I pulled onto the highway, a bag filled with all the money from the safe on the seat beside me. It wasn’t everything my father wanted, but the plan wasn’t for him to keep it.
My brothers had shifted and were already making their way to the location I’d been given. Mason’s military training had kicked in, and he’d laid out a plan.
Declan, Mason, and Gabriel would surround us, waiting for an opening to slip in and free Katie and Eli, while Austin and Ethan would prepare a diversion if needed. The wicked grins they’d exchanged made me wonder if they were looking forward to enacting their part of the plan. Knowing them, it could involve anything.
I checked the time. They should almost be in position. I sped up, anxious to get my mate and Eli to safety.
A flash of fur running toward me down the shoulder of the road had me squinting. “What the?—”
I braked, skidding to a stop on the gravel, and threw open my door. “Eli?”
The wolf came straight at me, stopping a few feet away, sides heaving.
“Can you shift back?” I asked, getting ready to force his shift if necessary. But the wolf was already shifting into his human form.
It took several minutes before the teen crouched in front of me, trying to catch his breath. He could barely get any words out. “Katie… truck… down the road.”
“I know. My brothers are already on their way to surround the location.”
He shook his head, taking in a large gulp of air. “No. He moved. I followed him until he turned off the highway.”
I swore. So much for our plan. I had no way of contacting my brothers while they were in animal form. “Get in the truck. There are clothes in the back. They’ll be too big, but you can throw on a shirt.”
I helped him stand. His legs were shaky. He must have pushed his wolf to its limit. “Are you able to show me where he turned off?”
He nodded, grabbing a shirt from the backseat and slipping it over his head. “I didn’t want to leave her. She distracted him so I could get help.”
“Hey, you did good.” I squeezed his shoulder. “You even shifted on your own. If you hadn’t, you couldn’t have followed the truck.”
His cheeks flushed. “I knew I needed to, and it just happened.”
I pulled the truck back onto the highway. “I’m proud of you.”
We passed the turnoff for the original location and drove for another ten minutes. Eli grabbed my arm and pointed to a rutted road that led into a stand of trees. I pulled onto the shoulder and parked the truck.
“I need you to stay with the truck.” I grabbed the bag of money and tossed him my cell phone. “Call the ranch and tellthem what happened and where you are. You know how to find the GPS coordinates of our location?”
“I want to help.” His chin jutted out.
“Katie would kill me if I put you back in danger.” I looked him in the eye. “And I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you.”
“I can help.” His eyes begged me. “I’ll stay in the trees. If I get a chance, I’ll untie Katie. He won’t expect me to be there.”
I wavered. I didn’t want Eli in danger, but while my father had Katie, he had the advantage. I leveled my gaze at him, trying to channel my dad when he taught me about ranch safety as a teen. “You will not take any unnecessary risks. Only go in if he’s away from Katie and distracted. Do you understand?”
He nodded eagerly.
I huffed out a breath. “I can’t believe I’m allowing this. But if anything goes wrong, anything at all, you run. Shift if you can and go to the last location. My brothers will be there.”
“I promise.”
“Okay. Let’s do this.”
Eli slipped through the trees. Scrubbing my hand over my face, I knew I would answer to Katie about this. I turned the key and drove slowly over the rutted road, hoping the sound of the truck would help cover any noises Eli made getting into place.
I parked the truck just inside the clearing and slowly got out, bag in hand. My father was leaning against the side of a truck, smoking a cigarette. He dropped it and put it out with his shoe before pushing away to meet me halfway, eyes narrowed.
“How’d you find me?” Suspicion coated his words.
