We raced home and packed what we needed for a quick trip. My dad was staying behind in case it was a trap set for us to leave our home unprotected. Everyone who hadn’t worked the night before was called in to start rotations around the property. Declan wouldn’t slip away again.
I threw my bag into the bed of the truck. Augie and Jamie were already in the back seat, so I joined them. Caleb was passenger, so that left Liam to drive, which I preferred. Last time Caleb drove me somewhere, I got shot at. I had my fingers crossed that today would not be a repeat.
Augie had his tablet out with the area map showing. “We need to head west until we hit highway 97 and follow that south. They should be somewhere on that highway.”
Liam put the truck in drive and we headed out. It had been several hours since the group arrived earlier, so we had a while before we were likely to find their vehicle, if we could even find it at all.
“Wouldn’t they have pulled off somewhere?” Jamie asked, mirroring my thoughts. “What are the chances we’ll even find where they stopped? I can’t imagine they would have made a scene on a main road to fight with rogue shifters if they were being provoked.”
Caleb grinned at his mate. “Good thinking, babe. Let me give Aiden a call. Maybe he can pick up their location from the phone call Gerald got. He’s got all those techy things that he can do scary stuff with.”
Augie clicked off his tablet. “That will save me hours of calculating possible routes, so please do. We might be out here for days trying to find them if he can’t narrow down the search field for us.”
“We don’t have days,” I said. “Declan is moving in. I can feel it. We need to find these guys and get one of them to break, so we’re not blind-sided when Declan attacks. Even better would be if we could strike first.”
“Oh, that reminds me,” Caleb said. “We’re still working on the guys that attacked us, but Aiden did a background on them. They’re rogues, so we’re thinking Declan just hired them and we won’t learn anything, but we’re still keeping them around just in case.”
I nodded. I wasn’t surprised. I was continually frustrated, but very little surprised me anymore when it came to Declan.
Caleb made his call to Aiden while Liam drove. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my bond with Liam. I was getting worked up over Declan and needed to calm down. Tapping into our link and feeling his calm presence was exactly what I needed to relax.
I opened my eyes to find him staring at me through the mirror. He winked before going back to paying attention to the road. I really did love that man.
Ten minutes later, Aiden called Caleb’s phone back and he answered, putting it on speaker.
“What do you have for us, brother?”
He sighed. “Either a trap or a bunch of idiots. You won’t know until you get there.”
I leaned forward, wanting to make sure I heard everything.
Aiden continued, “Jessica’s phone is still on. I narrowed down the vicinity where the call was placed, but then I noticed the phone was still active. I continued to track it and it’s sitting in what could be a cabin twenty miles east of where they got attacked. I’m texting Liam the coordinates now.”
“Got it,” Liam said. “Thanks, Aiden. We’ll check in as soon as we’re done there.”
“Stay safe,” Aiden replied before disconnecting.
Caleb tucked his phone away and grabbed Liam’s, so he could put the coordinates in the GPS. I couldn’t see the screen and I bounced my leg anxiously until I could.
“Looks like we’re about two hours out and need to go down a different route than 97.” Caleb placed the phone in the cradle on the dash.
I glanced at it and we’d be taking some interesting back roads. It didn’t make sense why the others would have traveled that far out of the way before stopping to engage with the other wolves.
We continued down the road in relative silence. Liam and I kept exchanging emotions and I finally had to stop because I kept laughing randomly. Jamie and Augie were beginning to think I’d finally gone off the deep end into crazy town.
Liam finally turned off the main road onto a dirt one. The path was rough and barren. Tree branches reached into the road, scraping along the side of the truck.
“What were they thinking coming down here?” I asked.
Liam slowed the truck. “I don’t know, but they didn’t make it far.”
I glanced up ahead and saw one of our pack SUVs. Two of the doors were open and I saw a body lying on the ground. Shit.
We each got out of the truck slowly with our eyes watching the woods. We had no idea if there was anyone still out there, waiting for us to come help our packmates.
I called on my wolf hearing, using a partial shift to heighten my senses for a few seconds. It was painful, but worth it. I didn’t hear or sense anyone else in the area.
“There’s no one else here,” I said, then moved for the body on the ground.
Liam was right behind me, but let me take lead, which I appreciated.
I leaned down to find Marshall. His eyes were closed, body badly beaten by a wolf. I pressed my fingers to his neck. His skin was still warm, so I pushed harder, searching for a pulse.
I shook with so much anger that I finally stood back. “Liam, check his pulse.”
He didn’t ask for an explanation, just did what I couldn’t calm down enough to do.
“He’s alive. Barely, but he’s fighting hard to survive,” Liam said. “We need to get him back to the pack.”
I turned to Augie. “Did you find Jessica or Sam?”
He shook his head. “No sign of either of them. There was a struggle over here on the other side. I’m thinking they took some of ours to use as bargaining chips.”
