In the Company of Wolves (SWAT, #3)(28)

“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.