What a complete ass, Becker thought as he walked up and punched the guy in the face. The werewolf flew backward and bounced off the wall, bleeding like crazy from a broken nose as he fell to the floor in a dazed heap. He was still moving around though, reminding Becker that it was as hard to knock out an omega as it was to knock out an alpha. He’d have to remember that.
Becker strode into the office to find the store manager on the floor beside her desk, the other omega—the one who liked to play with his platinum medallion—leaning over her menacingly. He’d torn her blouse and was telling her all the horrible things he planned to do to her if she didn’t open the safe. The idiot was so intent on threatening her that he didn’t realize Becker was there until he yanked the guy to his feet and spun him around, then smashed the back of his head into the nearest hard object he could find—the safe panel. Becker pounded his head into the safe a few times before letting him fall to the floor. The asshole was definitely out cold.
Becker turned and looked at the shop manager. She cringed away from him, terror in her eyes as she tried to hold the tatters of her blouse together. He really wished he could pull up his ski mask. Seeing him like this definitely wasn’t helping.
“Do you have an alarm button in this room?” he asked in his softest, least intimidating voice.
The woman stared at him for a moment like he was insane, then motioned under the desk with a shaking hand.
“Would you mind pushing it for me?” he asked.
Now she looked really confused. But she slowly reached under the desk and poked around until a loud alarm started ringing.
“Thanks.” Becker bent down to take the platinum medallion out of the omega’s vest and slip it into his pocket. “By the way, that diamond merchant you bought from in New York sold you out to a really bad guy. You probably don’t want to buy from him anymore.” Turning, he jogged out of the room and down the hallway to the front of the store. “Time to leave. Moron hit the alarm.”
Jayna was heading his way in a flash, the two Albanians right behind her.
“What about the safe?” the driver asked.
Becker shook his head. “It’s a no-go. Our guy smashed the keypad.”
The Albanians muttered something in their native language and shook their heads, as if they’d seen this coming. They stepped over the omega who was still rolling around in a daze on the floor in the hallway and raced out the back door. In the distance, sirens echoed in the air. About damn time. Becker motioned Jayna out.
“What about him?” she asked, jerking her head at the werewolf still trying to get to his knees.
Becker nudged the omega with his boot, pushing him back down. The guy looked like he really didn’t want to bother getting up this time.
“What about him?” Becker said, holding the door open for her.
*
“You left them to get arrested?” Liam snarled.
Becker returned the other werewolf’s glare. When he and Jayna had gotten back without the diamonds and the two omegas, Liam had made it no secret that he was pissed. Frasheri, on the other hand, didn’t seem nearly as upset. Instead, he sat at his big desk in front of the huge row of picture windows in his office on the second floor, watching Becker and Liam square off. Even Kos seemed more interested in the power struggle going on than the botched robbery.
“Damn right I did,” Becker told Liam. “Any loyalty I felt toward them disappeared the minute I heard they were planning to swipe some of the diamonds for themselves.”
Kostandin’s eyes narrowed. “Planning to swipe some of the diamonds for themselves?”
“That’s bullshit,” Liam snapped. “He’s making that up to distract you from the fact that he screwed up. Right, Jayna?”
Becker swore silently as Kos and Frasheri looked at Jayna, their eyes questioning. Becker knew she’d back him up, but he still felt like crap for putting her in this position. She didn’t seem uncomfortable though. Beside him, her pulse beat in a nice, steady rhythm.
She met Liam’s gaze unflinchingly. “Eric’s not making anything up.”
Becker couldn’t resist giving Liam a smug look. “If you need any more proof they were dirty, this should do it.”
Pulling the platinum medallion out of his pocket, he tossed it on Frasheri’s desk. The silence that descended on the room was deafening. Even Liam seemed speechless for once.
“Where did you get that?” Kos asked.
“One of the omegas flashed it around before we got to the jewelry store,” Becker said. “When I went back to see what was taking him and his buddy so long with the safe, I heard them talking about taking a few diamonds for themselves, that no one would notice. Let’s just say they should consider themselves lucky to be sitting in a jail cell. If I had my way, those assholes would be in the morgue right now, but the cops showed up.”