In the Company of Wolves(59)

“You didn’t really let her escape. Considering you hid her in a crate so she wouldn’t be found, I’d say you helped her escape.”

Guess that was Cooper’s way of getting back at him for shooting him in the chest.

Gage glared at Cooper, then turned the full force of those gold eyes on Becker again.

He was so fucked.

* * *

The sound of voices in the hallway woke Jayna up. Recognizing Eric’s deep timbre, she jumped out of bed and padded over to the door in her tank top and shorts. She’d tried to talk to Eric privately several times last night but simply hadn’t been able to find the right words or the right time. Now, maybe she had.

But then she heard Kostandin’s voice, and her hand froze on the doorknob. Eric was saying something about going to the SWAT compound and figuring out which officer to target next. The words brought the events of last night rushing back, and her hand tightened on the knob as she heard Eric and Kos walk away. She rested her forehead against the door with a sigh, trying to make sense of everything that had happened over the past twenty-four hours.

The time she’d spent at Eric’s apartment yesterday had been amazing. She’d never dreamed that sex could be so powerful and moving. Just thinking about it made her want to chase after Eric right that minute and ask him to take her back over to his place for more of the same.

But it went beyond how good they were in bed. Eric made her feel safer and happier than she’d been in a very long time, and last night, she could have easily imagined spending the rest of her life with him.

Then he’d shot and killed his best friend. She knew he’d done it to save Megan and Chris, but that didn’t make it any better. She’d never wanted any of Eric’s pack to die, especially Cooper. The SWAT werewolf’s violent death was part of the reason she’d avoided talking to Eric last night. How the hell did you tell the man you were starting to feel so much for that you could never accept what he had done even if he’d done it for you?

But what if she hadn’t seen what she thought she saw last night? What if Eric and Cooper had faked the whole scene? It sounded crazy, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. By making it look like he’d killed Cooper, Eric had been able to save Megan and Chris without blowing his cover with the Albanians.

It might be hard to believe, but it felt right. And for the first time since last night, Jayna felt like she could breathe again.

“Jayna?”

She turned to see Megan sitting up in bed, blinking at her sleepily.

“Is something wrong?” Megan asked.

“No, nothing’s wrong. In fact, everything is just fine.” Jayna smiled and walked over to sit on the edge of Megan’s bed. “But there is something I need to tell you, something I should have told you from the very beginning.”

Megan sat up straighter, her eyes suddenly alert. “You’re running away with Eric, aren’t you?”

“What?” Jayna frowned. “No, I’m not running away with him.”

Megan relaxed slightly but still watched her warily. Jayna reached out and took one of her hands, giving it a squeeze.

“Remember when I said you could trust Eric?”

Megan nodded.

“What I didn’t tell you was that you could trust him because he’s a cop. Specifically, one of the werewolves on the SWAT team.”

Megan’s eyes widened. “What? You said he was an omega you met at Starbucks!”

“Shh,” Jayna warned, throwing a quick glance over her shoulder. “I couldn’t very well say he was a cop. And I did meet him at Starbucks. Well, outside it anyway. Eric was at the warehouse that night with the SWAT team. He helped me hide instead of arresting me, then tracked me down using a receipt from Starbucks that fell out of my pocket. He was waiting outside when I left the loft the next day.”

Megan’s nose wrinkled in confusion. “That doesn’t explain what he’s doing here.”

“He’s trying to help us get out of this crappy situation we’re in.”

Megan twirled the end of her hair, considering that. “But he killed one of those SWAT werewolves last night.”

“I don’t think he did,” Jayna said. “I think he and the other werewolf just made it look like that.”

“That makes sense, I guess.” Megan twirled her hair some more. “But I have a question.”

“Okay.”

“Is Eric in love with you?”

Jayna opened her mouth to deny it but closed it again. Would Eric go to all this trouble if he didn’t love her?

“He thinks he is,” she finally said. “He believes in a legend that says there’s a perfect soul mate out there for every werewolf, and they’re destined to be together. He called it The One.”