“Here.” A leather jacket was shoved in his face. “It will protect against the fall. Here.” A lightweight submachine gun was pushed into his hands as he noticed that the backseat of the limo had been raised.
Another, closer explosion rocked the car, nearly tilting it as Ivan cursed, swung the wheel, then made the turn into the creek bed they would be using for a road.
Del-Rey quickly pulled on the jacket, zipped it, jerked the gun from Anya, then launched himself onto the roof of the car.
As he gripped the edge of the sunroof, his eyes narrowed on the dark landscape passing them. He knew the best place to jump. Grassy, soft earth leveled out in one place. The impact would be lessened, and the chances of being run over by the vehicles speeding through the pass would be nonexistent.
He waited, poised, then lauched himself from the limo, curled and rolled as he hit the ground with enough impact to steal his breath and assure him he’d feel the damned bruises for weeks to come.
The bastards. Del-Rey knew he should have expected the ambush. Hell, the others probably had. The only problem was that there was only one clear road into the town and a lot of mountains rising around them.
Coming to his feet, he gripped the weapon as he ran for the all-terrain Brim had swung to the side of the creek bed. The vehicles were built high, light, and made for mountainous terrain. Heavy shocks supported the dirt-gripping tires and a powerful motor gave the ATV the edge needed to effectively cut through some of the roughest passages.
“Move in on them,” Del-Rey yelled as he swung into the passenger seat.
Behind him, two of his men were braced in the attack supports. One carried a handheld missile launcher; the other gripped the mounted machine gun.
“All vehicles are in the pass,” Jacob, Haven’s head of security, barked into the receiver at Del-Rey’s ear. “Good luck, Alpha Delgado.”
“Move!” Del-Rey shouted the order to Brim as another explosion sent rock and earth flying into the air.
The all-terrain jerked and sped off at his order, climbing the pass and shooting across the road as another explosion sprayed chunks of earth around the vehicle.
“They’ll be waiting in line of sight when they come out of that pass.” Brim jerked the wheel and headed up the mountain.
“Give them a new target,” Del-Rey ordered harshly. “Let them see us coming. Pull the fire off those limos, Brim. If so much as one of those women is injured, there’s going to be war.”
The peace between human and Breeds was always tenuous at best. They were aware that it would take only one wrong move to change the balance in peace. The death of a mate, especially an alpha leader’s mate, would create chaos.
Breed loyalty to pack was everything. Their women were their future, their survival. The death of even one of them would not be taken lightly, and the Council knew that. They knew the Breeds would descend on the murderers with a fury that the humans of the world only imagined them capable of.
Del-Rey’s eyes narrowed along the terrain. His night vision was perfect, drawing from the moonlight above, the shadows around them, each detail highlighted.
“We have incoming,” Brim yelled. “Brace. Brace.”
Del-Rey clenched his teeth in a grimace of fury as the all-terrain rocked and sped along the mountain. It zigzagged among the trees that crashed down around it as the explosion ripped through the forest.
“When we reach them, stay the hell out of my way,” Del-Rey ordered.
“We need to question them,” Brim growled in irritation.
Sometimes, Brim was too f**king logical. That was why, Del-Rey decided, Brim wasn’t pack leader.
He smiled, hard and cold, as the all-terrain avoided another explosive mortar shell and raced toward the ambushers’ location. Within minutes, they’d have them.
Del-Rey turned to Brim and snarled, “Question their f**king ghosts.”
A second later, the world exploded in a haze of color and sound as the all-terrain flew into the air.
The limo raced up the mountain to the Coyote Breed stronghold as Anya sat silently, staring into the distance at the explosions on the mountain.
She knew a team of Wolf Breed Enforcers had followed Del-Rey and his men up there. A helicopter was now streaking across the sky, as was one of the lethal weapon-equipped stealth heli-jets that the Breeds used.
She’d listened to the reports that echoed through the limo and flinched, barely holding back a cry when she heard that the Coyote vehicle had been struck.
Del-Rey was fine, she assured herself, feeling the tears that marred her cheeks. He had been through worse than this. He would have been prepared. He was fighting even now, his teeth clenched, a killer’s smile on his face.
“Coya, we’re pulling to the entrance,” Ivan told her fiercely. “Soldiers are waiting at the entrance to escort you into the caverns.”
“Find your alpha, Ivan, don’t worry about me,” she ordered him. “Which team are you taking?”
He shook his head. “Your protection—”
“Take team two, they know the mountains around here best. Is our jet still waiting here?”
“We’re not armed, Coya,” he stated.
“Get that jet ready to roll and get yourself and team two to your alpha,” she stated fiercely. “You bring him back here alive, Ivan, or I’m going to skin your hide. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Coya,” he snapped before picking up the radio and ordering team two to detach from her protective detail and replacing them with another team.
Coya was second-in-command now, and their alpha was in danger.
“Doctors are waiting at the entrance for Sharone and she’ll be taken straight to Medical. Get ready, Coya, it’s going to be a hard stop.”
The limo skidded, the back end sliding to the side as he threw it to a stop. The door opened and the soldiers assigned to her were pulling her out.
“You.” She was in one of their faces, she had no idea which. “Take me straight to Medical.”
“Coya, we need you in secure quarters . . .” the soldier began.
“Do you want to piss me off, soldier?” Anya snapped, aware of the other limo jerking to a stop and the medical personnel racing to Sharone. “I said Medical and I mean now. The only way you’re going to get me to my supposed quarters is if you carry me there. What would your alpha think of that one?”
She didn’t give him time to respond.