I almost couldn’t believe what I was seeing as I held the piece of paper up and read it:

I have something of yours. You have something of mine. Let’s make a trade. You know where to find me – Corey.

For a moment, I couldn’t speak. My hand tightened, crushing the piece of paper into a ball. I could feel Bailey’s eyes on my back, waiting for me to tell him what was going on, but I needed a second.

How did he find them? I thought.

He must have somehow caught my scent when he was downtown. Obviously he hadn’t been able to track us to the farm. Was it possible he just accidentally ended up at the taco stand and could smell that I’d been there?

It doesn’t matter! You have to get them back!

My head was spinning. My inner bear was stirring and I felt my fangs protrude. I wanted to tear him to bits!

“That son of a bitch!” I cried out, slamming my fists down on the cooler, denting the top.

“What happened, baby!?” Bailey called out, rushing to my side. A lot of omegas would be afraid of such an outburst of anger, but Bailey wasn’t. He wrapped an arm around my waist and looked up at me. “What is it?”

I replied through gritted teeth. “He—he has my parents!”

“Who does?” Bailey replied. I simply looked down at him and he understood. “Oh…oh, no.”

My anger was a hot block of molten iron, spilling from my chest into my limbs, driving the adrenaline through my body. I released the piece of paper and it fell to the floor. Bailey snatched it up and read it for himself.

“Oh, no…” he said softly. “What—what do we do!?”

“I’m not trading you,” I replied.

“I never thought you would, baby,” he told me quickly. “But…what do we do?”

“Corey has no idea the shitstorm he’s brought down on himself,” I told Bailey, feeling my anger swirling into a focused intensity. “He has no idea what my pack and I are capable of. We’re going to head home, rally the troops, and bring the fucking hammer down on him.”

He won’t know what hit him, I thought when I pictured the entire pack swarming that modern shithole of a house of his.

If I thought for a second it would only be Corey at his house, I’d head there myself right now and get them back myself. But someone like him would definitely have men with him, hired with the enormous amount of money he had. “Private security” or some nonsense like that. In reality, they were just hired thugs to do whatever he told them. But he had no idea what my pack was capable of. We’d dealt with other pricks before, and this one was no different.

“Come on,” I told Bailey, slamming the door shut behind us. I hopped in the truck, backed it up to the taco stand and hooked it onto the hitch on the back. Leaving it in Austin, unlocked like that, was a sure way to get the whole thing ripped off and I couldn’t let that happen.

I kicked the lock down, slid the chain over the hitch to secure the stand and hopped back in the truck. I drove off slowly, making sure the whole thing didn’t topple off the curb, but once I was sure everything was solid, I gunned it out of town.

Neither of us spoke on the way home. I was raging and felt completely out of control as we made our way back to the farm. I wanted to leap into action, head to Corey’s without waiting, but I couldn’t. I knew that, and I knew why I couldn’t, but that didn’t make things any easier.

My knuckles were white as I gripped the steering wheel, and my heart was pounding as we pulled back into the farm, the taco stand rattling over the bumps as we pulled up to the house. Terry was leaning against the porch as I got out.

“Setting that thing up here—?” he asked with a smile.

“My parents have been kidnapped,” I interrupted. Instantly his smile was gone and replaced by a look of deadly seriousness.

“The fuck?” he asked.

“Long story,” I replied. “Where is everybody?”

“Chuck’s at the shop in town,” he replied. “Preston’s over by the peppers—”

“Get ready,” I told him. “We’re leaving any second.”

I took off at a sprint, leaving them both behind, heading in Preston’s direction. I found him quickly and raced up beside him.

“We have to go,” I told him. Preston was smart and instantly saw that I wasn’t playing around.

“What is it, Juan?”

“My parents have been kidnapped,” I told him.

“What!?”

“I saved Bailey from Corey Wellington—”

“The Corey Wellington?!”

“Bailey’s foster father sold him to him,” I growled. “I rescued him. That’s how we met. Now he’s taken my parents and is holding them hostage. He wants Bailey back, but he’s not getting him!”

“Of course he’s not, buddy,” Preston replied, clapping me on the shoulder. “Where are Terry and Chuck?”

“Terry’s at the house,” I replied. “Chuck’s in town at the store.”

“I’ll call him and have him meet us downtown.”

We raced back to the truck where Bailey was waiting. Terry was by his side looking ready for battle. Bailey, on the other hand, looked terrified.

“We’re going now,” I told him. “Go inside with Jamie. Everything will be fine.”

“Juan, I’m scared,” he said softly, pressing his hands against my chest.

“Don’t be,” I assured him. “There are four of us. Four alphas—strong alphas. They’ll be no match for us.”

“But—your arm…”

“It’s fine now,” I told him, stroking his hair gently. “You remember how strong I am, right?”

Bailey nodded and I kissed him gently on the lips. “But we have to go now, babe. I can’t leave my parents with him any longer. I will come back to you. Mark my words.”

I kissed him one more time, then quickly jumped in the truck. It was hard enough to say goodbye to him and if I stayed any longer I wouldn’t want to leave. And I had to.

Terry and Preston piled in with me and I put the pedal to the metal. The truck lurched forward as Preston dialed on his cell.

“Chuck!” he called out as I whirled the truck onto the road. “Chuck, yeah, we got a problem, man! Rescue mission. Need you to be outside in twenty-five minutes. We’ll be there to pick you up. All right?”

He hung up and turned to me.

“He’s in.”

“Good,” I replied, running my tongue across my fangs.

“We’re all in,” Terry added.

Preston put a hand on my arm. “We’re with you, buddy.”

I managed to force a smile as the truck thundered down the Texas freeway. Corey had absolutely no idea the rain of fire he’d called down upon him. Here we come, you son of a bitch!