My vision turned red. We needed to hurry to the location Aiden gave us before they moved on, if they hadn’t already.
“Let’s go then,” I said.
Liam stood. “If we don’t get Marshall back to the pack soon, he’s going to die. His wounds aren’t closing quickly enough on their own. He’ll bleed out if he doesn’t get medical help.”
Fuck, we didn’t have time to do both and stay together.
“We have to split up,” I said. “One person needs to take the SUV they came in and drive Marshall back.”
Everyone looked at each other, nobody wanting to leave the group.
Jamie let out a huff. “Get him settled in the back. I’ll do it. The rest of you are too damn stubborn and we’d be here all day trying to decide if nobody volunteered.”
I grinned at her. “You know us so well.”
Liam and Augie got to work while Caleb helped Jamie get settled with a route and clear instruction not to stop for any reason until she was safely back at the pack. I didn’t like leaving her alone, either, but we had no idea what we’d be facing at the next location, so we needed the strongest fighters possible. We couldn’t risk letting more of us go with her. Especially seeing Marshall’s battered body. He was a strong wolf and wouldn’t have gone down easily, meaning we needed to be prepared for a bloody fight.
We got into the truck, backing out of the way, so Jamie could turn around and head home. The cell service was crap where we were, so she was instructed to call my dad as soon as she got back on the main road.
The next location was further down the dirt road. According to the map on Liam’s phone, it ended a few miles before the coordinates we had been given, but I trusted Aiden’s resources more. There was something out there and we were going to find it.
Caleb glanced behind us several times, still trying to watch Jamie drive away, but she was no longer in sight.
“Are you going to survive, Caleb?” I asked, trying to break the tension I was feeling inside.
His jaw twitched. “Not sure yet. I probably should have gone with her. What if something happens? What if she doesn’t make it back and we can’t find her?” Caleb’s hands raked through his hair. “Fuck!”
My eyes widened. I had just been joking, but he really was worried and now I felt bad for poking at him.
I reached my hand out to him. “She’s going to be fine. We didn’t see anything suspicious on our way here. She’ll be in touch with my dad soon and I have no doubt he’ll send someone to meet her halfway.”
His shoulders drooped. “You think he’ll do that?”
“I know he will.”
“She’s going to be okay.” He nodded, seeming to say it more for himself than for any of us.
“Yes, she is,” I promised. “You need to focus on what we’re about to walk into. If you get yourself hurt or worse because you were too distracted thinking about Jamie’s safety, she’ll kick your ass. Just remember that.”
The evil grin I’d grown to love appeared on his face. “She’s got a lot of spunk. You’re right. I don’t need her harming my boys, because I was acting like a baby.”
Liam laughed. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but yeah. Man up, bro.”
Augie cleared his throat. “Nobody in this truck has room to talk. I’ve seen all of you act like idiots since you’ve met each other. Caleb, don’t let them fool you into thinking they haven’t acted just the same way at some point.”
I reached my hand over, smacking him in the head. “Secrets, Augie. You’re not supposed to share or else I won’t tell you more.”
“I’m just keeping it real.” He grinned.
I sat back in my seat and smiled. Augie was right. Caleb wasn’t acting any crazier than Liam or I had in the past when things weren’t going our way. Having a mate made people irrational, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The tension still simmered within the cab of the truck as we got closer to the next location. I kept my eyes focused on the outside, watching our left, while Augie took the right. The forest was overgrown, and I was beginning to think we’d missed a turn somewhere, because I couldn’t see any sign of activity from my position.
Liam stopped the truck a few minutes later. “There’s another vehicle ahead. I’m going to turn the truck around, so it’s ready for us to make a quick escape if necessary. Probably better if we walk from here.”
I nodded. “Good idea. Leave the keys under the floor mat so any of us can get in the driver’s seat if we need.”
I hated thinking for one second that Liam wouldn’t be capable of driving home when we needed to leave, but we needed to think realistically, not optimistically.
Once the truck was situated, we all got out. I climbed into the bed and grabbed my bag. It had some minor first aid items that probably wouldn’t do anything to help Sam or Jessica if they had been beaten like Marshall, but it didn’t hurt to have just in case. Along with the medical supplies, I had a couple of knives, a small pistol, and extra ammo.
If it was at all possible to hurt one of them without engaging in a fight, then I was going to do just that. I was tired of fighting fair and losing. It was time to start fighting smarter and saving our resources.
The guys each grabbed their own items, and we headed out. Liam fell into step beside me and grasped my hand. I could feel the fear rolling off him, but I tried to block it out. I didn’t want to feel any emotions at that moment. I wanted vengeance. I wanted to act without thought.
Picturing Marshall’s broken form, I let the anger take over. Declan and his men had crossed the line too many times, and every time they harmed one of my people, I lost a little bit more of my ability to think rationally.