In the Company of Wolves (SWAT, #3)(55)

Shit. This was exactly what he’d been afraid of. If Liam thought Jayna and the guys had betrayed him, there was no telling what he’d do. “I’ll get them out of there, Megan. I promise.” He glanced at Cooper. “I could use some backup. You in?”

“I’m in,” Cooper said. “You get the weapons. I’ll grab the tactical gear.”

Becker nodded and turned to head for the armory, but Gage caught his arm. “Where the hell do you two think you’re going?”

Becker bared his canines with a snarl. He didn’t have time for this. “Jayna’s in trouble. I’m going to get her out.”

“On your own?”

“Looks like it.” Becker glared at his boss. “I realize I’m a newbie in this pack and the fact that the woman I love is in danger doesn’t concern you as much as when Mac was in trouble, but I’m going to go rescue her. If you want to stop me, you better be ready to kill me.”

Gage didn’t flinch. Instead, he stared at Becker like he was contemplating whether to take him up on the challenge.

“Are you saying you’re willing to walk away from the Pack for this woman?” Gage asked.

“Yes.” Becker didn’t even have to think about it. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect Jayna.”

Gage slanted Cooper a hard look. “That go for you too?”

“Damn right,” Cooper said. “I’m sure as hell not letting him go alone.”

“He’s not going alone,” Xander said, stepping up to stand beside Khaki. “We’re coming too.”

Becker would have thanked Xander and Khaki, but he didn’t think their support would change Gage’s mind. But then one after another, the rest of the Pack fell into place behind Becker, leaving Gage by himself on the imaginary line their alpha had drawn in the dirt. Even Tuffie walked over to stand with them.

Gage pinned Becker with a look. “I guess I don’t need to ask whether you think Jayna is The One for you, do I?”

Becker shook his head.

Gage sighed. “This team was a whole hell of a lot easier to run before any of us had ever heard about The One. You know that, right?”

“Maybe.” Becker grinned. “But it wasn’t nearly as interesting.”

“No, it wasn’t.” Gage looked around. “Okay, let’s get loaded up and get out of here.”

*

“Where’s Megan?” Liam asked.

Jayna tried to look casual as she shrugged. Well, as casual as she could with Caleb, Brandon, and half a dozen other omegas pointing automatic weapons at her, Moe, Joseph, and Chris.

“She left an hour ago to pick up breakfast at McDonald’s,” Jayna said. “She’ll be back soon.”

Liam looked around the room, his hazel eyes suspicious, but after sniffing the air a few times, he jerked his head at the door. “Downstairs. Now!”

“Chris still hasn’t healed,” Jayna said. “He’s in no shape to be running up and down stairs.”

That wasn’t a lie, and it might buy them some time until Eric got there. She wasn’t sure what he’d do when he did, but she’d feel a lot better with him here.

Liam didn’t even look at Chris. “Frasheri wants all of you downstairs. What part of that don’t you understand?”

Jayna bit her tongue to keep from telling her alpha—make that former alpha—to shove it. Pissing Liam off more than he already was wouldn’t help. Moe and Joseph must have thought so too, because they carefully helped Chris to his feet, then positioned themselves on either side of their injured pack mate, supporting him as he slowly shuffled toward the door.

Brandon brought up the rear as they made their way down the stairs, a smirk on his ugly face. Clearly, the bully was enjoying the view from the top.

Jayna ignored the urge to kick Brandon in the groin and grab his gun as Liam led them into Frasheri’s ridiculously large office on the second floor. The Albanian was sitting at his monster of a desk, leaning back in his chair, watching them intently. Jayna’s stomach clenched at the sight of the big handgun on the desk in front of him, and at the two Albanian guards behind him, their backs to the huge plate glass window that covered half the wall. The window gave a beautiful view of the loft’s inner courtyard area, but at that moment, Jayna couldn’t appreciate it. She was too worried about what was going to happen to her and her pack.

The omegas shoved Moe, Joseph, and Chris down on the leather couch against one wall while Liam took Jayna’s arm and sat her in the lone arm chair positioned in front of the desk, so she was uncomfortably close to the gun there but still far enough away that she’d never be able to lunge for it before Frasheri could grab it.

Jayna gripped the arms of the chair, her nails extending just enough to dig into the polished wood. Just stay calm and keep them talking, she told herself. According to Eric, the SWAT compound was fifteen minutes away by car. That meant she had to figure out a way to stall for at least thirty. Her life and the lives of her pack mates depended on it.

“Liam tells me that Eric’s a cop,” Frasheri said. “Is that true, Jayna?”

Okay, she hadn’t expected that. She’d expected the Albanian mobster to order his men to kill her and her pack immediately, then get as far away from Dallas as he could.