“I know you’re scared, but I need you to do this,” Jayna implored. “For me and for the pack.”
More tears rolled down Megan’s face. “But what if I hurt myself so bad that I can’t go get Eric?”
Jayna released one of Megan’s hands to cup her cheek. “Do you trust me?”
Megan didn’t hesitate. “You’re the only person I trust.”
“Then you need to believe me when I say you’ll be okay. You won’t get hurt, and you’re going to get to Eric in time. I wouldn’t let you do this if I didn’t believe that with every fiber of my soul.”
Megan swallowed hard, sniffed once, then nodded. Pulling Jayna close, she hugged her tightly, then walked over to the railing and clambered over it. Jayna followed her to the railing.
“Find a cab and tell the driver you need to go to the SWAT compound. They’ll either know where it is or will be able to find out. You have money on you, right?”
Megan nodded as she carefully positioned her feet on the edge of the balcony outside the railing. Jayna brushed her friend’s hair back and kissed her cheek.
“I’ll try to keep Liam talking as long as I can, but you need to hurry,” she said.
Megan nodded, then took a deep breath and jumped.
Jayna leaned out to look over the balcony, wincing as Megan hit the grass below and rolled several times before coming to a stop. She breathed a sigh of relief when Megan jumped to her feet and gave her a smile, then ran toward the main street.
Jayna waited until Megan disappeared from sight, then turned and went back inside the small apartment. Giving the guys a nod she hoped was reassuring, she walked over to the door and turned the knob.
Chapter 12
It took Xander, Mike, and Brooks to pull Gage away from Becker’s throat.
“Half your squad almost died in that warehouse. One of those werewolves bit Khaki for God’s sake!” Gage roared, trying to shake off Xander’s hold on his arm. “And you deliberately hid one of them from us? What the hell were you thinking?”
Becker felt his canines elongate and knew his claws weren’t far behind. “I’d tell you why I did it if you’d give me a fucking chance to say something without you trying to rip my head off!”
Gage’s nostrils flared and Becker braced for impact, sure his alpha was going to come at him again regardless of how many guys were trying to hold him back. But then Gage took a deep breath and retracted his fangs and claws.
“Okay. I’m listening,” he said. His eyes still flared gold though. “Let’s hear the reason you think will justify putting a criminal before your pack.”
The barb stung like hell.
“Jayna isn’t a criminal,” Becker growled. “She didn’t even want to be in that warehouse. But her alpha has aligned their pack with the Albanians and she didn’t know how to say no to him.”
Becker knew he was pressing his luck, but he also knew he had to take advantage of the time Gage was giving him to explain everything.
“I know it was stupid to go in undercover, but once I tracked her down and realized how much danger she and the other members of her pack were in, I didn’t have a choice.” He took a breath. “This is probably a good time to also tell you that I gave Jayna my word that she and her pack wouldn’t be arrested.”
Gage’s mouth tightened. “That isn’t your call to make.”
Becker took a step toward his boss, baring his fangs. The hell with playing nice. If Gage wanted to fight, bring it on.
“Jayna and her pack didn’t do anything wrong. They’re betas that have an asshole for an alpha who cares more about money and power than he does about his own pack,” he said. “If it were Mackenzie, you’d have done the same thing.”
Gage’s fangs and claws were back, but he didn’t say anything.
“What’s a beta?” Max asked from beside Cooper.
Becker glanced at his pack mate to see Max looking at him in confusion. Well, at least someone else on the team was as clueless about werewolves as he was.
“It’s a werewolf who isn’t as strong as an alpha and has an almost overwhelming need to be part of a pack,” Gage said tersely, then, giving Becker a pointed look, added, “Typically, they also aren’t as reckless as alphas.”
“Speaking of werewolves,” Khaki interrupted, “one just walked into the compound.”
Jayna.
Becker swore under his breath and raced for the door. He was so focused on getting outside before his teammates that it took him a moment to realize the scent coming from the other side of the door didn’t belong to Jayna but to Megan. His stomach lurched. If Megan was here, something bad had gone down, he could feel it.