In the Company of Wolves (SWAT, #3)(37)

That part wasn’t exactly true, but Frasheri and Kos didn’t know that. And from what he’d picked up over the past few days, loyalty was a big thing with the Albanians. They’d never consider Becker or any of the other werewolves part of their inner circle—you had to be a blood relation for that—but they expected anyone who worked for them to be loyal to the family. That included the hired muscle.

Telling Frasheri and Kos that the omegas were traitors fed into the suspicions they probably already had about the unpredictable werewolves. If he played this right, he might be able to drive a wedge between the Albanians and the omegas, maybe even between them and Liam. If the various factions in the loft were focused on who was betraying them, it’d be a hell of a lot easier to take them out one by one.

“Why would you care that those omegas had been stealing from us?” Kos asked.

Becker shrugged. “Pack doesn’t steal from pack. And you’re my pack now.”

Kos raised an eyebrow at that, then glanced at Frasheri. The older Albanian stared at Becker for a moment before nodding.

“That’s it?” Liam demanded, slanting Becker a venomous look. “This a-hole doesn’t come back with the diamonds, he gets two of my omegas arrested, and you’re fine with that?”

Kostandin gave Liam one of those patented flat-eyed looks of his. “Failure on a job is the price of doing business. But we will not tolerate those who steal from us. And those omegas of yours were stealing from us. Eric has simply done what I would have done in his position. Not only am I fine with it, I require it.”

Liam’s eyes flashed yellow. “That’s—”

But Kos cut him off. “And if I discover you knew what these omegas of yours were doing—”

“I didn’t! I swear to you,” Liam insisted. “If you weren’t so damn worried about me stealing from you, maybe you’d stop and wonder why the cops show up every time a crew has gone out on a job the past couple days.”

Becker saw Jayna glance at him, but he didn’t look at her. “Maybe someone’s been tipping them off.”

Frasheri considered that. “Like who?”

Becker shrugged. “A rival crew maybe?”

He and Jayna had talked about suggesting the possibility to Kos and Frasheri but hadn’t had a chance to plant the seed yet until now.

“Or maybe you did it,” Liam accused.

Becker snorted. “Right. I tipped off the cops and told them we’d be hitting the jewelry store so I could get arrested too. That’s brilliant.”

Liam opened his mouth to say something, but Kos cut him off.

“We’re done here.”

This time, Liam left without a fuss, but not before giving Becker and Jayna a look that could have melted the flesh from their bones. Becker couldn’t give a damn what the werewolf thought of him, but if that bastard tried to take out his anger on Jayna, Becker would rip off his head and shove it up his ass.

Becker held his hand out toward the door Liam had left open, indicating Jayna should go ahead of him. He gave the Albanians a nod, then followed, closing the door behind them.

Liam was nowhere in sight, but there was an omega and a handful of Albanians hanging around the hallway, so he and Jayna didn’t speak until they were in her apartment.

“So, I’m guessing we have a plan B now?” she asked softy.

Becker grinned, glad Jayna had picked up on the seeds he’d planted in Frasheri’s office. “Yup. I got the idea when I saw that omega flash the platinum medallion. In between texting Cooper with every tip we can get our hands on, we’re going to start doing everything we can to convince Frasheri and Kos that the omegas are a liability—and vice versa. With a little nudging from us, the Albanians and omegas should be at each other’s throats in no time.”

“And then we can just walk out when the shooting starts.” Jayna smiled up at him. “You’re pretty devious,” she said, then leaned in and put her mouth right next to his ear. “For a cop.”

Her whisper was a warm breeze across his skin. With her sweet mouth millimeters from his ear and her intoxicating scent enveloping him—almost causing him to shift—the urge to turn his head and kiss her was damn near impossible to resist. It took every ounce of strength Becker had, but he forced himself to step back.

Not because he didn’t trust himself, but because he didn’t want to rush her into anything. But before he left, he thought he caught a flash of green in her eyes as she gave him a smile. He was pretty sure that sudden flare of iridescent color had nothing to do with the soft lighting in the apartment and everything to do with her body’s response to him.





Chapter 8


Jayna leaned over Eric’s bare, muscular chest, trying not to be sick as she dug a bullet out. It was hard—there was blood everywhere. She’d never done anything like this in her life, and she never wanted to do it again. But when she’d walked into Eric’s apartment to find him sitting on the floor with his back to the bed, about to root around in his own chest with a flipping pair of needle-nose pliers while Megan held up a small mirror for him, she knew she had to do something. Thank goodness the blood was covering his SWAT tattoo or she’d have to worry about explaining that too.

The mere thought that Eric might actually die freaked her out so much that her canines and claws extended all on their own and she had to pull away for a second to get them to retract. She purposely hadn’t let herself think about what was developing between her and Eric. She knew she liked him. She just hadn’t realized how much. And now here he was, bleeding out all over the floor. This couldn’t be happening.