COLE

“ W hat happens at midnight tomorrow?” Trent asked.

“I have no clue, but we’ve got to be ready,” I said.

After I’d read the note, it took several minutes for it to really sink in.

Someone was trying to help us from the inside.

Unless Dallas had taken to wearing women’s heels and wigs, it meant that someone other than my brother was helping as well.

Regardless of what Dallas had done in the past, after our conversation, I believed he really did want to keep Ashton safe.

If two people in Kyle’s inner circle were ready to flip on him, our odds of success were exponentially better than they had been a day ago.

“Where the hell is Langston?” I asked, glancing around the hospital.

We’d waited to hear if the second wolf had been cured, and Milbanks had updated us a few moments before. The other wolf was completely cured, just like Kolchak. I was itching to leave, but Langston wasn’t around.

“Said he wanted to try a Hail Mary. Not sure what he’s working on, but he’s down that hall on the phone.”

As Trent spoke, my phone began to ring.

“I kinda like the sound of that,” I said. “Maybe someone else can help?” My heart was hammering like mad. The note, along with my meeting with Dallas, had lifted my spirits and made me truly believe that we could succeed.

“Could be,” Trent said with a shrug.

The phone was still ringing. I sighed and pulled it out. Avery. On another day, I’d be excited to hear her voice, especially after our fight, but there was too much to do, too much to plan.

“Avery, now’s not a good time. Can I call you back?”

“Cole, you don’t understand, I’ve got something important?—”

“Avery, something big is happening. I can’t explain over the phone, there’s too much. Hang tight, and I’ll be there soon. Are you at your place?”

“Is it about Ashton?” The hopeful anxiety in her voice tugged at my heart.

“I’ll see you in a little bit and explain,” I said, hating that it had to be this way, but I didn’t want to do this over the phone. I wanted to be with her. “It’ll be way easier in person. Are you at home?”

Langston came walking down the hall, a shit-eating grin on his face. He looked excited about something.

“Y–yes,” Avery said. “I’m at my place. Cole, I?—”

“I love you, Avery. I’ll be there soon, I promise.”

I put my phone back into my pocket as Langston rejoined us.

“What’s going on?” Trent asked him.

“There’s a pack in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dad and I did business with them a few years ago. Some nasty stuff. Not nearly as bad as this, but not good. They owed us a favor.”

“What kind of favor?” I asked.

“They’re sending help. It’s only a four-hour drive away,” Langston said with a cocky grin. “We’ve got reinforcements coming.”

“Hell, yes,” I said, slapping him on the back.

Things were falling into place. Help on the inside, help from the outside, a cure for the drug Kyle had developed.

Regardless of how bad things had been before, everything was looking up.

It was hard to keep the smile off my face.

I couldn’t see how we would fail at this point.

It was almost as if fate itself was stepping in to assist us in taking Kyle down.

“Get on the horn to our men from the pack,” I said. “Have them gather at the alpha house.”

“Way ahead of you,” Trent said. “I sent a group text as soon as you told me what was up. They should all be there in the next ten minutes.”

“Let’s get home, then,” I said.

Trent drove us back to the alpha house. Langston made more calls to his contacts in North Carolina as I replied to a rapid barrage of texts from our men and one from Farrah, who wanted to know what the hell was going on.

I didn’t have a moment to think because by the time we arrived back at my house, the pack members who’d been helping us were already assembled.

“You got good news for us, Cole?” one of them asked.

“You could say that,” I said. “Gather around.”

The men shuffled forward, creating a semicircle around us. Each of them looked intrigued and anxious. I couldn’t blame them.

“We have news. Someone on the inside of Kyle’s mansion has made contact. Tomorrow night at midnight, we need to be in position near the mansion. That’s going to be our time to attack. This should all be over soon.”

“How do we know this isn’t some sort of trap?” one of the men asked.

That thought had occurred to me, but Kyle wasn’t subtle.

The cloak-and-dagger way the note had been passed along wasn’t his style.

There was also no way he could have known about the basketball game.

That was something only Ashton would think of adding to a note to get me to believe.

That, paired with the truth I’d seen in Dallas’s eyes, gave me enough hope to go for it.

Besides, we’d need to attack Kyle’s mansion at some point.

We’d run out of options to play. Even if it was a trap, this face-off had to happen, and we’d have had to figure it out along the way.

