I'd suffer along with my omega while we were apart.
Even if we loaded Hallie's stuff in fifteen minutes, there was the drive there and back. Thankfully, Faust had already pulled down the crumbling driveway. Diesel took the spot behind them, the trailer squeaking as it settled.
The short stretch of highway between the hotel and town followed the edge of the forest where it met the ocean cliffs. We were ten miles from city limits, and Hallie's house was another three minutes after that. I counted up the time Jazz and I would be apart while idly watching Faust push the Volvo forward. He'd done so much covert maintenance on the car. He was probably glad he could finally reap the rewards of his work.
"Sounds better than it did," Diesel grunted.
"He damn near replaced the engine by the time he—"
"What's that?" Jagger asked sharply, jerking his head toward the forest side of the highway, where something shot through the trees heading straight for Faust and Hallie.
His question was answered in the next half-second. A black truck burst from the forest, slamming into the driver's side of Hallie's Volvo and sending it into a barrel roll before it fell off the cliff.
There wasn't time for shock or fear. This wasn't an accident. Someone was waiting for us. Did that mean they'd been watching the house?
The black truck squealed to a stop, and the tires smoked as the driver spun the truck around, headlights pointing directly at us as it accelerated.
We couldn't go in reverse, not with the trailer on the back, which mean there was no place to go but forward. Diesel gunned the engine.
"Come on, motherfucker!" he snarled, spinning the wheel at the last moment so we whipped around the other truck instead of slamming headfirst.
Whoever was attacking us had a death wish.
I blocked my concern for Faust and Hallie and grabbed the handle to keep my head from slamming against the window. The trailer swerved precariously, dragging the Hummer erratically.
Diesel cursed and spun the wheel clockwise and then the other direction as he drove into the swerve while attempting to keep us from rolling. "This fucking trailer," he spat, glancing in his rearview.
The truck had spun around and gunned toward us.
"We got this," Huntley said right before opening his door. The twins leapt out with matching growls, heads down, pulling out their swords as they ran toward the oncoming vehicle.
Huntley stopped suddenly, landing on his knee with his back rounded. Jagger never missed a beat and used Huntley's back as a springboard as the other shifter lifted, shooting Jagger in the air. He rolled gracefully before landing in the truck bed and spun, thrusting his sword through the back window.
Jagger jumped, landing in Huntley's arms, and the momentum of his movements sent both rolling before they came to a stop.
Without a driver, the truck slowed. The tires veered toward the cliff but stopped several feet before the truck could fly over the edge—like Faust and Hallie.
"Diesel—" I snarled, reaching for my knives from the glove box. This was a lighter set I kept around for moments exactly like this one. I didn't know who these people were or why they'd attacked us, but they would see how big of a mistake that was—if they hadn't already.
Diesel didn't respond. He just brought the Hummer to a stop and ran toward the cliff. I didn't imagine what it was he saw when he peered over and kept my attention on the passenger in the black truck.
The twins were on their feet, approaching the passenger side as a man fell from the cab. He spotted the twins and reached for his waist. My blade embedded in his temple before he could grab the handle of his gun. Fuck. I couldn't let him get his weapon, but interrogating him would be impossible now.
The twins had the better angle, and they checked the rest of the cab. "Clear," Huntley announced.
I ran for the cliff, for Diesel, for Faust and Hallie. A human couldn't have survived that fall, but maybe a human and a shifter had a chance.
"Diesel?" I shouted.
"I see them." He didn't turn his head from the water. It churned, frothing angrily against the jagged rocks below.
I searched the stone, hoping I wouldn't see evidence of them while also hoping I would.
"No, there." Diesel pointed away from where the water crashed against the rock, further out to see. A tiny black wolf with an even smaller human clutched around his neck doggy-paddled back to shore.
Diesel clenched his fists, furious at his inability to act. "The rocks will tear them apart."
"We'll get them. We'll find a—"
"Incoming!"
A second truck burst from the forest like it had been waiting there the whole time.
Because it had been waiting there the whole time. Why wait while we killed their friends? It didn't make sense.
There wasn't a lot of time to ponder the answer before the truck slammed into the Hummer. The vehicle was empty and attached to a trailer that made it much more difficult to push into the sea.
"What are they doing?" Diesel asked.
I was more concerned with why. The first attack had been sudden but not well thought-out. Now the backup had arrived—after their friends were dead—and they weren't trying to hurt any of us, just push the Hummer into the sea.
Why would they want that? Who would want that?
"Jazz," I growled.
Diesel's head turned sharply, like he expected to see him running up the street.
The men in the second truck rolled down their windows and began firing. Rapid shots split the air. I didn't worry for my team; we'd navigated through more dangerous scenarios than this. But with Faust stuck in the middle of the ocean with Hallie and Jazz at home like a sitting duck, we couldn't waste anymore time. I ducked behind a tree as Diesel did the same. "Jazz," I said again, the name meant more as an explanation.
Diesel nodded, bullets zooming through the air between us. He reached under his jacket. "Do you want any of them to be able to talk?" he asked.
"Negative."
That was all Diesel needed to hear. With a smirk, he slipped out from behind the tree, moving faster than a man his size had any right to. He lobbed the object in his hand over the hood of the Hummer. The grenade slid on the pavement, coming to a stop directly beneath the second truck. The throw was beautiful. The fireball bloomed like a flower, enveloping the truck and the passengers inside in seconds.
"Save Faust and get rid of the wreckage before anyone sees it," I ordered, the ticking clock pounded in my head turning my insides into rot. I needed to get to Jazz. He had Dog there, but if this was what was sent for us, I didn't want to think about what had been sent for Jazz. Or who.
The most obvious choice was Jazz's father. But he'd always claimed he wanted Jazz alive. Why track him down to hurt him? Why not just hire someone to kill him? I pulled out my phone as I ran.
"Knox." Jazz was out of breath.
"There's been—"
"Knox, my father's here. He wasn't alone, and Dog, I don't know where Dog is."
Terror threatened to close my throat, but I needed the air. I needed to breathe to save my mate. I tamped it down. "Hide. I'm coming for you."
There was a short pause, a gasp, and then, "I can't . He's coming for me and Angus. I can't let him get Angus." Jazz sounded frantic, his sharp breaths chopping his words like a blender.