At once there was gunfire. Bright flashes of red and orange in the night. Alonzo ran straight up to the first truck, the one with the flat tire. The driver and the guard occupying the passenger seat were crouched by the tire pretending they were examining it. They turned toward him, the guard lifting his gun. Something struck him between the eyes with deadly force, throwing him backward. Alonzo shot the driver and kept going.

Jeremiah must have brought his rifle with him. Elijah had told Alonzo that the boy was a marksman, and now he believed it. It was a hell of a shot to make in the dark. Men poured from the backs of both trucks, so many he wasn’t certain the few leopards they’d brought could handle them all, especially since they were armed to the teeth and firing indiscriminately at every movement. Jeremiah’s rifle sounded off steadily, and men went down.

Alonzo chose his targets as carefully as the boy, trying to make each one count, making certain to protect his men. Two men loomed up behind his brother’s leopard. Timur was taking down a man with a semiautomatic as the other two rounded the truck and spotted him. Both weapons went up. Alonzo had just fired his last bullet and hadn’t yet slammed a new magazine in. He shifted as they brought up their guns, rushing them as he did. He had speed—incredible speed—and the surprise and shock of seeing a man shifting in midair was on his side. He hit both men with the force of a freight train, taking them both to the ground, hearing bones break as he did so.

He killed them both with a vicious swipe of his paws, taking out the jugulars and moving on to the next one. More leopards poured in from all sides, taking down the men while two more rifles were added to Jeremiah’s as Elijah’s men joined in. The battle was won quickly and decisively.

Elijah’s men checked the dead while Elijah and Alonzo broke open the furniture. Guns spilled out but with them were stashes of cash. Hundreds of thousands of dollars. They exchanged a long look.

“Ulisse is moving his counterfeit money along with Emilio’s weapons. He wanted the international transport and buyers Emilio has,” Elijah said.

“There is no way we can take care of these bodies,” Alonzo pointed out.

“No, this is going to be one of those mysteries the M.E. lives for. Death by leopards and bullets. What in the world? The tabloids will have a field day. We walk away from this. Let the police have the guns and money. Emilio will answer to them.”

Alonzo looked at him. “Tell me.”

Elijah sighed. “Emilio and probably Ulisse sent a team to your house. Two of your men were shot. They’re at the hospital. Evangeline saved them and then she went tearing off to warn you.”