In the Company of Wolves(71)

Gage was watching the other pack intently. “So, that’s her, huh? The reason you did all of this?”

Becker glanced at Jayna. She was hugging both Moe and Joseph at the same time while Megan kneeled beside them with a big smile on her face. The whole attitude of her pack had changed now that Liam was gone. Whereas everyone had been tense and scared before, now, with Jayna, they were all smiles and laughter. Becker could certainly understand why—Jayna made him feel like that every time he was with her too.

“Yeah, that’s her,” he said.

“Guess I can understand why you went to such extreme lengths to be with her then,” Gage said. “She seems pretty special.”

Gage didn’t know the half of it. “She is.” He turned to his boss. “Cooper said some of the werewolves and Albanians got away. I need to figure out who.”

His alpha nodded. “Go ahead. I’ll look after them until you get back.”

The loft had turned into a complete zoo in the few minutes he’d been inside the operations vehicle. There were at least twenty patrol cars parked in the lot and along the street, all with their blue lights flashing. Throw in the various ambulances with their red lights and the unmarked cars with flashing headlights and dashboard lights, and the place was lit up like a freaking circus. The sidewalks on the far side of the street from the loft were already filling up with reporters and news vans. Oh yeah, it was turning into a madhouse.

Becker immediately headed up to the second floor, making his way around uniformed cops dragging the Albanians away in cuffs and paramedics pushing the injured and dead away on gurneys. He checked a few body bags as he went, but none of them held Liam or Kostandin. Unfortunately, when he picked up their scents, he realized they’d both slipped out of the loft—together. Worse, they had at least a half-dozen Albanians with them, maybe more. He followed the scent trail out of the building and down the block, where they disappeared. Obviously, they’d gotten into a vehicle and were long gone.

When Becker got back to the operations vehicle, Jayna was talking to Gage, the anxiety back on her beautiful face. Her pack was still gathered in the rear of the RV, but they looked just as concerned as she did. Becker walked over to stand beside her.

“Frasheri isn’t getting out of prison for a long time, I can promise you that,” Gage said.

“That doesn’t mean anything if we’re in there with him,” Jayna said. “You still haven’t said if you’re going to arrest us or not.”

Becker held his breath. He found Jayna’s hand, interlocking his fingers with hers. It was his way of letting her know he was on her side—and her pack’s.

Gage’s mouth curved slightly. “If I were going to arrest you and your pack, you wouldn’t be in the back of my operations vehicle. You’d already be in jail.”

Some of the tension left Jayna’s shoulders, but the rest of her pack didn’t seem as convinced.

“Why are you letting us go?” Moe asked.

“Because Becker said that none of you actually ever committed any serious crimes. That’s good enough for me,” Gage said.

“What if Frasheri tells the DA about us, hoping to make a deal?” Megan asked. “Or Caleb?”

“The DA is interested in putting away mob bosses like Frasheri, not people who worked for him,” Becker said. “Frasheri is probably scared shitless of you testifying against him.”

“And as for Caleb, ratting you out wouldn’t be in his best interest,” Gage added. “All he has to do is say he was the muscle Frasheri brought in to follow orders. I doubt there’ll be any way to pin him to any specific crime. He keeps his head down, he’ll be out of prison in less than two years.” He glanced at Becker. “Did you come up with anything out there?”

“It looks like Liam and Kostandin got away, along with a few of the Albanians,” Becker said. “I tracked their scent for a block before it disappeared.”

Gage swore. Becker silently did the same. He didn’t like the idea of Jayna’s former alpha being anywhere but in prison. She and her pack looked just as alarmed.

Chris pushed himself up on an elbow. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead from the effort and he bit back a grimace. “Liam’s going to come for us. We’ve got to get out of Dallas before he does.”

Megan and Joseph both put a hand on Chris’s shoulder, gently pushing him back down.

“Hey, that medic guy said you’re supposed to take it easy, not get on the first bus out of here,” Joseph said. “That means none of us are leaving either. At least not until you’ve healed up.”