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Then they were on the road. It wasn’t long before Luke was parking a short distance away from the casino. Tate checked in with Chen and JP, who confirmed that the jaguars were still inside the building and that there was nothing new to report so far.
Unable to do anything but wait for Enrique and his friend to move, Havana and the others remained in the SUV. Sometimes they talked about general things, sometimes there were long periods of silence. The time seemed to tick by at an exasperatingly slow pace—especially while she was all fired up to act, knowing they were so very close to finally getting their hands on the jaguars and, ultimately, Gideon York.
Finally, Chen called again. Tate put his cell on speakerphone as he answered, “Are our boys now on the move?”
“They are,” Chen confirmed. “I’m passing you onto JP so I can concentrate on driving.”
“JP, when you catch their license plate number, text it to River,” said Tate. “Ask him to look it up.”
“No problem,” JP responded.
Luke pulled onto the road. “We’ll be close but not close enough to spot, so keep me updated on every turn you make.” The Beta trailed after their enforcers, following the directions JP gave. Before they knew it, half an hour had gone by.
“Just got a response from River,” JP announced. “The license plate number doesn’t match the car.”
“Well of course it wouldn’t be that easy,” Havana grumbled.
Luke kept on tailing Chen and JP from a distance, never coming too close lest they be seen.
Tate sat up straighter when JP announced that the jaguars had turned into a housing estate. “Don’t follow them,” Tate ordered. “Drive past the estate and park nearby.”
“There’s a wooded area behind it,” said Chen. “I’ll stop the car there.”
“We’ll be with you soon.” Tate rang off.
It wasn’t long before Luke pulled up behind Chen’s car. Everyone filed out of both vehicles.
Tate’s eyes darted from JP to Chen. “Describe the jaguar’s car.”
“It was a gray Lexus,” said JP, who then reeled off the false license plate number.
Tate turned to Farrell. “Find the Lexus. I want the jaguars’ exact location.”
The Head Enforcer quickly shed his clothes, shifted, and then flew off in his avian form. A mere minute later, he returned. Back in his human form, Farrell said, “The car’s parked in the driveway of a house that backs onto the wooded area here. There are no other cars in the driveway, and no other people were visible through the windows, so I’d say they’re alone.”
Tate licked his front teeth. “Then this is more than likely their home.”
“I wondered if the whole estate could have been claimed by Gideon for his ‘family,’ but the area doesn’t reek of various breeds of shifter,” said Farrell. “At least that means we don’t have to worry that a bunch of shifters are going to descend on us to protect the jaguars.”
“No one would descend on us anyway—we’ll be in and out of there before anyone can notice us,” said Tate. He glanced at the forest. “As their house backs onto the woods, we might as well take this route.”
As a group, they traipsed through the wooded area—skirting around trees, stepping over fallen branches, sidestepping shrubs.
Finally, Farrell halted and gestured at a house. “That’s the place.”
Courtesy of her shifter-enhanced vision, Havana was able to get a good look at the two-story building. There was a light on in a room upstairs. The curtains weren’t closed, so she could see a man who fit the description of Enrique’s friend moving around in there. More lights were on downstairs, so it was possible that Enrique was somewhere on the lower level.
“None of the windows are open at the back of the house,” Tate noted. “Alex, I need you to get us inside.”
Havana wasn’t surprised that he assigned that job to Alex. No one could keep a wolverine out of anywhere they wanted to be.
Tate ran his gaze along everyone as he said, “Okay, this is how it’s gonna go down. Havana, you and your girls deal with the shifter upstairs. Detain him, don’t kill him. And Bailey, don’t bite him. Luke, Alex—you come with me; we’ll subdue our good friend Enrique. I want people outside just in case they make a run for it or receive some visitors. Chen, JP—you two cover the front. If anyone turns up, give us the signal. Farrell, Dad—you cover the rear. When the bastards are secured, I’ll call you both inside. Now, is everyone clear on what they’re doing and where they should be?”
Each of them answered in the affirmative.
“Good, then let’s get the fuck on with this,” said Tate. He gave Havana a brief kiss. “Be careful.”
“You, too.” She, Aspen, and Bailey then melted into the shadows.
As the others took up position, Tate, Luke, and Alex crossed to the back door. The wolverine effortlessly picked the lock, and then the three of them were inside a somewhat small but stylish kitchen. Mostly white, it had an off-putting clinical feel.
