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Baz came tearing out of his house at the same time as they did, all of them rushing for their garages and the snowmobiles parked there, fully fueled and ready for them to take off on. As they headed up the driveway, Rusty glanced back over his shoulder at the quiet houses they were leaving behind and saw the bedroom light was still on.

Go back to bed!

Damn, I’m planning on it just as soon as I take a piss, now pay attention to the road.

They kept the trees along the wide road between their home and town trimmed to prevent the kind of accident like Flame had suffered. Tonight, Rusty was grateful for it. Clouds had been gathering in the distance all day, growing thicker as night fell, until they obscured the moon, making the drive even more treacherous. The last thing they needed was an errant tree branch taking one of them out. The forecast called for a thunderstorm and heavy rainfall, something he was not interested in getting caught outdoors in.

Along the drive, which felt longer than normal despite how fast they traveled, Rusty witnessed several lights popping on in the homes they passed. Word would reach the council at some point and Cage would have to explain tonight’s disturbance of the peace unless it was the council who’d called upon them in the first place. They’d have their answers soon enough. The garage was just ahead, the parking lot filled with snowmobiles, many of them still running with their headlights on. Brooks stood beside Cage and JD at the center of the circle, heads together, gesturing animatedly while they spoke. Holy shit, even Wild was here. The moment Brooks spotted Baz he waved him over to join them while Rusty headed for Flame, shocked to see him among the faces assembled there.

“Are you out of your mind?” Rusty asked. “You’re not cleared to ride.”

“Tonight I am,” Flame replied.

“Fine, then we’re riding beside you,” Roark said, a look passing between them that didn’t require words to sort out.

Whatever was going on, they didn’t have time to argue with him or tie him to something so he couldn’t trail behind the club, so they’d have his back and all get home together once they sorted out wherever this was. Emari would have their tails if they didn’t. That was one wolf Rusty and Roark knew not to cross.

“Long as you can keep up,” Flame replied.

There was Rusty’s smartass brother.

Three more snowmobiles rolled in, then Cage stuck his fingers in his mouth and let out an ear-piercing whistle. Every conversation and engine died in an instant.

“Our neighbors to the north have been monitoring the dark web. Tonight they happened upon information detailing an auction set to kickoff at three. We’ve got a hard ride ahead of us, so leave the snowmobiles here. Make sure you load up on whatever you need from the weapons locker. Bears, eagles, mountain lions, and owls are moving in too. Arctics are coming down from the north and will be right behind us. If we can bust these fucks tonight, we just might get our hands on whoever the hell is financing the whole goddamned ring,” Cage declared before turning and heading to the utility barn beside the shop.

The specialized SUV’s they’d armor plated for missions like this were housed there and they packed in like leather covered sardines armed to the teeth with an assortment of guns, bows and edged weapons, most of them small enough to conceal beneath their jackets, though Atlas, ever the badass, tucked a handcrafted mace beneath the backseats, the spikes poked out they were so damned big. Fucker usually kept it on the wall behind the bar where he could grab it if he needed it. Someone’s head was going to get split wide open if he popped them with that.

We’re leaving grounds to try to break up an auction. Rusty communicated with Logan.

Despite telling his mate to go back to sleep, he knew Logan wouldn’t until one of them clued him in about what was going on.

Holy shit! Go get ‘em!

We will. I’ll update you when I can.

Thanks. I’m sure I’ll learn more when I get to the command center since I doubt you guys will be home before I go.

Probably not. Kiss the pups for me.

Will do. Now I know I’d better get some sleep. If you capture them, work is going to be insane.

When we capture them. If they need you there earlier, just reach out to Charlie.

No need, he already touched base with me. Right now, I haven’t been summoned, but he’s on standby if it happens. When I left work on Friday, I was third on the call sheet.

Okay. Get sleep while you can.

Rusty stopped talking so Logan could rest. He glanced around the interior of the SUV, taking note of the wolves around him. If they needed to get the fuck out of dodge in a hurry, there was always the risk of someone accidentally being left behind and forced to cram into another vehicle or take cover until someone figured it out and went back for them. Flame was all the way up front in the passenger’s seat, which was probably the best thing for that hip and ankle of his. Cor was behind the wheel. When it came to handling anything on four-wheels, he was the wolf they wanted to have in control of the vehicle. Wild was more compact in comparison to the wolves, so he was on the bench seat between them.

In the middle row, crammed in far too tight, were Baz, JD, Cage, and Brooks, strategizing over the low tones of Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water. How fucking fitting. Roark was on one side of Rusty, Atlas on the other. Their vehicle was in the lead, so whatever they were rolling into, they’d be the ones to encounter the first wave of resistance. When they started heading into the mountains, Rusty had a sinking suspicion he knew where they were headed.

“We’re waiting on visual confirmation,” Cage said. “But for obvious reasons, it’s going to take time before anyone reaches the location.”

“Can this thing make it over Deadman’s Pass?” Atlas asked.

“It better,” Rusty growled. “Cage and I spent weeks on modifications.”

“You’re damn right we did, but we never tested it on anything like this,” Cage reminded him. “We had dried, packed earth under our wheels when we went up it. Now we’ve got crusty snow and a potential storm threatening to drop a deluge on our heads.”