In the Company of Wolves (SWAT, #3)(38)

Eric took her shaking hand in his big one. “Jayna, look at me.” She did. “Calm down? okay? I’m not going to die. I just need you to get the bullet out. Once you do, the bleeding will stop and my body will start to heal. I promise. Just relax, and everything will be fine.”

Jayna didn’t know how that could be possible—he was bleeding so much—but the complete and total conviction in his words made her believe him. She nodded and took a deep breath, letting Eric guide her hand as she slipped the tip of the pliers into the tear in his pec again.

“What the heck happened out there?” she asked, more to distract herself than because she really wanted to know.

“He got shot protecting me,” Megan said softly.

That didn’t surprise Jayna.

“It was supposed to be easy,” Megan added, referring to the recon mission she, Chris, and Eric had gone out on after lunch. “We were just supposed to slip into the Union Pacific secure intermodal terminal and figure out where they park their trucks with all the high-value items. But a security guard saw us and instead of acting cool, the Albanians and omegas started shooting at everything in sight—including each other—and Chris and I ended up getting stuck in the crossfire. I don’t understand what’s gotten into them. They should have been trying to get away from the security guards, not trying to kill each other.”

Jayna had a pretty good idea why the Albanians and omegas weren’t exactly besties at the moment, but she pushed those thoughts aside as Eric guided the long jaws of the pliers she held deeper into his chest.

Megan continued her story, something about how Eric had dodged a hail of gunfire twice to get her and Chris to safety.

Jayna stopped listening when she hit something solid and Eric grunted in pain. She froze in panic, sure she’d damaged something critically important in there. “Oh God. I’m sorry.”

He shook his head as he helped her manipulate the pliers even deeper. “Keep going.”

How can he think so clearly in the middle of something like this?

“I’d be dead if it weren’t for Eric,” Megan said. “And Chris would probably be in jail.”

Jayna felt the tip of the pliers contact something that felt distinctly metallic. She slowly pulled out the pliers, sighing in relief when she saw the smashed-up bullet held securely in its jaws. More blood came out with the bullet, but almost immediately, the flow slowed, and she could tell from the way the tension left Eric’s body that the pain had subsided drastically.

“See, I told you I’d be fine,” Eric said with a smile that made her stomach start to flutter for a completely different reason. “You did great. You’re a natural at this.”

Jayna definitely didn’t agree with that. But she didn’t say anything as she set the pliers on the floor and picked up the towel so she could clean the blood off his chest. Megan leaned forward and kissed Eric on the cheek.

“This is for watching out for Chris,” she said, then kissed his cheek again. “And this is for watching out for me.”

Eric smiled. “Anytime.”

Jayna felt her heart squeeze. A few days ago, Megan had thought Eric was just another crazy omega, but Jayna could tell from the way her pack mates treated him now that they didn’t see him that way anymore. In every way that mattered, Eric had become the pack’s new alpha. He was the one watching out for them and keeping them safe. The only person who hadn’t figured that out was Liam. But then, he’d been so busy bending over backward trying to stay in the Albanians’ good graces, he didn’t see much of anything anymore.

Liam had come to her yesterday bemoaning the fact that two of “his” omegas had up and left. He thought Kos had chased them off because they were more loyal to Liam than to the Albanian underboss. “It’s all falling apart,” Liam had said softly, and for a moment, Jayna had almost felt bad for him. Until Liam had told her that he needed Moe and the rest of her pack mates to pick up the slack and go out on even more jobs. “That’ll show Kos he needs to keep me around.”

That was when Jayna decided she didn’t feel bad about Liam losing his pack at all. As Eric had said about his own alpha, a werewolf became a pack leader by showing he cared more about his pack than he did himself. It definitely wasn’t how anyone would describe Liam anymore. But it was how they’d describe Eric.

“I’m going back to the room,” Megan said, giving Jayna a smile—and a pretty pointed look. “I’ll see you later.”

Jayna felt her face color. Could Megan be any more obvious? Yesterday, she’d asked Jayna when she was going to make a move on Eric. According to Megan, it was obvious to everyone that Eric had a thing for her. Jayna admitted she had a thing for him too but said it never seemed to be the right time. Megan must have thought now was the right time since Eric was lying half-naked on the floor in a very appreciative mood.

Jayna wasn’t so sure about that, but she did want to talk to him about a few things while they had a little privacy. So after Megan left, she told Eric to stay put while she cleaned off the rest of the blood.

“This is becoming a habit,” he murmured.

She smiled. “I hope digging bullets out of you doesn’t become a habit. I’m a werewolf, not a doctor.”

He let out a low, sexy growl as the towel slipped a bit too low. “Okay, tell me you didn’t just steal a line from Star Trek.”