“I’m going with you. They’ll have to just wait. I tried using my phone before I left and couldn’t. Then as I was going down the road, several blocks from here, there were trucks and cars unloading men. I continued up the road until I could get service. It was much farther away than I wanted to go but we needed help. I called Elijah. They’ll be coming, and they can get Ted and Ralph aid. I couldn’t raise Fyodor and Timur.”

She didn’t argue with him. He had a motorcycle and she needed a ride. They both looked up at the fence and went over it at the same time. She landed in a crouch. Jeremiah was already on the run. She made a note to herself that she was going to learn to do that. Land running. She followed him as he jogged down the road. Just like Emilio’s men, he’d parked away from the property.

“Do you know where they went?” She swung her leg over the bike and wrapped her arms around him, holding tight as the motorcycle roared to life.

“Yes. If I didn’t hear from them or they didn’t come back, I needed a place to start. As soon as we get service, we’ll keep trying to call.”

“Did you tell Elijah?”

“Yes. I figured it was too much of a coincidence that they were hitting the house on the very morning the trucks were heading out toward Houston.”

Elijah would send help to Alonzo. She knew he would. That made her feel a little better. “If you know the route the trucks are taking, get ahead of them,” she shouted.

He nodded, and they tore down the highway. If they could just find them before Alonzo and the others made their move, she knew she could find a way to warn him. Time seemed to inch by as they hurried to catch up.

*   *   *

“HOW many guards did you pull off of Evangeline?” Alonzo snapped at his brother. “I wanted leopards on her, Timur, not regular soldiers.”

“We’re stretched thin right now. We need to pull in our best people if we’re going to take these guns without killing anyone. You want trigger-happy soldiers who might see some of us moving faster than normal, then fine, we’ll switch people around.”

“Who’s. On. Evangeline?” Alonzo snarled. The car ran with no lights, trailing behind the car guarding the freight trucks Emilio had sent out.

“Lighten up, brat.” Timur leaned toward his brother. “Do you think for one moment I would take a chance with her life? Not. Likely. I put two of our most experienced soldiers on her. Ted Freemont and Ralph Hurley. You know them. You’ve used them multiple times for all kinds of jobs. You even like them, and you don’t like anyone.”

“I don’t like you right now. I wanted shifters on her.”