“We can’t stop anyone not under arrest from using the phone, though. They could tip off Dan Carter,” she warned.
“I know,” he replied. “We’ll work it out. Thanks for calling.”
“No problem,” she told him. “Kurt, please be careful.”
“I will,” he promised. “I’ll see you soon.” He pressed the off button and sighed. “We don’t have much time,” he told Clint and Tony.
Tony already had his phone out, typing a message. “I’ll text Cain that we need to move up the timeline.”
“So I guess all we can do is wait for now.”
“Yeah,” Clint grumbled and sat back in his seat. They weren’t good at sitting around. Both men were used to being in the thick of things. But they would have to trust Cain and Gray. They had to get in and out without getting noticed by the human authorities.
* * * *
Savannah marched with determination up the front steps of the Church behind Sheriff Webb. It was three hours after she’d warned Kurt that they had got the warrants and finally they were ready to move.
Hopefully Kurt had already taken care of what he’d needed to do. She couldn’t think of that now, though. With the help of Rudy, they knew where to look for illegal guns and the stack of cash, and she had a job to do.
They’d make damn sure that this branch of the Church would not hurt anyone else.
Sheriff Webb pounded on the door. Savannah rolled onto the balls of her feet, ready for trouble. A young blond man answered the door. He took one look at the sheriff and his deputies along with the several State Police officers and his eyes widened.
“Open the door, son,” Sheriff Webb said in a firm voice. “We have a warrant.”
The young man stepped back until his back was against the wall across from the door.
“Savannah,” Sheriff Webb barked. “Take two of the officers and get to the office. I want everything secure in there. If you come across Bruce Carter, read him his rights.”
“On it.” She motioned two officers to go with her and they trooped down the hall.
Several people stuck their heads out of rooms, but Savannah ignored them. Sheriff Webb would assign someone to get them out of the way. They had a warrant for all the electronics on the property and they needed to move fast. They couldn’t let Bruce erase any data, and they knew the cash and weapons were located in the locked basement.
She turned down the hall that led to Bruce Carter’s office and saw him step out.
She held up her badge. “Bruce Carter, you are under arrest for the purchase and distribution of illegal firearms.”
Bruce gasped and his face turned red with fury. “What is this?” he demanded. “Do you know who I am? Who my father is?”
“Yes, sir,” she responded as she stepped in front of him. “Please turn around.” She wanted him to fight, at least try to run. But he proved himself the coward he was and just stood there.
“This is outrageous!” he screamed. “I’ll sue you! All of you! I’ll own this town when I’m finished.”
Savannah grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. “You can try.” She read him his rights while she placed him in handcuffs. She resisted the urge to make them too tight.
By the book
, she told herself. Everything had to be by the book.
Bruce was still yelling, but he had also started to sob. With disgust, she handed him over to one of the State officers.
“Please secure Mr Carter,” she requested formally.
He nodded and took Bruce’s arm.
Savannah grinned at the other officer. “Let’s get started.”
Chapter Eleven
Kurt crouched next to Cain from their vantage point across the street from the house they were watching. Cain had been able to determine that the house directly across from the one that Carter was hiding out in was empty. They used that to their advantage.
He and Cain were watching the front, while Clint was keeping an eye out behind Carter’s, hidden in the alley between dumpsters. Gray and Tony were at the sides of the house. They had all four sides covered as long as they weren’t spotted.
Gray had brought along a bag of goodies for the five men to use. They had headsets so they could talk to one another, along with flak jackets they hopefully wouldn’t have to test out.
Cain had been right about the security. Cameras were mounted on all sides of the high fence. But it was a chain-link fence so they could still see through it to the house.
It was a large structure located on the corner of the street and, since they had to stay out of camera view, it would be a challenge to figure out how to get in. But the position of the house on the street was in their favour. There were no guards—human or canine. That boded well for their mission.
They were watching for any sign of anyone. They could wait until dark and all go in shifter form. Their wolves would give them the speed and strength they would need. But they really needed to know how many were inside first.
They’d only been watching for about twenty minutes when they heard an alarm going off. “What the…?” Kurt exclaimed. None of their men should have been close enough to set off any alarms.
Cain tapped the communicator in his ear. “Report!”
