“She’s stuck outside,” he whispered. “Still on the swing. I can’t get her inside without them seeing me.”
“I’m on my fucking way,” Suero growled, his voice a low, menacing rumble. “If anything happens to either of you, Xavier won’t see me coming.”
Tears welled up in Kia’s eyes, the thought of his uncle or his mate getting hurt was unbearable. They were both only trying to protect him.
Regardless of whether Xavier would listen, Kia had to try and reason with him.
The phone slipped from his trembling fingers, hitting the floor with a sharp clatter.
His breath came in short, shallow bursts, his heart pounding frantically as he watched Theo descend Santiago’s porch steps and head in his direction.
Chapter Eleven
Turning onto the main street in Blackthorn, Suero opened his throttle, shooting past his packmates, driven by a burning need to protect Kia and Macey.
The terror in Kia’s voice had been a dagger to Suero’s heart.
Barely thirty minutes had passed since he’d left his elegido, and Xavier’s lackeys were already at the door? A spy lurked among them—Suero was sure of it. How else would the enforcers know Kia’s location?
If Suero found out who the spy was, he would gut them as a stark warning to anyone with ill intentions toward their pack.
Fury surged through his veins at Xavier pulling this bullshit on his own nephew. Decisions made in the heat of the moment were reckless, and Xavier had just lit the fuse to spark a war.
Diablo matched his pace, his bike thundering alongside Suero’s as they weaved through traffic, devouring the road.
The Bluetooth in his ear buzzed. He tapped it on with a quick flick. “What?”
“Cops on your six,” Miguel said.
“Can you get ’em off me?” he asked, narrowly dodging a collision with a box truck. The driver yelled and flipped him off, but Suero ignored him.
“We’re already on it.” Miguel hung up.
Suero glanced in his rearview mirrors, catching a glimpse of the flashing red and blue lights behind him. He couldn't afford to slow down, not with Kia and Macey in danger. His wolf snarled, desperate to let loose. If those cheetahs laid a finger on either of them, Suero would unleash a bloodbath unlike anything Blackthorn had ever seen.
A motorcycle shot past him on the right. Cesar. He nodded at Suero before swerving in front of one of the cop cars, cutting it off. The officer slammed on his brakes, tires screeching as the vehicle fishtailed.
Miguel flanked the second cop car, boxing it in and forcing it to a crawl. Suero hunched over his handlebars, opened his throttle fully, and rocketed ahead, leaving his brothers to deal with the deputies.
The wail of sirens began to fade behind him as Cesar’s and Miguel’s diversions worked.
Suero sped past a minivan and cut a sharp left, his bike almost horizontal as he took the turn. He straightened and hit the gas, flying down the residential street to Macey’s, Diablo still keeping pace.
So close. Hang on, Kia. I’m almost there.
As he rounded the corner onto his street, a low growl rumbled in his chest. One of the cheetahs—a dark-haired guy with a tattoo on his neck—was already on Macey’s porch, a twisted smirk on his face as he reached for the screen door. The other cheetah—sandy blond hair, green eyes—was posted at the bottom of the steps, hands clasped in front of him, like he was a security guard.
Suero didn’t slow down. At the last second, he wrenched the handlebars right, jumping the curb and skidding sideways across the lawn.
The cheetahs whipped around at the sound, eyes wide.
He kicked the bike stand down and vaulted off, landing in a predatory crouch. Rising slowly, he fixed them with a lethal glare.
“Touch that door and I’ll break every bone in your fucking hands, pendejo,” he snarled.
“This is none of your business, wolf.”
Macey’s gaze shot from the enforcer to Suero’s, eyes wide. Suero couldn’t worry about her finding out. Not when he had to get the cheetah off the porch.