Jayna opened her mouth to ask if Megan was in trouble with the law—if all of them were—but then a cough from the doorway interrupted her. She looked over to see Cooper standing there with that same lopsided grin he’d had on his face at Eric’s apartment. She smiled back, happy that she’d been right about Eric not killing his best friend. She’d never doubted it for a second—okay, maybe for a second.
“Speaking of the operations van, maybe it’s time we get you two down there,” Cooper said as he walked over to them. “This place will be crawling with uniformed officers and crime scene techs before long.” He looked down at Brandon and grimaced, then turned back to Eric. “What, you couldn’t just shoot him?”
Eric stood up and did that manly handshake thing that involved grabbing the other guy’s shoulder and squeezing the hell out of it while trying to crush the hand you were shaking at the same time. Eric didn’t even complain when Cooper put pressure on the shoulder that had the bullet hole through it. Jayna thought the men in her pack were strange—the ones in Eric’s pack were even more bizarre.
Eric shrugged as he reached down and gently helped Jayna to her feet. She couldn’t help but wince as she straightened up. Crap, she must have really done some damage bouncing off that column. Eric immediately had an arm around her waist, that concerned look on his face again—the one that made her heart beat funny.
“You okay?” he asked.
She nodded, giving him a small smile. “Just a little sore.”
Eric frowned but didn’t press. He glanced at Cooper. “How’d it go down there?”
“Most of the omegas didn’t go down easy—the animals lost their frigging minds. But a good portion of the Albanians and even some of the more rational omegas gave themselves up once they realized they were outgunned.” Cooper pointed at the radio earpiece hanging in tatters against Becker’s tactical vest. “You would have already known that if you’d left your earpiece in.”
Eric ignored the comment, turning back to her. “You want me to carry you down the stairs?”
Jayna was touched. While the idea of her big, alpha werewolf carrying her out of there held a certain romantic appeal, how would it look for him to carry her when he was bleeding all over the place and all she had were some bumps and bruises?
“I’m okay. I’ll just walk slowly.” She smiled at him. “But thanks.”
He nodded, keeping his arm around her as he guided her toward the door. In the distance, Jayna could hear what sounded like hundreds of sirens approaching the loft. “Eric told me that Megan’s okay, but what about Moe, Chris, and Joseph? They haven’t been arrested or…”
She couldn’t bring herself to say the words.
“They’re all fine,” Cooper said. “They’re down in the operations vehicle with Megan. One of our medics is looking at Chris.”
The huge weight on her chest lifted and she could finally breathe again. She didn’t know what the future held for her or her pack, but at least they were out from under the Albanians and safe for now.
“What about Liam, our pack alpha?” she asked when they reached the top of the steps. “Is he…?”
“It got a little crazy in that office, especially when everyone started bolting for the exits,” Cooper said. “I don’t know who was killed, who was arrested, and who escaped.”
Eric frowned. “Some of them got away?”
Cooper nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know who though. I was a little busy at the time.”
Jayna got a sinking feeling in her stomach, her instincts telling her that Liam had been one of the people who’d gotten away. A small part of her was glad. He’d been important to her at one point in her life. But she also remembered how angry Liam had been when he’d realized he was no longer pack alpha and that Eric had taken over. Liam had looked like he was ready to kill. If he was still out there, she hoped he’d leave Dallas and get as far away as he could. She just wasn’t sure he would.
*
It took all the restraint Becker possessed to keep from scooping up Jayna in his arms and carrying her down the stairs. She was moving so gingerly that it hurt to watch her try to get down to the first floor.
He and Cooper took their time leading Jayna through the building and out to the operations vehicle in the parking lot behind the loft. Becker was just thinking he might have to pick her up to get her into the renovated RV, but the moment he opened the door, all her aches and pains disappeared. She must have picked up the scent of her pack mates because she practically leaped through the door.
He climbed in just in time to see Jayna pulling Megan into her arms, hugging the smaller werewolf to her as she moved over to join Moe and Joseph by Chris’s side. The beta was stretched out on his back on the floor near the bank of TVs there. Alex and the team’s other medic, Trey Duncan, were leaning over the injured werewolf with forceps, bloody hands, and a frigging needle and thread.
“Oh God, Chris. What happened?” Jayna asked as she knelt down beside the werewolf.