I didn’t believe that, though. My gut told me this was the real deal.

“It’s not,” I said, projecting as much confidence as I could. “Trust me on this. When the time comes, someone inside will help us, and I think we’ll know it when it happens.”

One by one, the men nodded.

“We trust you, Cole. If you say it’s a good lead, then we’re with you,” an older man said.

Warmth spread through my chest. Not an unpleasant feeling.

“I want to make things very clear,” I said, narrowing my eyes.

“Even with help, this will be dangerous. I cannot, in good conscience, go into this without telling you that some of us may not make it home after tomorrow night. If that is too much, head back to your houses now. There will be no hard feelings, no retaliation, and your standing in the pack will remain as it is. The Garrett family does not throw good men away against their will. Say the word right now, and you’re free to go. ”

No one spoke. Intense, driven gazes looked back at me, and I felt the comfort of home .

It made me hate myself a little for leaving all those years ago.

Not only had I missed out on raising my son and being with my mate, but I’d missed out on leading these people.

I could have taken over for my father earlier.

I could have kept us out of this shitstorm to begin with.

“It means a lot to me that you’re all here. That you’re helping me get my son back. Thank you. I want to be a better alpha than my father was. That’s all I can hope to do to repay you for what you’ve done for me.”

“You’ve already done that,” a man said.

Murmurs of agreement rippled through them, and a knot formed in my throat. The corners of my eyes burned, but I managed to control myself. This wasn’t the time to shed tears of gratitude. It was time for alpha shit, and by God, I was gonna do it.

Kyle had no idea what kind of hell was about to rain down on him.

“I’m gonna let Trent and Langston give you the rest of the information.

After that, go home and get some rest. Spend some time with your families.

I can’t promise what tomorrow night will bring.

I cannot guarantee that we’ll all make it home, so take the time you need with them tonight.

And—” I held up a finger “—if tonight, while you’re holding your mates or your babies and you think the price is too high, send me a text.

No harm, no foul. Your lives are yours to spend, not mine. ”

I turned to Trent and Langston. “You guys got this?”

“We’re good,” Trent answered.

With a final wave to my men, I hurried into the house to grab my truck keys. I’d cut the call with Avery short earlier, and now I had time to actually go over and speak with her in person.

Inside, I found Zayde pacing the floor. Worry oozed from him.

“Cole, have you heard from Porter?” Zayde asked. “I can’t get him on the phone.”

“Let me call Avery,” I said. “He was assigned to watch her. She may know where he is.”

Zayde nodded and put his own phone away. When I dialed Avery, I got no answer. Frowning, I tried again. Nothing. An icy finger dragged up my spine.

“She’s not answering her phone,” I said, my voice sounding strangely hollow to my ears.

“Is something wrong here?” Zayde asked, his eyes wide and vaguely terrified.

Shaking my head, I forced a smile to my lips. “Avery and I had a bit of a fight last night, and I was kinda short with her on the phone earlier. She probably doesn’t want to talk. She’s probably venting to Porter. Must be why he isn’t answering.”

“Okay,” Zayde said slowly, but he didn’t sound convinced.

Snatching my keys from the counter, I said, “I’m gonna head to Stormy’s place. She’s probably there.” Acid wormed its way through my stomach.

“Sure. Yeah. Sounds good.” Zayde looked like he was willing to latch on to any explanation at the moment.

On the outside, I looked calm as I walked to my truck. On the inside, though? Panic flamed like grease dripping onto a heating element. My stomach lurched.

The men had all dispersed. Langston and Trent were walking back to the house. They caught sight of me and called out. Hopping into the truck, I gunned it down the driveway.

As I drove past Langston, I slowed and told him, “Got to Avery’s place. Check on her. If she’s not there, come to Stormy’s.”

Langston raised a hand, nodding as I rocketed past.

Everything is fine , I told myself. You’ll walk into Stormy’s place, Porter will be out in the driveway, his cell phone dead or something, and Avery will be inside, drinking coffee .

I repeated that mantra to myself the whole drive. Yet, when I pulled into Stormy’s house and saw no sign of Avery’s car or Porter’s truck, my stomach dropped again.

It was all I could do to keep my hand from shaking as I knocked on Stormy’s door. She pulled open the door a few seconds later.

“Cole? What are you doing here?”

“Is Avery here?” I asked, my voice wavering slightly.

She frowned. “No. Didn’t she call you?”