, but when he figured it out, he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “You think we can break into Gage’s safe without him knowing it?”

“We don’t have to break in. Gage uses the date when he changed into a werewolf as the combination.”

“And how would you know that?” Becker asked.

Cooper chuckled. “Because I’m a very curious werewolf by nature.”

*

Jayna was torn as she walked the last few blocks to the loft. She dreaded facing Liam and Kos and the crap she knew was coming her way. If she didn’t love her pack mates more than anything in the world, she wouldn’t have gone back there. Kos was going to be suspicious about why she had been gone so long, and Liam was almost certain to be furious.

It wasn’t her fault though. Walking away from that Starbucks had been hard. Well, walking away from the coffee shop hadn’t been that difficult. It was leaving Eric that had been tough. She couldn’t understand why a guy she barely knew had that kind of effect on her. When she walked out of that coffee shop, she’d felt this crazy sensation…like she was leaving something really important behind. The urge to run back in had been almost overwhelming. But she’d forced herself to keep going. It was going to take a while to shower, and it was going to take even longer if she hung around mooning over the big, blue-eyed were-hunk.

She’d stopped at a pharmacy on the way and picked up a bottle of perfume and the fruitiest shampoo she could find. Then she’d gotten a room at the Holiday Inn Express a few blocks off Canton, drawing a bit more attention than she’d liked when she pulled out the wad of cash Eric had given her and discovered that most of the bills were fifties. Who the heck walks around with that kind of money in their wallet?

Jayna expected to see Megan and the guys waiting for her, but they were nowhere in sight. Instead, she found two Albanians and an omega parked on the couch in front of the giant TV, playing video games, while another omega watched. On the other side of the atrium, Liam, Kostandin, and Brandon were still deep in conversation about a job. She heard Brandon ask how they would get in the safe and Kostandin saying something about the daytime manager knowing the combination.

“Don’t be afraid to break a few bones to get her to talk,” Kos said. “Just make sure you break the ones on her left hand—she still has to open the safe.”

She walked over to the omega watching the guys playing video games. Short and stocky, with curly hair, he had a mustache and full beard that could have used a trim. “Where are Megan and the guys?”

He barely glanced at her. “What the hell do I look like, your secretary?”

Jayna didn’t realize she’d shifted until she started forward, her canines and claws extended, her right hand poised to rip out the idiot’s throat.

The omega’s eyes widened in alarm and he quickly backpedaled, raising his hands in an attempt to protect his face and neck. “Shit. Chill out! The girl is upstairs. The three guys are checking out a drug lab that Kos wants to take down in a couple days.”

Jayna’s rage immediately faded. Her pack mates were okay—or at least as okay as they could be considering the present situation.

Abruptly aware of eyes on her, she glanced around and saw everyone staring at her. The omega she’d been about to shred was looking at her like she had horns as well as fangs and claws. She didn’t know why he was so terrified. Sure, she’d lost control for a second, but the guy had to know there was no way a beta her size could take on an omega without her pack. But as he took another step back, she realized he clearly wasn’t aware of that fact.

On the other side of the lobby, Liam frowned at her in obvious displeasure—probably pissed she was usurping his pack authority again. Beside him, Kos regarded her with an expression of sick amusement. That pissed her off even more than the look her alpha was throwing her way.

Screw them both, Jayna thought as she turned and headed for the kitchen. She grabbed the first thing she saw on the counter—a box of frosted cinnamon Pop Tarts. She yanked out a pack and ripped it open, then bit into the pastry. It didn’t taste nearly as good as the coffee cake Eric had gotten her at Starbucks. That had tasted better than anything in this room ever could, and she had no doubt it was because he’d been sitting across from her.

Jayna was so wrapped up in thoughts of Eric that she didn’t notice Kostandin coming in until she turned and almost bounced off his oversized chest. How the hell had he been able to sneak up on her like that? He was the size of a house.

The fact that a guy as creepy as Kos could sneak up on her gave her goose bumps all over, and she took an involuntary step back. She might have scared the hell out of the omega out in the lobby, but it was obvious Kos wasn’t intimidated by her in the least.

He closed the distance between them, and before she realized what he was doing, he’d leaned in and sniffed her hair. She pulled back in revulsion even as he chuckled.