“I’m saying that you stopped being our alpha a long time ago. First, you bring us into this arrangement without talking to us. Then, you bring in the omegas.” Brandon growled at that, but she ignored him. “And if that isn’t bad enough, you start sending us on jobs that could get us killed while you stay behind where it’s safe.”
Liam had the good grace to look a little chagrined. But then his lip curled. “I had to stay back here and coordinate pack operations.”
Even Caleb and some of the other omegas snorted at that.
“Right,” she scoffed. “Because that’s what we need from an alpha. Not someone who will take a bullet for another member of the pack, like Eric did for Megan. Not someone who will dig a bullet out of another member of the pack, like he did for Chris. Hell, not even someone who will lead us in a fight when we’re in over our head, like he did last night. No, we need someone who will stay inside where it’s comfy, cozy, and safe, coordinating the next job.”
Liam’s eyes flared, a growl of rage rumbling in his throat. Jayna’s claws extended all the way, along with her fangs, as he took a step toward her. She tensed, ready to launch herself at him.
The sound of guns coming out and safeties clicking off echoed in the room, reminding Jayna where they were and what they were doing there. She froze.
But Frasheri had his weapon pointed at Liam, not her. The omegas had theirs pointed at Frasheri. And the Albanians had theirs pointed at the omegas. All it would take is one little sneeze to start everyone shooting.
Jayna glanced at the guys still sitting on the couch. They were tense but alert. Both Moe and Joseph had one arm draped over Chris’s shoulders. If things went from bad to worse, she knew they’d get Chris out of here.
She turned back to see that Liam’s fangs had retracted. But his eyes still swirled with gold.
“I won’t bother to ask if you and the other members of your pack consider Eric your alpha now. I think that’s obvious,” Frasheri said, his gun still pointed at Liam’s head. “But I do have one question.”
Jayna’s breath caught in her throat. Crap, what had she missed?
“You said that Eric is so attracted to you he was willing to turn his back on his career and his pack, but you haven’t said anything about whether you feel the same.”
She frowned. Why the hell would Frasheri ask her something like that?
She knew the easy answer would be to say she felt the same about Eric. But she couldn’t. She knew she was extremely attracted to Eric, more than she’d ever been to any other man. She wasn’t quite so sure of anything beyond that though. While Eric might have bought into the whole The One thing, she was still on the fence about it.
But as the silence stretched on, she knew she had to say something. She couldn’t make anything up either, on the off chance that Liam might pick up on the lie. On the other hand, she needed to say something that would satisfy Frasheri, or that big gun in his hand was likely to be pointed at her next.
“When I’m alone with Eric, I feel happy for the first time in…well…ever,” she said softly.
Her answer must have satisfied Frasheri because he didn’t turn his weapon her way. Liam, however, was staring daggers in her direction.
Frasheri seemed to be considering what to say next when the door opened and Kostandin strode in with two of his own soldiers. Kos regarded the scene, his mouth twitching as he took in the weapons.
“I leave for a few hours and I miss all the fun,” he said. “Who wants to fill me in?”
Liam swung his gaze to Kos. “I discovered that Eric is one of those damn SWAT werewolves. The asshole’s been playing us the whole time.”
“Son of a bitch,” Kos muttered. He glanced at his uncle. “So why is everyone sitting around in here instead of hunting that traitor down?”
“Because Jayna has him believing Eric abandoned his pack for her,” Liam said. “That he’s in love with her or some shit like that.”
The look Kos gave Jayna made her skin crawl, and she had to fight the urge to squirm in her chair.
“I can certainly understand why a man might throw everything away for a chance to be with a woman like our she-wolf,” he said.
Liam snorted. “That doesn’t explain why Eric let those drug dealers you told him to kill walk away.”
Kostandin’s head jerked up. “What did you say?”
“He didn’t kill those drug dealers like you ordered.” Liam turned to her. “Maybe Jayna can tell us why.”
Jayna felt the full force of Liam’s gaze. Crap. What the hell was she going to say to explain why Eric had done that?
She threw a quick look in Frasheri’s direction to see where he came out on this. But instead of regarding her, he was locked in a staring contest with his nephew. That’s when she remembered how much the two Albanians distrusted each other.
Did she dare exploit that?
“Well, Jayna?” Liam prompted.
“Eric said he let them go because Mr. Frasheri told him to,” she said as innocently as she could manage. “Something about them working for us.”