“Wasn’t me,” Gray responded.
“Not me,” Clint also replied. “Wait, I have movement back here. Holy shit! Get here now!”
Kurt hopped up, and he and Cain vaulted the fence they had hidden behind.
“Hey!” Clint yelled. He hadn’t turned off his communicator. Kurt put on a burst of speed to get to his friend. He heard more shouts and some arguing.
They raced around the house to meet up with Clint and almost ran into Tony coming from the other direction. Down the alley, he saw five men sprinting towards him. Gray was even farther behind coming from the side of the house into the alley.
“Go! Go, go, go!” Clint hollered, waving wildly at them. “Back to the car!”
“Is that Colt?” Kurt squinted in the bright sunlight.
Cain grabbed his shoulder. “Back to the vehicle. Everyone split up!” he ordered through the communicator.
Kurt turned and took off. Cain and Tony left in opposite directions.
Colt had been running on his own, without assistance, on his own two feet. Kurt didn’t know who else was with him, but obviously they all had the same goal. To get away.
Kurt darted down an alley that would take him close to their vehicle. He glanced over his shoulder but didn’t see anyone following. He still kept up his steady pace, unsure what exactly was going on.
When he reached the rented SUV, Cain, Tony and Gray were just arriving. Cain jumped in the driver’s side and started the vehicle.
“Where are they? Where is Clint?” Kurt demanded.
“That was Colt,” Tony said. “He was okay. God, he was okay.”
“Get in,” Cain ordered and they complied. Cain was right. They would have to make a fast getaway.
Kurt strained to catch a glimpse of Clint. There was still no one around. When his cell phone rang, it startled him enough that he jerked.
“It’s Clint,” he told the others. “Where are you?” he asked as he answered.
“Headed out,” Clint answered. “Everything is fine. Head south, out of town, turn west at Junction 520—it’s about forty-two miles from here. We’ll be there waiting.”
“We who?” Kurt insisted. Cain already had the vehicle moving.
Clint laughed. “Oh, you’re gonna love this. See you soon.”
Kurt cursed and slammed his hand down when Clint hung up on him. “I’ll kill him,” he promised. “I don’t care if Sara comes after me. I’m going to beat his ass.”
Gray laughed next to him. “I’ll hold him down.”
* * * *
Kurt slammed the door closed and stalked towards Clint once Cain had stopped their vehicle next to a dark blue SUV.
Clint laughed and danced out of the way. “Man! You should have seen your faces when you came around the house and saw us.”
Kurt growled. Clint held his hands up in surrender.
Tony brushed by Kurt and into Colt’s arms. Colt looked a little beat up but better than Kurt had expected.
“Let me introduce you to my new friends,” Clint told him and waved at two of the men who’d exited with Colt.
“Guys, meet the rescue team,” Clint introduced. “Cody Johnson and Zak Lewis.”
Kurt shook hands with the two men. Shifters obviously. They had the animal scent. But they weren’t wolves. Gray and Cain came over and Gray sniffed. Kurt was glad it was Gray and not him who had to figure it out.
“Tiger?” Gray questioned.
The large blond, Zak, nodded. “You’re a wolf, but I smell…bobcat.”
Gray grinned. “My mate.”
Zak’s mouth dropped open. He glanced between Gray and the others as if to see if Gray was messing with him. He cleared his throat. “Oh.”
Gray laughed and slapped his back. “I know, man. I get that reaction a lot.”
“Wait!” Zak snapped his fingers. “You’re the wolf mated to a bobcat in Coyote Bluff? That makes you part of the Royal family!”
Gray flushed. “Well…” he said, shuffling his feet. “Yeah.”
“Royal family?” Kurt asked, shocked. How had he missed that?
“It’s no big deal,” Gray said, waving it off.
Cain laughed. “Gray’s mate is the sister of the Feline Prince’s mate.”
“Wow!” Kurt managed. He didn’t know what else to say.
Gray’s embarrassment was obvious, though, so Kurt didn’t press the issue. He turned to Cody and lifted a brow.
Cody smiled wide. “Falcon.”
Kurt was impressed. He’d never met a flying shifter before. “Wow, again.”
“But what are you doing here?” Cain interjected.
