In the Company of Wolves(57)

Fortunately, Cooper was focused on the remaining three Albanians, who were shooting at him. Eric slammed on the brakes and slid the bike to a stop just outside the perimeter established by the three SUVs as another Albanian went down.

Jayna immediately jumped off the Harley so she could pull Megan and Chris out of the line of fire while Eric launched himself at the last two Albanians with a speed and grace that she and her pack mates could never hope to achieve.

But instead of tearing into the Albanians trying to kill his best friend, he bent and scooped up a shotgun beside one of the dead men. Pumping a shell into the chamber, he leaped over the SUV in front of him and hit the ground on the far side, then, just as quickly, cleared the hood of Cooper’s Jeep.

The move caught her by surprise, and all she could do was gape as Eric aimed the shotgun at Cooper’s chest and fired. Cooper’s shocked look was the last thing she saw before he flew back and out of sight behind the Jeep. Eric advanced on him, pumped the shotgun, then pointed it at his best friend. Even though the Jeep was in the way, she could tell from the angle of the weapon that he was aiming at Cooper’s head.

Jayna was moving toward them before she even realized what she was doing. But the boom of the shotgun going off stopped her cold. Under the Jeep, Cooper’s legs jerked once, then went still.

Her heart slammed against her ribs. Eric had just shot his pack mate in the head. He had killed one of his own to protect hers.

Eric turned and strode back over to where she still stood immobilized. In the distance, sirens echoed in the night, coming closer.

“Cops are on the way,” he said in a flat, emotionless voice. “Let’s go.”

“Not until I see what that dog looks like,” one of the Albanians said.

Eric stepped in front of the Albanian, his eyes flaring gold as he lifted the shotgun and put the end of the barrel against the man’s forehead.

“I can show you what it looks like—from the inside.”

Jayna never would have imagined Eric could sound so cold and emotionless, but then again, he’d just killed his best friend. Her legs almost gave out as she slowly helped Megan get Chris to his feet and over to one of the SUVs. She didn’t want to believe Eric could have done something like that, even if he’d done it for her. She didn’t want to be the reason he’d killed anyone, especially Cooper. Her eyes burned with tears as she remembered the way the other werewolf had told her he’d do anything to help Eric.

The Albanian squaring off against Eric muttered something in his own language, then turned and quickly helped his wounded friends get in the other Escalade. A few moments later, two of the SUVs sped away, leaving her alone with Eric and the dead Albanians.

Eric didn’t look at her as he walked over to his bike and climbed on. She glanced in Cooper’s direction, torn between needing to know and not wanting to know. But the engine of the Harley rumbled to life and she had no choice but to climb on the back. As Eric squealed away, she looked over her shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of something—anything—to convince her that she hadn’t seen what she thought she had.

All she could see were flashing blue lights as the cops converged on the scene. Then Eric turned a corner, and her view was obscured. Not that it mattered. Her mind had no problem replaying those last few moments over and over, as if it wanted to make sure she never forgot.





Chapter 11


Before the sun was even up the next morning, Becker headed for Jayna’s room. The way Jayna looked at him last night outside Cooper’s apartment complex had torn out his heart. He needed to get her to understand why he’d done what he had. But between the Albanians and omegas congratulating him, Kos and Frasheri wanting details about what happened, then digging two bullets out of Chris’s stomach, privacy had been in short supply last night. While the beta werewolf was healing, he wasn’t doing it very fast, so he hadn’t felt right about asking Jayna to leave his side.

After he explained things to her, he had to go to the SWAT compound so he could talk to Gage and Xander before the shit hit the fan—more than it already had at least. And last night wasn’t something you could explain over the phone or in a text.

Becker was only a few doors down from the apartment that Jayna and Megan shared when Kostandin’s voice stopped him.

“Where are you going at this time of the morning?”

Becker had been so focused on what he was going to say to Jayna that he hadn’t even realized the mob underboss was coming down the hall. Becker walked past Jayna’s door as if he’d been heading for the stairs all along.

“To the SWAT compound,” he said. “See how they’re reacting to the death of one of their own, maybe try to figure out which one we should go after next.”