“Shit,” Nico muttered.
“What?” Bass and Olivia said as one.
“We’ve got a tail,” Nico explained, accelerating faster.
“Jesus,” his mother muttered from the back. “Oh God. Jesus.”
“Do you remember the address?” Bass asked.
“Yes,” Nico answered, pleased he’s spent the time to learn the locations of all of River Run’s pack mates.
“Then collect them and get the hell back home. In one piece, Nic.”
“I’ll do my best,” Nico muttered as the line went dead.
Nico took a sharp left, heading for the twin’s home. His shoulder protested with every turn, his teeth gritting together against the pain.
“How bad is it?” Olivia asked, eyeing his shoulder.
He met her gaze for a second. He should have known it was pointless trying to hide the fact he’d been injured. “Pretty certain a bullet clipped my shoulder.” The adrenaline coursing through his system was doing a good job at keeping the pain at bay, but that wouldn’t last forever.
“What?” His mother gasped.
“Chill, Mom. Not the first time, and it won’t be the last at this rate.”
Olivia shifted in her seat, her touch gentle as she inspected his shoulder. “Through and through. But there’s a lot of blood.”
“I’ll live,” he murmured as they careened onto the twin’s street.
Indiana were there, two men on the boy’s front yard. Nico didn’t slow down. His foot pressed down on the accelerator as he bumped up the curb and rammed the car into Indiana’s men.
The front door opened, and Amelia dashed out, her twin boys in her arms, her husband on her heels as he aimed his gun, firing at the attackers.
“Mom, open the door,” Nico instructed.
The second they were in, Nico slammed his foot on the gas, reversed, and took off again. He prayed to God they didn’t pass any police as he sped through Atlanta.
“They’re following,” Amelia whispered, fear in her tone.
“We’re nearly there,” Nico reassured her. “We’ve just got to reach the border; they’ll be waiting for us.”
Sirens sounded in the distance as houses made way for trees. This is going to be one hell of a situation to talk ourselves out of.
Wolves could be seen dashing through the trees on either side of them, and before they’d even made it to the pack border, Nico spotted two alpha wolves leap out into the road and land onto the pursuing car, the impact sending it flying into the air.
“We made it,” Olivia murmured, looking out of her window.
“Yea—” Nico blinked as his world tilted suddenly, the pain in this shoulder rushing back into focus. “Olivia,” he gasped as his vision faded. “Gr— th— whe… el.”
His last coherent act was to hit the brakes, and then the world was nothing but black.
Chapter 19
Bass
“NICO!”
Olivia’s scream had Bass skidding to a halt, the car he and Jackson had just flipped less important than the life of his best friend.
“Go!” Jackson yelled. Sirens sounded in the distance, growing ever closer. “I’ll deal with them and make sure these assholes don’t escape. Get our people to safety.”
Turning away, Bass then raced for the car as it screeched violently to a stop, Jackson’s words echoing in his mind. Our people. Somewhere along the way, the lines had become so blurred both he and Jackson had come to see Dark Shadow and River Run as one.
“He’s been shot,” Olivia gasped as he reached the car. “Left shoulder, through and through.”
“He’ll be all right,” Bass said. “He’ll have passed out from blood loss.” Opening the driver door, Bass hoisted his friend out. “Open the back door.”
Caroline was sobbing while Bass heaved his friend onto the seat next to her, Owen climbing out, and Amelia and her twins climbing into the back.
“I’ll stay with Jackson,” Owen said as he pressed a hand against the back window over his mates. “Be good, boys.” The twins smiled, waving as their father ran off.
“Can you drive, Liv?” Bass asked.
She let out a breath. “Y-Yes.”
“Good. Straight home. Do not stop for anything. I’ll follow on foot.”
Waiting for her to take the wheel, Bass shifted, keeping to the edge of the trees as Olivia drove the car down the road, then pulled off onto the near-invisible track, which would lead them home.
Wasting no time, Bass snatched a pair of jeans from a nearby stash and pulled them on, before coming to the car and lifting Nico out. “Stay close,” Bass instructed, setting off at a light run, Nico in his arms.
John and Katalina met them at the inner border, John jumping into action and organizing everyone as Bass raced Nico to the newly built infirmary. Entering the building, Bass relayed what information he had to Oliver as he laid Nico down and placed a hand on his friend, momentarily feeding him his own energy through the alpha bond.
“Livy?” Nico murmured, eyes fluttering open, unfocused.
“She’s safe, Nic. I have her,” Bass replied. Gritting his teeth, Bass gave more of his power, his head swimming slightly.
Nico’s gaze cleared. “Bass?” Nico broke Bass’s connection. “Stop it, you fool. We need you strong. No more.”
Blinking against the pain that wasn’t his, Bass waited for the wave of dizziness to pass as Nico’s parents rushed into the room, Olivia behind them. They’d passed Daz on the way in and while Nico’s parents didn’t live together anymore, Caroline had fell into Daz’s open arms as if the years of separation between them meant nothing.
“There’s too many people in here,” Oliver ordered. “Everyone out, except for Olivia.”
Standing, Bass gazed down at his friend. “Rest up.”
“Nico,” Caroline gasped.
“I’m fine, Mom, go with Dad,” Nico murmured, attempting a smile. “Just a bullet hole, nothing major.”
Bass smiled as Caroline argued with Dax, hitting his chest as she blamed him for her son growing up in