Zak nodded towards the back of the SUV where another man was slumped in the seat. “Our buddy Jamie. He was being held in the same room as your friend.”
Colt and Tony joined the circle. “And I can’t thank you guys enough,” Colt told them. He still had an arm wrapped tightly around Tony’s waist. “I don’t know how much longer they would have kept us. Dan Carter was not happy having shifters around him. He really does believe we’re evil.”
Tony brushed his hand over Colt’s bruised cheek. “It was too long as it was.”
Colt nodded and captured Tony’s wrist. “I know. But Jamie had been there two days longer than me.” He nodded towards the figure in the vehicle. “He took a pretty brutal beating.”
Zak growled. “The fire should keep them busy.”
“Fire?” Kurt asked.
Cody inclined his head. “I’ve always enjoyed a good bonfire.”
Everyone laughed at that.
“We need to get Jamie to a safe place to heal,” Zak said, growing serious.
“Do you have somewhere to go?” Tony turned to him.
“We’re based in Arizona. We want to put some distance between us and that house,” Zak replied.
“We have a plane. Come back with us. We can get the entire story and we have a Pack doctor who can look at your friend. You’ve helped us—let us return the favour.”
Zak and Cody exchanged a quick glance. Cody nodded his agreement.
“Sounds good.” Zak motioned back to the vehicles. “We should get going then.”
Everyone separated and climbed into the two vehicles. Kurt and Clint moved to the new shifters’ vehicle so Tony and Colt could have the back seat of their SUV. Kurt climbed in the back and looked over at the man who had his head tipped back with his eyes closed.
The big dark-haired man peered at him through swollen eyes. Colt was right. The man had been badly beaten.
“You okay?” Kurt asked him.
“Yeah, I’ll be all right. I just need to shift and rest.” His voice rumbled deep through Kurt. The man had to be at least six foot three. He was heavily muscled and broad-shouldered.
“Kurt Moore,” Kurt told him. “I guess you’ve met this clown.” He pointed at Clint.
Clint stretched his legs out as much as he could in the crowded back seat and snorted.
“We almost ran him over when we made a break for it,” the man replied. “Jamie Ward.”
“Nice to meet you,” Kurt said sincerely.
Cain pulled out from next to them and Zak followed.
“Tony should have the plane ready once we arrive at the airport,” Kurt told the men. “We’ll be able to get off the ground pretty quick.”
“California, right?” Cody questioned.
“Lovington, in Northern California,” Kurt supplied. “Our Council is located there.”
“I’ve heard about them,” Zak said. “Our Prince worked with them when my Streak went public.”
“Streak?” Clint asked.
“A Streak is like your Pack. A group or family of tigers,” Zak answered.
“Huh, a Streak,” Clint huffed. “I didn’t know that.”
Kurt hadn’t either.
Zak gestured towards Cody. “A group of Falcons is a Cast.”
Cody chuckled. “He loves telling people that.”
“That’s not the best one, though,” Zak commented, laughing. Kurt glanced between the two men. Zak was almost shaking with laughter.
Cody sighed. “Jamie is a black bear.”
“Don’t go there, man,” Jamie warned, but there wasn’t really any threat.
“A group of bears is called a Sloth,” Cody finished.
Jamie grunted next to him. “Every time,” the bear shifter complained.
Zak waved one hand. “Anyway,” he said, “Prince Zachary has always spoken good things about your Council.”
It made Kurt proud that the Feline Prince had respect for his Council. It would make things easier for the proposal he was figuring out in his head. An alliance with other shifter species was needed in cases like this.
“How’d you get Jamie and Colt out?” Kurt asked.
“We were following Jamie’s trail,” Cody told him.
Jamie groaned as he shifted in his seat but sat up straighter.
“We all work for the Phoenix PD. I work in missing persons. I had a young woman that was reported missing by her employer,” Jamie provided. “It turns out she’d met a man who was a member of the Church for Humanity.” Jamie shook his head. “I couldn’t believe it. Once I tracked her down, I questioned her in the Church, made sure she was there by her own choice. She was. But there was all this propaganda about shifters on the walls.”
“He told us about it, but we just thought they were some harmless humans,” Zak added. “It wasn’t until we started to really dig deep after Jamie disappeared that we found out they were so well organised.”