Then the door of the admin building opened and Gage walked in.
Shit.
Gage stared at them—not exactly with suspicion but definitely with curiosity. “What are you guys doing here so early?”
Becker’s mind went completely blank. He was going undercover with a group of werewolves who would tear him apart if they even sniffed something wasn’t legit. And right now, he couldn’t come up with a single excuse that explained why he and Cooper were at the compound so early.
“I, um, had to come in early and drop off a leave form,” he finally said, trying to sound casual.
His boss frowned. “You’re taking leave? Now?”
“Yeah.”
Becker glanced at Cooper to find his friend regarding him patiently. Clearly, there wouldn’t be any help coming from that direction. So what now? Gage was really good at sniffing out lies, and if he called Becker on this one, his undercover assignment would be over before it started.
“It’s my sister. They think they might have to induce labor.” He felt like crap for bringing her into this and lying about her being pregnant, but he didn’t have a choice. Jayna’s life might depend on it. “I know my timing is bad, especially with the other pack in town, but I really think I should be there. It’s her first child and all.”
Becker held his breath, waiting for Gage to call bullshit on the lie, but his boss didn’t. Maybe Becker wasn’t such a crappy liar after all. Or maybe Gage knew how close Becker was with his family and thought that any weird vibes he picked up were because Becker was worried about his sister.
“Take all the time you need,” Gage said. “And when she has the baby, make sure you take pictures. Mackenzie will want to see the kid. She’s crazy about stuff like that.”
Becker promised he would, then added, “I’ll check in as often as I can.”
“That went a hell of a lot better than I thought it would,” Cooper said as they walked across the parking lot.
“No thanks to you,” Becker muttered. “You could have helped me out when Gage started grilling me.”
Cooper snorted. “Trust me, that wasn’t grilling. When you walk into that loft, you’re going to be grilled. The questions will be coming at you fast and hard. You’d better be ready to talk a good game, or you’re toast.” When they got to Becker’s bike, Cooper stopped to face him. “I’m serious. You up for this?”
All Becker had to do was imagine Jayna in that loft full of killers. He was going in there whether he was up for it or not.
“I’m good,” Becker said as he climbed on his bike. “You just be ready when I call you with whatever I uncover. The faster we take down these guys, the faster we can get Jayna’s pack out of there.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Cooper said. “Watch your back in there.”
Becker reached to start his bike, then stopped. “Almost forgot. Can you stop by and feed my fish every few days? And talk to them too. They get lonely when I’m not home.”
Cooper made a face. “Who the hell talks to their fish?”
“Me. You’ll feed them, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll feed them. But I’m sure as hell not talking to them,” Cooper said. “Now get outta here before anyone else shows up and asks what you’re doing here so early.”
Becker chuckled as he cranked the engine, but his amusement disappeared the moment he rode out of the parking lot. Cooper’s warning echoed in his head. Damn straight he’d watch his back—because there’d be no one else around to do it for him.
* * *
The thought that Jayna might not show briefly entered Becker’s mind on the ride over to the coffee shop, but he quickly dismissed it. Jayna would be there. If not today, then tomorrow. All he had to do was keep going back to that Starbucks until she did.
He grabbed a cup of coffee and found a table in the corner where he could put his back to the wall and keep an eye on the door. In between, he surfed the net on his phone and skimmed his fake IDs so he’d be familiar with his alter ego. He was so busy trying to memorize the address on his driver’s license—some rural trailer park near Waco—that he didn’t notice Jayna had walked in and was coming his way until her intoxicating scent nearly knocked him out of his chair.
He looked up to see her backlit by the midmorning sun pouring through the open door, silhouetting her curvy figure and gorgeous mane of dark blond hair. When she caught sight of him looking at her, a smile tilted up the corners of her beautiful lips, and just like that, the tension he hadn’t even known was there left his body.