In the Company of Wolves(64)

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.

So why wasn’t he?

Because he didn’t want to believe Liam—not only because Liam was Kostandin’s right-hand man, but because Frasheri had already invested so much of his trust in Eric. And Eric knew where Frasheri was hiding his stash of money and weapons.

But if she tried to deny it, Liam would only prove her wrong. So she wouldn’t deny it. Instead, she’d use it to her advantage.

Jayna lifted her chin and met Frasheri’s eyes. “Yes, Eric is a cop. He’s one of the SWAT werewolves.”

Frasheri swore, the vein at his temple pulsing, his hands curling into fists. From the corner of her eye, Jayna saw Joseph and the other guys looking at her in shock.

“He was a cop right up to the moment he decided to save my life that night in the warehouse,” she added quickly. “When his alpha found out, he fired Eric from the team and kicked him out of his pack. That’s why he came here.”

Liam snorted. “Oh, please. You don’t really expect us to believe that, do you?”

Frasheri held up his hand, cutting Liam off. “What do you mean, he saved your life?”

Jayna shrugged, trying hard to project that total sense of calm confidence Eric seemed to wear like a jacket. “I thought I was about to die, or get arrested if I was lucky. But then Eric came around a corner and instead of shooting me or arresting me, he hid me in a packing crate.”

“Bullshit,” Brandon muttered.

Jayna had an insane desire to stick her tongue out at the omega but settled for glaring at him. “How do you think I got that expensive perfume all over me? He smashed the bottles on top of the crate to cover my scent from his pack mates.”

Frasheri stared at her for a long time. “Why would a cop do that?”

Liam came around from behind her so he could look her in the eye when she answered the question, no doubt so he could determine if she was lying. She knew he wasn’t that good at detecting lies, but in this case, she didn’t have to take the risk—not when it was easy to tell the truth.

“Because he’s not just a cop—he’s a werewolf. And werewolves will do anything when they meet The One for them.”

Frasheri let out a short laugh. “You’re kidding, right? You’re telling me that Eric took one look at you and decided to chuck his whole career because you’re hot?”